Tagged: word of god

“Why, O Lord, should Your wrath blaze up against Your own people?” –Exodus 32:11 After the Israelites sinned by adoring the golden calf, the Lord gave Moses the impression that the people belonged to Moses, not Him (Ex 32:7). Moses implored the Lord and referred to the people as belonging to the Lord (Ex 32:11). The prodigal son felt that he no longer belonged in his father’s family after what he had done (Lk 15:18, 21). His older brother agreed with him (see Lk 15:30). However, the prodigal son’s father would hear none of this. He spoke of the prodigal...

“Each man speaks from his heart’s abundance.” –Luke 6:45 Mass Readings: September 10 First: 1 Corinthians 10:14-22;Resp: Psalm 116:12-13,17-18;Gospel: Luke 6:43-49 The next time you encounter someone who is in love, pay close attention to what they say. What do they talk about? They talk incessantly about the person they love. He tells all his friends about how wonderful she is. She says that he’s always on her heart. They are speaking from their heart’s abundance (Lk 6:45), and their hearts are abundantly full of love for each other. Now, think about what you say. How often do you speak...

“You will see clearly enough to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” –Luke 6:42 Mass Readings: September 9 First: 1 Corinthians 9:16-19,22-27; Resp: Psalm 84:3-6,12; Gospel: Luke 6:39-42 Jesus has commissioned us to remove the specks from other people’s eyes. The sins of other people are our concern because we love these people enough to try to keep them from destroying themselves through sin. However, we are not ready to work on others’ eyes until we have first let the Lord deal with our own spiritual blindness due to sin (Lk 6:42). Blind eye surgeons do much more harm...

“Then, raising His eyes to His disciples, [Jesus] said: ‘Blest are you poor; the reign of God is yours.’ ” –Luke 6:20 Mass Readings: September 7 First: 1 Corinthians 7:25-31; Resp: Psalm 45:11-17; Gospel: Luke 6:20-26 Because “the Beatitudes are at the heart of Jesus’ preaching” (Catechism, 1716), they are extremely important and therefore are vehemently opposed by the devil. Because the Beatitudes are “paradoxical promises” (1717), which “confront us with decisive choices concerning earthly goods” (1728), we naturally resist living the Beatitudes. Because the world, the flesh, and the devil hate the Beatitudes, they put extreme pressure on us...