Tagged: daily bread

“What I say to you is: offer no resistance to injury.” –Matthew 5:39 To punish and control those who have hurt us, we are inclined to retaliate. We feel that our retaliation will not be effective unless it inflicts worse damages than the original offense. However, this extra damage is unjust. Therefore, those who suffer it feel obligated to hurt us some more to even things up. To stop this escalating violence, the Lord taught us in the old covenant: “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” (Mt 5:38; Lv 24:20). Jesus realized that, although the Old...

“I said, ‘I confess my faults to the Lord,’ and You took away the guilt of my sin.” –Psalm 32:5 Today’s psalm response is from one of the seven penitential psalms as listed in the footnotes of the New American Bible. The seven Penitential Psalms are psalms 6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, and 143. I’ve often prayed passages from these psalms in times of repentance and penance and especially when preparing for Confession. Have you ever been so sorry for your sins that you can’t even find the words to express your sorrow to God? (see Ps 6:3-4) On...

“Once [Barnabas] had found [Saul], he brought him back to Antioch.” –Acts 11:26 Without St. Barnabas, the evangelist St. Paul may not have been accepted by the Church. The Jerusalem Christians could not believe that Paul, who persecuted them relentlessly before his conversion, was truly a disciple (Acts 9:26). “Then Barnabas took [Paul] in charge and introduced him to the apostles. He explained to them how on his journey Saul had seen the Lord, Who had conversed with him, and how Saul had been speaking out fearlessly in the name of Jesus in Damascus” (Acts 9:27). They couldn’t believe Paul,...

“Why are you here, Elijah?” –1 Kings 19:9 The mighty prophet Elijah had more confidence in Queen Jezebel’s wicked fury than he did in his own strength. Jezebel had sworn to eliminate Elijah and sent assassins to hunt him down and kill him (1 Kgs 19:2-3). Elijah had stood as strong as a “wall of brass” against the whole nation (see Jer 1:18), but he was not able to stand up to one furious, powerful, vengeful woman. Elijah fled the country, walking over forty days to put as much distance as possible between him and Jezebel’s assassins (1 Kgs 19:8)....

“You have heard the commandment imposed on your forefathers, ‘You shall not commit murder; every murderer shall be liable to judgment.’ What I say to you is…” –Matthew 5:21-22 Jesus has set the highest standards in history. For example, we are not to grow angry with our brothers and sisters in Christ (Mt 5:22). We are not to act, speak, or even think in anger (Mt 5:22). Furthermore, we must take the responsibility to be reconciled with those who are angry with us – even if we are not angry with them (Mt 5:23). Moreover, we must do this right...