Tagged: Daily Reflections

“But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out devils, then the reign of God is upon you.” –Luke 11:20 Mass Readings: March 8 First: Jeremiah 7:23-28; Resp: Psalm 95:1-2,6-9; Gospel: Luke 11:14-23 Listen to the Mass Readings In Lent, we imitate Jesus when He fasted forty days and overcame the temptations of Satan (Mt 4:2ff). Some demons cannot be driven out except through prayer and fasting (Mt 17:21). “Prayer and fasting are the first and most effective weapons against the forces of evil” (The Gospel of Life, Pope St. John Paul II, 100). In today’s...

“Whoever fulfills and teaches these commands shall be great in the kingdom of God.” –Matthew 5:19 Mass Readings: March 7 First: Deuteronomy 4:1,5-9; Resp: Psalm 147:12-13,15-16,19-20; Gospel: Matthew 5:17-19 Listen to the Mass Readings Many years ago, I told my little daughter to pick up the mess on her bedroom floor. An hour later, I checked her room. “Daddy, daddy!” she exclaimed. “I cleaned my floor as you told me. And look, I also made my bed and dusted my shelf and cleaned my desk!” My daughter kept my command and far exceeded it because of her desire to please...

“My heavenly Father will treat you in exactly the same way unless each of you forgives his brother from his heart.” –Matthew 18:35 Mass Readings: March 6 First: Daniel 3:25,34-43; Resp: Psalm 25:4-9; Gospel: Matthew 18:21-35 Listen to the Mass Readings “To err is human, to forgive divine.” This saying of Alexander Pope expresses the heart of the Gospel. We must forgive, but only God has the power to forgive. Therefore, we are desperately in need of God’s grace to forgive. The Lord often gives us the grace to forgive others by reminding us of how much He has forgiven...

“Go and wash seven times.” –2 Kings 5:10 Mass Readings: March 5 First: 2 Kings 5:1-15; Resp: Psalm 42:2-3; 43:3-4; Gospel: Luke 4:24-30 Listen to the Mass Readings Elisha told Naaman to wash seven times to be healed. Likewise, the Church has seven sacraments she offers for us to be healed. Naaman considered the waters of the Jordan River to be ordinary (2 Kgs 5:12). Some Catholics likewise may consider the sacraments ordinary. Yet the sacraments are based on the miraculous. Yes, the sacraments use ordinary materials – bread, water, oil, wine, laying on of hands, human words, and so...