Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? – 1 Corinthians 15:55 The stone blocks the light, deathly dark in the cave. But death cannot hold Him, the Author of all. Angels unbind Him, the Resurrection and Life. Now the stone that once hid Him rolls away that new day! From decay in the tomb to the garden of joy. The stench of the grave meets the fragrant sweet breeze. His…
“Before the feast of Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to pass from this world to the Father. He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end.” – John 13:1 At the heart of our faith is something astonishing: Jesus stepped into our place of human weakness, sin, and death so that we can step into His place of strength, righteousness, and life. On the night before he…
“And Jesus wept.” – John 11:35 Those of us who have “the gift of tears” might actually view them as the “curse of tears.” It can be embarrassing to have to keep tissues close and apologize for wearing your heart on your sleeve. But if you have this gift, or know someone who does, I want to help you truly see it as a gift from God instead of something to be ashamed of. First…
“…it is so that the works of God might be made visible through him.” – John 9:3 Each of us have stories of our own suffering. Sometimes we bring these sufferings on by our own actions, but many times the sufferings we endure are the effects of sin by others and simply the fallen nature of the world (see CCC 324). The Good News is that none of our sufferings ever have to go to…
Last week we focused on the Transfiguration of Jesus pointing us to His Resurrection. This week, Sunday’s Gospel passage of the woman at the well (John 4:5-42) points us toward Pentecost and the coming of the Holy Spirit. The woman and Jesus are both thirsty for something earthly and something spiritual. She is thirsting for physical water and subconsciously, for love. (Check out some key Old Testament stories of a man meeting his future bride…
“He saved us and called us to a holy life…” – 2 Timothy 1:9 This second week of Lent, we travel up Mt. Tabor with Peter, James, and John and witness Jesus’ Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-9). This miraculous manifestation of the Holy Trinity seems like a strange detour during Lent. Shouldn’t we be sitting somewhere covered in sackcloth and ashes (Jonah 3:5-6)? Instead, we find ourselves on a mountaintop surrounded by Jesus, Moses, and Elijah, the…
“Restore to me the gladness of your salvation; uphold me with a willing spirit.” – Psalm 51:14 Psalm 51 is one of my favorites. Also known as the Miserere, it is a central penitential prayer in the Liturgy of the Hours. It’s a touchstone we can come back to again and again when we have sinned, when we feel the weight of our transgressions and those of the world in which we live. It’s one…
It’s Valentine’s Day weekend, so let’s talk about true love! Jesus requires His disciples to be full of His truth and love. Our Responsorial Psalm this Sunday begins: “Blessed are they whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord” (Psalm 119:1). Our “Way,” Jesus, is indeed blameless. We are called to become like Him in all things. Jesus is “the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6) and love…
“Jesus said to his disciples: ‘You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.’” – Matthew 5:13 Ask any cook and they’ll tell you that a little salt makes almost everything taste better. Just a pinch will bring out the flavor of whatever you are cooking. It’s an almost invisible…
“Seek the Lord, all you humble of the earth, who have observed his law; seek justice, seek humility.” – Zephaniah 2:3 St. Augustine said, “We all want to live happily.” He’s right, of course. Who doesn’t want to be happy? God has placed the desire for happiness in each and every human heart (cf CCC 1725). The Catechism teaches that the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-12) “shed light on the actions and attitudes characteristic of the Christian…