Tagged: Prayers in English

“We are not among those who draw back and perish, but among those who have faith and live.” –Hebrews 10:39 Mass Readings: January 27 First: Hebrews 10:32-39;Resp: Psalm 37:3-6,23-24,39-40;Gospel: Mark 4:26-34 We must live by faith to be pleasing to God (Heb 10:38; see also Heb 11:6). We are saved by grace through faith (Eph 2:8). “All depends on faith” (Rm 4:16). Faith in God is “confident assurance” (Heb 11:1) resulting from a good personal relationship with God. All relationships need to be constantly nourished. Therefore, faith needs to be fed. Faith is fed by the Word of God. “Not...

“I yearn to see you again. That would make my happiness complete.” –2 Timothy 1:4 Mass Readings: January 26 First: 2 Timothy 1:1-8; Resp: Psalm 96:1-3,7-8,10; Gospel: Luke 10:1-9 St. Paul loved Sts.Timothy and Titus as brothers in the Lord. He prayed for them “constantly, night and day” (2 Tm 1:3). Timothy loved Paul so much that he cried when they parted (2 Tm 1:4). When Paul “was under all kinds of stress,” he was strengthened just by “the arrival of Titus” (2 Cor 7:5-6). He so depended on Titus that he did not preach in Troas because he did...

“By this ‘will,’ we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” –Hebrews 10:10 Mass Readings: January 24 First: Hebrews 10:1-10; Resp: Psalm 40:2,4,7-8,10-11; Gospel: Mark 3:31-35 God has graciously revealed Himself to us through creation, history (especially the Exodus), the Jewish people, the Law, the prophets, Wisdom literature, the covenants, the priesthood, the Davidic dynasty, etc. Nevertheless, “in times past, God spoke in fragmentary and varied ways” (Heb 1:1). “In this, the final age, He has spoken to us through His Son” (Heb 1:2). Jesus is the eternal, incarnate, and final Word....

“Now He has appeared at the end of the ages to take away sins once for all by His sacrifice.” –Hebrews 9:26 Jesus’ “death has taken place for deliverance from transgressions” (Heb 9:15). “Christ was offered up once to take away the sins of many” (Heb 9:28). “You can depend on this as worthy of full acceptance: that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Tm 1:15). The essence of Jesus’ mission is to save sinners. Today, it has become unfashionable to talk about sin. We, who call ourselves believers, don’t want to put people on a...