Category: Daily Reflections

OPENBEFORE CHRISTMAS!

Jesus “summoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority to expel unclean spirits and to cure sickness and disease of every kind.” –Matthew 10:1 Many people are interested in what they are going to get for Christmas, but we should also be very excited about what we are getting before Christmas. Sometimes what we receive before Christmas is a prerequisite for receiving what the Lord wants to give us for Christmas. Sometimes one of our before-Christmas presents is a healing, which often leads to receiving another Christmas present. The Lord promised to bind up “the wounds of His people” and...

THE CONCEPTION OF HIS INCARNATION

“The angel Gabriel was sent from God…to a virgin…The virgin’s name was Mary.” –Luke 1:26, 27 Mass Readings: December 8 First: Genesis 3:9-15,20;Resp: Psalm 98:1-4;Second: Ephesians 1:3-6,11-12;Gospel: Luke 1:26-38 Listen to the Mass Readings About four billion people today do not believe that Jesus is God; they see Him as only a man. This heresy, Arianism, has been common for centuries. The fact that the virgin Mary conceived Jesus without sexual relations intimates that Jesus was not just a man but God, “Son of the Most High” (Lk 1:32), “Son of God” (Lk 1:35). Other people do not believe Jesus...

OBEY OR FALL

“When the rainy season set in, the torrents came and the winds blew and buffeted his house. It did not collapse; it had been solidly set on rock.” –Matthew 7:25 Mass Readings: December 7 First: Isaiah 26:1-6;Resp: Psalm 118:1,8-9,19-21,25-27;Gospel: Matthew 7:21,24-27 Listen to the Mass Readings Will your life stand when the rain, floods, and winds hit? Will you be faithful to the Lord even if you have to suffer terrible persecution? Will you love the Lord till your dying day, or will you be another Judas? If you are alive during the mass apostasy (see 2 Thes 2:3), will...

DO YOU BELIEVE IN CHRISTMAS?

“This is the Lord for Whom we looked; let us rejoice and be glad that He has saved us!” –Isaiah 25:9 Mass Readings: December 6 First: Isaiah 25:6-10; Resp: Psalm 23:1-6; Gospel: Matthew 15:29-37 Listen to the Mass Readings Christmas is not merely a memory or symbol. It is a real coming of Jesus Christ. We know Jesus has already come and is present everywhere, but we also believe He will come again to us this Christmas. How will we know when He comes? Will we see Him? Many people have had visions of Jesus (e.g. Acts 9:3ff; 18:9; Rv...

SEEING AS GOD SEES (SEE NM 24:4)

“Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb…” –Isaiah 11:6 Half of the animals mentioned in today’s first eucharistic reading are predators: the wolf, leopard, lion, bear, cobra, and adder. The other half mentioned are prey: lamb, kid, calf, cow, and baby. The nature and instinct of a predator is to eat the prey. A predator would need an entirely new nature in order to resist eating prey so near at hand. On God’s holy mountain, in His kingdom, a new order is in place. “There shall be no harm or ruin on all My holy mountain” (Is...