Read It:
Many of the Jews who had come to Mary
and seen what Jesus had done began to believe in him.
But some of them went to the Pharisees
and told them what Jesus had done.
So the chief priests and the Pharisees
convened the Sanhedrin and said,
“What are we going to do?
This man is performing many signs.
If we leave him alone, all will believe in him,
and the Romans will come
and take away both our land and our nation.”
But one of them, Caiaphas,
who was high priest that year, said to them,
“You know nothing,
nor do you consider that it is better for you
that one man should die instead of the people,
so that the whole nation may not perish.”
He did not say this on his own,
but since he was high priest for that year,
he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation,
and not only for the nation,
but also to gather into one the dispersed children of God.
So from that day on they planned to kill him.

So Jesus no longer walked about in public among the Jews,
but he left for the region near the desert,
to a town called Ephraim,
and there he remained with his disciples.

Now the Passover of the Jews was near,
and many went up from the country to Jerusalem
before Passover to purify themselves.
They looked for Jesus and said to one another
as they were in the temple area, “What do you think?
That he will not come to the feast?”

Reflect on It: Jesus is coming to die for everyone. This is dangerous and a plot is now being waged against Jesus to kill him. Because he came to die for everyone, he is a threat. Today, we need to be thankful for all that Christ has done for us.

Pray about It:
Sweet Jesus, you came to die for me. Help me to always be thankful for your gift!

Live It! Challenge: Today, pray that you will always be mindful of what Christ has given us: freedom from sin.

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March 27, 2015

Read It:
The Jews picked up rocks to stone Jesus.
Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from my Father.
For which of these are you trying to stone me?”
The Jews answered him,
“We are not stoning you for a good work but for blasphemy.
You, a man, are making yourself God.”
Jesus answered them,
“Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, ‘You are gods”‘?
If it calls them gods to whom the word of God came,
and Scripture cannot be set aside,
can you say that the one
whom the Father has consecrated and sent into the world
blasphemes because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?
If I do not perform my Father’s works, do not believe me;
but if I perform them, even if you do not believe me,
believe the works, so that you may realize and understand
that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.”
Then they tried again to arrest him;
but he escaped from their power.

He went back across the Jordan
to the place where John first baptized, and there he remained.
Many came to him and said,
“John performed no sign,
but everything John said about this man was true.”
And many there began to believe in him.

Reflect on It: There's great confusion today over whether Jesus is God. He's coming in the name of the Lord and this was SCANDALOUS. The things he's spoken are true and yet, everyone keeps trying to catch him in a lie. It's kind of rough to be Jesus right now, but he stands firm. Are you standing firm in the truth that Jesus speaks?

Pray about It: Lord, I know you sent your son in order that we might know you. To have eternal life and to be with you! Please let me always believe the things you're speaking into my heart. I love you!
Amen.

Live It! Challenge: Today, get yourself over to confession if you haven't been in a while. "The Lord never tires of forgiving us. It is us who tire of asking for forgiveness" Pope Francis (BOOM ROASTED!)

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March 26, 2015

Read It:
Jesus said to the Jews:
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever keeps my word will never see death.”
So the Jews said to him,
“Now we are sure that you are possessed.
Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say,
‘Whoever keeps my word will never taste death.’
Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died?
Or the prophets, who died?
Who do you make yourself out to be?”
Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is worth nothing;
but it is my Father who glorifies me,
of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’
You do not know him, but I know him.
And if I should say that I do not know him,
I would be like you a liar.
But I do know him and I keep his word.
Abraham your father rejoiced to see my day;
he saw it and was glad.”
So the Jews said to him,
“You are not yet fifty years old and you have seen Abraham?”
Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you,
before Abraham came to be, I AM.”
So they picked up stones to throw at him;
but Jesus hid and went out of the temple area.

Reflect on It: As we move closer to Holy Week, who do we think Jesus is? Are we keeping his word.

Pray about It: Jesus, you are I AM. Help me to live this always.

Live It! Challenge: Today, pray for those who don't believe in Jesus.

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March 25, 2015: Solemnity of the Annunciation

Happy Feast of the Annunciation! The reflection for today is written by dear friend Irene.

Read It:
The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,
to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary.
And coming to her, he said, “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.”
But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus.
He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,
and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his Kingdom there will be no end.”
But Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?”
And the angel said to her in reply, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.
And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age,
and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God.”
Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.”
Then the angel departed from her.
Luke 1:26-38

Reflect on It: Today we celebrate the feast of the Annunciation, when Mary said "yes" to becoming the mother of her Lord and our Savior! Mary spent her life learning about God and His Law (the Torah) and this prepared her to make her fiat (her Yes to God). Like Mary, we must continually strive to know God and His Word so that when God invites us to participate in His redeeming work, we can, like Mary, make our own fiat and say Yes!
The angel Gabriel reminds us that nothing is impossible with God; He can do the unlikely and improbably (like Elizabeth getting pregnant after so many years of barrenness) AND the impossible (the virgin Mary getting pregnant). Keep that in mind when it feels like God is asking you to do the impossible - He can still make it happen, He just wants you to say "Yes!" to helping!

