If we refuse to accept the forgiveness offered to us, we blaspheme against the Holy Spirit—the only unforgivable sin. Many failed to understand Jesus’ parables, and the Lord even had to explain to His inner circle the one about seed scattered on different types of ground. It means that the Word only takes root in people receptive to it. Given the light of faith, Jesus taught the Disciples not to hide it! Afraid of perishing at sea and—worse yet—afraid that the Lord didn’t care, the panicked Disciples woke Him as a gale threatened to s

Like a bridegroom who wanted wedding guests to celebrate with him, Jesus made exceptions to the rules on when to fast. Pharisees saw Jesus bursting with ideas fermenting in people’s minds. Desperate to challenge Him, some scribes and Pharisees asked why the Lord allowed His Disciples to pick and eat heads of grain while walking along on a Sabbath day. In a synagogue, Jesus saw a man with a withered hand and asked the Pharisees if they had any objection to doing something good on the Sabbath. They declined to answer, and Jesus healed the man.

Following John the Baptist’s arrest, Jesus preached the Kingdom of God at hand. In the synagogue in Capernaum, He amazed people by teaching with authority and even banishing an unclean spirit from a man. Having cured Peter’s mother-in-law and many others who then came to the house, the Lord got up early the next morning to find a place to pray. Peter and company tracked Him down. After his request for healing, a leper could not abide by the Lord’s request to keep the miracle quiet. As His fame spread, Jesus could hardly escape the limelig

Magi followed the Star of Bethlehem, presented gifts befitting of a king to Jesus, and left by a route that avoided reporting to King Herod. (His son, Herod Antipas, later had John the Baptist imprisoned and beheaded.) Whether preaching to a crowd, providing a miraculous meal of loaves and fish, or healing a leper one-to-one, Jesus carried on while also preparing the Twelve to minister in His name. The first Letter of Saint John focuses on Jesus’ commandments to believe in Him and love one another. In love, God sent the Son, and the Son gave

During the ritual presentation of a firstborn son in the Temple, a holy man named Simeon recognized Jesus as the awaited Christ. Anna, an elderly prophetess there, also spoke about the Child, giving thanks to God. John the Baptist and Jesus both grew up. Preaching repentance and baptizing with water, John began his public ministry first. God had revealed to John that he would see the Holy Spirit come upon the One who would Baptize with the Spirit. Scripture provides assurance of the Father’s love but also the challenge of abandoning love of t

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