Purification processes

Jn 15:1-8

Reading corresponding to the feast day of St. Teresa of Avila

‘I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that bears no fruit he cuts away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes to make it bear even more. You are clean already, by means of the word that I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I in you. As a branch cannot bear fruit all by itself, unless it remains part of the vine, neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me, with me in him, bears fruit in plenty; for cut off from me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a branch – and withers; these branches are collected and thrown on the fire and are burnt. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for whatever you please and you will get it. It is to the glory of my Father that you should bear much fruit and be my disciples.’ Read More

“BATTLES THAT BRING SALVATION”

“Every battle you take on, and every one we fight and win, contributes to the salvation of humanity.” (Inner Word)

When we allow this statement to sink in, many things change. Of course, inner struggles are burdensome, and they remain so until the very end. After all, no one enjoys it when the flesh rebels against the Spirit, and everyone longs for the day when this will finally cease in eternity.

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THE TRUE PRINCE OF PEACE

“He shall command peace to the nations; his dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.” (Zech. 9:10).

True peace has come to us in the Son of the Most High, who calls all nations to this peace. Our heavenly Father emphasizes that peace comes when people recognize, worship, and love Him. Inner and outer peace can arise only when we live according to God’s instructions.

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Fighting without losing heart

Gal 5:18-25

Bretheren: if you are led by the Spirit you are not under the law.  Now the works of the flesh are plain: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, party spirit, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such there is no law.  And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Read More

Feast of Saint Edward, King: “The vigilance of a Christian”

NOTE: Today we will hear the Gospel reading for the memorial of St. Edward the King according to the traditional rite.

Lk 12:35–40

At that time, Jesus said to his disciples: “Let your loins be girded and your lamps burning, and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the marriage feast, so that they may open to him at once when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes; truly, I say to you, he will gird himself and have them sit at table, and he will come and serve them. If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them so, blessed are those servants! But know this, that if the householder had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would have been awake and would not have left his house to be broken into. You also must be ready; for the Son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” Read More

CAUTIOUS SPEECH

 

“When a person is cautious in speech, he becomes gentle, mild, and modest. For when he controls his tongue and does not speak until he has examined, weighed, and considered his words, whether they should be said and to whom, he is indeed practicing modesty, gentleness, and patience.” (Saint Ambrose of Milan)

Avoiding missteps in speech and thus in one’s words is no easy task.

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The sign of the Lord and His Church

Lk 11:29-32

‘The crowds got even bigger and he addressed them, ‘This is an evil generation; it is asking for a sign. The only sign it will be given is the sign of Jonah. For just as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of man be a sign to this generation. On Judgement Day the Queen of the South will stand up against the people of this generation and be their condemnation, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, look, there is something greater than Solomon here. On Judgement Day the men of Nineveh will appear against this generation and be its condemnation, because when Jonah preached they repented; and, look, there is something greater than Jonah here.’

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Giving the right place to signs and miracles 

Today we will reflect on the Gospel for the 20th Sunday after Pentecost, according to the traditional calendar.

Jn 4: 46-53

When the two days were over Jesus went again to Cana in Galilee, where he had changed the water into wine. And there was a royal official whose son was ill at Capernaum; hearing that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judaea, he went and asked him to come and cure his son, as he was at the point of death. Jesus said to him, ‘Unless you see signs and portents you will not believe!’ ‘Sir,’ answered the official, ‘come down before my child dies.’ ‘Go home,’ said Jesus, ‘your son will live.’ The man believed what Jesus had said and went on his way home; and while he was still on the way his servants met him with the news that his boy was alive. He asked them when the boy had begun to recover. They replied, ‘The fever left him yesterday at the seventh hour.’ The father realised that this was exactly the time when Jesus had said, ‘Your son will live’; and he and all his household believed. Read More