Mary went to the home of Zechariah and Elizabeth. The two expectant mothers greeted each other, with Elizabeth exuberantly acknowledging Mary as Mother of the Lord and Mary proclaiming that God had done great things. On the night of the Lord’s birth, shepherds saw the glory of heaven and received tidings of the Savior’s birth. Just as an angel had said, they found Jesus cradled in a manger—a feeding trough. Two days after Christmas, the Gospel jumps ahead to Easter, when discovery of an empty tomb filled the Lord’s friends with confusio

Zechariah doubted an angel’s message that he and his wife would have a son in their old age. In contrast, Mary and Joseph had faith that she would give birth to the Son of God! In the Gospel of Matthew, dividing the genealogy of Jesus into three sections highlighted the ancient Israelites’ history from powerful nation to people in exile to promised heirs in the Kingdom through Jesus. Our Lord told leaders that He would state the source of His authority, but they would have to tell Him first whether they believed that baptism by John had hea

Since Adam and Eve, every person except the Blessed Virgin Mary has inherited Original sin. In the Old Testament, the prophet Isaiah preached in a world of contrasts. People, like a field of withered grass and wilted flowers, still had hope because God feeds the flock He leads! Best of all, every sheep matters, and our Lord seeks out the lost ones. Jesus referred to John the Baptist as Elijah—not literally, but as prophet in the same spirit. Meanwhile, people to this day feel burdened and get tired of trudging along. If we hold onto grudges o

Admittedly unworthy to have Jesus under his roof, a Roman military officer had faith enough to ask the Lord to cure his paralyzed servant from a distance. Crowds witnessed with amazement when Jesus healed people in their midst. Knowing that the spectacular could begin to overshadow the spiritual purpose of miracles, the Lord chose to go inside to quietly give sight to two blind men. Listening to Jesus’ words without putting them to use cannot get a person to heaven. For example, Jesus verbally taught the Twelve but also sent them to minister

When a poor widow donated a monetary pittance to the Temple treasury, the Lord remarked about its great worth as a meaningful sacrifice. Jesus foretold that the richly adorned Temple in Jerusalem would become rubble. Although He did not reveal the A.D. 70 date of city’s fall, He said that people would first have to contend with doomsaying impostors, persecutions, natural disasters, plagues, and frightening celestial occurrences. Despite all of that, they would know how to refute their persecutors. What signs do our everyday lives show of pers

Embarrassed or annoyed, people in a crowd told a blind beggar to stop shouting for Jesus. Receiving his sight, the man’s cries for pity turned to praising God. Zacchaeus, a tax collector, set pride aside and climbed a tree just to see the Lord, with unanticipated results. When Jesus saw merchants using a prayer area around the Temple as a marketplace, He drove them out. Servants in a parable received handsome rewards for profitably using money entrusted to them, making the point that God rewards people for good use of blessings. Some Sadducee

When the Apostles asked Jesus to increase their faith, our Lord said that faith as small as a mustard seed would allow them to do incredible things. Forgiveness works wonders, too! Jesus came for everyone and foretold that people will go about their everyday lives, serving well or not, until He comes again. When Pharisees asked when the Kingdom of God would come, the Lord advised them to look around. Thankfulness shows that we see in Creation reflections of God’s greatness. Do we try to remove smudges of complacency that keep us from mirrorin