Category: Daily Reflections
“Here I am. You called me.” –1 Samuel 3:5 The Lord starts this new year by calling us as He called Samuel, Andrew, and Simon Peter. He is calling us to join Him: not in a superficial way, but to love Him with all our hearts (Mt 22:37), in a Christian community of the others whom He has called, and in waking up and renewing a sleeping Church (see 1 Sm 3:2-3). We must accept all three aspects of the Lord’s call, or we have rejected His call. Some say they’ve given their lives to Jesus, but are not...
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“So let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and favor and to find help in time of need.” –Hebrews 4:16 We see others and ourselves beset with problems, which don’t get better but get worse. Then we wonder whether God cares. We pray, and our prayers are not answered as we hoped. In fact, things often get worse after we pray. If God is blessing us, it seems impossible to recognize this. We see people falling on the ice, suffering in pain, shivering in the cold, treated unjustly, and consumed with fear. Then we wonder again...
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“They began to gather in great numbers. There was no longer any room for them, even around the door.” –Mark 2:2 In the Gospels, especially in Mark’s Gospel, we read about Jesus being surrounded by such large crowds that it was almost impossible to approach Him. Consequently, some people thought up various ways to get through, around, or over the crowds. They stepped on one another (Lk 12:1), pushed each other (Mk 3:10), climbed a tree (Lk 19:4), and even made a hole in the roof of the house where Jesus was staying (Mk 2:4). There can often be major...
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“Encourage one another daily while it is still ‘today,’ so that no one grows hardened by the deceit of sin.” –Hebrews 3:13 If we don’t get regular, even daily, encouragement, we may grow hardened by the deceit of sin and of the culture of death (Heb 3:13). Encouragement often will not find us if we don’t try to find it. Many of us miss the opportunity to receive or give encouragement. Here are some ways we can pursue and find encouragement: We need to place ourselves in a position to receive encouragement, for example, by not skipping Mass (Heb 10:25)....
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“Before long the whole town was gathered outside the door.” –Mark 1:33 Bethsaida was like most towns. Many of its people “through fear of death had been slaves their whole life long” (Heb 2:15). Of course, there were many “who were variously afflicted” (Mk 1:34), including Simon’s mother-in-law who “lay ill with a fever” (Mk 1:30). Also, demons had oppressed the people of Bethsaida for as long as anyone could remember (see Mk 1:34). However, this day was going to be different. Jesus came to town and demons, sickness, and fear left town. This was the best day in Bethsaida’s...
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