Tagged: message of the day

“The reason was that He taught with authority and not like their scribes.” —Matthew 7:29 The religious leaders of Jesus’ day did not teach with authority as He did. They informed, educated, and enlightened people, but they didn’t always expect the people to respond and obey. Jesus did. He warned us not to give lip-service to God’s Word and nullify the commandments (Mt 15:3-8). Jesus said that if we didn’t hear His words and put them into practice, our lives would collapse (Mt 7:26-27). He clearly expected us to be doers of the Word (Jas 1:22). He taught with authority,...

“I will make your reward very great.” —Genesis 15:1 God had asked Abram to leave his homeland at age seventy-five and follow Him to an unknown land. Abram did as God asked. After he had spent “some time” in that land (Gn 15:1), God unexpectedly promised him a great reward (Gn 15:1). The Lord often speaks of the rewards of obedient faith: “Do not, then, surrender your confidence; it will have great reward” (Heb 10:35). “Look out that you…do not lose what you have worked for; you must receive your reward in full” (2 Jn 8). “God is not unjust;...

“How narrow is the gate that leads to life, how rough the road, and how few there are who find it!” —Matthew 7:14 The homilist at this morning’s Mass gave a vivid example from his childhood of following the narrow way. In his youth, his scout troop was holding a skills contest. One of the skills involved riding a bicycle along a straight and thin line. To succeed in the contest, the bicyclist had to keep his wheels on the line. When he focused on keeping the bike’s wheels on the line, his wheels invariably strayed off in one direction...

“The Lord called me from birth, from my mother’s womb He gave me my name.” —Isaiah 49:1 Scientists talk about the genetic code which determines the physiological characteristics a pre-born baby will manifest. The child in the womb will possess the physical traits programmed into the DNA of the fetal cells. Christians refer to the lifelong calling of God made known not only to the child in the womb (Is 49:1; Ps 139:13-15), but even before the earth was formed (Eph 1:4-5). St. John the Baptizer was “filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother’s womb” (Lk 1:15). While still...

“The Lord Jesus on the night in which He was betrayed took bread, and after He had given thanks, broke it and said, ‘This is My body, which is for you.’ ” —1 Corinthians 11:23-24 At the Last Supper, Jesus first gave us His Body and Blood on the night He was betrayed. This was a harbinger of Masses to come. Jesus’ greatest gift, the gift of His own Body and Blood, is often rejected when we refuse to believe in the Eucharist or when we have attitudes of selfishness at Mass. How heartbreaking to Jesus when He sees us...