Category: Daily Reflections

“They are no longer two but one flesh.” –Mark 10:8 The Catholic Church has suffered heavy losses through the scandalous sexual sins of a few priests. These priests were ordained in the sacrament of Holy Orders to be a sign of God’s love for His people. Instead, the sign the world reads through the sins of these priests is that the Church is no longer trustworthy. Catholic married couples are also a sacrament, through the Sacrament of Matrimony, an outward sign of God’s love for the world. God so loved the world that He created us male and female (Gn...

“Thus the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his earlier ones.” –Job 42:12 Job is known for his patience, but he should be better known for his hope. If your ten children died in one day, would you have hope? (see Jb 1:19) If you went bankrupt on the same day, would you let God give you the virtue of hope? (see Jb 1:14ff) If you were diseased and racked with pain, would you be hopeful? (see Jb 2:7) Some of us would be like Job’s wife and “curse God and die” (Jb 2:9). However, Job, with...

“He who hears you, hears Me. He who rejects you, rejects Me. And he who rejects Me, rejects Him Who sent me.” –Luke 10:16 Every Christian is called to be a missionary, that is, to bring the gospel of Jesus Christ to an unbelieving world. Some missionaries travel around the world, but most stay in one particular city. If we’re called to stay in one city, our task is to bring the kingdom of God to that city. One day Jesus looked out over the city of Jerusalem and began to mourn and lament. “How often have I wanted to...

“The harvest is rich but the workers are few; therefore ask the Harvest-Master to send workers to His harvest.” –Luke 10:2 Job was one of the Lord’s most faithful workers. The Lord permitted Satan to take away almost all of Job’s riches, kill his ten children, and give Job a life-threatening, painful disease (Jb 1:12ff). Even if the Lord later gave Job twice as much as he had lost (Jb 42:10), no wonder the Lord’s workers are few! (Lk 10:2) The Lord sends out His workers “as lambs in the midst of wolves” (Lk 10:3). He tells them to take...

“Why, O Lord, do You reject me; why hide from me Your face?” –Psalm 88:15 It’s doubtful that Jesus would be hired as a personnel director for a Fortune 500 company. Imagine the lawsuits that would occur if a company employee gave such brusque and seemingly insulting replies to a potential applicant as Jesus does in today’s Gospel passage! Unfortunately, it’s also unlikely that Jesus, despite the fact that He is Head of the Church (Eph 1:22), would be approved as a parish personnel director today. It’s hard to find good help in our church ministries. When we finally get...