"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...
She wrapped Him in swaddling clothes and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. ~ Luke 2:7 . Reflection: Though the word "chaotic" may be too strong to describe the circumstances of the Lord’s Birth, disorganized and messy seem to...
He has raised up for us a mighty Savior, born of the house of his servant David. ~ Lk 1:69 .. Reflection: Merry Christmas, LIFE Runners! Wow, Advent ends tonight, the wait is over! Mary's hope-filled crisis pregnancy will pierce the darkness forever when the Christ child is born...
Behold our God, to whom we looked to save us! This is the LORD for whom we looked; let us rejoice and be glad that He has saved us! ~ Is 25:9 . Reflection: Let's look forward to saying today's verse on Christmas morning! Parents especially can relate...
After this time his wife Elizabeth conceived, and she went into seclusion for five months, saying, "So has the Lord done for me at a time when he has seen fit to take away my disgrace before others." ~ Lk 1:24-25 . Reflection: In the culture of...
Be my Rock of refuge, a stronghold to give me safety, for you are my Rock and my Fortress. ~ Ps 71:3-4 . Reflection: "My Rock" - These words are my favorite 'word picture' in all of the Psalms. I have personally been inspired by these verses from...
He is like a tree planted near running water, that yields its fruit in due season, and whose leaves never fade. Whatever he does, prospers. ~ Ps 1:3-4 . Reflection: Ever meet one of those people who seem like everything they touch turns to gold? Everything they...
"I obey the command of the law given to our ancestors through Moses." ~ 2 Mc 7:30 . Reflection: I find it easy to stand up every Sunday and profess our Creed. I know that in the graced moment I hope; no, I pray, that I would stand...
...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: Thanks be to God for our LIFE Runners...
See, I am sending an angel before you, to guard you on the way and bring you to the place I have prepared. ~ Ex 23:23 . Reflection: By now, our LIFE Runners Team should be prepared physically and mentally to run the Philadelphia Marathon in just a few days! But...
Shine like lights in the world, as you hold on to the word of life, so that my boast for the day of Christ may be that I did not run in vain. ~ Phil 2:15-16 . Reflection: Running a mile in under four minutes was one of athletics' greatest...
But Yours, O Lord, our God, are compassion and forgiveness! ~ Dan 9:9 . Reflection: Is it possible to be absolutely convicted about the call to protect the unborn and yet to be compassionate ("to suffer with") towards those who uphold a right to aborting children? The Gospel would tell us...
Tell those invited: “Behold, I have prepared my banquet, my calves and fattened cattle are killed, and everything is ready; come to the feast.” Some ignored the invitation and went away, one to his farm, another to his business. ~ Mt 22:3-4 . Reflection: The world...
For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption. ~ Rom 8:14-15 . Reflection: Romans Chapter 8 provides an explanation of who we are in Christ. Paul begins the chapter with “no condemnation,” and ends...
Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over unclean spirits. ~ Mk 6:7 Reflection: This is the first time Jesus sent forth the Apostles. Why send the Apostles? After all, Jesus was the “Subject Matter Expert”, couldn’t He just do it?...
Jesus said to his disciples: “Whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven. But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven....
Fathers… bring them [children] up with the training and instruction of the Lord. ~ Eph 6:4 . Reflection: God commands fathers to oppose abortion (“bring them up”) and share the Faith with their children (“training and instruction”). Our Founding Fathers obviously embraced this as a responsibility to also bring...
Go and take your place in the temple area, and tell the people everything about this life. ~ Acts 5:20 . Reflection: By telling the Apostles to go back into the temple area, the angel of the Lord effectively told them to go back into the public square and...
I went in response to a revelation and set before them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. But I did this privately to those who seemed to be leaders, for fear that I was running or had run my race in vain. ~ Gal...
Then Peter took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles grew strong. ~ Acts 3:7 . Reflection: Many of us are talented. We can do stuff. We can make charts complete, we can balance the financial statement, we can fix the car, we...
I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. ~ Jn 10:11 . Reflection: The Parable of the Good Shepherd poses a dilemma for us who are serving as the hired-hand and shepherd. When the wolves are approaching the flock, the hired-hand’s instinct...
