Tagged: message of the day

Stay Close to the Shepherd

“Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and Your staff protect and comfort me.” Psalm 23:4 Scripture never tries to hide the dark shadows of life-not even death. This Scripture verse describes how God is always with us, even in the valley of shadow of death. Therefore we should fear no evil because God is with us. From time to time we should recall the moments in our lives where God was with us in the valley. Stay close to Him because He will always be...

CROWDED CONDITIONS

Jesus “put the question to them, ‘Who do the crowds say that I am?’ ” –Luke 9:18 Mass Readings: September 23 First: Galatians 2:19-20; Resp: Psalm 16:1-2,5-8,11; Gospel: Matthew 16:24-27 Before Jesus asked His disciples: “Who do you say that I am?” (Lk 9:20), He asked: “Who do the crowds say that I am?” (Lk 9:18) Jesus did this to show we must separate ourselves from the crowd if we are to truly acknowledge Him as the Messiah, Lord, and God (see Lk 9:20). Crowd-pleasers aren’t God-pleasers. Jesus is not popular; He is a “sign of contradiction” (Lk 2:34 our...

THE MISERY OF MONEY, POWER, AND SEX

“Vanity of vanities!” –Ecclesiastes 1:2 Mass Readings: September 22 First: Ecclesiastes 1:2-11; Resp: Psalm 90:3-6,12-14,17; Gospel: Luke 9:7-9 The book of Ecclesiastes is traditionally attributed to Solomon because its author, Qoheleth, is identified as David’s son (Eccl 1:1). This association makes the message of Ecclesiastes more poignant. Qoheleth, or possibly Solomon, announced that everything is vanity, work and money are useless (Eccl 1:3), “there is nothing man can say” (Eccl 1:8), and all our entertainments are empty (Eccl 1:8). This is quite a statement for anyone to make, but it’s even more significant coming from the mouth of the wisest,...

A TRAITOR CONVERTS!

“Jesus saw a man named Matthew at his post where taxes were collected.” –Matthew 9:9 Mass Readings: September 21 First: Ephesians 4:1-7,11-13; Resp: Psalm 19:2-5; Gospel: Matthew 9:9-13 Matthew was a tax collector. To a Jew, this was one of the most despicable jobs possible (see Mt 18:17). Tax collectors usually perpetrated violence and injustice against the poor. Worse than that, however, they sold out to the enemy, the Romans. Moreover, their association with the Romans made them unclean. Thus, tax collectors gave up their participation in the Jewish community and its worship. Because of all this, a good Jew...

PRIVILEGED POSITION

“No one lights a lamp and puts it under a bushel basket or under a bed; he puts it on a lampstand so that whoever comes in can see it.” –Luke 8:16 Mass Readings: September 19 First: Proverbs 3:27-34;Resp: Psalm 15:2-5;Gospel: Luke 8:16-18; Jesus commanded us to put His light on the lampstand and proclaim the gospel to the whole world (Lk 8:16). He also said His Word would get out to people even if we failed to proclaim it. “There is nothing hidden that will not be exposed, nothing concealed that will not be known and brought to light”...