Inspiration for a Catholic Life
Here is the list of all the Christian Tumblrs I am aware of.
To be added to this list,
please send me a message.
Here is the list of all the Christian Tumblrs I am aware of.
To be added to this list,
please send me a message.
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Quote reblogged from BishopFeedThe Resurrection of Jesus from the dead is absolutely essential to the Catholic faith. Without belief in the Resurrection, our faith is dead. As St. Paul writes: “If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain” (1 Cor 15:14).Bishop John LeVoir (New Ulm)
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Quote reblogged from BishopFeedGod is absent from the U.S. Constitution—but not because he’s unwelcome. In effect, God suffused the whole constitutional enterprise. Nearly all the Founders were religious believers, and some were quite devout. Their writings are heavily influenced by biblical language, morality, and thought. America could afford to be secular in the best sense, precisely because its people were so religious.Archbishop Charles Chaput (Philadelphia)
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(God) desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of truth.
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Quote reblogged from BishopFeedMary is the providential instrument chosen by God to make himself visible to our eyes, our minds and our hearts.Cardinal Bernard Law (Vatican)
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Photo reblogged from Fr. Shane Johnson
The Annunciation by phatpuppycreations on Flickr.
This is actually a pretty neat rendering…
They say the Annunciation is the most-depicted subject in the history of Western art.
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Post reblogged from @mznormann
In Genesis, Jesus is the seed of the Woman.
In Exodus, He is the Passover Lamb.
In Leviticus, He is the Priest, the Altar and the Lamb of Sacrifice.
In Numbers, He is the pillar of cloud by day, and the pillar of fire by night.
In Deuteronomy, Jesus is the Prophet like Moses.
Come and kneel before Him now.
In Joshua, Jesus is the Captain of our salvation.
In Judges, He is our Judge and Law-Giver.
In Ruth, He is our Kinsman and Redeemer.
In 1 & 2 Samuel, He is our trusted Prophet.
In Kings & Chronicles, He is our reigning King.
In Ezra, He is the rebuilder of the broken-down walls of human life.
Come and kneel before Him now.
In Nehemiah, Jesus is our Restorer.
In Tobit, He is the messenger of New Life.
In Judith, He is weakness turned into victory.
In Esther, He is our Advocate.
In 1 & 2 Maccabees, He is the leader who dies for God’s law.
Come and kneel before Him now.
In Job, Jesus is our Ever-Living Redeemer.
In Psalms, He is our Shepherd.
In Proverbs, He is our Wisdom.
In Ecclesiastes, He is our hope of resurrection.
In the Song of Songs, He is our loving Bridegroom.
In Wisdom, He is the emanation of God’s law.
In Ecclesiasticus, Jesus is our security.
Come and kneel before Him now.
In Isaiah, Jesus is the suffering Servant.
In Jeremiah, He is the righteous wronged.
In Lamentations, He is our weeping prophet.
In Baruch, He is the mercy from the Eternal One.
In Ezekiel, He is the one with the right to rule.
In Daniel, Jesus is the fourth man in the fiery furnace.
Come and kneel before Him now.
In Hosea, Jesus is the faithful husband forever married to the sinner.
In Joel, He is the one who baptises with the Holy Spirit, fire.
In Amos, He is the restorer of Justice.
In Obadiah, He is mighty to save.
In Jonah, He is our great foreign missionary.
In Micah, Jesus is the feet of one who brings good news.
Come and kneel before Him now.
In Nahum, Jesus is our stronghold in the day of trouble.
In Habakkuk, He is God my Saviour.
In Zephaniah, He is the King of Israel.
In Haggai, He is the signet ring.
In Zecharish, He is our humble King riding on a colt.
In Malachi, Jesus is the son of righteousness.
Come and kneel before Him now.
In Matthew, Jesus is God-with-us.
In Mark, He is the Son of God.
In Luke, He is the Son of Mary, feeling what you feel.
In John, He is the Bread of Life.
In Acts, Jesus is the Savior of the world.
Come and kneel before Him now.
In Romans, Jesus is the righteousness of God.
In 1 Corinthians, He is the Resurrection.
In 2 Corinthians, He is the God of all comfort.
In Galatians, He is your liberty, He sets you free.
In Ephesians, Jesus is the Head of the Church.
Come and kneel before Him now.
In Philippians, Jesus is your joy.
In Colossians, He is your completeness.
In 1 & 2 Thessalonians, He is your hope.
In 1 Timothy, He is your faith.
In 2 Timothy, Jesus is your stability.
Come and kneel before Him now.
In Titus, Jesus is Truth.
In Philemon, He is your benefactor.
In Hebrews, He is your perfection.
In James, He is the power behind your faith.
In 1 Peter, He is your example.
In 2 Peter, Jesus is your purity.
Come and kneel before Him now.
In 1 John, Jesus is your life.
In 2 John, He is your pattern.
In 3 John, He is your motivation.
In Jude, He is the foundation of your faith.
In Revelation, Jesus is your coming King.
He is the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.
He is the Keeper of Creation and the Creator of all.
He is the Architect of the Universe and the Manager of all Time.
He always Was, He always Is and He always Will Be,
Unmoved, Unchanged, Undefeated and never undone.
He was bruised and brought healing,
He was pierced and eased pain,
He was persecuted and brought freedom,
He was dead and brought life.
He is risen and brings power,
He reigns and brings peace.
