Tagged: Daily Reflections

Jesus “told them a parable on the necessity of praying always and not losing heart.” —Luke 18:1 A necessity is something that we must have or do. Otherwise, we will suffer dire consequences, even death. For example, food is a necessity. If we don’t have it, we die. Jesus teaches that it is a necessity not only to pray but to pray always (Lk 18:1; 1 Thes 5:17). Otherwise, we will suffer dire consequences. How can we pray always and thereby not put our lives in jeopardy? The Spirit “helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how...

“It was much the same in the days of Lot; they ate and drank, they bought and sold, they built and planted. But on the day Lot left Sodom, fire and brimstone rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. It will be like that on the day the Son of Man is revealed.” —Luke 17:28-30 Jesus’ second coming and the end of the world through fire is certain. However, the exact time of these events is uncertain. Jesus said that no one knows the day or the hour (Mk 13:32; Mt 25:13). Nonetheless, Jesus has revealed to us in...

Wisdom “is an aura of the might of God and a pure effusion of the glory of the Almighty.” —Wisdom 7:25 When you were confirmed in the Holy Spirit, the bishop or his delegate prayed for you to receive the gift of wisdom (see Is 11:2). As Confirmation is vitally important, so the confirmational gift of wisdom is very important. Wisdom is “the refulgence of eternal light, the spotless mirror of the power of God, the image of His goodness” (Wis 7:26). Wisdom “produces friends of God and prophets” (Wis 7:27). Wisdom “is fairer than the sun and surpasses every...

“He threw himself on his face at the feet of Jesus and spoke His praises.” —Luke 17:16 We start off in life thanking others in order to be polite. Then we thank others, even God, in order to be just. We say such things as: “At least you can say ‘Thanks.’ ” Then the Lord calls us to thank God by faith rather than by sight (2 Cor 5:7) — to thank God when we don’t see a reason to thank Him. Then the Lord calls us to live lives of such profound and constant thanksgiving that our thanksgiving is...

“They are in peace.” —Wisdom 3:3 After their deaths, the souls of some people “are in the hand of God” (Wis 3:1). These people are “the just” (Wis 3:1), “those who trust” in the Lord (Wis 3:9), “the faithful” (Wis 3:9), the “holy ones” (Wis 3:9), and the “elect” (Wis 3:9). To be just is to avoid sin and to repair the devastating effects of sin. This is, of course, impossible except in Jesus, our Justice (see Jer 23:6; 1 Cor 1:30). To trust in the Lord means to trust the Lord completely, to love Him with all our hearts...