Tagged: verse for the day

“I issued orders that [Paul] be kept in custody until I could send him to the emperor.” —Acts 25:21 Mass Readings: June 2 First: Acts 25:13-21; Resp: Psalm 103:1-2,11-12,19-20; Gospel: John 21:15-19 Listen to the Mass Readings The goal of Acts of the Apostles is that the Gospel message reach to the ends of the earth. Acts considers Rome, the capital of the Roman Empire, to be “the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). The last seven chapters of Acts record a series of extremely messy events which led St. Paul to Rome. In order for the Gospel to reach...

“I pray that they may be [one] in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.” —John 17:21 Mass Readings: June 1 First: Acts 22:30; 23:6-11; Resp: Psalm 16:1-2,5,7-11;Gospel: John 17:20-26 Listen to the Mass Readings God created man and woman to be one flesh, crafting a supernatural unity (Gn 2:24). Adam and Eve sinned against God, and with their fallen nature, humanity has inherited a tendency to fracture into disunity. Before long, mankind was so wicked (Gn 6:5) that God wiped them out in the flood (Gn 7:23). So God started over again with Noah’s family, and...

“Thereupon Mary set out, proceeding in haste into the hill country to a town of Judah, where she entered Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth.” –Luke 1:39-40 Mass Readings: May 31 First: Zephaniah 3:14-18;Resp: Isaiah 12:2-6;Gospel: Luke 1:39-56 Listen to the Mass Readings All Christians are not only to receive Pentecost but also to give Pentecost to others. At the first Christian Pentecost, one-hundred and twenty disciples of Christ (Acts 1:15) received the Holy Spirit at 9 AM. Then they gave the Holy Spirit to almost three-thousand people before the day ended (Acts 2:41). We too must let the Holy Spirit...

“The Holy Spirit has been warning me from city to city that chains and hardships await me. I put no value on my life if only I can finish my race.” –Acts 20:23-24 Mass Readings: May 30 First: Acts 20:17-27; Resp: Psalm 68:10-11,20-21; Gospel: John 17:1-11 Listen to the Mass Readings The Holy Spirit, being God, is paradoxical. The Holy Spirit gives us light to see what we’ve never seen before. We can see into the future, receive insights about the past, and recognize in the present great opportunities, which we have never noticed before. At the same time, our...

“They answered, ‘We have not so much as heard that there is a Holy Spirit.’ ” –Acts 19:2 Mass Readings: May 29 First: Acts 19:1-8; Resp: Psalm 68:2-7; Gospel: John 16:29-33 Listen to the Mass Readings The Ephesian believers talked and acted in such a way that Paul questioned whether they had the Holy Spirit. In response to Paul’s question, the Ephesians said they had never heard of the Holy Spirit. Paul then found out they had only received the baptism of John. Paul proceeded to tell them about Jesus and baptize them. Then, “as Paul laid his hands on...