Tagged: Bible Study

CHILDLIKE, BLESSED EYES

“Blest are the eyes that see what you see.” –Luke 10:23 Much of the world has already started to celebrate Christmas, but we Christians are still waiting. We are observing the season of Advent. We are not jumping ahead of the Lord, but waiting for His coming by preparing our hearts. What do we hear from the world? We hear that Christmas is a season for children; innocent, delighted children are often pictured on “holiday” commercials. This is true for Christians as well. We are to become as children, innocently waiting with delight for the Child Jesus to come into...

“THE NAME ABOVE EVERY OTHER NAME” (PHIL 2:9)

“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” ––Romans 10:13 Most of us reading this are baptized Catholics. Once a year, at Easter, we have the remarkable opportunity to renew our baptismal promises. In this way, we “confess with” our “lips that Jesus is Lord” (see Rm 10:9). But if this confession is not founded upon heartfelt belief, our words ring hollow. In addition, salvation is not a onetime event. We must persevere, exercising the virtue of fortitude. “The man who holds out to the end, however, is the one who will see salvation” (Mt 24:13)....

WAITING AND WATCHING

“What I say to you, I say to all: Be on guard!” ––Mark 13:37 Welcome to Advent. Christmas is near! Advent is a time of preparation for the coming of the Lord. We begin a new liturgical year with anticipation and hope. This sounds encouraging, but “we are sinful; all of us have become like unclean men, all our good deeds are like polluted rags” (Is 64:4-5). It hurts to look in the mirror! Fortunately, God refuses to abandon His wounded children. “Yet, O Lord, You are our Father; we are the clay and You the potter: we are all...

LAST, BUT NOT LEAST

“Remember, I am coming soon! Happy the man who heeds the prophetic message of this book!” —Revelation 22:7 Today, on the last day of the Church’s year, the Church proclaims to us the last chapter of the Bible. The Bible begins in an earthly paradise and ends in a heavenly paradise. The heavenly paradise is not only the restoration of the earthly paradise, but its fulfillment. The heavenly paradise has a river of life-giving water flowing down the middle of its streets (Rv 22:1-2). On both sides of the river grow fruit-bearing trees of life (Rv 22:2). In the heavenly...

TIME OUT

“The heavens and the earth will pass away, but My words will not pass.” —Luke 21:33 Imagine you thought today was Thanksgiving Day and you wondered where the turkey was. Then you found out you were the “turkey.” Did anyone ever call you at 3AM and ask if they woke you? These are situations where people have no sense of time. This time warp is even worse in spiritual reality. Some people think they have years to live but really they have only minutes. Others expect our civilization and lifestyle to last forever, although history indicates just the opposite. Some...