Tagged: message of the day

“Bind him hand and foot and throw him out into the night to wail and grind his teeth.” —Matthew 22:13 We can hear the word “hell” used frequently in the workplace, on TV and radio, in all types of popular music, at the ball games — everywhere, it seems, except in church, the one place where we most need to be repeatedly taught and warned about the reality of hell, the “state of definitive self-exclusion from communion with God” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1033). Not enough people in our society have a healthy fear of ending up in hell....

m of heaven. Instead of spending our lives worrying about paying the bills, we focus on allowing God to provide for our genuine needs while we are occupied with doing His will and leading people into a new life in Christ. God knows everything we need before we ask Him (Mt 6:32). He is not stingy, but exceedingly generous. He is just, and though He demands that we bear fruit for His kingdom, He will not fail to provide for and bless those who spend their lives working for His sake (see Heb 6:10). Therefore, set your mind on heaven,...

Jeremiah ” ‘ought to be put to death,’ the princes said to the king; ‘he demoralizes the soldiers who are left in this city, and all the people, by speaking such things to them.’ ” —Jeremiah 38:4 The Lord commands us to speak the truth in love (Eph 4:15). If we fail to try to dissuade others from their wicked conduct, God holds us responsible for their deaths (Ez 3:18). We must be men and women of the truth. However, in a world of lies, the truth and those who speak it are rejected. For example, Jeremiah spoke the truth...

“I drew them with human cords, with bands of love; I fostered them like one who raises an infant to his cheeks.” —Hosea 11:4 The Lord has made human beings in such a way that we experience love by being bonded to one another through sensory experiences. Therefore, the Lord has promised to draw us to Himself by such experiences as touching, feeding, and healing us (Hos 11:4). The Lord fulfilled His promise by becoming a human being. John proclaimed: “This is what we proclaim to you: what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen...