Tagged: message of the day

“Prayer of this kind is good, and God our Savior is pleased with it, for He wants all men to be saved.” —1 Timothy 2:3-4 Jesus died on the cross so that all would be saved from sin, death, and damnation. We are saved by His grace, which we must decide to accept by faith (Eph 2:8) and live in love with all our hearts (see Lk 10:27). The decisions to accept God’s saving graces are the most important decisions of our lives. However, these decisions are extremely difficult to make, for we are strongly pressured by the world, the...

“There is but one body and one spirit.” —Ephesians 4:4 St. Matthew left his old life completely behind and began a new, totally different, life in Jesus. He died to his old life, and in his new life, Matthew lived, not for himself, but for Christ, Who died for him and loved him (see Gal 2:19-20). Christian marriage is to be like this. A man and woman leave their old life completely behind. In their new, married life, the husband and wife live not for themselves, but for their spouse (see 1 Cor 7:4). In effect, each spouse says to...

“For when he dies, he shall take none of it; his wealth shall not follow him down.” —Psalm 49:18 According to Sirach in the Old Testament, “life’s prime needs are water, bread, and clothing, a house, too, for decent privacy” (Sir 29:21). The New Testament may indicate that the basic needs of human beings have been reduced by Jesus’ coming (see Lk 9:58), for “if we have food and clothing we have all that we need” (1 Tm 6:8). Basic needs, according to the Bible, are very different from what most people today call basic needs. Today, in industrialized countries,...

“God’s wisdom is vindicated by all who accept it.” —Luke 7:35 In our secular humanistic society, some people promote tolerance to the point of permissiveness. To do this, they must contradict themselves and be intolerant of those believing in objective, absolute truth, who in charity must oppose permissiveness. So secular humanists have problems with our statement that Jesus is the only Savior (see Acts 4:12) and the only Way to the Father (see Jn 14:6). Secular humanists get nervous when we say that not all religions are the same and that the Church is “the pillar and bulwark of truth”...

“God has visited His people.” —Luke 7:16 In yesterday’s Gospel reading, Jesus healed by responding to the centurion’s request made in faith. In today’s Gospel, Jesus takes the initiative to heal. No one requested healing from Him; no one seemed aware of His presence until He stepped forward to raise the dead man (Lk 7:12ff). It is Jesus’ nature to heal, to take initiative, to visit His people. The people of Naim spoke rightly when they said that “God has visited His people” (Lk 7:16). The Son of God came down from heaven to earth to bless, heal, deliver, and...