Jesus Christ carries many titles – King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Savior of the World. Another role prefigured in the Old Testament book of Isaiah was a unifier of nations – the Prince of Peace.
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government will be upon his shoulder, and his name will be called “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
Click here for audio reflection - https://soundcloud.com/prayfortwo/pray-for-two-prince-of-peace
Click here for full text - http://www.godislove.blog/prayfor2/2020/1/14/prince-of-peace
Today, let’s pray from Isaiah 11, a passage rich in hope, prefiguring the coming of Jesus.
“There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.
And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.
Click here for audio reflection - https://soundcloud.com/prayfortwo/pray-for-two-root-of-jesse
Click here for full text - http://www.godislove.blog/prayfor2/2020/1/14/root-of-jesse
You are the light of the world. Jesus figuratively passed His torch to us in the Gospel of Matthew,
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”
Click here for audio reflection - https://soundcloud.com/prayfortwo/radiating-christ
Click here for full text - http://www.godislove.blog/prayfor2/2020/1/14/radiating-christ
The Advent season reawakens us to a name originally introduced in Isaiah - Emmanuel, meaning, “God is with us.” The Creator of the world didn’t dispassionately spin the world into existence, step back, then wish us the best of luck. He so intimately knows and loves us that he chose to become one of us.
Listen to the Gospel of Matthew…
Click here for audio reflection - https://soundcloud.com/prayfortwo/pray-for-two-emmanuel
Click here for full text - http://www.godislove.blog/prayfor2/2020/1/14/emmanuel
How do we discern the will of God? Saint Paul told the Romans, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
A simple formula for discernment is ask, test and trust.
Click here for audio reflection - https://soundcloud.com/prayfortwo/pray-for-two-discernment
Click here for full text - http://www.godislove.blog/prayfor2/2020/1/14/discernment
The Church recently recognized John Henry Newman as a canonized saint of the Church. A brilliant 19th century poet and author, Newman was an Anglican convert to Catholicism from England. While we believe that there are many people in heaven, the canonization process recognizes those who lived lives or heroic virtue in this life, and are interceding on our behalf to Jesus in heaven.
Today, let’s dwell in the prayer of this newly recognized saint…
Click here for audio reflection - https://soundcloud.com/prayfortwo/prayer-of-st-john-henry-newman
Click here for full text - http://www.godislove.blog/prayfor2/2020/1/14/prayer-of-st-john-henry-newman
I once heard a non-Catholic ask a priest why they couldn’t receive communion.
While we encourage Christian unity, Scripture sets a very high bar for communion. In saying, “Amen,” and accepting the Eucharist, we profess to believe all the Church teaches, and that our soul is in a state of grace, that is, not in a serious state of sin.
Saint Paul shared this on the gravity of receiving communion…
Click here for audio reflection - https://soundcloud.com/prayfortwo/pray-for-two-the-gravity-of-communion
Click here for full text - http://www.godislove.blog/prayfor2/2020/1/14/the-gravity-of-communion
As I came into the Church, I was intrigued by the overlap between beliefs of Christianity and other religions.
When Jesus said, “unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven,” it reminded me of the concept of “Beginner’s Mind” in Zen Buddhism. Each encourages a childlike humility, full of faith and wonder.
Click here for audio reflection - https://soundcloud.com/prayfortwo/pray-for-two-zen-beginners-mind
Click here for full text - http://www.godislove.blog/prayfor2/2020/1/14/zen-beginners-mind
God calls us to comfort the mourning. When the sister of one of our small Christian Community members passed away, we struggled with how to comfort them.
We discovered a video on an ancient Jewish tradition called “Sitting Shiva,” which seemed to share the Latin root of, “compassion” which means, “to suffer with.” The intent is to sit with the mourning person, with no expectations for conversation, but to simply be present and suffer with them.
Click here for audio reflection: https://soundcloud.com/prayfortwo/pray-for-2-sitting-shiva
Click here for full text: http://www.godislove.blog/prayfor2/2020/1/14/sitting-shiva
What is your image of God? In taking with a good friend, he shared that it’s hard to relate to God because we have no image of him. God revealed himself to many in the Bible, but typically cloaked himself, as He did to Moses in the book of Exodus.
