Tagged: Daily Promises

BELIEVE AND WITNESS

“This is the Jesus God has raised up, and we are His witnesses.” –Acts 2:32 Jesus once made the statement that even if a person should rise from the dead, some will not be convinced (Lk 16:31). He was referring to those who would not believe the Scriptures. The soldiers who took the money knew well Jesus had risen from the dead; they knew no one could have stolen the body. They also had been paralyzed with fear at the appearance of the angels. Even the chief priests knew the disciples had not stolen Jesus’ body; they simply chose to...

BELIEVE AND WITNESS

“This is the Jesus God has raised up, and we are His witnesses.” –Acts 2:32 Jesus once made the statement that even if a person should rise from the dead, some will not be convinced (Lk 16:31). He was referring to those who would not believe the Scriptures. The soldiers who took the money knew well Jesus had risen from the dead; they knew no one could have stolen the body. They also had been paralyzed with fear at the appearance of the angels. Even the chief priests knew the disciples had not stolen Jesus’ body; they simply chose to...

NEW AND NOW

“They killed Him, finally, hanging Him on a tree, only to have God raise Him up on the third day.” –Acts 10:40 Alleluia! Today is one of the greatest days in our lives. This is the first day of the fifty-day Sunday, the Easter season. Alleluia! When we believe in our hearts that Jesus is risen from the dead (see Rm 10:9), everything is transformed and made new. Death no longer overshadows Life. The fear of death no longer enslaves us (Heb 2:15). Death has lost its sting (1 Cor 15:55). Death is not our enemy but our friend; it...

A DAY WITHOUT JESUS

“I had rather one day in Your courts than a thousand elsewhere.” –Psalm 84:11 The first Holy Saturday was a day without Jesus. He was buried in the tomb and, because of the sabbath, His body could not be anointed (Lk 23:56—24:1) or possibly even visited (Mt 28:1). Today the Church relives that first Holy Saturday without Jesus. The Blessed Sacrament does not reside in the tabernacle today. There is no Mass during the day. We identify with Jesus buried in the tomb (see Rm 6:3-4). Mary Magdalene spent the first Holy Saturday waiting. She longed for the day to...

FREEING LOVE

“As I have done, so you must do.” –John 13:15 The night before He died, the Lord instituted the way He would remain with us forever. He could have remained with us in awesome majesty, in fire and cloud, as He did with the Israelites (Ex 19:16ff; 40:34-38). Instead, Jesus set aside His majesty and humbled Himself (Phil 2:6-8). He decided to remain with us in His Eucharistic Body and Blood. Jesus’ Last Supper took place on the eve of the Jewish feast of Passover. The first Passover brought freedom from physical slavery and from the tyranny of Pharaoh (Ex...