Lk 1:39-48
A reading from the memorial of Our Lady of Guadalupe
In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a city of Judah, and she entered the house of Zechari′ah and greeted Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! Read More
Isa 35:1-10
”Let the desert and the dry lands be glad, let the wasteland rejoice and bloom; like the asphodel, let it burst into flower, let it rejoice and sing for joy. The glory of Lebanon is bestowed on it, the splendour of Carmel and Sharon; then they will see the glory of Yahweh, the splendour of our God. Strengthen all weary hands, steady all trembling knees and say to the faint-hearted, ‘Be strong! Do not be afraid. Read More
“There is a Father Who is above all fathers, Who loves you and will never cease to love you, if you so desire” (Father’s message to Sr. Eugenia Ravasio).
The love of our Heavenly Father is always there for us, but there is a condition for it to enter our hearts. This condition is our willingness and therefore our readiness to receive it and to respond to it. Read More
2 Pet 3:8-12
Do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow about his promise as some count slowness, but is forbearing toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and the works that are upon it will be burned up.
“There will come a time when God must be honoured and loved by men as He desires” (Father’s message to Sister Eugenia Ravasio).
Could it be that this time has already come?
If we follow the statements in the Father’s Message and at the same time look at the state of faith today, we will see that these times can only be said to be partially fulfilled. Many people still do not know our Heavenly Father as He really is and therefore cannot enter into the intimate relationship of love that He offers us. This, in turn, has consequences for all mankind, for then the light of God’s love cannot spread in its fullness and permeate the lives of men. Read More
Mt 9:35-10:1,6-8
“Jesus made a tour through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing all kinds of disease and all kinds of illness. And when he saw the crowds he felt sorry for them because they were harassed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is rich but the labourers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers to his harvest.’
“They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water; and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes” (Rev 7:16-17).
All earthly tribulation has come to an end for those who have borne witness to our Father and to the Lamb and have remained faithful to Him until death. They will receive the great consolation of the Holy Spirit, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
“Then I saw another angel ascend from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, saying, ‘Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God upon their foreheads’” (Rev 7:2-3).
If we live in a state of grace, we can confidently await the return of our Lord and, in the midst of great turbulence, escape the “wrath of God”.
Just as our heavenly Father saved Noah from the great flood and led him safely into the ark, so He preserved His chosen people from the deadly plague that struck the Egyptians, so that, seeing their gates sealed with the blood of the Lamb, “the Destroyer of the first-born might not touch them” (Heb 11:28); just as He saved Israel from the hand of the Egyptian Pharaoh and led them through the wilderness, so the Father will protect His own in the “hour of trial” (Rev 3:10).
The “seal of the living God” is placed on our foreheads if remain faithful to our faith, if we receive and live all that our Father has done for our salvation. We have been washed in the blood of the Lamb, as St John describes the multitude he saw “clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands”: “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Rev 7:14).
Thus our Father has prepared for us a place of safety, and has set a seal upon us, so that no power can snatch us out of His hand. Nothing can separate us from the love of God (Rom 8:38-39).
We can live in this certainty, attentive and vigilant, trying to show all people the Ark of Salvation in the Heart of our Heavenly Father, especially when the plagues fall upon humanity. All men can enter this ark, be washed in the blood of the Lamb and receive on their foreheads the “seal of the living God” to pass through the Great Tribulation dressed in white robes.
Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception
Eph 1:3-6.11-12
Blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all the spiritual blessings of heaven in Christ. Thus he chose us in Christ before the world was made to be holy and faultless before him in love, marking us out for himself beforehand, to be adopted sons, through Jesus Christ. Read More
Mt 7:21-29
At that time, Jesus said to his disciples: “not every one who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you evildoers.’ “Every one then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house upon the rock; and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.
