“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…
“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…
And behold I am sending the promise of my Father upon you; but stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high. – Luke 24:49 Have you ever prayed with sacred art before? Visio divina is the practice of “divine seeing.” We practice lectio divina, or “divine reading,” when we slowly read and prayerfully meditate on sacred Scripture. In the same way, we can encounter Jesus by prayerfully reflecting on sacred…
Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him. – John 14:23 Where does God live? (I’ll give you a hint: there’s more than one answer to this.) One answer is that He lives in heaven where He is the light and temple of the City of God: “I saw no temple in the city for its temple is…
When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together. And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. –Acts 2:1-3 Pentecost is the birthday of the Church! “For it was from the side of Christ…
So then the Lord Jesus, after he spoke to them, was taken up into heaven and took his seat at the right hand of God. But they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word through accompanying signs. Mark 16:19-20 Have you ever wondered what it would have been like if Jesus had not left the Apostles and ascended into heaven? What if He would have stayed with…
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. – John 3:16 Surely this is a Bible verse to commit to memory if ever there was one. But why is this verse so famous? I believe it’s because it reveals some very important truths in one succinct sentence. It tells us why Jesus came to us and…
“You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind…You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” – Matthew 22:37-39 Love is a gift from God, who is Love itself (1 John 4:8). The Catechism teaches, “‘God is Love’ and love is his first gift, containing all others” (CCC 733). Love pours forth from God the Father and the Son, and the result is the gift…
And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age. (Matthew 28:20) This weekend we celebrate the Ascension of the Lord. Jesus told the apostles that he would be with them always just before He left them. How is it possible for Him to be both sitting at God’s right hand (Ephesians 1:20) and with us here on earth? How can he remain Emmanuel, “God with us” (Matthew 1:23) after His ascension?…
…when I open your graves and have you rise from them, O my people! I will put my spirit in you that you may live…- Ezekiel 37:13-14 Imagine a tropical island getaway. Everything there has been arranged for you. All you have to do is get there. But there’s a catch: you have to get there completely on your own. No planes, trains, or automobiles; no boats or helicopters. Just you and your own power.…