listening to love
“This is My beloved Son on Whom My favor rests. Listen to Him.” —Matthew 17:5
The Lord in His love is saying something to you. The Lord’s words are “spirit and life” (Jn 6:63). What He is saying is life-giving, life-saving, and full of love. What He is saying is also “over your head,” as high as the heavens are above the earth (see Is 55:9). His Word is not beyond our intellect as much as beyond our love. He loves us much more than we love ourselves and infinitely more than we love others and are loved by others (see Rm 5:8).
Because of His love for us, the Lord says things to us which seem outrageous. For example, He told the seventy-five-year-old Abram to leave his homeland and go off “not knowing where he was going” (Heb 11:8; see also Gn 12:1-4). Through St. Paul, the Lord told a hurting St. Timothy to bear his “share of the hardship which the gospel entails” (2 Tm 1:8). It was hard for Timothy and Abram to hear such things. Likewise, it will be hard for us.
The Lord in His love is saying something to you. It’s probably about the cross. Will you listen in love this Lent?
Prayer: Father, I will listen to Your whispers and Your shouts.
Promise: “God has saved us and has called us to a holy life, not because of any merit of ours but according to His own design — the grace held out to us in Christ Jesus before the world began.” —2 Tm 1:9
Praise: Praise Jesus, Who “has robbed death of its power and has brought life and immortality into clear light through the gospel” (2 Tm 1:10).
Reference:
Rescript: "In accord with the Code of Canon Law, I hereby grant the Nihil Obstat for the publication One Bread, One Body covering the time period from February 1, 2026, through March 31, 2026. Reverend Steve J. Angi, Chancellor, Vicar General, Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio August 27, 2025"
The Nihil Obstat ("Permission to Publish") is a declaration that a book or pamphlet is considered to be free of doctrinal or moral error. It is not implied that those who have granted the Nihil Obstat agree with the contents, opinions, or statements expressed.