Scripture can have an incredible effect on your life if you recognize the holiness of the Word of God. Don’t let your Bible be just another book on the shelf.
This Sunday is the feast of the Baptism of our Lord. Baptism isn’t just about water washing off the dirt of sin; it’s about us becoming a new creation, sons and daughters of God.
Are you just showing up to Mass, or are you there to really worship God? The Magi had to travel from afar to worship God; we are blessed to come face to face with the same God every single time we attend Mass. Don’t take it for granted.
We have the opportunity every day to dedicate ourselves and our actions to God. That’s the meaning of being a Christian – giving our lives to God to glorify Him just as Jesus, Mary, and Joseph did.
God has a plan for your life. He also had a plan for your salvation, which He accomplished through Jesus. See, God doesn’t leave anything to chance. All we have to do is surrender and trust.
The Third Sunday of Advent is always “Gaudete Sunday” – meaning rejoice. Are you rejoicing that God is coming? Or does God’s way mean the end of your way?
What good are all of our exterior preparations if our interior heart is not ready for Christmas? Don’t forget what this season of Advent is all about, getting ready for Christ’s coming. Not Santa’s.
The themes of preparation during Advent say to us that we have to actively seek God in order to be ready for His coming. We have to take the things that we’re hiding in the dark and bring them to the light.
The question isn’t about whether or not Jesus is King, but about whether or not we recognize and accept Him as King during our lifetime.
If you’re in a good place with Jesus, you don’t have to stress over when the world is going to end. There’s a battle that’s always going on between light and dark – who’s side are you on?
Jesus is saying to you every day: “I’m going to ask you for everything . . . and then some.” That’s the way of the cross and the way of the gospel.
Are you just going through the motions of prayer, or are you entering in with your whole heart, soul, mind, and strength? Love God intentionally today.
One of the most amazing gifts God has given us is our Catholic faith. Have you ever thought about that? Without the gift of faith, we wouldn’t have access to God.
What does it mean to be a hero? Would you think it’s heroic to embrace suffering? A lot of people run away from suffering but Christ showed us that if we want heaven, we have to be willing to suffer here on earth. Our crosses aren’t meaningless when we unite them to the cross of Christ.
The theme of this week’s readings is: wisdom is where it’s at. Wisdom is so important because it’s the virtue by which we see things through God’s perspective, not through an earthly perspective. It means looking forward to heaven instead of living just for earth.
This week’s readings are all about marriage. God had a purpose when He designed man and woman and a plan for what the Sacrament of Marriage should be. The Church is merely the guardian of what God has already ordained and created us for.
Where are you putting your energy? It might be a good idea to look at your life and see if you’re wasting time fighting against people who believe in and love the same God as you. What if instead you spent your energy fighting against sin and the evil one?
What would it take for you to live according to God’s way of peace, instead of according to the world’s way of being emotional and reactive?
In the Catholic life, you have to live the “both/and.” You have to make a resolve and accompany it with prayer. If you want to follow Christ you have to lay down your life and take up the cross.
Because we are physical beings, Christ uses physical things to interact with us. In the Gospel He heals through touch and in the Sacraments He gives us Himself through the things He has created. Are you going to let God heal and restore you today?
