The Subtlety of Jesus’ Teaching

Mt 5:20-26

‘For I tell you, if your uprightness does not surpass that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never get into the kingdom of Heaven. ‘You have heard how it was said to our ancestors, You shall not kill; and if anyone does kill he must answer for it before the court. But I say this to you, anyone who is angry with a brother will answer for it before the court; anyone who calls a brother “Fool” will answer for it before the Sanhedrin; and anyone who calls him “Traitor” will answer for it in hell fire. So then, if you are bringing your offering to the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar, go and be reconciled with your brother first, and then come back and present your offering.

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Keeping and Teaching the Commandments

Mt 5:17-19

‘Do not imagine that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete them. In truth I tell you, till heaven and earth disappear, not one dot, not one little stroke, is to disappear from the Law until all its purpose is achieved. Therefore, anyone who infringes even one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be considered the least in the kingdom of Heaven; but the person who keeps them and teaches them will be considered great in the kingdom of Heaven. Read More

Faithfulness to the Lord and His Church

Feast of St. Barnabas the Apostle

Acts 11:21b-26; 13:1-3

In those days, a great number that believed turned to the Lord. News of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad; and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose; for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a large company was added to the Lord. Read More

“Blessed are the pure in heart”

Mt 5:1-12

Seeing the crowds, he went onto the mountain. And when he was seated his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak. This is what he taught them: How blessed are the poor in spirit: the kingdom of Heaven is theirs. Blessed are the gentle: they shall have the earth as inheritance. Blessed are those who mourn: they shall be comforted. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for uprightness: they shall have their fill. Read More

Accusations against Jesus

Mk 3:20-35

He went home again, and once more such a crowd collected that they could not even have a meal. When his relations heard of this, they set out to take charge of him; they said, ‘He is out of his mind.’ The scribes who had come down from Jerusalem were saying, ‘Beelzebul is in him,’ and, ‘It is through the prince of devils that he drives devils out.’ So he called them to him and spoke to them in parables, ‘How can Satan drive out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot last. And if a household is divided against itself, that household can never last. Now if Satan has rebelled against himself and is divided, he cannot last either – it is the end of him.

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His mother kept all this in her heart

Lk 2:41-51

Every year the parents of Jesus used to go to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover. When he was twelve years old, they went up for the feast as usual. When the days of the feast were over and they set off home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem without his parents knowing it. They assumed he was somewhere in the party, and it was only after a day’s journey that they went to look for him among their relations and acquaintances. When they failed to find him they went back to Jerusalem looking for him everywhere. It happened that, three days later, they found him in the Temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them, and asking them questions; and all those who heard him were astounded at his intelligence and his replies.

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Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesu

Hos 11:1, 3-4, 8-9

When Israel was a child I loved him, and I called my son out of Egypt. I myself taught Ephraim to walk, I myself took them by the arm, but they did not know that I was the one caring for them, that I was leading them with human ties, with leading-strings of love, that, with them, I was like someone lifting an infant to his cheek, and that I bent down to feed him. Ephraim, how could I part with you? Israel, how could I give you up? How could I make you like Admah or treat you like Zeboiim? My heart within me is overwhelmed, fever grips my inmost being. I will not give rein to my fierce anger, I will not destroy Ephraim again, for I am God, not man, the Holy One in your midst, and I shall not come to you in anger. Read More

The Maid of Orléans – Part 6: The Army of the Lamb

We ended yesterday’s meditation with the firm conviction that St Joan of Arc, together with the whole Church of Heaven, will hasten to assemble a spiritual army to fight consciously against the immanent and already existing anti-Christian threats. I like to call it ‘the army of the Lamb’.

The term alone makes it clear that this is the ‘Bride of Christ’. It is the army of the King of heaven and earth, and its warriors are those who “follow the Lamb wherever he goes” (Rev 14:4).

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The Maid of Orléans – Part 5: Joan of Arc and the anti-Christian threat

One of our great intentions is that the figure and mission of St Joan of Arc be properly understood, so that God, who called her, may receive the praise, and she, who cooperated in His plan of salvation, may be honoured as she deserves. Joan of Arc is a great gift from the Lord and certainly one of the most beautiful creatures to come from the hand of God.

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