Scripture: Ezekiel 37:14
I will put my spirit in you that you may live, and I will settle you upon your land;
thus you shall know that I am the LORD.
I have promised,
and I will do it,
says the LORD.
Prayer:
Lord, purify my every thought and desire, that I may make of myself a true offering of love.
Intention:
Today, pray for Toni, whose funeral was held, and Graham, who was baptized, at Lourdes this past year.
Note: If the Scripture verse for the day feels "out of context," that's because it is! Pay attention to what God may be saying to you through the snippet, but you are also extremely encouraged to go look at the context and read more of the surrounding passages, footnotes, etc.
Friends, today’s Gospel about the raising of Lazarus has a pointed message for us.
Everyone reading this is, to a degree, spiritually dead. Maybe you’re like Lazarus—four days in your tomb. Maybe you feel there is just no hope for the likes of you. I don’t care how far you’ve fallen. I don’t care how dead you are. The voice of Jesus can call you back to life, can pull you out of the tomb.
Listen to what Jesus says: “Untie him and let him go.” God hates death and the ways of death. He hates all the ways we’ve managed to tie ourselves up. He hates how we’ve wandered into tombs and graves.
Maybe you’re sunk in an addiction. Maybe you’ve done things you are so ashamed of that you can’t even bring yourself to speak of them. Maybe you’ve fallen out of relationship with the people you love the most. Maybe you’ve been a first-class jerk. Maybe you just feel you’re a failure. Maybe you’re terrified of dying. I don’t care. Listen for the voice!
“Untie him and let him go.”
Bishop Robert Barron