Click here for audio reflection - https://soundcloud.com/prayfortwo/pray-for-2-image-of-god
Click here for full text - http://www.godislove.blog/prayfor2/2020/1/14/image-of-god-1
Peace be with you. Peace means so much more than a lack of conflict. It’s rooted in the Jewish word, Shalom – which means both hello and goodbye, but is also meant to convey a wish for harmony, wholeness, completeness, prosperity, welfare and tranquility to the hearer. It is a very holistic, and hence holy, expression of faith, hope and love.
Today, let’s dwell in the richness Jesus meant to convey when He said, “Peace be with you,” to “Doubting Thomas,” in the Gospel of John.
Click here for audio reflection - https://soundcloud.com/prayfortwo/pray-for-2-peace-be-with-you
Click here for full text - http://www.godislove.blog/prayfor2/2020/1/14/peace-be-with-you
There are multiple translations of the Bible, largely because the original texts were written in Hebrew and Greek. Some words carry added meaning that English can’t fully articulate.
One such word in Old Testament Hebrew is the word chesed, used in the prayer of Psalm 118.
Click here for audio reflection - https://soundcloud.com/prayfortwo/pray-for-2-divine-mercy
Click here for full text - http://www.godislove.blog/prayfor2/2019/4/30/divine-mercy
As an agnostic, I questioned a lot. I believed there had to be a creator - the world seemed far too complex, with too many contingencies, to be an evolutionary accident. But it felt like this creator had spun the world into existence, threw up his hands, and wished us all best of luck in sorting life out. God seemed far off and unapproachable.
Click here for audio reflection - https://soundcloud.com/prayfortwo/pray-for-2-ask-seek-knock
Click here for full text - http://www.godislove.blog/prayfor2/2019/4/30/ask-seek-knock
Today, I’d like you to impart a sense of urgency around both forgiveness and the sacrament of confession. Too often, we choose to dwell in unforgiveness and unforgiven sin. Jesus was clear about reconciling quickly in the Gospel of Matthew…
Click here for audio reflection - https://soundcloud.com/prayfortwo/pray-for-2-the-urgency-of-forgiveness
Click here for full text - http://www.godislove.blog/prayfor2/2019/4/30/the-urgency-of-forgiveness
Following the daily readings of the Church a part of your daily prayer effectively makes you a member of the world’s largest book club. No matter where you go in the world, in solidarity you would hear the same readings on any given day.
Click here for audio reflection - https://soundcloud.com/prayfortwo/pray-for-2-worlds-largest-book-club
Click here for full text - http://www.godislove.blog/prayfor2/2019/4/30/worlds-largest-book-club
Seven is a sign of perfection in the bible, and the seven words in Psalm 46:10 might be a perfect prayer.
Be still and know that I am God.
Click here for audio reflection - https://soundcloud.com/prayfortwo/pray-for-2-be-still-and-know-that-i-am-god
Click here for text - http://www.godislove.blog/prayfor2/2019/4/29/be-still-and-know-that-i-am-god
Why do Jesus and Saint Paul make such a big deal about those who followed the law versus those who professed faith? Because those following the law thought it was their works and actions earning them salvation instead of recognizing it as a free gift from God.
Click here for audio reflection - https://soundcloud.com/prayfortwo/pray-for-2-running-the-race
Click here for full text - http://www.godislove.blog/prayfor2/2019/4/30/running-the-race
My son and I were filling out our March Madness brackets, and we looked up the odds of achieving a perfect bracket. A Duke math professor calculated the odds at 1 in 9 quintillion, which is 9 followed by 18 zeros. Would you believe that the odds of you existing are even more improbable?
Click here for audio reflection - https://soundcloud.com/prayfortwo/pray-for-2-you-are-improbable
Click here for full text - http://www.godislove.blog/prayfor2/2019/4/30/you-are-improbable
There is a popular notion that most people go to heaven, yet Saint Matthew describes the path to heaven as a “narrow gate”, and that the road to destruction is wide.
And yet we know that God desires all to return to heaven.
Click here for audio reflection - https://soundcloud.com/prayfortwo/pray-for-2-heaven-or-hell-our-choice
Click here for full text - http://www.godislove.blog/prayfor2/2019/4/30/heaven-or-hell-our-choice
It is better to give than receive. Do you remember where that is in the Bible? It’s a trick question – it’s actually a quote of Saint Francis of Assisi. But the concept is very much rooted in Scripture.
Click here for audio reflection - https://soundcloud.com/prayfortwo/pray-for-2-better-to-give-than-to-receive
Click here for full text - http://www.godislove.blog/prayfor2/2019/4/30/better-to-give-than-to-receive
