Hb 3, 7-14
That is why, as the Holy Spirit says: If only you would listen to him today! Do not harden your hearts, as at the rebellion, as at the time of testing in the desert, when your ancestors challenged me, and put me to the test, and saw what I could do for forty years. That was why that generation sickened me and I said, ‘Always fickle hearts, that cannot grasp my ways!’ Read More
210th Meditation
“We gain more in a single day by trials which come to us from God and our neighbor, than we would in ten years by penances and other exercises, which we take up of ourselves” (St. Teresa of Avila).
Let us pay close attention to what a teacher of the spiritual life says, because her advice will help us to better understand God’s ways for us and we will be able to draw the appropriate conclusions for our following of the Lord. Read More
209th Meditation
“My son, even sin can become a stepping stone that brings us closer to God, that raises us up, that leads us even more surely to Him, provided that sin is followed by the deep grief of having committed it, when we sincerely resolve not to repeat it, when we feel how badly we have acted against God’s mercy, when it is capable of tearing at the hardest fibres of our heart, causing tears of repentance and love to flow from them” (St. Pio of Pietrelcina). Read More
Heb 2:14-18
Brethren, since all the children share the same human nature, he too shared equally in it, so that by his death he could set aside him who held the power of death, namely the devil, and set free all those who had been held in slavery all their lives by the fear of death. For it was not the angels that he took to himself; he took to himself the line of Abraham. Read More
Mk 1:21-28
They went as far as Capernaum, and at once on the Sabbath he went into the synagogue and began to teach. And his teaching made a deep impression on them because, unlike the scribes, he taught them with authority. And at once in their synagogue there was a man with an unclean spirit, and he shouted, ‘What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? Read More
208th Meditation
“I exhort you again and again to trust, for nothing can terrify a soul who puts its trust in the Lord and places its hope in Him. The enemy of our salvation is always lurking around trying to snatch from our hearts the anchor that leads us to salvation-by that I mean trust in God our Father. Let us hold this anchor very tightly and never allow it to be yielded up even for an instant. Otherwise all could be lost” (St. Pio of Pietrelcina). Read More
Today we return to the meditation of 7 January on the discernment of spirits. Therefore, although this is not the reading of the day, we will listen again to a passage from the Letter of St. John:
1 Jn 4:1-6
My dear friends, not every spirit is to be trusted, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets are at large in the world. This is the proof of the spirit of God: any spirit which acknowledges Jesus Christ, come in human nature, is from God, and no spirit which fails to acknowledge Jesus is from God; it is the spirit of Antichrist, whose coming you have heard of; he is already at large in the world. Read More
207th Meditation
“Perfect surrender to the Divine Will in times of tribulation helps us to store up great treasures for eternity” (St. Vincent Pallotti).
We usually find it easy to fulfil God’s Will when it is shown to us in an attractive way and even brings with it a natural joy. In these circumstances, praise to God flows easily from our hearts. Read More
206th Meditation
“In Mary’s heart, the Father builds the Kingdom of His love” (St. John Eudes).
What a beautiful statement by St. John Eudes! It is indeed so: Our Lady fully accepted God’s love and gave the response that our Father asks and expects from us, human beings. By saying “let it happen to me as you have said” (Lk 1:38), Mary opened the doors so that the Father could unfold His plan of salvation without hindrance. And God entrusted her with the most precious that He could give to mankind: His beloved Son. Read More
Mt 3:13-17
Then Jesus appeared: he came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptised by John. John tried to dissuade him, with the words, ‘It is I who need baptism from you, and yet you come to me!’ But Jesus replied, ‘Leave it like this for the time being; it is fitting that we should, in this way, do all that uprightness demands.’ Read More
