Tagged: Daily Promises

“Empty is the reverence they do Me.” –Mark 7:7 The Lord made Solomon the wisest man in the world (1 Kgs 3:12). Solomon used his wisdom to build the temple of the Lord. Solomon was awed by God’s work in his life (see 1 Kgs 8:27). Sadly, Solomon’s heart did not remain with the Lord (1 Kgs 11:9). He died trapped in idolatrous abominations, alienated from the Lord. David, Solomon’s father, also received exceptional graces from the Lord. His heart was with the Lord (see Acts 13:22). To express his love for the Lord, David composed and sang many of...

“Advance, O Lord, to Your resting place.” –Psalm 132:8 In today’s first reading and Psalm, the Lord journeys to His place of rest in the newly finished Temple in Jerusalem. God confirms His acceptance of the Temple as a suitable dwelling by the presence of the cloud which fills the Temple. The cloud had been the sign of God’s presence for forty years in the Exodus and the wandering of the Israelites through the desert. Now His presence dwells within the ark of the covenant inside the Temple. Then God sent His only Son into the world (Jn 3:16). In...

“He promptly dispatched an executioner, ordering him to bring back the Baptizer’s head. The man went and beheaded John in the prison. He brought in the head on a platter and gave it to the girl.” –Mark 6:27-28 This week the Church has been seeing red, blood red. We remember the bloody deaths of Sts. John the Baptizer, Blase, Agatha, Paul Miki and companions. From Jerusalem, to Japan, to Rome, from the time of Christ to the present day, Christians have been laying down their lives for and in imitation of the Master, Jesus. At this moment, thousands of Christians...

“If any place will not receive you or hear you, shake its dust from your feet in testimony against them as you leave.” –Mark 6:11 Jesus commands His disciples to shake the dust off their feet and move on if they are not received by a town (Mk 6:11). Shaking the dust off our feet after being rejected takes an act of humility. In so doing, we must acknowledge that Jesus is the Savior and Healer; we are not. We must renounce our pride and admit that our best efforts could not cause the hearts of our hearers to be...

“Who will endure the day of His coming?” —Malachi 3:2 It was a normal day in the Temple. A first-born Baby was brought into the Temple to be presented to the Lord for consecration (Lk 2:22-23), as had been occurring for centuries. Then the normal day abruptly changed. God showed up in a new way. “Suddenly there will come to the Temple the Lord” (Mal 3:1). Who can endure His coming? (Mal 3:2) Who will be ready to greet the Lord? Will God come into our lives and once again have to ask, “Why was no one there when I...