Tagged: Bible Reading & Meditation

“All who heard stored these things up in their hearts, saying, ‘What will this child be?’ ” —Luke 1:66 I hope you’re more excited than you’ve ever been for Christmas — more excited than when you were a little child waiting to open your Christmas presents. The excitement I’m talking about is not primarily an emotion but an expression of faith. It’s not based on Christmas presents but on Christmas presence. The Lord is present. We can see Him setting the captives free, healing the sick, and working miracles (see Lk 4:18). We sense His presence within us, as He...

“Let Me see you.” –Song of Songs 2:14 We’re hiding from Jesus. He’s trying to look at us, but we’re hiding from Him — whether it’s behind a boulder (Sg 2:14), a sinful, worldly lifestyle, or a veil of fear. It’s estimated that over half of registered Catholics in the USA hide from Jesus simply by not showing up at Mass on Sunday. We may be hiding from Jesus, but that doesn’t stop Him from looking for us (Lk 19:10). He loves us so much that He came down from heaven to earth to look at us. We might look...

“I have sworn to David My servant: Forever will I confirm your posterity and establish your throne for all generations.” –Psalm 89:4-5 Nathan prophesied to David: “The Lord said: ‘Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before Me; your throne shall stand firm forever’ ” (2 Sm 7:16). After this prophecy, David’s house was split by civil war and suffered many other tragedies for about a thousand years. God’s promise to David did not seem true. One day, “the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man...

Elizabeth “went into seclusion for five months.” –Luke 1:24 After conceiving St. John the Baptizer, Elizabeth went into seclusion. As her husband could not speak nor hear, it was undoubtedly a quiet period for her. When the Blessed Virgin Mary arrived in Elizabeth’s sixth month of pregnancy (Lk 1:36, 39), Elizabeth must have been overjoyed to have a companion with whom to share her holy joy, much less to have the mother of the Lord in her midst. Elizabeth’s husband Zechariah spent nine months in silence, reflecting in wonder at the gradual, visible growth of his son in his wife’s...