Pray about It: Mother Mary, pray for me that I might be as courageous as you were when God calls on me to serve Him. Holy Spirit, give me the gift of Your courage!

Live It! Challenge: Pick one thing that God is asking you to change about your life this Lent and say "Yes!" to His Will. Then, say "Yes!" again tomorrow morning...and the next...and the next!

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March 24, 2015

Read It:
Jesus said to the Pharisees:
"I am going away and you will look for me,
but you will die in your sin.
Where I am going you cannot come."
So the Jews said,
"He is not going to kill himself, is he,
because he said, 'Where I am going you cannot come'?"
He said to them, "You belong to what is below,
I belong to what is above.
You belong to this world,
but I do not belong to this world.
That is why I told you that you will die in your sins.
For if you do not believe that I AM,
you will die in your sins."
So they said to him, "Who are you?"
Jesus said to them, "What I told you from the beginning.
I have much to say about you in condemnation.
But the one who sent me is true,
and what I heard from him I tell the world."
They did not realize that he was speaking to them of the Father.
So Jesus said to them,
"When you lift up the Son of Man,
then you will realize that I AM,
and that I do nothing on my own,
but I say only what the Father taught me.
The one who sent me is with me.
He has not left me alone,
because I always do what is pleasing to him."
Because he spoke this way, many came to believe in him.

Reflect on It: Jesus does not belong to this world. We are made for eternity. While we are part of this world, we are called to live with him in eternity. Jesus always did what was pleasing the the father and we are called to do the same. Today, my our lives be pleasing to him who is holy.

Pray about It: Lord, let my life be an offering to you. Let me always do what is pleasing to you.

Live It! Challenge: Today, spend 10 minutes in prayer, offering him praise.

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March 23, 2015

Read It:
Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.
But early in the morning he arrived again in the temple area,
and all the people started coming to him,
and he sat down and taught them.
Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman
who had been caught in adultery
and made her stand in the middle.
They said to him,
“Teacher, this woman was caught
in the very act of committing adultery.
Now in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women.
So what do you say?”
They said this to test him,
so that they could have some charge to bring against him.
Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger.
But when they continued asking him,
he straightened up and said to them,
“Let the one among you who is without sin
be the first to throw a stone at her.”
Again he bent down and wrote on the ground.
And in response, they went away one by one,
beginning with the elders.
So he was left alone with the woman before him.
Then Jesus straightened up and said to her,
“Woman, where are they?
Has no one condemned you?”
She replied, “No one, sir.”
Then Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you.
Go, and from now on do not sin any more.”

Today, we hear a very familiar story of the woman caught in adultery. Sometimes because we have heard this reading so many times, we glaze over it. The truth of the matter is that this gospel is chock full of the goodness. Here we have Jesus not condemning a woman for her sinfulness, but instead forgiving her. I like to think about what her life was like after this encounter. Her life much have been radically different after this encounter with the Lord. His mercy, his compassion, his willingness to forgive. This is what the Savior of the world brings to us. Not condemnation, but simply mercy. Jesus says to the crowd, let he who is without sin, cast the first stone. Christ is without sin, could have done that, but instead, he forgives, not condemns. Some scholars say that this woman was Mary Magdalene, others just say it was a woman. Regardless of who she is, she in so many ways represents each of us. Instead of condemnation, we seek forgiveness.

Pray about It: Lord, today I ask that you forgive my sinfulness, that like the woman at the well, you look upon me with compassion and see my need for mercy, not condemnation.

Live It! Challenge: Today, offer mercy instead of condemnation in something small (what someone is wearing, the way they speak etc) and offer a prayer for them.

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March 22, 2015

Read It:
Some Greeks who had come to worship at the Passover Feast
came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee,
and asked him, "Sir, we would like to see Jesus."
Philip went and told Andrew;
then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus.
Jesus answered them,
"The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
Amen, amen, I say to you,
unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies,
it remains just a grain of wheat;
but if it dies, it produces much fruit.
Whoever loves his life loses it,
and whoever hates his life in this world
will preserve it for eternal life.
Whoever serves me must follow me,
and where I am, there also will my servant be.
The Father will honor whoever serves me.

"I am troubled now. Yet what should I say?
'Father, save me from this hour?'
But it was for this purpose that I came to this hour.
Father, glorify your name."
Then a voice came from heaven,
"I have glorified it and will glorify it again."
The crowd there heard it and said it was thunder;
but others said, "An angel has spoken to him."
Jesus answered and said,
"This voice did not come for my sake but for yours.
Now is the time of judgment on this world;
now the ruler of this world will be driven out.
And when I am lifted up from the earth,
I will draw everyone to myself."
He said this indicating the kind of death he would die.

Reflect on It: We are all drawn to God. We are made for life in eternity with him.We have to serve him and follow him through that service. We are oriented towards a life with Christ in eternity, today, let us strive to be those men and women who are with him in eternity.

Pray About It: Lord, help me to be with you in eternity. I long for heaven; help me to live like I do. Help Heaven to be my focus. Amen.

Live It! Challenge: Today, make an effort to hang out with one of your parents, even if it's just for a few minutes.

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