Tagged: Daily Promises

“His life is not like other men’s, and different are His ways.” –Wisdom 2:15 In two weeks, it will be Good Friday. We are approaching the conclusion of Lent, a forty-day period of prayer and fasting culminating in the renewal of our baptismal promises on Easter Sunday. When we were baptized, we were “begotten from above” (see Jn 3:3-5). Our old nature was drowned in the waters of Baptism, and we became new creations (2 Cor 5:17). We were no longer of the world, because Jesus chose us out of the world (Jn 15:19). That’s why the world hates us...

“The Lord said to Moses, ‘Go down at once to your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt, for they have become depraved.’ ” –Exodus 32:7 What if a good friend who was an artist drew your picture, and it looked like a pig? If your artist friend explained that you and the pig looked the same, you would feel bad. You could say what Jesus replied to Philip: “After I have been with you all this time, you still do not know Me?” (Jn 14:9) Your so-called friend did not even know you were a human...

“He not only was breaking the sabbath but, worse still, was speaking of God as His own Father, thereby making Himself God’s equal.” –John 5:18 It seems that for the last few years the renewal of the baptismal promises has not been successful for the Catholic Church throughout the world. The evidence for this is the continued proliferation of the culture of death, including abortion, contraception, unforgiveness, vengeance, denominations, racism, starvation, and other injustices. Our Baptisms are such great works of God that if millions of Christians renewed their Baptisms, the world could not help but be changed according to...

“Then He brought me back to the entrance of the temple, and I saw water flowing out from beneath the threshold of the temple toward the east.” –Ezekiel 47:1 Ezekiel saw a vision of a miraculous trickle of water flowing from the Temple and becoming a great river of life. St. John, the apostle and evangelist, saw the same river as a picture of heaven (Rv 22:1ff). By baptizing us and giving us a new nature, Jesus has made our bodies temples of the Holy Spirit (see 1 Cor 6:19). He promises that rivers of living water will flow out...

“This was the second sign that Jesus performed.” –John 4:54 In John’s Gospel, Jesus worked seven signs (miracles) “to help you believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, so that through this faith you may have life in His name” (Jn 20:31): 1) changing water into wine at a wedding (Jn 2:1-12), 2) a remote healing of a royal official’s son (Jn 4:46-54), 3) curing a man who was ill for thirty-eight years (Jn 5:1ff), 4) multiplying the loaves and fishes (Jn 6:1-14), 5) walking on the water (Jn 6:19), 6) giving sight to the man born...