Tagged: verse of the day

“The man who loves his life loses it.” –John 12:25 St. Lawrence is the patron of bountiful giving. It is said that he gave the Church’s treasures to the poor. Lawrence sowed bountifully and cheerfully. Now he reaps the bountiful harvest of transformed lives even centuries after his death (see 2 Cor 9:6). Lawrence not only gave possessions to the Lord; he gave his life for Him by cheerfully suffering martyrdom by fire. He was like a grain of wheat which falls to the earth, dies, and produces much fruit (Jn 12:24). Lawrence’s life and death show that God wants...

“Eat this scroll, then go, speak to the house of Israel.” –Ezekiel 3:1 Before we can speak God’s Word in power, we must hear, accept, and digest His Word so completely that it becomes part of us. We must eat the scroll of God’s Word (Ez 3:2; Rv 10:9). Then we will become letters “written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh in the heart” (2 Cor 3:3). As we become walking tabernacles by receiving Holy Communion, so we become walking Bibles when we eat the...

“It has pleased your Father to give you the kingdom.” –Luke 12:32 Jesus has revealed to us that our future will be a terrible, just punishment forever or perfect love and happiness forever. This revelation is mind-boggling (to put it mildly). We have no experience of “forever,” and the possibility of everlasting punishment is overwhelming. Under these circumstances, many people “shut down,” “freeze up,” and become spiritually paralyzed. They try to forget about eternity, the very goal of this earthly life. Before Jesus revealed His final coming, Judgment Day, and the afterlife, He commanded us: “Do not live in fear,...

“His face changed in appearance.” –Luke 9:29 Isaiah prophesied of the Messiah, the Suffering Servant: “Even as many were amazed at Him – so marred was His look beyond that of man, and His appearance beyond that of mortals” (Is 52:14). Isaiah’s prophecy was fulfilled in Jesus’ crucifixion and death. How could the severely altered face of the crucified Jesus be the face of God? Jesus “was transfigured before their eyes and His clothes became dazzlingly white – whiter than the work of any bleacher could make them” (Mk 9:2-3). At the Transfiguration, Jesus’ face was no longer emptied (see...