Page 5 - Nihil Obstat News Today

my rabbouni (see jn 20:16) “Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’ She turned to Him and said [in Hebrew], ‘Rabbouni!’ (meaning ‘Teacher’).” —John 20:16 Jesus had told Mary of Bethany to keep her perfume for His burial (Jn 12:7; Mk 14:8). Perhaps Jesus had told something similar to Mary Magdalene, for she came to Jesus’ tomb to anoint His buried body on the third day after His death (see Lk 24:1, 10). Mary was determined to find His body and anoint it. Then she saw the risen Jesus and ...

believe and witness “This is the Jesus God has raised up, and we are His witnesses.” —Acts 2:32 Jesus once made the statement that even if a person should rise from the dead, some will not be convinced (Lk 16:31). He was referring to those who would not believe the Scriptures. The soldiers who took the money knew well Jesus had risen from the dead; they knew no one could have stolen the body. They also had been paralyzed with fear at the appearance of the angels. Even the chief priests k...

By Courtney Mares St. Joseph does not have any words recorded in Sacred Scripture, but the published meditations of an 18th-century Italian nun offer the chance to imagine the details of the Holy Family’s daily life as it might have been from the perspective of the foster father of Jesus. Servant of God Mother Maria Cecilia Baij’s personal revelation, described in the book “The Life of Saint Joseph,” provides an intimate portrait of the life of prayer, suffering, and joy within the Holy...

personal “For the Father loves the Son and everything the Father does He shows Him.” —John 5:20 At this moment, the will of our Father is to lead us into a deep personal relationship with Him through Jesus and in the Spirit. That is why He sent His only Son to die and rise, why He wrote the Scriptures, and why He called us into this Lenten time of fasting. That’s why in the Catholic community we began Monday reading the Gospel of John for ten weeks. Especially this Gospel leads us into ...

signs and wonders “He and his whole household thereupon became believers. This was the second sign that Jesus performed.” —John 4:53-54 Jesus promised signs and wonders would accompany those professing their faith (Mk 16:17). Notice signs and wonders do not create faith as much as faith creates signs and wonders. Jesus disapproves of faith as merely an effect and makes it primarily the cause. He rebukes the people: “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you do not believe” (Jn 4:4...

out of their mind? “Coming to his senses at last…” —Luke 15:17 Jesus mentions that the prodigal son came “to his senses at last” when his situation reached its lowest point. Jesus also forgave His persecutors from the cross, saying “Father, forgive them; they do not know what they are doing” (Lk 23:34). Through these two passages, Jesus is teaching us that it is quite possible that those who trespass against us might not be in their right mind.  Jesus pleads with His heavenly F...

in god we trust? “God put Abraham to the test.” —Genesis 22:1 Lent is a season of being put to the test (see Mt 4:1; Gn 22:1). God, “the Tester of our hearts” (1 Thes 2:4), brings us to obedience school this Lent. He is testing us to see if we trust His promises or if our hearts are far from Him and we’ve just been giving Him “lip service” (Mk 7:6). Three days ago, the Church proclaimed Jesus’ promise that God wants to provide our needs (Mt 7:7-11). Tomorrow Jesus promises u...

bent on lent “I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Choose life.” —Deuteronomy 30:19 On this second day of Lent, the Church challenges us to choose life, Lent, and salvation. If we don’t want Lent, we can easily ignore it. If we don’t want life and salvation, we can refuse them. We can either lose our life but gain everlasting life, or gain the whole world and lose our soul (Lk 9:24-25). The choice is ours, whether or not we want to choose. Many Christians ...

work force “The Lord God then took the man and settled him in the garden of Eden, to cultivate and care for it.” —Genesis 2:15 Work was part of paradise. Man cultivated and cared for the garden of Eden before he sinned. We still experience glimpses of fulfillment and creativity in work. Yet, after the fall of man, work has been warped by sin, and our experience of work is often closer to Hell than Paradise. The good news is that when Jesus redeemed us, He saved every aspect of our lives, ...

“separate yourselves” (2 cor 6:17) “God then separated...” —Genesis 1:4 God’s original creation involved multiple acts of separation (Gn 1:4, 6, 7, 14, 18). God’s separations were “good” (Gn 1:12, 18). God’s new creation in Christ also involves multiple acts of separation. In His new creation, the Lord separates us from: • original sin and its loss of intimacy with God through the Sacrament of Baptism (Gn 3:23; Catechism, 1263), • our sins through the ministry of Jesus (...