NOTE: According to the traditional calendar, today is the Feast of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary.
Zeph 3:14-18
Reading for the Feast of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary
Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion;
shout, O Israel!
Rejoice and exult with all your heart,
O daughter of Jerusalem!
The Lord has taken away the judgments against you,
he has cast out your enemies. Read More
“We should be called children of God; and so we are. (…) It does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is” (1 Jn 3:1-2).
Mt 8:18-22
‘When Jesus saw the crowd all about him he gave orders to leave for the other side. One of the scribes then came up and said to him, ‘Master, I will follow you wherever you go. ‘Jesus said, ‘Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head.’ Another man, one of the disciples, said to him, ‘Lord, let me go and bury my father first.’ But Jesus said, ‘Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their dead.’
“Whatever happens, face it with hope, not with fear” (St. Francis de Sales).
A wise and great phrase of the Saint, how much a situation changes when we put into practice what he tells us here! It is worth clarifying that hope is not simply an optimistic feeling that everything will turn out well, but it is trust in God, knowing that He has everything in His hands and will turn it all to good. Read More
Wis 1:13-15,2:23-24
For God did not make Death, he takes no pleasure in destroying the living. To exist – for this he created all things; the creatures of the world have health in them, in them is no fatal poison, and Hades has no power over the world: for uprightness is immortal. For God created human beings to be immortal, he made them as an image of his own nature; Death came into the world only through the Devil’s envy, as those who belong to him find to their cost. Read More
“Do not lose your inner peace for anything, even if the whole world seems to be falling apart” (St. Francis de Sales).
Mt 16:13-19
When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi he put this question to his disciples, ‘Who do people say the Son of man is?’ And they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ ‘But you,’ he said, ‘who do you say I am?’ Then Simon Peter spoke up and said, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ Jesus replied, ‘Simon son of Jonah, you are a blessed man! Because it was no human agency that revealed this to you but my Father in heaven. So I now say to you: You are Peter and on this rock I will build my community.
“I am constantly offering you new graces and reminding you of all those graces that you are letting pass without taking advantage of them for your souls” (Father’s message to Sr. Eugenia Ravasio).
2 Tim 2:22b-26
Reading from the memorial of St. Irenaeus of Lyon
My son: concentrate on uprightness, faith, love and peace, in union with all those who call on the Lord with a pure heart. Avoid these foolish and undisciplined speculations, understanding that they only give rise to quarrels; and a servant of the Lord must not engage in quarrels, but must be kind to everyone, a good teacher, and patient. He must be gentle when he corrects people who oppose him, in the hope that God may give them a change of mind so that they recognise the truth and come to their senses, escaping the trap of the devil who made them his captives and subjected them to his will. Read More
“I know your heart and I know that you love me” (Inner Word).
