Tagged: verse for the day

“The reign of God is at hand!” –Matthew 10:7 St. John the Baptizer prefigured Christ’s coming by preaching: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Mt 3:2, RSV-CE). Then Jesus preached: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Mt 4:17, RSV-CE). Finally, Jesus sent out His Church, including us, to “preach as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand’ ” (Mt 10:7, RSV-CE). Our job and privilege in life is to communicate that: God offers us a new system of government: a monarchy; Jesus is the King of this kingdom. We must seek...

“When they sow the wind, they shall reap the whirlwind.” –Hosea 8:7 If we sow the wind, we will reap the whirlwind. We reap tornadoes, which bring destruction and chaos. Sowing the wind means blowing where we will (cf Jn 3:8), doing our own thing. If we act by our own authority and without God’s approval, we will destroy ourselves (Hos 8:4). If we try to save our lives by taking charge of them and controlling them, we lose them (Lk 9:24-25) and destroy ourselves. If we give up doing our own thing and lose our lives to doing God’s...

“Your faith has restored you to health.” –Matthew 9:22 Both healings in today’s Gospel passage display an astounding boldness. Both Jairus and the woman with the hemorrhage thought big; they believed big. Jairus asked Jesus to raise his daughter from the dead (Mt 9:18). The woman believed that merely touching Jesus, without bothering Him by engaging Him in conversation, would bring her healing (Mt 9:21). Jesus was evidently pleased at their bold, expectant faith. To the woman, Jesus said: “Your faith has restored you to health” (Mt 9:22). Jairus said: “My daughter has just died. Please come and lay Your...

“Henceforth, let no man trouble me, for I bear the brand marks of Jesus in my body.” —Galatians 6:17 Jesus died for our sins. If we had not sinned, there would have been no need for Jesus’ sacrificial death on Calvary in atonement for our sins. In other words, when we commit sexual sin, gossip, eat too much, refuse to evangelize, or don’t forgive, we are directly involved in Jesus’ passion and death (see Catechism of the Catholic Church, 598). All Christians accept the fact that our sins and Jesus’ death are related, but for many this is only an...