Aspects of the Lord’s Prayer

Lk 11:1-4

He was praying in a certain place, and when he ceased, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” And he said to them, “When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread; and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive every one who is indebted to us; and lead us not into temptation.” Read More

THE EUCHARIST

472nd Meditation

How much has our Father cared for us in opening to us the ways of salvation! His treasures are always accessible to us. Unfortunately, we often pass by without taking advantage of them, and all too often the Lord remains alone in the tabernacle, unvisited. Yet He waits longingly for us to come and thus allow Him to bestow His blessings upon us. What an immense value has the Holy Mass, which makes present the sacrifice of Jesus’ infinite love on the Cross: “Taste and see that the Lord is good” (Ps 34:9). Read More

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.’

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Love of God and love of neighbour

Lk 10:25-37

‘And now a lawyer stood up and, to test him, asked, ‘Master, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ He said to him, ‘What is written in the Law? What is your reading of it?’ He replied, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbour as yourself. ‘Jesus said to him, ‘You have answered right, do this and life is yours.’ Read More

THE CROSS IS MY WAY TO YOU

471st Meditation

How incomparably does the love of God shine forth on the cross:

The love of the Father, who sent His Son to redeem us; the love of the Son for His Father and for us men; the love of the Holy Spirit, who reveals this event of love more deeply to us and makes it present in us.

“But as for me, it is out of the question that I should boast at all, except of the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ”, exclaims St Paul (Gal 6:14). Read More

THE WEAKNESS OF MY CHILDREN

470th Meditation

In His compassion, our Father embraces our entire reality. As Creator he has granted us a wonderful existence as human beings, which we must live fully in His grace. He always invites us to receive everything from His hand, so that we can lead a life that corresponds to our vocation. Our Father has thought of us from all eternity, and when the time came to call us into existence, He lovingly pronounced his creative “Yes”. If we were more aware of this, that God-given peace would always dwell in our hearts. Read More

Trust in God in dark hours

Bar 4:5-12,27-29

Take courage, my people, memorial of Israel! You were sold to the nations, but not for extermination. You provoked God; and so were delivered to your enemies, since you had angered your Creator by offering sacrifices to demons, and not to God. You had forgotten the eternal God who reared you. You had also grieved Jerusalem who nursed you, for when she saw God’s anger falling on you, she said: Listen, you neighbours of Zion: God has sent me great sorrow. I have seen my sons and daughters taken into captivity, which the Eternal brought down on them.

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TRUST IN DIVINE PROVIDENCE

469th Meditation

“As far as trust is concerned, it is enough to know one’s weaknesses and tell the Lord that we want to put all our trust in Him. The measure of Divine Providence in us is the trust we place in it. Let us abandon ourselves unreservedly to this holy Providence and remain in its arms like a child in its mother’s womb!” (Letter of St. Francis de Sales to St. Jeanne de Chantal). Read More