“Saints are always called to grow and never to stand still” (inner word)
On our path of discipleship and in our Father’s arms, we can ease the taut bow a little—without, however, setting it aside or losing sight of it. This does no harm; rather, it removes unnecessary hardness from us. For as children of our Father, we know well that God adjusts every cross to our abilities and gives all the grace needed to bear it.
“The greatest happiness of our lives: to become like Jesus.” (St. John Eudes)
What joy—for You and for humanity—when we strive to put these words of John Eudes into practice. You did not send Your Son merely as our Redeemer, so that He might be the way to You. You also set Him before our eyes so that we might become like Him and be as He is.
“God must be served first.” (St. Joan of Arc)
These are the words of St. Joan of Arc—words she followed even in the midst of great distress, when the unjust judges in her ecclesiastical trial sought to corner her and lead her into contradictions. Her death was a foregone conclusion for her judges, just as it was for our Lord Jesus.
Beloved Father, yesterday I shared with Your children the wonderful gift You bestowed upon us three years ago, on the most holy day of Your Son’s death, and which remains with us to this day. Contemplating the Face of the Lord, who draws us to Himself with His gentleness, is always a great comfort. In an inner word, the Lord has exhorted us: “From the cross of this world, which causes so much suffering, lift your gaze with Me to the Father.”
These words leave us with an important lesson, for, having set out to follow Your Son, we wish to resemble Him as closely as possible. Everything Jesus did, He did with His gaze fixed on You. In His High Priestly Prayer, we hear Him say to You: “I glorified thee on earth, having accomplished the work which thou gavest me to do” (Jn 17:4).
Beloved Father, today I would like to share with those who follow “3 Minutes for Abba” a wonderful event with which You have blessed our community. Some of them may already be familiar with it; others will be hearing about it for the first time.
It happened on April 7, 2023, Good Friday of that year, at 9 a.m.—the hour when the crucifixion of Your Son began to redeem humanity. As is customary in the Catholic Church during Passiontide, the large crucifix in our chapel was covered with a purple veil.
“This is precisely what the blessed life consists of: rejoicing in view of You, in You, and for You” (St. Augustine).
St. Augustine is right! This blessed life is already foreshadowed here on Earth, beloved Father. As soon as we wake up and shake off our sleep, Your grace is already with us, moving us to dedicate our first thoughts and words to You. Throughout the night You have watched over us through Your angel. And the new day that dawns awaits us with its task. Read More
“Lent is the autumn of the spiritual life, when one should harvest the fruits and gather them for the whole year. Do everything, I beg you, to become rich in these precious treasures, which nothing can rob or destroy (Mt 6:20). Remember what I often say: As long as we try to observe two Lents at once, we will never observe even one properly. So let us observe this one as if it were our last, and then we will observe it well.” (St. Francis de Sales – Letter to Jane Frances de Chantal)
Dear Father, in today’s Gospel reading (John 11:47–54), we encountered the stubbornness and blindness of the scribes. This was alarming and even led to the decision to kill Jesus. They deceived themselves, and thus the truth could no longer find its way into their hearts.
“Now with all our heart we follow thee.” (Dan 3:18)
These words, dear Father, were spoken by Azarias as he entered the fiery furnace with two other faithful young men, after he confessed that the suffering of the Jews in Babylon was the result of their having abandoned Your commandments and instructions.
