The word of God is living and active; it judges the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Hebrews 4:12
Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. Matthew 24:35
Whoever keeps the word of Christ grows perfect in the love of God. 1 John 2:5
Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. John 17:17
"Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life." John 6:68
The Last Words of Christ ...
The authors of the four gospels each have different accounts of the last words spoken by Jesus before His death on the Cross.
"E'lo.i, E'lo.i, le.ma' sa.bach'tha.ni?" that is, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Mark 15:34
"E'li, E'li, le.ma' sa.bach'tha.ni?" that is, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Matthew 27:46
"Father, into your hands I commend my spirit." Luke 46:46
"It is finished." John 19:30
To fully comprehend that moment, we must prayerfully contemplate all four accounts. We must also consider what happened prior to that moment.
According to Luke: One of the criminals who was hanged there kept deriding Him and saying, "Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!"
But the other rebuked him, saying, "Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong."
Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." He replied, "Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise." Luke 23:39-43
After listening to these words for many, many years, I realized, during the Easter Season of 2005, that Jesus did not respond to the blasphemous thief.
To me, this is very powerful! It says that we too, could follow Jesus' example and refuse to respond when others taunt us with their words or actions. It is imperative that we understand that refusing to respond to aggressive behavior is not weakness!
In Peter's first letter, he said of Christ's suffering, "When He was abused, He did not return abuse; when He suffered, He did not threaten; but He entrusted Himself to the One who judges justly." 1 Peter 2:23
In the letter to the Romans, Paul said, "Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord." Romans 12:14,17,19
This tells us that it is OK to leave things in God's hands! It is OK to choose not to respond for these are the marks of a true Christian! It is also very important that we do not mistake people's honesty and integrity for cowardice.
The second revelation during that faithful Easter Season came from the "good" thief. In spite of his current situation, he was able to win the Heart of Jesus.
How? By acknowledging his wrongdoing and taking a stand! He chose to do something about the unjust remarks that the other thief was making. Then, he expressed his faith with these immortal words, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."
In return, the forgiving Jesus offered him the gift of all gifts when He said, "Today you will be with me in Paradise." Are we standing up for those who are being persecuted by others? Are we using our words to create peace and win the Heart of Jesus when we speak with others?
The Word of God ...
Many of us wholeheartedly agree that the Word of God is as relevant today as it was when it was written. Yet, for some unknown reason, we have never read it from cover to cover. "Are we going to do something about that today?"
You may already know that the Bible is the most wonderful book that was ever written. It actually consists of 73 different books; 46 in the Old Testament and 27 in the New Testament. It is said that the first word of the New Testament was written by St. Matthew about 42 A.D. and the last word was written, 55 years later, by St. John.
Paul's letters are the oldest Christian documents we have. The first of them was written within 25 years of Jesus' death, and the last may have been written before any of the gospels. These letters are also the largest collection of writings by any one person in the New Testament.
The finest piece of reading is said to be in Acts 26 and the shortest verse is John 11:35, "Jesus wept." The Bible gives us spiritual nourishment for the soul and parts of it are read at each Mass for our help and edification. We "speak" to Him when we pray but we "hear" Him when we read the Word of God!
"The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life." John 6:63
"For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there until they have watered the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty but it shall accomplish that which I purpose and succeed in the thing for which I sent it." Isaiah 55:10-11
Dear God, I believe that you speak with your children. Speak to me Lord and I'll do my best to follow Your Word.
Over the years, many authors created inspiring works with words ... the infamous Desiderata is one. My favorite is the words of the hymn "You are Near" (based on Psalm 139).
O God, I know you are near, standing always at my side.
You guard me from the foe, and you lead me in ways everlasting.
Where can I run from your love? If I climb to the heavens you are there;
if I fly to the sunrise or sail beyond the sea, still I'd find you there.
It is no secret that words are powerful tools for everyday life. They can be used to praise the worthy, teach the ignorant, cheer the unhappy, warm the lonely, encourage the defeated, uplift the despondent, calm the angry and goad the quitter. They could also be used to say important things like "I love you".
Words are the foundation of our language. It is therefore, very important for us to understand the meaning of the words that explain our relationship with Our Lord Jesus Christ and the Church. Please feel welcome to recommend additional words or meanings for this page.
Adultery - it seems as if this act/topic has been with humanity since the beginning of time and is covered in many parts of the Bible starting from the Old Testemant in Leviticus 20:10-21.
As I see it, there are a number of parties involved in or affected by this act: the man, his spouse and their children; the woman, her spouse and their children. The parents and siblings of both the man and the woman ... and this list could go on and on.
It is most important that we see this act as the seed, which when cultivated, leads to unhappiness in the lives of others, mostly the ones we are responsible for loving and nuturing.
Angelus - devotional service in memory of the Incarnation, said at morning, noon and sunset
Covenant - is an agreement. In the Bible, covenants are special because God is one of the parties to the covenant. Some well known covenants ...
The first one is with Adam and Eve, representatives of all humanity, and includes the understanding that human beings will be responsible stewards of all of creation
The second one is with Noah, the promise that the world will never again be destroyed by flood
Creche - At Christmas 1223, Saint Francis of Assissi built a creche beginning a custom which has spread throughout Christendom. His feast day is on Oct04.
Doctrine - what is taught; teaching of church, school, or person; belief, opinion, dogma
Dogma - article of belief, esp. one laid down authoritatively by the church
Gentile - means non-Jewish
Give - It is more blessed to give than to receive.
Gospel - good news preached by Jesus or about Jesus. Gospels are not biographies; they are accounts of the life and teaching of Jesus. There are four gospels; Matthew, Mark, and Luke are called Synoptic gospels because they follow a common synopsis or outline. The Gospel of John does not follow the same outline; it contains a series of long reflections on Jesus as the divine Son of God instead of short sayings and parables.
All historical sources are unanimous in stating that the author of the third gospel and the Acts of the Apostles is a physician named Luke.
Novena - the nine days between Ascension and Pentecost are kept as days of prayer for the coming of the Holy Spirit. This is the original novena.
Resurrection - those who belong to this age marry and are given in marriage: but those who are considered worthy of a place in that age and in the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. Luke 20:34-35
Sadducees - those who say there is no resurrection. Luke 20:27
Sadducees - the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, or angel, or spirit; but the Pharisees acknowledge all three. Acts 23:8
Stigmata - marks on the body resembling the wounds of the crucified Christ. Saint Francis of Assissi received the the stigmata in September 1223.
Suicide - Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy that person. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple. 1 Corinthians 3:16-17
Wealth - No slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth. Luke 16:13
"You are a child of the Universe, no less than the moon and the stars: you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the Universe is unfolding as it should." Max Ehrmann
