Tagged: word of god

LIP BALM

“Now that this has touched your lips, your wickedness is removed, your sin purged.” –Isaiah 6:7 A seraph touched Isaiah’s lips with a hot ember from the heavenly altar (Is 6:6). The seraph said: “Now that this has touched your lips, your wickedness is removed, your sin purged” (Is 6:7). Something from heaven touched Isaiah’s lips, and his lips were then opened to speak the prophetic Word of God. How blessed we are, for something sent from heaven touches our lips also: the Eucharist, the body of Christ (Jn 6:32-33; Catechism, 1402). Like Isaiah’s ember, the Eucharist touches our lips,...

RE-TREED

“I have humbled him, but I will prosper him.” –Hosea 14:9 God calls us “oaks of justice, planted by the Lord to show His glory” (Is 61:3). However, if we sin and refuse to repent, “the Lord, the Lord of hosts, lops off the boughs with terrible violence; the tall of stature are felled, and the lofty ones brought low; the forest thickets are felled” (Is 10:33-34). Nevertheless, we can eventually accept the grace to repent, then we will “strike root like the Lebanon cedar, and put forth” our shoots (Hos 14:6). We will produce many leaves (Hos 14:8) and...

THE ECOLOGY OF MISSION

“As you go…” –Matthew 10:7 We all are missionaries by virtue of our Baptisms. It is extremely important for each of us to accomplish our missions for the Lord. To do this, we must know and respect the ecology of mission. Our missions are ones of healings, miracles, and deliverances (Mt 10:8). These acts of God’s power, however, are not to be isolated from proclaiming the kingdom of God (Mt 10:7). Moreover, we will not have the power of mission if we have not chosen the poverty of mission (Mt 10:9-10). Also, we won’t be able to reach the world...

Prayer and Fasting

Prayer and fasting is defined as voluntarily going without food in order to focus on prayer and fellowship with God. It is when these two activities are combined and dedicated to God’s glory that they reach their full effectiveness. Having a dedicated time of prayer and fasting is not a way of manipulating God into doing what you desire. Rather, it is simply forcing yourself to focus and rely on God for the strength, provision,and wisdom you need. Moses fasted during the 40 days and 40 nights he was on Mount Sinai receiving the law from God (Exodus 34:28). King...

Whatever is happening is for the good

Once, a man started meditating for the God. The God appeared before him and said, “Ask for any boon that you desire.” The man said, “Oh Lord, the fear of death is scaring me always. Kindly make me immortal.” The God said, “Granted.” The man now became immortal. But, he became old after few years. As he became very old, he suffered from many diseases. Nonetheless, he did not die. His wife, friends, brothers all died. He started suffering out of this and prayed to the God again. The God appeared again. But the man was still obsessed of his...