The Doubting John? When John heard in prison of the works of the Messiah, he sent his disciples to Jesus with this question, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?” (Matthew 11:3) The Gospels tell us quite clearly that John sent his disciples to ask Jesus if He is the Messiah (cf. Matthew 11:3, Luke 7:19), but what is not clear is John’s motive for doing so. Based on the translation of this…
The Voice in the Desert The Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke announce the appearance of John the Baptist as “A voice of one crying out in the desert, ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.’” (Matthew 3:3, Mark 1:3, Luke 3:4) He is described as one who wore clothing made of camel’s hair and had a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Why did John the Baptist wear clothing…
The Unknown Day and Hour Jesus said to His disciples, “But of that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone (Matthew 24:36).” Jesus was speaking of the coming of the Son of Man (cf. Matthew 24:39). Christians take that to mean the end of the world, when Jesus returns in glory to judge the living and the dead. How unexpected will the coming of the Son of Man be?…
The Supremacy of Christ St. Paul’s letter to the Colossians is one of the four epistles written during his house arrest in Rome — the other three are the letters to the Ephesians, Philippians and Philemon. One of the reasons St. Paul composed the letter to the Colossians is to warn the early Christians in Colossae against false teachers who inculcated the worship of angels, whom they regarded as equal to or superior to Christ. Therefore, in the first chapter,…
The Apocalypse Luke 21 can be examined parallel to Mark 13 and Matthew 24. These chapters contain Jesus’ eschatological discourse since it deals with the end of the world (the eschaton) and the events which will precede it. All three chapters begin with Jesus’ prediction of the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. The first century Christians believed that the end of the world was imminent, and this is evident in Mark’s Gospel, which was written shortly before 70 AD;…
Resurrection of the Dead The teaching of the resurrection of the dead had a relatively late origin in Judaism; in the Old Testament, it appears in the Book of Daniel, which was written around 167–164 B.C.: Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake; some to everlasting life, others to reproach and everlasting disgrace (Daniel 12:2). In the New Testament, the Sadducees denied the resurrection of the dead; in the Gospels of Mark, Matthew and…
The Communion of Saints The month of November begins with two important feast days of the Church – All Saints Day on November 1st and All Souls Day on November 2nd. The Catholic faithful celebrate All Saints Day by commemorating the Saints in Heaven and All Souls Day by commemorating the Souls in Purgatory. Both feast days remind us of the Communion of Saints, that we, the faithful on earth, are connected in charity to those who have reached their…
The Cry of the Humble In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus addressed the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector to those who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised others (Luke 18:9). This parable is a warning against self-righteous pride. In the parable, the Pharisee indeed was a righteous man – he was not greedy, dishonest, nor adulterous, he fasted twice a week and he paid tithes on his whole income. But the problem was that he was prideful…
The Virtue of Persistence The main idea behind persistence is to not give up when pursuing a goal despite struggles and difficult situations that arise. In general, that idea also applies to the Christian virtue of persistence, but there are some qualifications. The battle between Israel and the Amalekites (Exodus 17:8-13) shows the virtue of persistence in face of a difficult struggle. As long as Moses kept his hands raised up, the Israelites were winning, but when he lowered his…
Thanking God When was the last time you thanked God? Do you remember how you thanked God? If we tend to think that thanking God is merely saying a quick “thank you,” then we ought to know other ways in which we can fittingly thank God. For Catholics, the most fundamental way to thank God is to go to Mass. That is because Holy Mass is the celebration of the Eucharist, which is an action of thanksgiving to God (CCC…