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In Ephesians 6, Paul gives us two contrasts in the fight that we need to focus on. First, Paul tells us that people are not our fight. Second, comes when we read verses 12 and 13 together. In verse 12, Paul says that “we wrestle not,” and then in verse 13 he says, “Therefore take unto you the armour of God.”

In today's gospel we find a story of a man whose son was dying. I think this is every parent’s deepest fear—that somehow, someday, in an accident or by illness or through some other means our children will be taken from us. Nothing seems more unnatural than the death of a child.

What did Jesus mean then, when He said, "Do not judge " (in Matt.7:1)?

For some, the Rosary can become a merely mechanical action, something to be rushed through as a duty. Since the grace of any sacramental is dependent upon the attitude of the person using it, devout and thoughtful use of the Rosary is a prerequisite to enjoying the grace of the devotion.

If Jesus had not come to earth, there would be no forgiveness on earth, and if he had not conferred on the apostles this ministry of reconciliation” (2 Cor. 5:18), we would have no forgiveness today. But we can thank God that Christ did indeed come and that he passed on his authority to the Church to reconcile sinners to God.

Mary is truly our Mother of tender compassion, our "Mother of Mercy." Let us look at four ways in which Mary can be truly called the merciful Mother of Christians, and of every soul searching for God.

What lies beyond that border-line of creation's beginning, when God was all? What was "before the foundation of the world?" What took place when the Deity was Absolute, and unrelated to the non-existent universe?

There are things we go through that need the help of other people. This means that in relationships, we find weight bearers to help us carry what we could not and cannot carry by ourselves. God makes it that way so that we can’t do Christianity by ourselves.

If we walk in the Spirit, the world should know us by our walk. The apostle Paul said walking is a weapon. It’s how we fight. When we walk by the Spirit, we will not carry out the desires of the flesh.

In our Gospel reading for today we read about an amazing miracle and then an even more amazing response. Someone got more than what they asked for.

In one of his sermons, Martin Luther King Jr. said, “I imagine that the first question which the priest and the Levite asked was: ‘If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?’ But by the very nature of his concern, the Good Samaritan reversed the question: ‘If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?’”

So at the beginning of Acts, with the creation of the early church, Jesus was equipping them with something for the worst times Christianity would face. He was also equipping them with something for the worst times Christianity would face. He was also equipping us. How does God get his people ready for this type of environment?