Tagged: Daily Reflection

“Woe to those who plan iniquity, and work out evil on their couches.” –Micah 2:1 At this moment, groups of intelligent and gifted people are meeting to “plan iniquity and work out evil.” International institutions and CEOs of mass media conglomerates are planning a “conspiracy against life.” Pope St. John Paul II called this an “objective” conspiracy. It is not merely his or anyone else’s opinion. He is not paranoid but facing the facts (Gospel of Life, 17). We Christians are also called to meet and plan. Though meetings are sometimes much maligned, nonetheless, those meetings conducted to the glory...

“Have you not read what David did when he and his men were hungry, how he entered God’s house and ate the holy bread, a thing forbidden to him and his men or anyone other than priests?” –Matthew 12:3-4 Something greater than what meets the eye was taking place in today’s Gospel reading. The hungry apostles were snacking on grain on the Sabbath. The Pharisees (who were working on the Sabbath as self-appointed law enforcement officers) accused the apostles of “harvesting” on the Sabbath, thus violating one of the Ten Commandments (Ex 20:8-11). Jesus responds by referring to an act...

“Come to Me.” –Matthew 11:28 Come to Jesus, “all you who are weary and find life burdensome” (Mt 11:28). He will give you not necessarily what you want or think you need; rather, He will give you His way and His judgments (Is 26:8). The Lord Jesus will give you the desire of your soul – if His name, Jesus, and His title, Lord, are your desire (Is 26:8). The Lord calls you to come to Him for His sake, not so much for the sake of what He can do for you. “For though the fig tree blossom not...

“Father, Lord of heaven and earth, to You I offer praise; for what You have hidden from the learned and the clever You have revealed to the merest children.” –Matthew 11:25 The minds of little children are like sponges. They absorb and remember so much of what’s going on around them. We Christians can be like little children in our receptivity to divine revelation. We can be sensitive to, and pregnant with, God’s presence. The teachings of the Church can impact and change our lives. The words of the Bible can seem to almost jump off the pages. We will...

“If the miracles worked in you had taken place in Sodom, it would be standing today.” –Matthew 11:23 The cities of Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum did not convert despite the many miracles Jesus worked within their borders (Mt 11:20ff). However, Jesus said that Tyre, Sidon, and Sodom, some of the most wicked cities in history, would have converted in response to the same miracles (Mt 11:21, 23). Jesus also said that those who believe in Him will do greater works than He had done (Jn 14:12). Therefore, if we believe in Jesus, we have more than enough firepower to convert...