Showing all posts by Elija

In 3 Minutes for God the Father

THE WEDDING GARMENT

Author ElijaPosted on

“No one is excluded from my love; all are called and invited. But they must put on the wedding garment that my Son has given to humanity” (Inner Word).

Our Father’s Heart is open to all people, no one is excluded from His love! All are called to approach the throne of His mercy. That is why the Father sends His messengers to make His love known to mankind. But although this love is boundless and inexhaustible, there is a condition for man to be able to receive it and live in it. He must put on the wedding garment of the Lamb, which the Lord acquired for mankind on the Cross, thus fully fulfilling the Will of the Heavenly Father.

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In Reflexion

MEDITATIONS FOR LENT: “Concrete repercussions of false doctrines”

Author ElijaPosted on

Applying ‘discretion’ as it is understood in ecclesiastical terminology, we have first of all turned our attention to the current situation in the Church. Yesterday’s meditation concluded with some reflections by the philosopher Dietrich von Hildebrand, characterised by his gift for discernment. Without adopting extreme positions, he did observe with great precision the harmful tendencies in the Church, especially after the Second Vatican Council.

Hildebrand and others pointed out that the profusion of negative post-conciliar developments could not be explained simply as isolated errors, but that the enemies of the Church set out to destroy it from within or to transform it into a kind of humanitarian institution. The latter is particularly dangerous, because it may not be immediately noticed, thinking that it is a Christian humanism, as in the case of the encyclical Fratelli tutti, which is capable of confusing the faithful.

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In 3 Minutes for God the Father

THE HIERARCHY OF LOVE

Author ElijaPosted on

“It is better to burn than to know” (Saint Bernard of Clairvaux).

Saint Bernard, an ardent preacher, proclaims here the primacy of love. He was able to inflame his listeners with the love of God and to present the monastic life to them in such an attractive way, with all the praises imaginable, that mothers began to hide their children from him so that they would not all follow him to the monastery.

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In Reflexion

MEDITATIONS FOR LENT: “Discretion applied to the situation of the Church”    

Author ElijaPosted on

The aim of our Lenten meditations is to become better disciples of the Lord, disciples who, with great conviction, bear witness to the love of our Father in these difficult times. His love has been revealed to us in a unique way in His Son Jesus Christ.

Thanks to the Desert Fathers, we have come to know the term “discretion”, which has a broad meaning related to “discernment of spirits”. Discretion thus helps us to distinguish prudently between the good and the bad, the true and the false, the authentic and the artificial. Later we will apply this concept to the spiritual life as well, when we look at how we can live our spiritual life wisely so that it bears much fruit.

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In 3 Minutes for God the Father

THE BOND OF LOVE WITH GOD

Author ElijaPosted on

“The bond of love is stronger than the tie with which nature has so strongly bound parents to their children” (St. Bernard of Clairvaux).

No doubt St Bernard, the great lover of God, was referring to the bond of love with God. And since this link is stronger than that of blood, it is possible to leave one’s family behind when it comes to responding to one’s vocation and to dedicate oneself entirely to the bond of love with God. Indeed, this bond is indestructible and bears the greatest fruit. It also creates new bonds between those who have put God first and nothing before the love of the Heavenly Father.

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In Reflexion

MEDITATIONS FOR LENT: “Introduction to discretion”  

Author ElijaPosted on

A clarification for all those who listen to my daily meditations and have accompanied us on this journey through the Gospel of John up to the moment when Pilate, the Roman procurator, yielded to the pressure of Jesus’ enemies and handed Him over to be crucified: as I mentioned in yesterday’s meditation, since the subsequent passages would have led directly to the Crucifixion and Resurrection of the Lord, I have decided to postpone them until they coincide with the events we commemorate in the liturgical seasons that are approaching.

The series on the Gospel of John has been a very fruitful journey with the Lord, one that has brought great joy and gratitude for all that He has done to glorify His beloved Father and for our salvation. His holy words and instructions to the disciples and to all those who listened with open hearts left a deep impression.

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In Biblical Meditations

THE GOSPEL OF ST. JOHN (Jn 19:13-16): “We have no king but Caesar”      

Author ElijaPosted on

When Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called The Pavement, and in Hebrew, Gab′batha. Now it was the day of Preparation of the Passover; it was about the sixth hour. He said to the Jews, “Behold your King!” They cried out, “Away with him, away with him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.” Then he handed him over to them to be crucified.

This is the hour of the ultimate betrayal of the Lord who came to redeem humanity. It is a betrayal of God and man, for how can the creature loved by God kill its Creator?

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In 3 Minutes for God the Father

A FREE SOUL

Author ElijaPosted on

“Love transforms souls and sets them free” (Saint Bernard of Clairvaux).

This is the extraordinary work of the Holy Spirit who has been poured into our hearts and brings about their transformation. We know His seven gifts, which serve our sanctification.

Indeed, it is love that makes us receptive to all that God wants to give us, because “God is love” (1 Jn 4:16b).

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In 3 Minutes for God the Father

LOVE GOD WITHOUT MEASURE

Author ElijaPosted on

“Shall I tell you why and how we should love God? In a word, the reason for loving God is simply God Himself, and the measure is to love Him without measure” (St Bernard of Clairvaux).

St Bernard hit the nail on the head! Surely we could find countless reasons why we should love God, and we would never finish listing them. But they all boil down to the fact that we love God simply because He is God, and we love our Father for who He is. As we discover this more and more, we will cry out from the depths of our hearts: “O God, I thank you for being our Father and for being as you are”.

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In Biblical Meditations

THE GOSPEL OF ST. JOHN (Jn 19:1-12): “Pilate wants to free Jesus”      

Author ElijaPosted on

Then Pilate took Jesus and scourged him. And the soldiers plaited a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and arrayed him in a purple robe; they came up to him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and struck him with their hands. Pilate went out again, and said to them, “See, I am bringing him out to you, that you may know that I find no crime in him.” So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Behold the man!” When the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out, “Crucify him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and crucify him, for I find no crime in him.” The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and by that law he ought to die, because he has made himself the Son of God.”

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