Tagged: message of the day

“For our sakes God made Him Who did not know sin, to be sin, so that in Him we might become the very holiness of God.” –2 Corinthians 5:21 St. Luke is the only Evangelist who includes the parable of the prodigal son. He was also the only Gentile Christian to author a Gospel. Most of us reading this reflection are also gentile (non-Jewish) Christians; possibly we feel a special connection to this Gospel. Sadly, we assuredly relate to this parable as representative of many dysfunctional families in our midst. “The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give...

“Your piety is like a morning cloud, like the dew that early passes away.” –Hosea 6:4 “Faith is the substance of things hoped for” (Heb 11:1, our transl). The Lord wants our relationship with Him to be substantial, not superficial. He wants our relationship with Him to be like a rock and not like dew or the mist of a morning cloud (see Hos 6:4). To forge a relationship with Him solid enough to withstand the trials of life, the inevitable persecutions of life in Christ, and the challenging immediacy of death, the Lord in His mercy sends prophets to...

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.” –Mark 12:30 Christianity is not merely about loving God. Before Christ came to earth, many people loved God. Millions of non-Christians throughout the world love God now. Christianity is unlike any other religion, however, because it is about loving God as He is. Only Christians know and believe that God is our Father (Abba), that God is Love (1 Jn 4:8, 16), and that God is Trinity: three Persons in one God. Because in Christ we...

“Oh, that today you would hear His voice…” –Psalm 95:7 In today’s first reading, God shares a point of view with many people who are disgruntled with religion. God is dissatisfied with the behavior of His people. He is disturbed by what He sees when He looks at those who were supposed to be faithful to His call. In fact, He is angry with His people, and His anger bursts forth through the prophet Jeremiah: “Faithfulness has disappeared; the word itself is banished from their speech” (Jer 7:28). To this point, numerous people would agree completely with God: “Yes, the...

“Not the smallest letter of the law, not the smallest part of a letter, shall be done away with until it all comes true.” –Matthew 5:18 During Lent, we imitate Jesus in the desert when He overcame the temptations of the devil. Satan tempts us not only to rebel totally and defiantly against the Lord but also to “cut corners” and mildly modify God’s commands. Jesus, however, challenges us: “I assure you: until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter of the law, not the smallest part of a letter, shall be done away with until it all...