Tagged: Prayers in English

“They shall look on Him.” –John 19:37 I’m looking at a picture of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Behind Jesus is a cloudy sky and some trees. The Sacred Heart occupies perhaps two percent of the area of the picture. Yet when I first look at the picture, all I see is His heart with so much love radiating from it. As I gaze more closely, I am captivated by Jesus, His outstretched, nail-scarred hands, and His inviting pose. Eventually I notice the background, which occupies over half of the picture’s area. Because the background is crafted so skillfully, it...

“Try hard to make yourself worthy of God’s approval, a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, following a straight course in preaching the truth.” –2 Timothy 2:15 A more exact translation of the end of the above verse is “rightly dividing the word of truth.” This means that we must interpret and teach God’s Word accurately. Without orthodox teaching, the faith of some people is upset (see 2 Tm 2:18), and we may even fall into “the devil’s trap” (2 Tm 2:26). Without orthodox teaching, whole families are upset (Ti 1:11), and many will be lured away from...

“When people rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage but live like angels.” –Mark 12:25 In heaven, there will be no marriage. Heaven will be better than the best marriage. We will live like the angels. In heaven, we will see Jesus face to face (1 Cor 13:12; Rv 22:4). “We shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is” (1 Jn 3:2). Heaven is perfectly symmetrical and beautiful (Rv 21:16-21). It is full of light (Rv 21:23; 22:5) and life (Rv 22:2). “Nothing deserving a curse shall be found there. The...

“Grow rather in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Glory be to Him now and to the day of eternity! Amen.” –2 Peter 3:18 The Lord wants us all to become like Him and grow in age, wisdom, and grace (Lk 2:52). He orchestrates our lives so that we will be “complete in Christ” (Col 1:28), “grow to the full maturity of Christ the Head” (Eph 4:15), and “form that perfect man who is Christ come to full stature” (Eph 4:13). To grow, we must: eat the spiritual food of the Eucharist (Jn 6:55)...

“You who have fled a world corrupted by lust might become sharers of the divine nature.” –2 Peter 1:4 When we give our lives to Jesus, we flee a world corrupted by lust – lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes (1 Jn 2:16, RSV-CE), sexual lust, and lusts for money (Eph 5:5; Col 3:5), power, pleasure, etc. Though our lusts are strong, we are nevertheless unhappy when we give in to them, for they tend to make us like animals, to dehumanize us. If we are even slightly honest, we must admit that our lusts motivate us to...