The Lord reminds us of a sobering fact: the path that leads to eternal life flows through a narrow gate, and every day we make choices that either lead us closer or farther away.
Mass Readings – Wednesday of the 30th Week of the Year
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Tag Archives: Eternal Life
Daily Mass: The death of John the Baptist. Catholic Inspiration
John’s death vividly reveals the potential price tag for our faith. Yet we can find new strength to face the injustices of life through our conviction that we are made for more…in this life and in the life to come.
Mass Readings – The death of John the Baptist
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Daily Mass: Wheat and Weeds. Catholic Inspiration
Sometimes we might be tempted to downplay the presence of evil and final judgment…no so, today, in the Gospel of Matthew! The Lord explains a parable with grim consequences for those who choose to follow the path that leads to death and eternal damnation.
Mass Readings – Tuesday of the 17th Week of the Year (St. Ignatius of Loyola)
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Daily Mass: What will you harvest in your heart? Catholic Inspiration
Sometimes we can take for granted the time we have on earth, delaying important and even crucial tasks until it is too late. The Lord reminds us that in the end there will be a harvest…and the crop we grow will determine our destination in eternal life.
Mass Readings – Saturday of the 16th Week of the Year
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The Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. Catholic Inspiration
This feast day fosters both personal piety and a communal connection within the Church to Jesus Christ, our savior, redeemer, brother and friend. The Lord offers his heart for the salvation of the world as he gives his life on the Cross. May the love in his heart fill up what is lacking in ours!
Mass Readings – Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus
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10th Sunday of the Year: Christ gives us the grace we need.
Study: Recall a time when you had to confront your sinfulness. What were the obstacles you faced?
Pray: Consider adding an Examination of Conscience to your daily prayer.
Serve: How can you extend mercy and forgiveness to others right now?
Mass Readings – 10th Sunday of the Year
There are a number of themes that surface in the Scripture readings this week:
- 1st Reading – Adam and Eve before the Lord in their sin; the Lord’s command to the serpent
- Psalm – “With the Lord there is mercy, and fullness of redemption.”
- 2nd Reading – The spirit of faith sustains us in the challenges of life and guides us to Heaven
- Gospel – Jesus interacts with the scribes, his relatives and the disciples
Sin is real. While we do not live in a world that wants to call attention to the times when we choose something contrary to the will and commandment of God, we know by experience and observation that it happens everyday. What’s more, we often find ourselves hearing a thousand different excuses for the shortcomings and failures of those around us…offering every possible reason why:
- it’s not our fault
- it’s someone else’s fault
- it’s not really a big deal
- everyone else is doing it so I might as well
- it’s not a problem if you are not caught
and so it goes…
Yet what we find in the first reading is a clear acknowledgement of the sin of Adam and Eve through the temptation of the serpent. In their weakness our first parents fell from grace and transmitted original sin into the spiritual DNA of humanity. In our moments of humble insight we understand just how wounded we are and how easy it is to slip into behaviors that lead us away from God and one another.
The Lord, however, does not leave us in this plight alone. Rather, the Psalmist reminds us that the Lord extends mercy upon us, and St. Paul teaches that the spirit of faith empowers us to face the trials of this life with the gift of grace.
The source of this grace is found in Jesus Christ, who claims us as his family through our willingness to do the will of the Heavenly Father. In other words, God sends his Son to give us the help we need to return to Him!
Yes there is sin. But we draw near to the one who overcomes the power of sin and restores what was lost. May we call upon God for the grace we need to acknowledge our sins, accept the Lord’s mercy, and live in the light of Jesus Christ!
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Photo Credit: Son of God, 2014.
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Daily Mass: Christ gives us eternal life. Catholic Inspiration
The Lord gives us eternal life, and as we focus on Heaven we have the opportunity to live for the Lord here on earth. We are pilgrims passing through this world, and all that we say and do is guided by the simple fact that this life is homework to prepare us for the life to come.
Mass Readings – Tuesday of the 4th Week of Easter
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Daily Mass: Flesh and Blood. Catholic Inspiration
The Lord teaches the people that those who eat His flesh and drink His blood have eternal life. May our frequent reception of Holy Communion strengthen us with God’s grace in the messiness of life and inspire us to live for Jesus Christ.
Mass Readings – Friday of the 3rd Week of Easter
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Easter Vigil: United with Christ from death to new life. Catholic Inspiration
We wait in vigil through the night to hear the news of Easter joy: Christ is risen! At the Easter Vigil we join with the Church around the world, welcoming new members to the faith and recalling the great events of salvation history.
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Easter: God restores us to life!
Study: Where in my life have I discovered God’s strength and grace? How have others helped me?
Pray: Where do I need God’s strength right now? Call upon the Lord with boldness to face the challenges of life.
Serve: How can I be an instrument of God’s strength to another? How can I help someone today?
I can only imagine the surge of excitement that went through the disciples as the word was shared. Beyond the agony of the Cross and the sorrow of the Tomb on that first day of the week the message was proclaimed: He’s Alive!
And everything changes. This group of disciples – bound by fear and selfishness – are transformed with a new strength and conviction. Their encounter with the Risen Lord will empower them to face the obstacles of this world with joy and hope. They have seen the risen Christ…what is there to fear? They have embraced the one who has conquered sin and death – there is NOTHING that can shake their confidence in the light of Easter morning.
This same strength comes to us. Like the first disciples, we can turn to Jesus and allow his saving grace to renew us with a strength far beyond our own. We can claim a hope that sustains us in the midst of our challenges and struggles. The Easter sunrise brings light to the darkest corners of our hearts.
What in our lives needs to be touched by Jesus Christ? We are invited to boldly come forward, receive his resurrection strength, and face whatever this world presents with confidence: the victory of Christ enlivens us to travel through life with the conviction that the grace he gave his disciples continues in our hearts today.
May this Easter season be a time of transformation and renewal; a time where we embrace the gift of our lives with a new freedom and conviction. In the light of this Easter, may we follow the one who leads us from sin and death to the abundance of life…in this world, and the world to come.
Happy Easter!
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Note: This post was originally published on March 29, 2015.
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Catholic Inspiration – Podcast Archives of Homilies & Talks- 4th Sunday of the Year: We are blessed when we draw near the Lord
- Daily Mass: We call on Christ to face the storms of life
- Daily Mass: Starting small and growing our faith in Christ
- Daily Mass: What we measure out to others will be measured back to us
- Daily Mass: What is growing in our hearts?
- Daily Mass: We join the Lord's family when we do the will of God
- Daily Mass: Confronting the darkness of evil
- Study, Pray, Serve: 4th Sunday of the Year
- 3rd Sunday of the Year: The light of Christ restores our life
- Daily Mass: Living our faith when the world wants to mock us
Three Great Things 