Though young men faint and grow weary, and youths stagger and fall, they that hope in the LORD will renew their strength, they will soar as with eagles’ wings; they will run and not grow weary, walk and not grow faint. ~ Is 40:30-31 . Reflection: Which view would Isaiah call us to...
Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. ~ Mt 7:24 . Reflection: St. Nicholas, the real Santa Claus, gave to the needy and children. Do you believe that we carry on for...
For the sake of my brothers and friends I say, 'Peace be with you.' ~ Psalms 122:8 . Reflection: Jesus often greeted His disciples with the saying, "Peace be with you"; however, Jesus would have spoken to His disciples in Hebrew saying, "Shalom". Shalom is a wish for an...
...realizing he had been healed, [he] returned, glorifying God in a loud voice; and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked Him. "Stand up and go; your faith has saved you." ~ Lk 17:15-16, 19 . Reflection: Happy Thanksgiving! The Samaritan's faith led him to...
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied. Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be...
When day came, He called His disciples to Himself, and from them He chose Twelve, whom He also named apostles. ~ Lk 6:13 Reflection: Discipleship focuses on actively following in the footsteps of Jesus by putting our faith into action. As disciples of Christ, we share in...
These are the ones who have survived the time of great distress; they have washed their robes and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb. ~ Rv 7:14 . Reflection: Anybody think maybe we are in the time of great distress right now? Revelation doesn't...
If God is for us, who can be against us? ~ Rom 8:31 . Reflection: Over the last 34 years of my own pro-life commitment, I have been reminded over and over of this when I question. Is what I'm doing really making any difference? Why not just...
Do you not know that if you present yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? ~ Rom 6:16 . Reflection: This verse struck me hard. Every...
Present yourselves to God as raised from the dead to life and the parts of your bodies to God as weapons for righteousness. For sin is not to have any power over you, since you are not under the law but under grace. ~ Rom...
Challenge: First Wednesday! Wear your "REMEMBER The Unborn - Jer 1:5" jersey sometime today as a public witness in unity with our 6,127 LIFE Runner teammates around the world, All In Christ for Pro-Life! Post photos with #RememberTheUnborn and share at liferunners.org/photos. . With the Lord there...
Oh that today you would hear His voice, do not harden your hearts. ~ Ps 95:7-8 . Reflection: This reminds me of all the years I hardened my heart to the truth about abortion. But God's Law is written on our hearts, and the seeds of...
She stood at his feet weeping and began to bathe His feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them, and anointed them with the ointment. When the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this he said to himself, 'If this man...
O Lord God, what good will your gifts be, if I keep on being childless. ~ Gen 15:2 . Reflection: Today's image is an initial human cell (zygote) at conception, somebody's first baby photo! While studying embryology at the 2011 Vita Institute, I was taken by how the zygote...
And he said, 'Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place.' ~ Lk 4:24 . Reflection: We are always searching for the incredible, for something outside of ourselves. In today’s verse, the Galileans were blind to see that one of their...
But Ruth said, "Do not ask me to abandon or forsake you! For wherever you go, I will go, wherever you lodge I will lodge, your people shall be my people, and your God my God." ~ Ru 1:16 . Reflection: This verse from Ruth is a favorite...
But that we may not offend them, go to the sea, drop in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up. Open its mouth and you will find a coin worth twice the temple tax. Give that to them for me and for...
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. ~ Mt 16:25 . Reflection: We are all called to lay down our entire lives for the salvation of souls and the Glory of God. We who...
A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and in his own house. ~ Mt. 13:57 . Reflection: In Baptism we began a life of supernatural participation in the life of Jesus - and with it, His role of prophet. Sometimes we fare well when...
She had a sister named Mary who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak. ~ Lk 10:39 .. Reflection: I can really relate to Martha in the Gospel today, because of my really strong work ethic. Sometimes I find myself so focused at the...
The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many. ~ Mt 20:28 . Reflection: When the mother of James and John asked that Jesus sit them at his left and right sides in his...
Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves. ~ Mt 10:16 . Reflection: This passage is well-known among Christians and it represents solid guidance to help us navigate the modern world in which we...
The more you sow, the more you reap. ~ 2 Cor 9:6 . Reflections: Putting oneself in the service of the Gospel is the charge that Christ gives all the baptized. This is especially true in regard to our responsibility for the protection of human life. Because every...
Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but underneath are ravenous wolves. ~ Mt 7:15 . Reflection: In this age of the culture of death, women in a crisis pregnancy situation are lured by the “false prophets” who come to them in sheep’s...
Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. ~ Eph 6:13 . Reflection: It’s no secret that we live in a world that is drowning in sin and the hearts...
