Category: Verse for the day

“This word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: ‘Fear not, Abram!’ ” –Genesis 15:1 Mass Readings: June 28 First: Genesis 15:1-12,17-18; Resp: Psalm 105:1-4,6-9; Gospel: Matthew 7:15-20 Listen to the Mass Readings When the Lord promises something very great, He often announces His promise by commanding us not to fear (see Lk 1:13, 30; Mt 1:20). The implication is that when we give in to fear, we may sabotage God’s work in our lives. A covenant is one of the antidotes to fear, and it is also an assurance of the fulfillment of God’s promises. After God...

“Enter through the narrow gate. The gate that leads to damnation is wide, the road is clear, and many choose to travel it.” –Matthew 7:13 There are two gates in life: the narrow gate and the wide gate. Many choose to enter through the wide gate because it is easy to do so. You would think we would choose a gate based on what’s behind it rather than on how easy it is to get through it. For example, does a person go on a road just because the road is wide, or because it leads to his destination? If...

“Look for the One Who comes after me. I am not worthy to unfasten the sandals on His feet.” –Acts 13:25 We celebrate the birthday of St. John the Baptizer for the same reason we celebrate the birthday of Mary. The significance of John the Baptizer, Mary, and each of us is due to our relationship with Jesus. We celebrate John’s birthday because it is halfway to the celebration of Jesus’ birthday. We celebrate our birthdays because we have been given new birth in Jesus. We celebrate John because he was chosen to prepare the way for Jesus (see Acts...

“We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us.” –1 John 4:16 Mass Readings: June 23 First: Deuteronomy 7:6-11; Resp: Psalm 103:1-4,6-7,8,10;Second: 1 John 4:7-16; Gospel: Matthew 11:25-30 Listen to the Mass Readings On the day before the feast of the Sacred Heart, I visited a man in a hospital who was close to death. The doctors had called the family to the bedside of the dying man. At that point, the man rallied slightly and did not die. When I was talking to his wife, she said: “Father, I hope he dies tomorrow...