People crowded Jesus so much at the lake that he had to get into a boat and teach from it. Once situated, He did what He did so often, "Then He taught them many things by parables, and said to them in His teaching..." (Mark 4:2). Jesus used parables to teach. The word "parable" comes from two Greek ...

The Lord taught Israel and the world something about His presence when He instructed Israel in this manner, "And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 'Command the children of Israel that they put out of the camp every leper, everyone who has a discharge, and whoever becomes defiled by a corpse. You shal...

Scribes claimed that Jesus cast out demons by the power of Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons, or Satan himself. Jesus demolished that argument, "So He called them to Himself and said to them in parables: 'How can Satan cast out Satan?'" (Mark 3:23). Satan would not cast himself out, that is, he wou...

As we begin the first day of this Novena to St. Joseph for Alcoholics, we pray: O chaste Spouse of Mary most holy, glorious Saint Joseph, great was the trouble and anguish of thy heart when thou wast minded to put away privately thine inviolate Spouse, yet thy joy was unspeakable, when the surpassin...

Jesus went into a synagogue where a man with a withered hand was, and the enemies of Jesus watched Him closely to see what He would do. Then this happened, "And He said to the man who had the withered hand, 'Step forward'" (Mark 3:3). Later Jesus told the man to stretch out His hand. Step forward; s...

The Book of Numbers begins with instructions from the Lord for Moses to take a census of Israel in the wilderness. Additionally, the Lord told Moses, "And with you there shall be a man from every tribe, each one the head of his father's house" (Numbers 1:4). In Israel, men wanted to be leaders. They...

Four men wanted to get their paralyzed friend to Jesus, but the house where He taught had no more room. No one could even stand at the door because of the crowd. Did the four friends give up, or did their sheer determination and pure compassion for their paralyzed friend find a way to get him to Jes...

When God created in the beginning, He simply uttered the command and things appeared out of nothing. He said let there be light and there was light. After a man with an unclean spirit confronted Jesus, watch what He did, "But Jesus rebuked him, saying, 'Be quiet, and come out of him!' And when the u...

I'm writing this from N.C. I have returned home to the States when it didn't look like my Mom was making any kind of improvement. I had planned on returning to the States in mid-April to help Danielle and Brad finish up their wedding plans. Today, my Mom was supposed to have a feeding tube placed si...

When an angel of the Lord appeared before the guards at the tomb of Jesus, they shook for fear and became as dead men. When the two Marys saw the same angel, they also feared, but before they passed out like the guards, this happened, "But the angel answered and said to the women, 'Do not be afraid,...