Tagged: Daily Reflections

“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...

“What can I do with you, Ephraim? What can I do with you, Judah?” –Hosea 6:4 The Israelite worshippers sang a hymn which expressed their confidence that God would respond favorably to their offerings and sacrifices: “He will heal us…He will bind our wounds…He will raise us up, to live in His presence…as certain as the dawn is His coming” (Hos 6:1-3). Jesus painted a similar picture in today’s Gospel reading. The Pharisee offered sacrifices of tithes, fasting, and a life of holy deeds (Lk 18:11-12). Just as his ancestors did, he prayed confidently to God, offering another splendid sacrifice...

“You shall conceive and bear a Son and give Him the name Jesus. Great will be His dignity and He will be called Son of the Most High.” –Luke 1:31-32 Today we remember the astonishing fact that God became a baby — a tiny human being attached to the wall of a teenage girl’s uterus. The almighty, infinite God became human flesh smaller than your fingernail. No one ever imagined it or prayed for it. God’s Incarnation was so astounding that to the present day we don’t know what to think of it. Why would He do such a thing?...

“When someone stronger than he comes and overpowers him, such a one carries off the arms on which he was relying and divides the spoils.” –Luke 11:22 Lent is the imitation of Jesus’ forty days in the desert where He overcame the temptations of Satan and cast him out (Mt 4:3-11). We should not only imitate Jesus in resisting temptation but also in driving Satan out. Furthermore, we should disarm and despoil Satan (Lk 11:22) and bring down his strongholds (2 Cor 10:4), especially through use of the weapons of prayer and fasting (Mt 17:21, NAB; Gospel of Life, 100)....