What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race; the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. – John 1:3-5 Merry Christmas! During Advent, we prayed for Jesus, the Light, to come to brighten our world. We prayed to receive the Advent gifts of hope, peace, joy, and love. But we didn’t pray for these for ourselves alone. We prayed to…
“All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’” – Matthew 1:23 Love–caritas in Latin–is the fourth gift we focus on during Advent. Another word for love is charity. “Charity is the theological virtue by which we love God above all things for his own sake, and our neighbor…
Happy Gaudete Sunday! Gaudete means “rejoice” in Latin. We rejoice this week because Jesus is coming soon. We will celebrate that Jesus, the Life (John 14:6), came to us through the Blessed Virgin Mary. We rejoice and thank Mary for her “yes”–her fiat. We rejoice and give thanks to God the Father for giving us the gift of His Son (cf John 3:16). We rejoice in Christ, the Light (John 14:6) who is coming into…
Justice shall flower in his days, and profound peace, till the moon be no more.- Psalm 72:7 During the first week of Advent we focused on the gift of hope, which is connected in a deep way to this week’s gift: peace–pax in Latin. St. Paul taught that God is the true source of our peace: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound…
O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord!- Isaiah 2:5 Advent is a beautiful time of silence, patience, and prayer. We prepare for Christ, the Light (John 8:12), to come to us in the darkness. We prepare for the fullness of life–zoe in Greek–that Jesus, the Life (John 14:6) offers us: “I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). We light the…
“Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”- Luke 23:42 For me, this Bible verse sums up what it means to be a disciple in the Kingdom of Christ: “Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts” (1 Peter 3:15). This reminds me that Jesus is the Lord of my heart; He reigns there as King. Our solemnity this Sunday is Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. If I want Jesus to be…
By your perseverance you will secure your lives. – Luke 21:19 As I read the scripture readings for this Sunday, I noticed a common theme: persevering through grace in times of adversity. In the first reading, those who fear the Lord must endure God’s just judgment that will come “blazing like an oven” for those who are proud and do evil (Malachi 3:19). St. Paul worked “in toil and drudgery, night and day” while building…
…and they are the children of God because they are the ones who will rise. – Luke 20:36 Being a child of God means that we shall live forever with Him. Those of us who have been baptized have the power to become God’s children (John 1:12). The Lord promised that His children shall have eternal life: “those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age and to the resurrection of the dead…are…
“Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone I shall repay it four times over.” – Luke 19:8 When I read the story of Zacchaeus, I see a model of the stewardship way of life. Zacchaeus was a man who had been conducting his life according to the world, not according to God’s law. He had been cheating people for selfish profit because the…
O God, be merciful to me a sinner. – Luke 18:13 It can be difficult for me to admit my wrongdoings. It’s not easy to look at myself with honesty to see my true faults. In truth, I can only do this peacefully by seeing myself as a beloved child of God, no matter what my sins have been. This Sunday’s Gospel passage shows us a model for what admitting our sinfulness means. First off,…