Having purified our hearts, beloved Father, we can dare even more to undertake great things without neglecting the small ones. Did not St. Paul give good witness to the faith before the great ones of this world (cf. Acts 26)? Did not Elijah and John the Baptist fearlessly denounce the evil deeds of kings (1 Kings 18:17–18; Matthew 14:3–4)? And did not the apostles give courageous witness to Your beloved Son before the Sanhedrin (Acts 4:1–20)? Who made them capable of this, if not You? You communicated to them the spirit of fortitude. And that same spirit is what we need today to resist the machinations of evil spirits and of people who, consciously or unconsciously, cooperate with them.
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YOUR SEAL ON MY HEART
Dear Father, we have set out on the path to obtain a pure heart. Indeed, You desire to grant it to us, but we must also do our part. After hearing the word of truth and the gospel of life and believing, we long for nothing more than to be sealed with the promised Spirit (cf. Ephesians 1:13).
A PURE HEART
Today, beloved Father, we want to reflect on the pure heart. It must be a heart that belongs to You without reserve, that no longer seeks personal fulfillment, but only to be with You and serve You. It is a heart like that of the Blessed Virgin Mary—a heart that finds happiness in its depths because it has found its home. It no longer seeks anything for itself, nor is it seduced by the things of this world, false hopes, or illusions. It is a heart in which You dwell and have pitched Your tent. Such a heart is infinitely valuable in Your eyes, and You will never abandon it!
“THE CONVERSION OF THE HEART”
Beloved Father, the outcome of the story of Joseph and his brothers shows how You know how to use even the evil that people think and do to carry out Your plan of love. This demonstrates Your omnipotence and gives us hope when we witness so much injustice in the world. Who, if not You, could turn evil into good? Only You!
Thus, we can live and cling to You in the midst of the evil that spreads around us. That does not mean that we have to stop calling “evil” “evil,” but we take away its claim to omnipotence and do not give up. In the end, it will not be evil or the Evil One who triumphs, but the power of Your love. That is certain!
“TRUST IN THE LOVE OF THE FATHER”
Sometimes, beloved Father, it is not easy for us to believe firmly in Your omnipotence when we see so much atrocious injustice in the world and are overcome by the impression that You are not intervening.
Like Your disciples in the Gospel (Lk 9:54), we too would certainly have liked to call down fire from heaven many times to punish those who oppose Your will and to rebuke those who refuse to accept the faith. It is also difficult to witness how many people suffer injustice, often at the hands of a few who do evil.
A FLOWER OF PEACE
“What causes wars among you?” asks the apostle James, and he himself gives the answer: “Is it not your passions that are at war in your members? You fight and wage war” (cf. James 4:1–2).
There are paths to true peace, and James’ words give us a clue. If we want to contribute to the peace that our heavenly Father desires to grant humanity, we must begin with ourselves, restraining the destructive passions that dwell within us. Read More
FIRST THE LORD!
Dear Father, As I wrote down the story of Elijah and the widow of Zarephath for today’s reflection, I was reminded that You should always come first in everything we do. In the story, You turned her hardship around because she listened to the prophet. In the days of the Old Covenant, the first fruits were brought to You, and today it should be no different. In fact, with the light of the New Testament and the coming of Your Son, we recognize You and Your love even more clearly. May the first and last words of each day be consecrated to You. We are always called to lift our eyes to You, as Your beloved Son did. He glorified You in everything.
LET’S NOT LOSE HOPE!
In reality, beloved Father, our life could be so simple, even after the painful loss of Paradise, because You do everything in Your power so that we may live with the dignity You have bestowed upon us. Life with You is, in reality, wonderfully simple: we recognize You as our most loving Father, we listen to Your instructions, and, with Your grace, we put into practice what You tell us. Then peace and happiness dwell within us, even though, during our pilgrimage toward eternity, we have to fight some battles on earth. Even when You make us share in the suffering of Your Son, as St. Paul explains (Col 1:24), in order to cooperate in the salvation of other people who still live far from You and whom You want to lead to their eternal home as Your children, the true joy that is You remains in us!
“PURITY SPREADS LIGHT”
Beloved Father, in today’s reading You exhort us, through Your apostle, to abstain from all impurity. It is terrible to see how this vice darkens a person’s life and prevents them from perceiving the resplendent light that emanates from the purity of the holy angels, from the many virgins who were willing to give their lives to preserve it, and from the radiant splendor of the most pure Virgin. Moreover, all this is eclipsed when the spiritual impurity of false doctrines penetrates our Church, perhaps even accompanied by other forms of impurity.
A GRATEFUL HEART
Beloved Father, how can our hearts become gardens of gratitude from which the joy we find in You can flow to all people? What a light this could be, when so many today do not know true joy and seek their happiness in the transitory things of life. This would also be a powerful weapon against the forces that seek to darken our lives. We would take the weapons out of their hands with which they so gladly plague people. They will find it difficult to prevail against a grateful heart in which Your joy dwells.