He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him. Mark 1:27 There are many accounts in Mark’s Gospel where demons or unclean spirits obey Jesus. Mark 3:11 tells us that “whenever unclean spirits saw him they would fall down before him and shout, ‘You are the Son of God.’” Chapter 5 shows Jesus commanding the many demons called “Legion” out of the Gerasene Demoniac (Mark 5:1-20). As we travel through Mark in this year’s…
Jesus said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Then they abandoned their nets and followed him. – Mark 1:17-18 Has God ever come along and changed everything in your life? Maybe it was a decision that caused you to move away from your home to take a new job in a new city. Or perhaps a family member needed your help, and you had to rearrange your life…
“Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.” -Psalm 40:8-9 The Psalm often gives us a hint at the “theme” of the readings during Mass. It is usually sung or simply chanted and allows us to meditate on the theme by engaging our bodies and hearts in a different way. When we sing sacred music, we use our body, mind, and spirit together to praise God. The Psalm should focus our hearts and…
“They were overjoyed at seeing the star.” – Matthew 2:10 What does it mean to be “overjoyed?” It strikes me that in the King James translation when the magi saw the start they were so filled with joy that St. Matthew emphasized it twice: “they rejoiced with exceeding great joy” (KJV). The Greek words used here are chairo (rejoice) and chara (joy). To rejoice means to feel or show great joy or delight. Interestingly, another…
“Look to the Lord in his strength; constantly seek his face.” – Psalm 105:4 I love the simplicity of the Nativity scene. Each person in the scene is directed toward Jesus in the manger. Everyone surrounds and looks lovingly at the Christ child. The One the entire universe was created through made manifest in a tiny baby: All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be” (John 1:3). Today we…
“And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth.” – John 1:14 God is so amazing. He will not be outdone in faithfulness or generosity. We’ve been praying this Advent for God to come to us: “Come, Lord Jesus!” He always fills our true needs, and He often does that in surprising ways. Think about…
“My soul rejoices in my God.” – Isaiah 61:10 Spotless Mary, conceived without sin, pray for me that I might have a heart like yours, one that seeks to magnify the Lord. Pray that I may have a joyful heart that rejoices in God and praises His name above all others, especially above my own name. May I always seek to glorify Him and not myself. Pray for me that my heart may be grateful…
“People…were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they acknowledged their sins.” – Mark 1:5 Advent is a time of preparation and penance to help us prepare our hearts for Christmas. One of our parish priests said recently that lighting the candles on our Advent wreaths reminds us that “Christmas is near, not here.” It’s so easy to want to rush the Christmas festivities. But our Church,…
“You, Lord, are our father, our redeemer you are named forever.” – Isaiah 63:16 Happy Advent! I love this time of year, a time of quiet, watchful waiting. It’s a beautiful time to focus on and pray for God to fill us with the Advent virtues of hope, peace, joy, and love. Then when Christmas comes, we are like an overflowing reservoir that spills these fruits of the Holy Spirit out to those we encounter,…
“And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of the least brothers of mine, you did for me.’” – Matthew 25:40 Happy feast of Christ the King! This week, I want to walk you through some imaginative prayer with Sunday’s Gospel passage on the Great Judgement, Matthew 25:31-46. First, take some time to prayerfully read the passage, focusing your attention on Jesus’ words; try…