Tagged: verse for the day

“Ask for a sign from the Lord, your God.” —Isaiah 7:11 Throughout this Lenten season, the Lord promises abundant, resurrected, eternal life. Do we believe Him? Will we let the Holy Spirit of Easter and Pentecost come upon us? (Lk 1:35) Will we let the power of the Most High overshadow us? (Lk 1:35) Will we say with Mary, “I am the servant of the Lord. Let it be done to me as you say”? (Lk 1:38) We need a sign to strengthen our faith. Gabriel announced the sign to Mary that Elizabeth in her old age had conceived a...

“They shall be watered by the flow from the sanctuary.” —Ezekiel 47:12 The fruit trees growing along the river in Ezekiel’s vision represent us as disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ and as sons and daughters of the Church. We are to be disciples who offer the food of the Word of God and the medicine of the healing of God to a hurting world, which desperately needs the Good News of salvation and liberation in Jesus Christ. The trees in Ezekiel’s vision are life-giving and healing because they are watered “by the flow from the sanctuary,” the Church (Ez...

“At nightfall, weeping enters in, but with the dawn, rejoicing.” —Psalm 30:6 Yesterday was Laetare Sunday, meaning Rejoice Sunday. We are rejoicing because we are getting close to Easter, the celebration of the risen Christ, and a deepening of our relationship with Him. Today, the Church calls us to hear: “There shall always be rejoicing and happiness in what I create; for I create Jerusalem to be a joy and its people to be a delight; I will rejoice in Jerusalem and exult in My people” (Is 65:18-19). The Lord promises us that we will have everlasting joy, be a...

“Some of the Pharisees around Him picked this up, saying, ‘You are not calling us blind, are You?’ ” —John 9:40 Jesus told the Pharisees they were blind. He called them blind guides and blind fools (Mt 23:16, 17, 24, 26). He called the apostles blind when He exclaimed: “Are your minds completely blinded? Have you eyes but no sight?” (Mk 8:17-18) Jesus called the whole church of Laodicea blind (Rv 3:17). Jesus may be calling us spiritually blind right now. How will we take Jesus’ diagnosis of our condition? Will we become defensive, or will we thank Jesus for...

“Everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled while he who humbles himself shall be exalted.” —Luke 18:14 The Pharisee’s prayer was not pleasing to the Lord because he was not humble. One sign of lacking humility is to compare ourselves with others. “The Pharisee with head unbowed prayed in this fashion: ‘I give You thanks, O God, that I am not like the rest of men — grasping, crooked, adulterous — or even like this tax collector’ ” (Lk 18:11). It is obvious that to put others down to make ourselves look better is a comparison steeped in pride. However,...