Sir 51:1-8
Reading corresponding to the memorial of St. Margaret of Antioch
A prayer of Jesus the son of Sirach. I will give glory to thee, O Lord, O King, and I will praise thee, O God my Saviour. I will give glory to thy name: for thou hast been a helper and protector to me. And hast preserved my body from destruction, from the snare of an unjust tongue, and from the lips of them that forge lies, and in the sight of them that stood by, thou hast been my helper.
399th Meditation
“Thou hast set him over the works of thy hands. Thou hast subjected all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen: moreover the beasts also of the fields. The birds of the air, and the fishes of the sea, that pass through the paths of the sea. O Lord our Lord, how admirable is thy name in all the earth!” (Ps 8:7-10).
In many areas, we humans can have a share in the glory of the Father. If we stay in God’s way, we will succeed in exercising the dominion He has entrusted to us over creation in the way He intended. Read More
Mt 11:20-24
‘At that time Jesus exclaimed, ‘I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and of earth, for hiding these things from the learned and the clever and revealing them to little children. Yes, Father, for that is what it pleased you to do. Everything has been entrusted to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, just as no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.’
398th Meditation
“What is man that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man that thou visitest him? Thou hast made him a little less than the angels, thou hast crowned him with glory and honour” (Ps 8:5-6).
Why did our Father create man? He who possesses fullness in Himself, who is perfect, who lacks nothing and does not need to evolve… There is no other reason that could have moved God to give life to the whole of creation – and particularly to man – than the mystery of His love. This observation is of unfathomable depth, because love permeates all of God’s visible works. Read More
Mt 11:20-24
‘Then he began to reproach the towns in which most of his miracles had been worked, because they refused to repent. ‘Alas for you, Chorazin! Alas for you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
397th Meditation
“I am the Ocean of charity” (Message of the Father to Sister Eugenia Ravasio).
These words of the Heavenly Father to Mother Eugenia Ravasio are a profound invitation to dive confidently and totally into this ocean. God’s love is so infinitely great that the Father resorts to the comparison of the ocean so that we can inTUit its greatness, its immensity and its depth. Just as the magnitude of the ocean-this imPEtuous creation of God-impacts us, arousing in us a feeling of awe and respect, so does the Father want the magnitude of His love to move us. Read More
396th Meditation
“Even were I to walk in a ravine as dark as death I should fear no danger, for you are at my side. Your staff and your crook are there to soothe me” (Ps 23:4).
After having lost Paradise with the fall into sin, life on earth does not always take place in the bright sunshine, as we have certainly all had to experience. We also have to pass through dark glens, which make us fearful. However, Jesus assures us: “In the world you will have hardship, but be courageous: I have conquered the world” (Jn 16:33). Read More
Mt 10:34-11:1
At that time, Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth: it is not peace I have come to bring, but a sword. For I have come to set son against father, daughter against mother, daughter-in-law against mother-in-law; a person’s enemies will be the members of his own household. ‘No one who prefers father or mother to me is worthy of me. Read More
Mt 13:1-23
That same day, Jesus left the house and sat by the lakeside, but such large crowds gathered round him that he got into a boat and sat there. The people all stood on the shore, and he told them many things in parables. He said, ‘Listen, a sower went out to sow. As he sowed, some seeds fell on the edge of the path, and the birds came and ate them up. Read More
395th Meditation
“You must not fear as slaves the Father who loves you to the end” (Inner Word).
We can imagine how it feels when we love someone with all our heart and are ready to do everything possible for that person, but he or she is afraid of us and behaves as if being oppressed by us. This hurts and we feel misunderstood! Moreover, a true relationship of love and trust cannot develop in such circumstances. Read More
