Tagged: message of the day

“Joseph…an upright man…” –Matthew 1:19 St. Joseph would have likely heard today’s first reading and psalm response at some point in his life. Perhaps he had even committed them to memory. Little did he suspect when he initially heard these passages proclaimed that he one day would be raising and rearing the King prophesied in these readings. Yet Joseph surely imitated and emulated the qualities attributed to this King, for the Gospel describes Joseph as a righteous man (Mt 1:19). In his home and in his personal life, Joseph lived this kingly righteousness and modeled it for his wife, Mary,...

“A family record of Jesus Christ…” –Matthew 1:1 Wait! Don’t skip the genealogy! Because we love the Lord, we can’t wait to learn more about Him. Here are a few things God reveals about Himself in St. Matthew’s genealogy: Jesus Christ is “truly God and truly man,” God made man (see Catechism of the Catholic Church, 467-468, 470). Jesus is God, the Messiah, born of a virgin (Mt 1:16, 18). Family comes first — these are the first verses of the New Testament, and God can’t wait to introduce His family. God works through people — lots of them. God...

“For then will I remove from your midst the proud braggarts, and you shall no longer exalt yourself on My holy mountain.” –Zephaniah 3:11 The Lord calls us to repent of pride, self-exaltation, and arrogance, and become “a people humble and lowly” (Zep 3:12). Pride can disqualify us from Christmas. Through humility, however, we can fit into the manger scene at Bethlehem with the lowly handmaid Mary, the poor Joseph, and the simple shepherds. In our society, arrogance has almost reached new heights, if that were possible. Some people are so prideful they deny the truth of God’s Word, as...

“For then will I remove from your midst the proud braggarts, and you shall no longer exalt yourself on My holy mountain.” –Zephaniah 3:11 The Lord calls us to repent of pride, self-exaltation, and arrogance, and become “a people humble and lowly” (Zep 3:12). Pride can disqualify us from Christmas. Through humility, however, we can fit into the manger scene at Bethlehem with the lowly handmaid Mary, the poor Joseph, and the simple shepherds. In our society, arrogance has almost reached new heights, if that were possible. Some people are so prideful they deny the truth of God’s Word, as...

“We do not know.” –Matthew 21:27 Balaam called himself the man who “knows what the Most High knows” (Nm 24:4, 16). He was so highly regarded for his ability as a fortune-teller that nations sent large delegations of dignitaries with large amounts of money to obtain his services (Nm 22:6-7, 15). Yet this man who “sees what the Almighty sees” (Nm 24:16) couldn’t even get the picture when his donkey began to talk to him! (Nm 22:28ff) He had to admit that he “did not know that” God opposed His greedy plot against Israel (Nm 22:34). The Jewish religious leaders...