2 minute prayer reflections on the daily readings of the Church
Love is all you need.
John Lennon’s song may not have been theologically complete, but it was on the right path. Love is PRIMARILY what you need.
Why?
Because God IS love…
Click here for audio reflection - https://soundcloud.com/prayfortwo/love-is-all-you-need
Click here for full text - http://www.godislove.blog/prayfor2/2020/3/1/love-is-all-you-need
Is there a more common stereotype than, “Catholic guilt?”
We are actually called to a life of joy, lived in the truth of Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, we live in an era of relativism, where truth is said to be a personal choice, or outright denied. C.S. Lewis even said, “When you hate the truth, the truth sounds hateful.”
Guilt, and a conscience properly formed in truth, are the core of our spiritual nervous system.
Click here for audio reflection - https://soundcloud.com/prayfortwo/pray-for-two-catholic-guilt
Click here for full text - http://www.godislove.blog/prayfor2/2020/3/1/catholic-guilt
The Church is later described as the body of Christ, with Christ as the head, meaning one cannot exist separate from the other. Trying to be a follower of Jesus apart from the Church is essentially spiritual decapitation, as he promised to be with His bride for all time.
Click here for audio reflection - https://soundcloud.com/prayfortwo/pray-for-two-on-this-rock
Click here for full text - http://www.godislove.blog/prayfor2/2020/3/1/on-this-rock
Why did Jesus enter into the world?
The simple answer was to say, “I love you.” Jesus loves you right where you are, but he also loves you too much to leave you there. This great light appeared in the darkness to shower grace into our sinful nature, but only if we are willing to accept that grace.
Click here for audio reflection - https://soundcloud.com/prayfortwo/pray-for-two-i-love-you
Click here for full text - http://www.godislove.blog/prayfor2/2020/1/14/i-love-you
Most of us think of an epiphany as an enlightening revelation or discovery – an “aha moment.” In the Church, it means manifestation, as in the Christmas story of Jesus, where he became present to the Magi, and they recognize Him as the promised Messiah and Savior of the world.
Click here for audio reflection - https://soundcloud.com/prayfortwo/pray-for-two-epiphany
Click here for full text - http://www.godislove.blog/prayfor2/2020/1/14/epiphany
All people sin. But at the same time, you are not defined by your sin. That is secondary. Your primary identity is a beloved son or daughter of God, the creator of the universe and father of all. Accepting Jesus’s free gift of grace reconciles you from your sin.
So I want to caution you about calling yourself a sinner.
Click here for audio reflection - https://soundcloud.com/prayfortwo/pray-for-two-are-you-a-sinner
Click here for full text - http://www.godislove.blog/prayfor2/2020/1/14/are-you-a-sinner
Many of us struggle with seasonal blues. There is the loss of the warmth of summer, and the winnowing daylight, hitting a trough on the Winter Solstice.
It is not a coincidence that Jesus was born on one of the darkest days of the year. The timing of Christmas is providential, warming our hearts in the middle of the dark and cold.
Click here for audio reflection - https://soundcloud.com/prayfortwo/pray-for-two-light-in-the-darkness
Click here for full text - http://www.godislove.blog/prayfor2/2020/1/14/light-in-the-darkness
There are few more memorable opening lines in all of literature than the opening of the Gospel of Saint John.
Click here for audio reflection - https://soundcloud.com/prayfortwo/pray-for-two-in-the-beginning-john-1-1-17
Click here for full text - http://www.godislove.blog/prayfor2/2020/1/14/in-the-beginning-john-1-1-17
Shepherds, wisemen, or magi?
Whichever you call them, their story in the Gospel of Matthew is an intriguing part of the Christmas narrative.
Click here for audio reflection - https://soundcloud.com/prayfortwo/pray-for-two-shepherds-wisemen-or-magi
Click here for full text - http://www.godislove.blog/prayfor2/2020/1/14/shepherds-wisemen-or-magi
Today, let’s imagine standing as a shepherd in the countryside of rural Judea 2000 years ago.
It’s pitch black, with only the occasional bleat of a sheep breaching the calm. Close your eyes and breathe in the smell of your flock, and the peace of the night.
Click here for audio reflection - https://soundcloud.com/prayfortwo/pray-for-two-shepherds-and-angels
Click here for full text - http://www.godislove.blog/prayfor2/2020/1/14/shepherds-of-angels
“Give me a sign!”
Is there a person out there that hasn’t questioned God by asking for a sign to prove he exists and loves us?
