Tagged: verse for the day

“Many nations shall join themselves to the Lord on that day.” –Zechariah 2:15 Pope St. Paul VI called Mary the “star of evangelization.” Immediately after conceiving, Mary took Jesus, the baby in her womb, to Elizabeth (Lk 1:39-41). Elizabeth “was filled with the Holy Spirit” (Lk 1:41) and John rejoiced in the Lord. Throughout history, Mary has done whatever her Son has told her (see Jn 2:5) and made disciples of all nations (Mt 28:19). Probably her most fruitful evangelization took place from 1531 to 1538 at the hill of Tepeyac, near what is now called Mexico City. During those...

“If you would hearken to My commandments…your vindication [would be] like the waves of the sea.” –Isaiah 48:18 Jesus is coming soon, and He plans to set things right for “the just” (Ps 1:6), for those who put their trust in Him. We Christians take up our daily cross (Lk 9:23) and give up many things the world embraces. This makes us look foolish in the eyes of the world. We who are just need to be vindicated, proven right to those who denounce us. When Jesus comes, heaven will announce to us: “Here is your God, He comes with...

“They who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles.” –Isaiah 40:31, RSV-CE Advent is a time of waiting. We wait through the longest nights of the year for the light of dawn. Children wait to open their presents on Christmas day. Christians wait for their family and friends to accept Jesus and celebrate their first real Christmas. There are two kinds of waiting: waiting that makes us nervous and emotionally drained, or waiting that renews our strength. If we wait against our will as victims of circumstances, we become frustrated. If...

“God chose us in Him before the world began, to be holy and blameless in His sight.” —Ephesians 1:4 Jesus has definitively and irreversibly defeated the devil by His death and Resurrection. All that’s left is to put Jesus’ enemies at His feet (Heb 10:13). Jesus’ victory over sin and over Satan is available to all of Jesus’ followers. We can resist all Satan’s temptations (Jas 4:7). All this is true, but we have trouble believing that we can have Jesus’ victory in our lives, because we repeatedly fall into sin and are defeated. In our weakness and sin, Mary...

“Who is this Man Who utters blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” –Luke 5:21 Jesus always has forgiveness on His mind. The roof literally falls in, but Jesus responds: “My friend, your sins are forgiven you” (Lk 5:20). A man lay before Him paralyzed and Jesus says: “The Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins” (Lk 5:24). The apostles ask Jesus to teach them to pray, and Jesus replies: “Forgive us the wrong we have done as we forgive those who wrong us” (Mt 6:12). Even while hanging on the cross, among His last words...