LENTEN ITINERARY | Day 12: “The fight against greed and wrath”

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Continuing the theme of fighting against vices, we will talk today about greed and wrath.

  1. The fight against greed 

John Cassian points out that this vice should be easier to fight, because its object is not rooted in our nature. However, if we have given greed a place, then, according to Cassian, it becomes a vice even more dangerous than the others, which is difficult to get rid of. St. Paul also states that “The love of money is the root of all evils” (1 Tim 6:10), because it can become the fuel for various other vices. Read More

LENTEN ITINERARY | Day 10: The struggle against gluttony

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Yesterday we reflected on the passage of the purification of the Temple, and then applied it to our “inner temple,” which also requires purification.

At the beginning of our “Lenten itinerary” I quoted the prayer of St. Nicholas of Flüe, the first part of which said, “My Lord and my God, detach me from everything that distances me from You.” This affirmation synthesizes the so-called “purgative way” in the spiritual journey. Read More

LENTEN ITINERARY | Day 9: The Purification of the Temple

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Having heard in yesterday’s reading how the “wrath of the Lord” because of the wickedness of the City of Nineveh was appeased by the penitence of its inhabitants, so that the punishment did not fall on them, it is fitting that today we meditate on the passage of the purification of the Temple (Mt 21:12-13), which was the Gospel of the Traditional Mass two days ago. Read More

LENTEN ITINERARY | Day 7: “The Word of God is our light”

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In both the Traditional Rite and the Novus Ordo today’s reading proclaims this passage from the Prophet Isaiah about the Word of God:

“As the rain and the snow come down from the sky and do not return before having watered the earth, fertilising it and making it germinate to provide seed for the sower and food to eat, so it is with the word that goes from my mouth: it will not return to me unfulfilled or before having carried out my good pleasure and having achieved what it was sent to do” (Is 55:10-11). Read More

LENTEN ITINERARY | Day 6: Shepherds for the sheep

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The reading read today at the Traditional Mass (Ez 34:11-16) is preceded by the Lord’s accusation against the shepherds of Israel: “For lack of a shepherd they have been scattered, to become the prey of all the wild animals; they have been scattered.” (v. 5). There were no shepherds left to tend the flock. Those who had been appointed only shepherded themselves (v. 8). Read More

LENTEN ITINERARY | Day 5: “Rejecting the devil”

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Among the various adversities and attacks that we face on our journey, it is fitting that, on this holy itinerary, we should specifically take into consideration the lurking of the devil. Today’s Gospel describes them in the temptations of Jesus in the desert (Mt 4:1-11).

He proceeds systematically in seducing man. He uses his God-given intelligence to deceive man and make him dependent on him. Read More

LENTEN ITINERARY | Day 3: Do everything with your eyes fixed on the Lord

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The Gospel presented to us today in the lectionary of the Traditional Mass offers us important warnings for our holy journey towards the Feast of the Resurrection.

Having set out, marked with the cross of ashes, determined to deepen our conversion and to integrate fasting as an important aid on the spiritual journey, the Lord warns us today in the Gospel of an inclination that we must overcome with His help:

“Be careful not to parade your uprightness in public to attract attention; otherwise you will lose all reward from your Father in heaven” (Mt 6:1). Read More