Tagged: Daily Reflections

“As you enter his home bless it.” –Matthew 10:12 In His last will and testament, Jesus left us, His disciples, shalom-peace (Jn 14:27). This is not exactly what we mean by “peace” today. Jesus left us shalom, that is, godly order and harmony. As Jesus’ disciples, we can put together the pieces of our lives in a divinely ordained harmony, which is truly an exquisite masterpiece of God’s creation. By God’s grace, we not only receive God’s shalom-peace but also have the privilege to share with the Lord in making this peace (Mt 5:9). We do this especially by sharing...

“It is time to seek the Lord.” –Hosea 10:12 The Liturgy of the Word for today’s Mass contains several references to seeking the Lord: • “It is time to seek the Lord” (Hos 10:12). • “Rejoice, O hearts that seek the Lord!” (Ps 105:3) • “Seek to serve Him constantly” (Ps 105:4). • In addition, the psalm response for Mass is: “Seek always the face of the Lord.” Jesus commands us to seek and we shall find (Mt 7:7; Lk 11:9). The prophet Isaiah implores: “Seek the Lord while He may be found, call Him while He is near” (Is...

“The harvest is good but laborers are scarce. Beg the Harvest Master to send out laborers to gather His harvest.” –Matthew 9:37-38 Throughout our lives, we work hard for many years. We can work for the building of God’s kingdom (see Mt 6:33) and the gathering of His harvest (Mt 9:38), or we can work for ourselves. “You are not to spend what remains of your earthly life on human desires but on the will of God. Already you have devoted enough time to what the pagans enjoy” (1 Pt 4:2-3). “You should not be working for perishable food but...

“The harvest is good but laborers are scarce. Beg the Harvest Master to send out laborers to gather His harvest.”—Matthew 9:37-38 Throughout our lives, we work hard for many years. We can work for the building of God’s kingdom (see Mt 6:33) and the gathering of His harvest (Mt 9:38), or we can work for ourselves. “You are not to spend what remains of your earthly life on human desires but on the will of God. Already you have devoted enough time to what the pagans enjoy” (1 Pt 4:2-3). “You should not be working for perishable food but for...

“I will espouse you to Me forever: I will espouse you in right and in justice, in love and in mercy.” —Hosea 2:21 Our only vengeance as followers of Jesus Christ is to love more and serve more, especially those who are harming us. This is an imitation of Jesus, Who died to save those who kept hurting Him. When St. Peter denied Jesus three times, Jesus did not punish Peter or take revenge on him. Instead, Jesus asked Peter, “Do you love Me?” Jesus responded to injury by loving even more. This is how Jesus responds to us. We...