TRUTH AND FREEDOM

“As long as man does not live in the truth, he cannot taste real freedom” (Message of God the Father to Sister Eugenia Ravasio).

True freedom consists in living according to God’s Will. Anything that separates us from Him inevitably leads to a lack of freedom because, as the Father says in His message, we are then outside the true law, for obedience to which He created us. Consequently, we live in opposition to the deepest meaning of our existence and cannot enjoy the fruits of true freedom, which our Father can only give us in fullness if we live according to His Will.

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MEDITATIONS FOR LENT: Eucharistic Adoration (Part II)

 

The following topic is also very important in preparing for spiritual warfare: Eucharistic adoration and inner healing. Indeed, if we have many inner wounds, blockages and barriers, which we may not even be aware of, it will be more difficult for us to fight the battle. Let us not forget that healing the sick was part of our Lord’s ministry, and continues to be so through Eucharistic adoration if we accept His offer. That is why I thought it fitting to include in our Lenten series this meditation from last year.

Also important is the relationship between Eucharistic adoration and spiritual growth, which we will discuss in the second part of this meditation. Let us remember that the more deeply we are united to the Lord, the more He can work and offer His love to people through us. And in the presence of Christ’s true love, the devil will have to flee.

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THE GREAT FREEDOM OF LOVE

‘A person who loves is practically beyond all other jurisdiction. Love and do what you will’ (St Augustine).

This is a famous and bold exclamation of St Augustine. To give it its true meaning, it should be placed in the context of the first part of the sentence: “A person who loves is practically beyond all other jurisdiction. This is already a limitation, since it is clear that we are dealing with a love that is not so easily attained.

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BE CAREFUL NOT TO LET GO OF HIS HAND

“Raise your eyes to God again and again to see if your actions and ways are right in His eyes. Above all, be careful not to let go of His hand” (St. Francis de Sales).

This advice of St. Francis de Sales can become a good habit for us, leading to a living dialogue with our Father. We can also ask Him concretely and with a free heart if there is anything between Him and us, and if so, ask Him to show it to us. Our Father will answer us and help us to remove any obstacles so that love can flow freely. In this way a deeper relationship of trust will emerge, marked by an increasing naturalness, and any fears we may still have will disappear.

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MEDITATIONS FOR LENT: “Eucharistic Adoration” (Part I)

As we have often recalled, the aim of our Lenten meditations is to strive to be better disciples of the Lord. This call is addressed to us in difficult times, both in the Church and in the world, as we have noted at length in the light of the discernment of spirits. Therefore, spiritual warfare is inevitable. In this regard, we have reflected on the various elements of the spiritual armour described by the Apostle Paul with which we must clothe ourselves in order to go into battle. His advice ends with the exhortation to “pray at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication” (Eph 6:18), and so in the last few meditations we have talked about prayer of the heart and the Holy Rosary. Today and tomorrow we want to go deeper into Eucharistic adoration: another effective weapon in the spiritual battle.

Remaining in silence before the Blessed Sacrament, whether the Blessed Sacrament is exposed or simply present in the Tabernacle, has a great effect on the deepening of prayer. Therefore, in the context of these meditations on the theme of prayer, it is fitting that we dedicate two days specifically to Eucharistic Adoration.

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MEDITATIONS FOR LENT: The Holy Rosary

In keeping with the Solemnity of the Annunciation that we celebrate today, I would like to speak about another ‘great prayer’ that should be included in our daily prayer routine. Certainly many already know and practise it. This prayer is a real treasure in the life of the faithful, whether it is prayed in community or alone. I would like to refer to a meditation from last year, so that, in the context of the spiritual combat, I can once again recall the value of this prayer and encourage everyone to pray it daily: it is the Holy Rosary.

In many of her authentic apparitions, the Virgin Mary tells us how important it is to her that we pray the Rosary. That is why it is worthwhile to meditate on this valuable prayer.

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MAN’S GREATEST MERIT

“Man’s greatest merit is to place all his hope in God” (Saint Bernard of Clairvaux).

These words of St Bernard turn the world view of the natural man on its head. We all have a tendency to base our worth on what we possess, what we know, what we achieve. It is not so easy to overcome this because we are surrounded by this mentality and we need a process until we can give our full consent to what St Bernard is telling us today.

What can help us in this process?

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MEDITATIONS FOR LENT: “The prayer of the heart”

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“Pray always in the Spirit” (Eph 6:18).

We are coming to the end of St Paul’s advice for spiritual warfare. Surely all believers know how essential prayer is, without which there can be no spiritual life. If we neglect prayer, we are always in danger that temptations will overcome us more easily, that distractions will increase and that the temptations of the world will have a greater influence on us. We will also be weaker and more vulnerable when it comes to fighting the battle that has been entrusted to us with the appropriate weapons.

On the other hand, if we take advantage of the Lord’s opportunities to pray, our souls will be prepared and docile to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Through prayer we will be able to conquer strongholds with the Lord.

Yesterday I ended the meditation by quoting part of a Starez’s exhortation on the prayer of Jesus. He was clear that this prayer is a special weapon against the power of the devil. The full quote is:

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MEDITATIONS FOR LENT: “The shield of faith and the sword of the Word”

“Besides all these, taking the shield of faith, with which you can quench all the flaming darts of the evil one.” (Eph 6:16).

The Lord’s training of His faithful to be able to resist in battle continues today with the allusion to the shield of faith. It is important that we immediately and swiftly repel the darts of the Evil One, even when they want to penetrate us through our thoughts. The more vigilant we are, the less evil or wrong thoughts will be able to pierce and hurt us. The same applies to useless words, whether spoken or written. Read More