Tagged: message of the day

It was night – John 13:30

In today’s Gospel, Satan enters Judas — and “it was night…the triumph of darkness” (Jn 13:30; Lk 22:53). “Men loved darkness rather than light” (Jn 3:19). It wasn’t one bad day that caused Satan to enter Judas at the most holy environment of the Last Supper. Judas deteriorated little by little. It was the daily decisions to seek the power and lures of the kingdom of darkness rather than seeking the kingdom of God. How ironic that on the very week that he should have most been seeking Jesus, Judas was instead constantly on the lookout for an opportunity to...

CLEARLY AND COMPLETELY IN LOVE

“Mary brought a pound of costly perfume made from genuine aromatic nard, with which she anointed Jesus’ feet. Then she dried His feet with her hair.” —John 12:3 The Lord gives us the command and the privilege to love Him with all our hearts, minds, souls, and strength (Lk 10:27). David prayed: “For You my flesh pines and my soul thirsts,” and “My soul clings fast to You,” and “Your kindness is a greater good than life” (Ps 63:2, 9, 4). Another psalmist prayed to the Lord: “When I am with You, the earth delights me not” (Ps 73:25). Pope...

ROCKY ROAD

“The Master needs them.” —Matthew 21:3 Before Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, the donkeys cooperated when Jesus had need of them (Mt 21:3). The palm branches waved in praise of Jesus and lay prostrate before Him (Mt 21:8). Even the rocks were poised and ready to worship Jesus (Lk 19:40). Most of creation was in step with the Son of God as His ministry reached its culmination in Jerusalem. While the asses were ready when Jesus needed them, Judas wasn’t. He was too busy looking for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to His opponents (Lk 22:6). The rocks were ready...

HOLY PEACE

“I will make with them a covenant of peace; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them.” —Ezekiel 37:26 To the Jewish nation which had been destroyed in war and whose leaders were in exile, the Lord promised an everlasting covenant of peace. This promise was ultimately fulfilled in Jesus, “Who is our Peace” (Eph 2:14), and Who left us the gift of peace in His last will and testament (Jn 14:27). Moreover, Jesus, “the God of peace” (Rm 16:20; 1 Thes 5:23; Heb 13:20), made His disciples peacemakers (Mt 5:9). We receive Jesus’ gift of peace and make peace...

WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO JESUS?

They “again reached for rocks to stone Him.” —John 10:31 Wednesday in the daily Scripture readings we heard Jesus say: “You are trying to kill Me” (Jn 8:37). Yesterday we heard: “They picked up rocks to throw at Jesus, but He hid Himself and slipped out of the temple precincts” (Jn 8:59). Today we hear: “The Jews again reached for rocks to stone Him” (Jn 10:31) and “They again tried to arrest Him” (Jn 10:39). Tomorrow we hear from Caiaphas, the high priest, ” ‘You have no understanding whatever! Can you not see that it is better for you to...