Tagged: daily bread

“The commandment we have from Him is this: whoever loves God must also love his brother.” –1 John 4:21 Most people like to think of themselves as loving others. Yet are we truly loving or just deceiving ourselves? We are loving if: We are “beloved,” that is, we have first received God’s love (1 Jn 4:19). We love God with all our hearts (1 Jn 5:2; Mt 22:37). We obey God’s commandments (1 Jn 5:3). We love ourselves (Mt 22:39). We love the brothers and sisters we see in our everyday life (1 Jn 4:20). We love our enemies (Mt...

“[Jesus] went off to the mountain to pray.” –Mark 6:46 In today’s Scripture readings, love is not contrasted to hate. Rather, love is contrasted with fear (1 Jn 4:18), and the antidote to fear is prayer. Thus, the Lord teaches us that love increases through a relationship with God. Prayer is a conversation with God, with us doing most of the listening and God doing most of the speaking. Consider a young man and woman in love. They contemplate marriage. Considerable risks and expenses are involved: one spouse might die prematurely, the expenses of bearing, raising, and educating children, risks...

“And this is how we know that He remains in us: from the Spirit that He gave us.” –1 John 3:24 At the Christmas season, we celebrate not only Immanuel, “God with us” but also God within us. “Those who keep His commandments remain in Him and He in them” (1 Jn 3:24; see also 1 Jn 4:16; 5:20; Jn 14:20; 6:56; 17:23). Christ in us is our “hope of glory” (Col 1:27). However, “perhaps you yourselves do not realize that Christ Jesus is in you” (2 Cor 13:5). “This is how we know that He remains in us: from...

“Rise up in splendor! Your light has come, the glory of the Lord shines upon you.” –Isaiah 60:1 On every Epiphany, the Lord commands us to “rise up in splendor,” to put the light of our lives in Christ on the lampstand to give light to all in darkness (see Lk 8:16). We must let our “little light shine” and let the world know the true message of Christmas – that Jesus became a human being, was born, died on a cross, and rose from the dead to save us. Before we rise up, we must see two things. First,...