Scraps From A Spiritual Diary

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Tuesday, May 22, 2007

On The Ascension of the Lord

There are to my mind three things that need to be highlighted whenever we celebrate the feast of the Ascension. First, the Ascension is the basis for the hope that we too will be able to be with God in heaven. The old penny box catechism taught us that human life has three purposes: to love God, to... Sign in to see full entry.

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

The Blessed Disciple

Luke 20-26 is the introduction to what has been called "The Sermon on the Plain" (Luke 20-49). It is a series of macharisms, similar to Matthew 5:2-10, with each one having a corresponding "Woe" pronouncement. The first three blessings are for the "poor", the "hungry" and those who "weep". The first... Sign in to see full entry.

Thursday, February 1, 2007

A Preview of Things To Come

The liturgical selection that goes from verse 21-30 of Luke 4 looks awkward. After reading verse 21, one may as well ask: which passage is fulfilled? So one will have to check the immediate context of the text. In fact the whole narrative begins in verse 16. Jesus goes to his hometown, Nazareth,... Sign in to see full entry.

Thursday, November 2, 2006

Why Do Catholics Pray For The Dead?

Catholics pray for the souls of "the dearly departed" because: it is rooted in Scriptures it is a practice that flows from the belief in the communion of the saints Catholics pray for those who have departed from this life because it is rooted in Scriptures. In 2 Maccabees 12:43-45 one finds the... Sign in to see full entry.

Thursday, October 19, 2006

Friar To Be Beatified

A recent publication of Zenit mentions four venerables to be beatified this coming November. The report reads: VATICAN CITY, OCT. 17, 2006 (Zenit.org).- The Office of Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff announced that four beatifications will take place before the end of the year. In... Sign in to see full entry.

Saturday, August 12, 2006

Stop Murmurring

"Murmurring, grumbling..." Everyone has done it at some point. But did you know that it has a spiritual significance? Last Sunday's liturgical celebration has left us a message: "This is My Beloved Son. Listen to Him." The voice from the Cloud would like us to treat the words of Jesus as God's Word.... Sign in to see full entry.

Tuesday, February 21, 2006

Hand On What You Have Received

In 2 Tim. 1:13-14, Paul instructs Timothy to take care of the sound teaching received from him as a deposit that has been entrusted. Keep as your pattern the sound teaching you have heard from me in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Guard the good deposit with the help of Holy Spirit... Sign in to see full entry.

Thursday, February 16, 2006

The Look of Jesus

In the story of Peter's confession, there is a detail that is worth noting. Just before Jesus responds to Peter's objection to his prediction of the passion, he looked at his disciples. The look of Jesus has a special significance for discipleship. If we consider the story of the call of the first... Sign in to see full entry.

Wednesday, February 15, 2006

Each One Is Tempted ... By His Own Wrong Desire

In Jm. 1:13-18 we find a reminder about the source of "temptation." In 1:2-4, we find him telling his readers to treat temptation as a happy privilege (1:2) since it brings about virtue. In 1:13-18, he answers the question: "Can temptation come from God?" The argument runs this way: Temptation does... Sign in to see full entry.

Tuesday, November 15, 2005

He Who Seeks Has Been Sought and Found

Luke 19:1-10 may as well be one of those personal testimonies that found their way into a gospel. Who knows, perhaps, Zacchaeus, like Levi, may have been one of the talked about conversions in the history of the early Christian community before Luke put it into writing (scholars know that Luke made... Sign in to see full entry.

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