Category: Memory Verse

“The Spirit said to Philip, ‘Go and catch up with that carriage.’ Philip ran ahead and heard the man reading the prophet Isaiah. He said to him, ‘Do you really grasp what you are reading?’ ‘How can I,’ the man replied, ‘unless someone explains it to me?’ ” –Acts 8:29-31 Mass Readings: April 19 First: Acts 8:26-40; Resp: Psalm 66:8-9,16-17,20;Gospel: John 6:44-51 Listen to the Mass Readings Before we recognize the risen Christ, we need our hearts to burn as the Scriptures are interpreted for us (Lk 24:32). Jesus interprets the Scriptures for us not only by calling us to...

“It is the will of Him Who sent Me that I should lose nothing of what He has given Me.” –John 6:39 Mass Readings: April 18 First: Acts 8:1-8; Resp: Psalm 66:1-7; Gospel: John 6:35-40 Listen to the Mass Readings Creation, the human body, and the Body of Christ, the Church, are ecological. They are composed of many parts which inter-relate in very intricate ways. Therefore, “if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members share its joy” (1 Cor 12:26). The Lord is constantly gracing the Church so that it...

“God’s bread comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” –John 6:33 Mass Readings: April 17 First: Acts 7:51–8:1; Resp: Psalm 31:3-4,6-8,17,21; Gospel: John 6:30-35 Listen to the Mass Readings The Israelites were stuck in the desert without food. In His mercy, God sent heavenly bread, which the Israelites called manna, to feed His people for forty years until they could eat of the produce of the promised land. The manna, Jesus explained, is a foreshadowing of what God the Father was doing through Jesus. Jesus was sent from heaven to give life to the world (Jn 6:33)....

“Throughout, Stephen’s face seemed like that of an angel.” –Acts 6:15 Mass Readings: April 16 First: Acts 6:8-15; Resp: Psalm 119:23-24,26-27,29-30; Gospel: John 6:22-29 Listen to the Mass Readings As the early Church received grace after grace, it received suffering after suffering. The first people to receive the Holy Spirit at Pentecost were falsely accused of being drunk (Acts 2:13). They were not stopped by this injustice, and three thousand were baptized that day (Acts 2:41). After Peter and John healed the man born lame, they led thousands more to Christ (Acts 4:4). Then the Church suffered the arrest of...

“In their panic and fright they thought they were seeing a ghost. He said to them, ‘Why are you disturbed? Why do such ideas cross your mind?’ ” –Luke 24:37-38 Jesus is risen! This proves Jesus is God. This means we should live no longer for ourselves but for Him (2 Cor 5:15). Jesus’ Resurrection and divinity mean that everything Jesus said is true, including His promise to raise His disciples from the dead. The fact that Jesus intends to raise us from the dead has mammoth ramifications for us – not only after our deaths, but also in our...