Category: Daily Reflections

“When Solomon was old…his heart was not entirely with the Lord.” –1 Kings 11:4 King Solomon started his reign as “a mere youth” (1 Kgs 3:7). Young Solomon started well as king. He humbly asked God for wisdom to govern well and built the Temple so the Lord could be fittingly worshipped. But “when he was old,” Solomon’s heart was no longer entirely with the Lord (1 Kgs 11:4). How old was Solomon when his heart turned away from God? Numerous estimates believe he died in his early sixties. This is a stark warning to those of us in our...

“Empty is the reverence they do Me.” –Mark 7:7 The Lord made Solomon the wisest man in the world (1 Kgs 3:12). Solomon used his wisdom to build the temple of the Lord. Solomon was awed by God’s work in his life (see 1 Kgs 8:27). Sadly, Solomon’s heart did not remain with the Lord (1 Kgs 11:9). He died trapped in idolatrous abominations, alienated from the Lord. David, Solomon’s father, also received exceptional graces from the Lord. His heart was with the Lord (see Acts 13:22). To express his love for the Lord, David composed and sang many of...

“Empty is the reverence they do Me.” –Mark 7:7 The Lord made Solomon the wisest man in the world (1 Kgs 3:12). Solomon used his wisdom to build the temple of the Lord. Solomon was awed by God’s work in his life (see 1 Kgs 8:27). Sadly, Solomon’s heart did not remain with the Lord (1 Kgs 11:9). He died trapped in idolatrous abominations, alienated from the Lord. David, Solomon’s father, also received exceptional graces from the Lord. His heart was with the Lord (see Acts 13:22). To express his love for the Lord, David composed and sang many of...

“Advance, O Lord, to Your resting place.” –Psalm 132:8 In today’s first reading and Psalm, the Lord journeys to His place of rest in the newly finished Temple in Jerusalem. God confirms His acceptance of the Temple as a suitable dwelling by the presence of the cloud which fills the Temple. The cloud had been the sign of God’s presence for forty years in the Exodus and the wandering of the Israelites through the desert. Now His presence dwells within the ark of the covenant inside the Temple. Then God sent His only Son into the world (Jn 3:16). In...

“He promptly dispatched an executioner, ordering him to bring back the Baptizer’s head. The man went and beheaded John in the prison. He brought in the head on a platter and gave it to the girl.” –Mark 6:27-28 This week the Church has been seeing red, blood red. We remember the bloody deaths of Sts. John the Baptizer, Blase, Agatha, Paul Miki and companions. From Jerusalem, to Japan, to Rome, from the time of Christ to the present day, Christians have been laying down their lives for and in imitation of the Master, Jesus. At this moment, thousands of Christians...