The world can’t understand Him,
Armies can’t defeat Him,
Schools can’t explain Him
And the leaders can’t ignore Him.Herod couldn’t kill Him,
The Pharisees couldn’t confuse Him,
The people couldn’t hold Him,
Nero couldn’t crush Him,
Hitler couldn’t find Him,
The New Age can’t replace Him
And Oprah can’t explain Him away.
He is Life, Love, Longevity and Law.
He is goodness, kindness, gentleness and love.
He is holy, righteous, mighty, powerful, good.
His Way is Right, His Words Eternal.
His rules unchanging, and His mind is on me.
He is my Redeemer, His is my Savior, He is my God, He is my Priest,
He is my Joy, He is my Comfort, He is my Law, and He rules my life. -
Post reblogged from Adventuring Afar
During those days Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.”
-Luke 1.39-45
This is the first recorded act of Mary after hearing the news that she would bear the Son of God. Mary “set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah” to be with her cousin Elizabeth who was also pregnant. Mary did not think first of herself and what her own pregnancy could mean. She went instead to help Elizabeth who was in need. Mary thought of others and put the needs of Elizabeth before her own needs.
Mary greets Elizabeth and within Elizabeth’s womb, John leaps for joy. John somehow senses the nearness of the Lord within Mary’s womb. John’s greeting is the first that Jesus receives from this world. John leaps for joy, the joy that comes only from knowing that the Savior is with us.
Then Elizabeth, “filled with the Holy Spirit,” is the first to recognize Mary as the Mother of God. Mary, the most blessed of all women. Mary, the Mother of the Redeemer. Mary, the New Eve. The words with which Elizabeth greets Mary are used in the first part of the Ave Maria. “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.”
My favorite part of Elizabeth’s greeting, however, is not this first sentence but rather the second: “And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” I’m not exactly sure why this seems so important to me. It is something that I could see myself saying. It seems, to me, to be a question of “why me?” In this sentence, I read Elizabeth as questioning why Mary came to her. Mary could have gone elsewhere or not come at all. Still, Mary chose to be with Elizabeth.
Elizabeth also tells Mary of the greeting John gives, leaping for joy within her womb. It is Mary who can understand John’s joy. Mary is full of that joy as well, the joy of doing the will of God. And this is what Elizabeth also says, “Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.” Mary, unlike Zechariah, believed what the angel said. She accepted the will of the Lord in her life. By her “yes,” the Lord is given a human body with which to ensure our salvation from sin and death. Mary believed and her belief is what allowed Jesus to come into the world. -
Link reblogged from Adventuring Afar
“The angel of the Lord appeared to him [Zechariah], standing at the right of the altar of incense. Zechariah was troubled by what he saw, and fear came upon him. But the angel said to him, ‘Do no be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall name him John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the sight of [the] Lord. He will drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb, and he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. He will go before them in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of fathers toward children and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous, to prepare a people fit for the Lord.’ Then Zechariah said to the Lord, ‘How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.’ And the angel said to him in reply, ‘I am Gabriel, who stand before God. I was sent to speak to you and to announce to you this good news. But now you will be speechless and unable to talk until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled at their proper time.’”
~Luke 1:11-20
I have to say that I understand what Zechariah must have been feeling. First of all we must remember that Zechariah is a priest of the God of Israel. He entered the “sanctuary of the Lord to burn incense” (Luke 1.9). He probably wasn’t planning to have such a real spiritual experience that day. Zechariah may have been “chosen by lot” (Luke 1.9) for all the priests but God chose him specifically. Zechariah was meant to be there and God was waiting for him.
The appearance of the angel Gabriel probably terrified Zechariah. He was supposed to be in the sanctuary of the Lord by himself. Anyone and anything else being there was out of the ordinary. It would have shocked Zechariah and probably terrified him. The same thing has happened to us. Have you ever walked into your bedroom at night and scared yourself because you thought you saw something? I know I have. The light may have been playing with my eyes, but either way, I scared myself. Zechariah has this same sort of experience except that he isn’t scaring himself and the light isn’t playing tricks with him. The angel Gabriel is really there. Think to yourself for a moment: What would you do if, right now, you walked into a room you believed was empty and saw someone you had never met before standing there looking at you and this person knew your name? Wouldn’t you be terrified too? I would. But the angel (person in this senario) doesn’t just know your name but also the name of your spouse and knows of your deep desire to have a child. Wouldn’t you be scared and about ready to freak out?
The angel then goes on to tell Zechariah the name he will give the child, the name of John. The angel continues to talk, telling Zechariah how important this child is and that this child filled with God’s Spirit, effectively Gabriel is telling Zechariah that his son John will be an instrument of God’s will on earth. Imagine hearing that before you even know for certain that your wife is pregnant, thinking you know for certain that there is no way she could be pregnant because she is barren. Now this would just sound like someone’s dream, something that could never happen.
So then, you are Zechariah. What would you say? Would you question what the angel said? Would you want to know how this is going to happen? Would you believe this? I’m pretty sure I’d answer just like Zechariah: “How do I know to believe you? I’m old, my wife is old and she’s also barren. How is this gonna work?”
Gabriel isn’t even going to answer Zechariah’s questions. He just goes, “I am Gabriel. I stand before God, I see His Face. I came to tell you good news and you should be happy. Because of your unbelief of my words, you will be mute until you son is born.” Then Gabriel leaves and Zechariah cannot speak. Then, as Zechariah, you may start to think, “That angel may be right. I mean, he took away my voice.”
So, what do you think? Is Zechariah’s doubt misplaced? If you were Zechariah, would you have doubted Gabriel’s words? What would you have done?
