“Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” – 1 Corinthians 3:16 The second part of this statement might be shocking to you: God the Father sent Jesus to save us and prepare The Way (John 14:6) to heaven for us; He sent the Holy Spirit to dwell inside us and become a piece of heaven here on Earth. We who are baptized…
“The souls of the just are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them…they are in peace.” – Wisdom 3:1 I write this reflection with a heavy heart for several of my friends who have experienced losses recently. Please know that you are with me in my prayers and heart as I write. This Sunday, we commemorate All Souls Day and pray for all the faithful departed. One thing (of many!) I am…
“The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself, ‘O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity…’” – Luke 18:11 The Pharisee in Sunday’s Gospel reading (Luke 18:9-14) “despised everyone else.” His pride caused him to exalt himself to Christ’s judgment seat, making himself the judge of what is righteous. Notice that he “spoke this prayer to himself.” He offered the prayer to himself and addressed…
“Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones who call out to him day and night? Will he be slow to answer them?” – Luke 18:7 I once heard an explanation of a false idea of prayer as an ATM machine. This analogy really stuck with me. We don’t walk up to God, go through a snappy prayer routine, and then wait for the answered prayers to magically appear, like a neat…
“As they were going [the lepers] were cleansed. And one of them, realizing he had been healed, returned, glorifying God in a loud voice; and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him.” – Luke 17:14-15 One of the results of Original Sin is that each and every person is in need of healing in some way, be it physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual. Some theologians call Original Sin the “Original Wound.” St.…
“The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith.’” – Luke 17:5 What causes you to have faith in God? Not someone else, but you personally. Take a moment to call to mind a few “reasons for your hope” (1 Peter 3:15). Perhaps certain people or experiences came to mind? Especially times of encounter with the Lord through the sacraments, prayer, and Scripture reading. Give thanks and praise to God for the ways that He…
“There was a rich man who dressed in purple garments and fine linen and dined sumptuously each day. And lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores…” – Luke 16:19-20 Recall the parable of Lazarus and the rich man (Luke 16: 19-31) from our Gospel passage this Sunday. Lazarus sat at the rich man’s door begging. The rich man had to step over poor Lazarus each day when he came and…
“Praise, you servants of the LORD, praise the name of the LORD.” – Psalm 113:1 This week, let’s focus on the Responsorial Psalm. Specifically for this Sunday, let’s focus on the exhortation in Psalm 113 to praise God. There are many Psalms that urge the faithful to praise God, but why, and just how can we do that in our daily lives? The Catechism teaches: “Praise is the form of prayer which recognizes most immediately…
“…so must the Son of Man be lifted up.” – John 3:14 What does it mean to exalt the cross of Christ? In one sense, it means that we lift it up in honor because it is a “sign of salvation” for us (Wisdom 16:6). We cherish it because it is the altar of Christ’s sacrifice of Himself for us (see Hebrews 10:11 and 13:10). It’s interesting to think about the action of lifting or…
Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. – Luke 14:27 Imagine you are standing in front of Jesus with your arms and hands full of items. You could think of them as your earthly possessions and relationships. Jesus has a cross in His hands. It looks somewhat different than His cross. As you look more closely, you realize that it is your cross. He holds it out…