“Everything that is given to us in this life is only for our use and is given to us on loan.” (St. Catherine of Siena)
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Observe admonitions
1 Kgs 11:4-13
When Solomon grew old his wives swayed his heart to other gods; and his heart was not wholly with Yahweh his God as his father David’s had been. Solomon became a follower of Astarte, the goddess of the Sidonians, and of Milcom, the Ammonite abomination. He did what was displeasing to Yahweh, and was not a wholehearted follower of Yahweh, as his father David had been. Then it was that Solomon built a high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, on the mountain to the east of Jerusalem, and to Milcom, the abomination of the Ammonites. He did the same for all his foreign wives, who offered incense and sacrifice to their gods. Yahweh was angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from Yahweh, God of Israel, who had twice appeared to him and had forbidden him to follow other gods; but he did not carry out Yahweh’s order. Yahweh therefore said to Solomon, ‘Since you have behaved like this and have not kept my covenant or the laws which I laid down for you, I shall tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your servants. For your father David’s sake, however, I shall not do this during your lifetime, but shall tear it out of your son’s hands. Even so, I shall not tear the whole kingdom from him. For the sake of my servant David, and for the sake of Jerusalem which I have chosen, I shall leave your son one tribe.’ Read More
Memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes: “A great portent appeared in heaven”
Rev 11:19;12:1,10
God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple; and there were flashes of lightning, voices, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail. And a great portent appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. Read More
WE ARE WHAT WE ARE IN THE EYES OF GOD
“What status one has in this life is unimportant. In truth, we are only what we are in the eyes of God.” (St. Francis de Sales)
These are words meant to lead us into freedom—the freedom our Father has given us. How vain it is to rely on external things as though they determined our worth as persons! What dependencies we fall into when, instead of looking to God and letting Him determine our worth, we seek the praise of the world and adopt its standards. This applies to the religious sphere as well.
FAITHFULNESS IN SMALL THINGS
“Remain faithful and attentive to me even in the smallest things. This will strengthen your power!” (Interior word)
Memorial of Saint Scholastica: The primacy of contemplation
Lk 10:38-42
‘In the course of their journey he came to a village, and a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. She had a sister called Mary, who sat down at the Lord’s feet and listened to him speaking. Now Martha, who was distracted with all the serving, came to him and said, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister is leaving me to do the serving all by myself? Please tell her to help me. ‘But the Lord answered, ‘Martha, Martha,’ he said, ‘you worry and fret about so many things, and yet few are needed, indeed only one. It is Mary who has chosen the better part, and it is not to be taken from her.’
FRIEND OF LIFE
“Thou sparest all things, for they are thine, O Lord who lovest the living” (Wisdom 11:26).
If we consider all the atrocities that human beings commit on Earth, how many times could our Father have destroyed it! Both in the past and in the present…
Salt of the earth, light of the world
Note: According to the traditional liturgical calendar, today is the feast day of Saint Cyril of Alexandria. In his honour, the following Gospel is read, which we will meditate on today.
Mt 5:13-16
You are salt for the earth. But if salt loses its taste, what can make it salty again? It is good for nothing, and can only be thrown out to be trampled under people’s feet. You are light for the world. A city built on a hill-top cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp to put it under a tub; they put it on the lamp-stand where it shines for everyone in the house. In the same way your light must shine in people’s sight, so that, seeing your good works, they may give praise to your Father in heaven.
The fruit of God’s Word
Note: According to the traditional liturgical calendar, today is Sexagesima Sunday, in preparation for the imminent beginning of Lent. We will reflect on the Gospel chosen by the Church for this occasion. Those who would prefer a meditation on the reading or the Gospel according to the new liturgical calendar can find the corresponding links at the end of the text.
Lk 8:4-15
When a great crowd came together and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable: “A sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell along the path, and was trodden under foot, and the birds of the air devoured it. And some fell on the rock; and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns grew with it and choked it. And some fell into good soil and grew, and yielded a hundredfold.”
A PIECE OF ADVICE FROM SAINT PAUL
“Rejoice in your hope, be patient in tribulation” (Rom. 12:12).
The Apostle Saint Paul addresses this exhortation to the Christian community in Rome to strengthen them in the Spirit of the Lord. We must always keep the flame of hope alive. However, it should not be confused with human optimism, which is fleeting; rather, it is one of the three theological virtues that deeply unite us to our Heavenly Father. True hope is always directed toward God, for He Himself is our hope.