Wisdom 11:22-12:2;  2 Thessalonians 1:11-2:2;  Luke 19:1-10 The human mind cannot fully grasp, let alone even begin to comprehend the vastness of the universe.  When we contemplate the heavens, the moon and the stars, we can become overwhelmed with the enormity of space.  Our own Milky Way is a galaxy with billions of stars...
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2 Maccabees 7:1-2,9-14;  2 Thessalonians 2:16–3:5;  Luke 20:27-38 What happens when you die?  This is a question that has been pondered, puzzled over and debated from the time that humanity began to walk on the face of this earth.  This is the question that lies at the heart of the exchange between Jesus and...
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Exodus 17:8-13; 2 Timothy 3:14–4:2; Luke 18:1-8 Be persistent in your prayers.  Never give up.  Pray always.  Such is the message Jesus is giving us, his followers, for God always answers our prayers.  The point is pretty clear in Jesus’ comparison of the unjust judge and God.  If an unjust judge will eventually give...
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2 Kings 5:14-17; 2 Timothy 2:8-13; Luke 17:11-19 Leprosy is an extremely painful and highly communicable disease.  The sores and open wounds of this illness can grow to the extreme that the one infected could even lose fingers and toes.  In addition to the physical pain is the emotional pain of loneliness that one...
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Habakkuk 1:2-3;2:2-4;  2 Timothy 1:6-8;  Luke 17:5-10 This fall I have been constantly reminded of the blessing and sanctity of human life.  I just baptized a child born with a series of medical conditions which will require several corrective surgeries and procedures.  I know of several expectant mothers who are on strict bed-rest to...
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Amos 6:1,4-7; 1 Timothy 6:11-16; Luke 16:19-31 The prophet Amos spoke to the people of Israel at a time when they had become financially prosperous.  Comfortable in their homes and their way of life their days were filled with eating, drinking, and being merry.  At the very same time their society around them was...
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Amos 8:4-7; I Timothy 2:1-8; Luke 16:1-13 Every minute of every day, the nations of the world spend 2.85 million dollars on military armaments.  Every day, 16000 children die of hunger. Every year, 1.2 million babies are aborted in the U.S.  Every day, a species becomes extinct.  Every year, an area of the...
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Exodus 32:7-11,13-14; 1 Timothy 1:12-17; Luke 15:1-32 Discipleship, if you really think about it, is an adult experience of faith.  While children can and do believe in Jesus, their expression of faith is pretty much limited to the choices their parents make for them.  A child cannot typically live the call to discipleship because...
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Wisdom 9:13-18;  Philemon 9-10,12-17;  Luke 14:25-33 A century before Christ was born, crucifixion was introduced by the Roman authorities as a punishment for those who committed treason.  Crucifixion soon became commonplace in Palestine, the region where Jesus was born and raised.  When Jesus was about ten years old, history teaches us that the Romans...
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Sirach 3:1718,20,28-29; Hebrews 12:18-23; Luke 14:1,7-14 It is through pride that sin and suffering came into this world.  Our first parents, Adam and Eve, were faced with the very temptation that resulted in the fall of the tempter.  As faith teaches us, Satan began as an angel named Lucifer.  Created as a pure spirit,...
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