He began to teach them. ~ Mt 5:2 . Reflection: Each of the Beatitudes begins with the word "blessed", which can be interpreted to mean "happy". In the Beatitudes, Jesus promises happiness and blessedness. The media today uses our desires for happiness to lure us into materialism and...
As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up, knelt down before him, and asked him, 'Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?' ~ Mk 10:17 . Reflection: The majority of the U.S. is against abortion. So why then is abortion legal? It may...
They are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, no human being must separate. ~ Mk 10:8-9 . Reflection: In a very real sense, the culture of death has only been able to arise because the culture of love – of marital...
Those who love your law have great peace, and for them there is no stumbling block. ~ Ps 119:165 . Reflection: We live in an age when most people in the Western world embrace moral relativism. Along with the denial of universal moral truths comes the denial of...
As you have sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world. And I consecrate myself for them, so that they also may be consecrated in truth. ~ Jn 17:18-19 . Reflection: Despite the obstacles we face in our spiritual and physical journey on this earth, today’s reading...
Jesus said to him in reply, 'What do you want me to do for you?' The blind man replied to him, 'Master, I want to see.' ~ Mk 10:51 . Reflection: What faith the blind man had in Christ to bless, heal & redeem him! Quite often,...
He said to them, "Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature." ~ Mark 15:16 . Reflection: How do you answer the call of Jesus to “proclaim the gospel to every creature”? The example we set may be the only “Bible” some might ever read. Do...
Shout joyfully to God, all the earth, sing praise to the glory of his name; proclaim his glorious praise. ~ Ps 66:2 . Reflections: Shout joyfully to God, all the earth, sing praise to the glory of His name; proclaim His glorious praise. Say to God, "How tremendous are Your deeds!" We are well into...
The one who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of earthly things. But the one who comes from heaven is above all. ~ Jn 3:31 . Reflection: As a Central Californian accustomed to training mainly on flatland, I must admit that I wasn’t fully prepared for...
For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come toward the light, so that his works might not be exposed. But whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God. ~...
And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. ~ Gal 6:9 Reflection: Apathy killed Jesus Christ. The Jewish leaders were jealous (Mt 27:18) and Pilate was afraid (Jn 19:8). However, they would not...
Jesus said to him, “Rise up, take your mat, walk...
Jesus replied, 'The first is this: Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You...
Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. ~ Mt. 5:17 . Reflection: The fifth chapter of St. Matthew’s Gospel is one of my favorite chapters in scripture. We read of...
Give me back the joy of your salvation, and a willing spirit sustain me. ~ Ps 51:14 . Sr. Francelle's Reflections: I look forward to the season of Lent with joy and excitement, because I know so many are going to get closer to Jesus. Lent prepares us for the...
They seek me day after day, and desire to know my ways, like a nation that has done what is just and not abandoned the law of their God. ~ Is 58:2 . Reflection: When our nation faces a tragedy, such as the acts of violence we...
Even now, says the LORD, return to me with your whole heart, with fasting, and weeping, and mourning; Rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the LORD, your God. ~ Joel 2:12-13 . Reflection: “Even now…”, even after all that’s happened, no matter how bad...
"and you have approached Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and the sprinkled Blood that speaks more eloquently than that of Abel." ~ Heb 12:24 . Reflection: The blood of Jesus: a life offering gift that Paul said “speaks eloquently.” One may wonder how blood can speak. Picture yourself...
Hear Me, all of you, and understand. Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person; but the things that come from within are what defile. ~ Mk 7:14 . Reflection: Sinning is a personal decision. Selfishness and greed come from within. We defile ourselves and point away from God’s...
When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, ‘Child, your sins are forgiven.’ ~ Mk 2:5 . Reflection: “Their faith” – Jesus forgave another man’s sins, because of the faith of his friends. The implications are incredibly important for us, especially as citizens of the United...
Who indeed is the victor over the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? ~ 1 John 5:5 . Reflection: It seems every cartoon villain has his or her own plan to take over the world: mind control, weapons, deception, the list can...
This is how you can know the Spirit of God: every spirit that acknowledges Jesus Christ come in the flesh belongs to God, and every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus does not belong to God. This is the spirit of the antichrist that, as you heard,...
If anyone says, 'I love God,' but hates his brother, he is a liar; for whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. ~ 1 Jn 4:20 . Reflection: We live in a romantic world that makes love...
Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that the antichrist was coming, so now many antichrists have appeared. ~ 1 Jn 2:18 . Reflection: On this final day of the year our minds naturally turn toward endings and new beginnings. Today’s verse is a reminder that in...
When the magi had departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, 'Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. Herod is going to search for the child to...
