I've Been Tagged, Baby! Three Favorite Scripture Verses.

Many thanks to Celeste Behe at Perpetual Jubilee for tagging me in a blogging meme! The theme for this meme is "Three Favorite Scripture Verses."


Gulp! I humbly confess that I am not very good at following through with Memes.


This is how a meme works:
1. Write a post on your three favorite verses from the Bible and why you like them.
2. Link back to this post.
3. In your post, tag three other bloggers to carry this theme forward, link back to you, and tag additional bloggers.

It's step 3 that usually stops me in my tracks. I can give you a long explanation why, but let's just skip that to save you some time and spare you the annoyance of my explaining myself  to you so I'll feel better. Let's jump right into step 1.

Well, about that. For step 1, I can't say that I have a favorite Bible verse, like a favorite color (blue) or a favorite food (homemade white pizza with handmade kielbasa and caramelized onions and cured olives and ched.... er...let's move on!). No, I have to say that every time I open the Bible, I find something new, revealing, and refreshing.

So here are the three verses I've chosen for today.

(Luke 1: 38) Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her.

I adore this verse, and I adore this mystery of the Rosary. Mary said Yes to God with great love and with a desire to do His will in even the smallest ways (and thus she calls herself a handmaid) each and every day. This is why I love St. Therese of Lisieux, too, and her little ways.

(Matthew 23: 24) Blind guides, who strain out the gnat and swallow the camel!

I read this verse earlier this week, and I was in awe of it. In this part of Matthew, Jesus is denouncing the Scribes and the Pharisees, telling them that they use the law and all its minutiae to keep people from entering Heaven. He tells them that they are guards: that is, they won't enter but they won't let anyone else enter either. They pick at tiny faults (gnat) and have clearly lost the big picture of God's commandments, which are vehicles of mercy and love, and thus sin (camel) against their Father in Heaven. Also, I know I am guilty of swallowing the camel, too!

As a writer and a lover of the written word, I can't help but marvel over Christ's command of language, especially in His use of imagery. Regardless of the translation, His words must indeed be the finest of all literature. Of course, He is Heaven, so His use of language must be the most high, the most perfect, and I am glad to be His writing student!

(John 13: 14) If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another's feet.

I thought about this often last year, when my husband was very sick and spent a lot of time in bed. I'd pray to God to show me His will, and He usually sent me small tasks to complete. It puzzled me. Of all the things that could be accomplished, why send me to give my husband an extra blanket when he didn't ask for one, or to give him a foot rub, or to bring him a cup of tea (which he usually didn't drink because he knew he wouldn't keep it down)? But St. Therese, Mary's fiat, and the scripture of the washing of the feet made me realize that sometimes our callings are very small. Nevertheless, they are just as important as the big measures, especially when God Himself sends you to do them., and we must embrace them with all our hearts.

So those are my scripture choices for today. Thanks, Celeste, for including me!

Readers, you might want to check out my page, Links for the Family and also Other Catholic Blogs in the right column to learn about other Catholic bloggers who are loyal to the Magisterium and in love with the One True Faith.

God bless!