Tagged: verse for the day

“The Lord used to speak to Moses face-to-face.” –Exodus 33:11 What an indescribable picture! Almighty God and a human being speak face-to-face and Moses does not die (cf Ex 24:11; 33:20; Is 6:5). Even more amazing is that God has invited each person to have that kind of access to Himself (Eph 2:18). Each of us can also have a face-to-face encounter with the Lord, particularly in Eucharistic Adoration. In addition, at each Mass, we can gaze on the consecrated host, the Body and Blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. God speaks...

“It does not sound like cries of victory, nor does it sound like cries of defeat; the sounds that I hear are cries of revelry.” –Exodus 32:18 Moses was so angry, he smashed the tablets of the ten commandments by throwing them down at the base of the mountain. He was mad not because the chosen people were defeated in battle but defeated without battle. We too can lose because we’re too apathetic to fight. We try to skip the battle not because we’re “peace lovers” but “fun lovers.” We forget about winning because of our sinning. When we fight...

“How can I set this before a hundred men?” –2 Kings 4:43 Many times, what we have to offer seems so inadequate. We may only have a couple free hours a week. So how can we renew the Church? We may be confined to home. Our main contact with people is by phone. Under these circumstances, how can we make disciples of all nations? (Mt 28:19) We have five dollars to give, but the church needs $100,000 to shelter the homeless. What good is five dollars? We often find ourselves in the same situation as Jesus when He found Himself...

“This is the blood of the covenant which the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words of His.” –Exodus 24:8 Moses came down from Mt. Sinai with the Ten Commandments and the Law. When he related to the people “all the words and ordinances of the Lord, they all answered with one voice, ‘We will do everything that the Lord has told us’ ” (Ex 24:3). After having written down the Law, Moses reconvened the people the next day. He built an altar and sacrificed holocausts (Ex 24:4-5). Half of the blood from the sacrificed animals...

“The evil one approaches him to steal away what was sown in his mind.” –Matthew 13:19 How much of God’s Word have you heard over the years at home, in church and school, through reading and teaching? How much of God’s Word do you know and live? The difference in the answer to these two questions shows us how much of the Word the evil one has robbed from us. Many of us have been exposed to God’s Word for years but have little to show for it. The devil has literally robbed us blind. We don’t even report it...