Jesus even called us out in the Gospel of Saint John, saying,
“Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.”
Click here for audio reflection - https://soundcloud.com/prayfortwo/pray-for-two-seeking-signs
Click here for full text - http://www.godislove.blog/prayfor2/2020/1/14/seeking-signs
That’s the description many scholars use for the Old Testament book of Isaiah. It is rich in foreshadowing the coming of Jesus, and a staple of the daily readings in the Advent season.
Today, listen to the excitement and urgency of this prophet. He can barely contain himself, comparing the coming of Jesus and the Kingdom of God to the vindication of the city of Jerusalem.
Click here for audio reflection - https://soundcloud.com/prayfortwo/pray-for-two-the-fifth-gospel
Click here for full text - http://www.godislove.blog/prayfor2/2020/1/14/the-fifth-gospel
Do you ever think of Christmas as adoption day?
When God sent His son, Jesus Christ, into the world, He began the reconciliation of
humanity to Himself. This relationship had been severed by the original sin of Adam and
Eve in the Garden of Eden. Through the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus, we
were redeemed, making us adopted sons and daughters of God the Father.
Click for audio reflection - https://soundcloud.com/prayfortwo/pray-for-two-destined-for-adoption
Click for full text - http://www.godislove.blog/prayfor2/2020/1/14/destined-for-adoption
One of the arguments proponents use is that Jesus doesn’t say anything against gay marriage. Homosexuality is discussed both prior to Jesus in the Old Testament book of Leviticus, and after in New Testament letters of Saint Paul, among many other sins.
What does Jesus say about marriage?
Click here for audio reflection - https://soundcloud.com/prayfortwo/pray-for-two-gay-marriage
Click here for full text - http://www.godislove.blog/prayfor2/2020/1/14/gay-marriage
Why God?
This is a very natural and common reaction along our road of faith, questioning or even blaming God for our trials and afflictions.
Why would you take my child from me? Why do you allow war? Why did you let me fail?
Click here for audio reflection - https://soundcloud.com/prayfortwo/pray-for-two-blaming-god
Click here for full text - http://www.godislove.blog/prayfor2/2020/1/14/blaming-god
Mary’s fiat, her “yes,” where she accepts the message that she is pregnant by the Holy Spirit with the child of God, Jesus Christ, is memorialized in the Gospel of Saint Luke.
Today, I’d like to propose that Joseph also had a fiat, when he honorably accepted the Mary’s pregnancy.
Click for audio reflection - https://soundcloud.com/prayfortwo/pray-for-two-josephs-honorable-fiat
Click for full text - http://www.godislove.blog/prayfor2/2020/1/14/josephs-honorable-fiat
The season of Advent is a season of waiting. For kids, it’s the seemingly never-ending wait for acres of presents under the tree Christmas morning.
But it’s primarily about preparing our hearts, waiting for the breach between Heaven and Earth, where God took form in human flesh, to dwell among us in the person of Jesus Christ.
Click here for audio reflection - https://soundcloud.com/prayfortwo/pray-for-two-waiting
Click here for full text - http://www.godislove.blog/prayfor2/2020/1/14/waiting
Have you heard the story of the man living in a house facing an imminent flood? An authority drives by to recommend the homeowners evacuate. The man responds, “I have faith that God will save me,” and ignores the ride.
Click here for audio reflection - https://soundcloud.com/prayfortwo/pray-for-two-faith-in-the-storm
Click here for full text - http://www.godislove.blog/prayfor2/2020/1/14/faith-in-the-storm
John the Baptist calls out the Pharisees and Sadducees for not bearing good fruit,
foreshadowing Jesus’s talk on the vine and branches. Both use trees and plants as
analogies for our works of faith. Both share the same dire warning for those that don’t
bear good fruit.
Click for audio reflection - https://soundcloud.com/prayfortwo/pray-for-two-bear-good-fruit
Click for full text - http://www.godislove.blog/prayfor2/2020/1/14/bear-good-fruit
Have you ever thought of Mary Poppins as a Catholic Theologian?
Saint John revealed that, “God is love” and Jesus Christ called himself, “the Way, the Truth, and the Life,” so our call to share the truth in love is full of divine implications.
Jesus routinely conveyed the loving mercy of His Father. He was also fearless in sharing hard truths. A deeper dive reveals an intriguing underlying pattern.
Click here for audio reflection - https://soundcloud.com/prayfortwo/pray-for-two-lead-with-love
Click here for full text - http://www.godislove.blog/prayfor2/2020/1/14/lead-with-love
