The missionary mandate

We will listen to the gospel corresponding to this day according to the traditional calendar:

Mt 28:16-20

Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them.  And when they saw him they worshiped him; but some doubted.  And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.”

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GOD’S WORK OF ART

“The more I know You, the more I love You. The more I come to know You, the more kindly You reveal Yourself. Oh, what an unfathomable, perfect and pure treasure you are” (Blessed Henry Suso).

In these words a loving soul is revealed to us. Henry Suso is a German mystic († 1366), one of those saints who speak from their inner experience with our Father, one of those souls who have tasted the sweet fragrance of divine love and lived in intimate union with God.

But this experience is not reserved for a few privileged souls, but God wants to enter into this relationship of love with each one of us. We need to taste and see how good the Lord is (Ps 34:9), to experience how His love seeks us and wants to draw us to Himself.

When we begin to feel at home in this love, we discover how loving God is; with what tenderness, gentleness and at the same time firmness He shapes our soul, molding it according to the face of His Son. How great is His joy when we become more and more like the image in which He created us (Gen 1:27)! How our Father rejoices in His children!

When, thanks to the work of the Holy Spirit, we have become more and more obedient to His will, when the most serious distortions and disfigurements caused by sin have been healed in our being, when our stubborn self-will has yielded to the gentle voice of the Spirit, when our vanities have become a nuisance to us and pride has revealed its nothingness, our Father begins to complete His work of art with the greatest tenderness and care.

His love has already conquered our heart, and now He begins to work to make it like His heart. We begin to perceive God’s presence so lovingly that we cannot and will not deny Him anything. And every response of love increases the love until it reigns over us without restraint.

The necessity of instruction

We will listen the reading for this day again according to the traditional calendar:

Acts 8:26-40

But an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert road.  And he rose and went. And behold, an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a minister of the Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of all her treasure, had come to Jerusalem to worship  and was returning; seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah.  

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STAY WITH ME; I GUIDE YOU

“Stay with me; I love you! – Stay with me; I keep you! – Stay with me; I guide you; I am your Father” (inner word).

Once again we are invited to stay with our Father. He wants to take the reins of our life. To be under His guidance means to concretely follow His indications in daily life, to find the “golden thread” and thus to act according to His plan in the most intimate union with Him.

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The example of Peter

We will listen to the reading that corresponds to the traditional calendar:

Acts 3,13-15.17-19

At that time, Peter addressed the people: The God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant[a] Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him. But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you,  and killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses.

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STAY WITH ME; I LOVE YOU

“Stay with me; I love you! – Stay with me; I guard you! – Stay with me; I guide you; I am your Father” (Inner Word).

What an invitation our heavenly Father addresses to us! And it is not only valid for the short time of our earthly existence; it remains in force forever and will carry us from glory to glory in eternity:

“Now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall understand fully, even as I have been fully understood” (1 Cor 13:12). Read More

The little flock  

Note: Although we are in the octave of Easter, when no saints’ days are usually celebrated, I would like to focus on St Francis de Paula today. If you prefer to listen to the Easter texts, you can find them in the archive:

  • Meditation on the day’s reading: http://en.elijamission.net/2022/04/19/
  • Meditation on the Gospel of the day: http://en.elijamission.net/10174-2/

Lk 12:32-34

At that time Jesus said to his disciples: “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give alms; provide yourselves with purses that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.  Read More

MY LOVE IS STRONGER THAN YOUR WEAKNESSES

Before I go into the topic, I would like to say a few words about our mission: Harpa Dei and I have returned safely from a fruitful apostolic trip to Brazil and Argentina. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who daily follow the “3 Minutes for Abba” for their prayers. It was a joy to meet people in both countries who often listen to these meditations. I hope that in the future they will be spread even more for the glory of our Heavenly Father and for the good of souls. The next step would be to begin translating them into French. Read More

To proclaim the gospel without fear

Acts 2:14,22-33 

Then Peter stood up with the Eleven and addressed them in a loud voice: ‘Men of Judaea, and all you who live in Jerusalem, make no mistake about this, but listen carefully to what I say. Men of Israel, listen to what I am going to say: Jesus the Nazarene was a man commended to you by God by the miracles and portents and signs that God worked through him when he was among you, as you know. Read More