Tagged: Prayer Intention

THE WORLD READS YOUR HEART

“Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts.” —1 Peter 3:15, RNAB Moments after I heard the above passage from the second reading proclaimed at Mass, the priest announced the Gospel reading, and everyone traced the sign of the cross on their hearts, as well as their foreheads and lips. Everyone at Mass was asking the Lord to sanctify their hearts to receive the Gospel and act upon it. When we have a sanctified heart to enthrone Christ as Lord (1 Pt 3:15), our lives cannot help but reflect the joy of the Lord regardless of our life’s circumstances. We will...

PENTECOST PROMISES AND EASTER COMMANDS

“Through all this, the congregations grew stronger in faith and daily increased in numbers.” —Acts 16:5 Could you say that through this Easter season that “the congregations grew stronger in faith and daily increased in numbers”? If we don’t see Jesus adding daily to the Church’s number (Acts 2:47), it’s not that His promises are not true but that we are not receiving them. Jesus said: “I — once I am lifted up from earth — will draw all men to Myself” (Jn 12:32). Jesus has been lifted up in His death, Resurrection, and Ascension; therefore, we should see people...

THE GOD OF LIFESTYLE

“It is the decision of the Holy Spirit, and ours too, not to lay on you any burden beyond that which is strictly necessary.” —Acts 15:28 The elders of the church of Jerusalem and the Holy Spirit decided Gentile Christians did not need to be circumcised, but rather had to change their lifestyle, “namely, to abstain from meat sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals, and from illicit sexual union” (Acts 15:29). Meat sacrificed to idols was a major item in the marketplace. Therefore, to abstain from this was, in part, an economic decision. The Gentiles...

GOD IS PEACE (EPH 2:14)

” ‘Peace’ is My farewell to you, My peace is My gift to you.” —John 14:27 Peace is what Jesus left us in His last will and testament. Because of this, peace has a special significance for those who love Jesus. Peace is the binding force which unifies the Church, marriages, and families (Eph 4:3). Peace is the guard of our hearts and minds (Phil 4:7). Without peace, we will be subject to heart-failure and mind-games. Without peace, our God-given relationships begin to unravel and society begins to disintegrate. Zeal to propagate the Gospel of peace is our footgear and...

THE KNOW-IT-ALL

“The Paraclete, the Holy Spirit Whom the Father will send in My name, will instruct you in everything, and remind you of all that I told you.” —John 14:26 Eternal life is to know God the Father and Jesus (Jn 17:3). Because love requires freedom and freedom requires some knowledge, knowledge is necessary to love. Therefore, we are created both to know and to love God. We can “perish for want of knowledge” (Hos 4:6). Because knowing is so important for life and love, teaching is extremely important in God’s plan. Although God the Father (see Jn 6:44-45) and Jesus...