Now there was a sinful woman in the city who learned that he was at table in the house of the Pharisee. Bringing an alabaster flask of ointment, she stood behind him at his feet weeping and began to bathe his feet with her tears. Then...
Your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. This is how you are to pray. ~ Mt 6:8-9 . Reflection: The “Our Father” is “the most perfect prayer” (Thomas Aquinas) and “the summary of the whole Gospel” (Tertullian). The Catechism says it is “a path that...
Therefore, neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who causes the growth. ~ 1 Cor 3:7 . Reflection: Remain in the Spirit. Every day when you wake, be mindful of our Lord’s presence, and be ready to answer His call! In all...
But they said to him, ‘Five loaves and two fish are all we have here.' ~ Mt 14:17 . Reflection: As Christians, we can feel overwhelmed by the cultural meltdown that is taking place before our very eyes. The cultural war seems to be occurring on multiple...
…the LORD God formed man out of the clay of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and so man became a living being. ~ Gen 2:7 . Reflection: God breathed life into us… and counts every conceived baby as one of His...
What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish? Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more...
Herod said, “I myself had John beheaded; but who is this man about whom I hear such things?” And he kept trying to see Him. ~ Luke 9:9 . Reflection: Herod kept trying to see Jesus. In Truth, Jesus is present in the person next to me, the...
“The more you sow, the more you reap.” ~ 2 Cor 9:6 . Reflection: 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....
Each one must be careful how he builds upon it, for no one can lay a foundation other than the one that is there, namely, Jesus Christ. ~ 1 Cor 3:11 . Reflection: St. Paul asks us: “Do you not know that you are the temple...
When he said this, a dissension began between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. ~ Acts 23:7 . Reflection: Notice what Paul does in this passage. He wisely made a claim about something he knew the Sadducees and Pharisees disagreed on. The Sadducees...
The commandments are summed up...
Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute, and when the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke and the crowds were amazed. ~ Lk 11:14 . Reflection: In Jer 7:23-28, we hear God’s complaint about a nation that refused to take correction. Psalm 95...
The Lord is with me, like a mighty champion. ~ Jer 20:11 .. Reflection: Jeremiah deals with the struggles of speaking openly about his belief in God. The persecutions are overwhelming, and yet the fire of God's love burning within him is too strong to endure; he has to...
We escaped with our lives like a bird from the fowler’s snare; the snare was broken, and we escaped. ~ Ps 124:7 . Reflection: How often do we really consider that if it weren’t for the grace of God and Christ’s work on the cross, our souls would’ve been hopelessly doomed. ...
Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed, saying: “Holy Father, keep them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are one. ~ Jn 17:11 . Reflection: Serve the Lord with confidence! He is praying for us!...
Behold, I am sending my messengers ahead of you. ~ Lk 7:27 . Reflection: LIFE Runners carry the "REMEMBER The Unborn - Jer 1:5" jersey message for the least of these. What we do for the least of these we do for Christ (Mt 25:40). John the Baptist...
Jesus entered the temple area and proceeded to drive out those who were selling things, saying to them, “It is written, My house shall be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves.” ~ Lk 19:45-46 . Reflection: Influenced by the “den of thieves” (Planned Parenthood...
He said to them, “Take nothing for the journey, neither walking stick, nor sack, nor food, nor money, and let no one take a second tunic.” ~ Lk 9:3 . Reflection: God will care for all our needs and will lead us on our uniquely designed path if we stay close to...
At that Jesus said to them, ‘Then repay what belongs to Caesar to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.' ~ Mt 22:21 . Reflection: When we celebrate Independence Day, on the hearts and minds of many people are the freedoms we enjoy in the U.S. This...
He called ten of his servants and gave them ten gold coins and told them, ‘Engage in trade with these until I return’.~ Lk 19:13 . Reflection: Jesus tells a parable about coins (time, talent, treasure) given to a master’s servants. They are to use these coins in his absence. To...
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...
Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he protected him. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed; and yet he liked to listen to him. ~ Mk 6:20 . Reflection: Saint John the Baptist is like the crazy uncle in the...
