Tagged: verse for the day

HELP ME, MOTHER

“Blest is she who trusted that the Lord’s words to her would be fulfilled.” –Luke 1:45 Mass Readings: December 12 First: Zechariah 2:14-17; Resp: Judith 13:18-19; Gospel: Luke 1:26-38 Listen to the Mass Readings If we would just obey God’s commandments, Christmas would be fantastic, our prosperity like a river, and our vindication like the waves of the sea (Is 48:18). Our descendants would be as numerous as the grains of sand and our name never cut off (Is 48:19). There’d be no stopping us. The Lord says: “If only My people would hear Me, and Israel walk in My...

WHAT IS JESUS THINKING?

“Sitting close by were Pharisees and teachers of the law who had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem.” –Luke 5:17 Mass Readings: December 11 First: Isaiah 35:1-10; Resp: Psalm 85:9-14; Gospel: Luke 5:17-26 Listen to the Mass Readings Jesus was surrounded by a large number of religious leaders and Bible scholars. It was something like a convocation of priests or a symposium of professors. In the midst of this august assembly, the roof was partly dismantled, and a man on a stretcher was lowered through the hole. Jesus said to the paralyzed man: “My friend,...

TENDER, COMFORTING LOVE

“Comfort, give comfort to My people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem.” –Isaiah 40:1-2 Mass Readings: December 10 First: Isaiah 40:1-5,9-11;Resp: Psalm 85:9-14; Second: 2 Peter 3:8-14; Gospel: Mark 1:1-8 Listen to the Mass Readings This Christmas, the Lord wants us to have a special “encounter” with Him (seeChurch in America, 3). He wants our relationship with Him to be greater than any other love in our life. He will make our relationship with Him so deep, personal, and intimate that He will be a Source of comfort for us even in our worst sufferings (see Is 40:1-2; Ps...

THE CONCEPTION OF HIS INCARNATION

“The angel Gabriel was sent from God…to a virgin…The virgin’s name was Mary.” –Luke 1:26, 27 Mass Readings: December 8 First: Genesis 3:9-15,20;Resp: Psalm 98:1-4;Second: Ephesians 1:3-6,11-12;Gospel: Luke 1:26-38 Listen to the Mass Readings About four billion people today do not believe that Jesus is God; they see Him as only a man. This heresy, Arianism, has been common for centuries. The fact that the virgin Mary conceived Jesus without sexual relations intimates that Jesus was not just a man but God, “Son of the Most High” (Lk 1:32), “Son of God” (Lk 1:35). Other people do not believe Jesus...

OBEY OR FALL

“When the rainy season set in, the torrents came and the winds blew and buffeted his house. It did not collapse; it had been solidly set on rock.” –Matthew 7:25 Mass Readings: December 7 First: Isaiah 26:1-6;Resp: Psalm 118:1,8-9,19-21,25-27;Gospel: Matthew 7:21,24-27 Listen to the Mass Readings Will your life stand when the rain, floods, and winds hit? Will you be faithful to the Lord even if you have to suffer terrible persecution? Will you love the Lord till your dying day, or will you be another Judas? If you are alive during the mass apostasy (see 2 Thes 2:3), will...