Tagged: Prayers in English

“Far better for us to be the slaves of the Egyptians than to die in the desert.” —Exodus 14:12 If we are willing to give up our freedom to get something or prevent something, Satan, who specializes in enslaving us (see Heb 2:15), will probably oblige us. If we and our freedom can be bought, he will “buy us out” of freedom. If we can be intimidated and manipulated, Satan, who enslaves through fear, will be willing to play the games by which we surrender our freedom. Consequently, to prevent Satan from robbing us of our freedom, we must accept...

“Even now I find my joy in the suffering I endure for you. In my own flesh I fill up what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ for the sake of His body, the Church.” —Colossians 1:24 Before we become committed to the Lord, we naturally choose to live a life of maximum pleasure and minimum pain. Because true love often entails pain, the life of maximum pleasure and minimum pain amounts to a life of maximum selfishness and minimum love. If we repent, choose love, and totally commit our lives to the Lord, we choose a life of...

“Here is My Servant Whom I have chosen, My loved One in Whom I delight. I will endow Him with My Spirit.” —Matthew 12:18 Jesus has always been a “Sign of contradiction” (Lk 2:34, our transl). Some people respond to the contradiction by trying to destroy Him and His Church (see Mt 12:14-15), while others follow Him and are healed. Jesus is the greatest Healer of all times. However, He wants to be known not primarily as a healer but as crucified Love (see 1 Jn 4:8, 16). Jesus is the Lord of lords and the King of kings (see...

“Although Moses and Aaron performed these various wonders in Pharaoh’s presence, the Lord made Pharaoh obstinate, and he would not let the Israelites leave his land.” —Exodus 11:10 After hundreds of years of slavery and nine plagues, the Israelites were immediately freed from slavery by the last plague culminating in the Passover. The Passover was the grandest finale of God’s most awesome works to that point in time. The Mass is the new Passover (see Lk 22:15). At the end of Jesus’ astounding public ministry, just before He was arrested and crucified, Jesus had the Last Supper, the first Mass....

“If they ask me, ‘What is His name?’ what am I to tell them?” —Exodus 3:13 Moses asked God to reveal His name. Several hundred years after making Abraham the father of the nation of Israel, the Lord told His chosen people His name. God said that His name was “I AM WHO AM” (Ex 3:14). God called Himself the supreme, eternal Being Who is the Cause of all being. God’s name is extremely mysterious and holy. Well over a millennium later, Jesus, the Son of God, told us how to address God. We were no longer to think of...