THE WILL OF THE FATHER

467th Meditation

“Whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother, and sister, and mother” (Mt 12:50).

With these words, Jesus makes us understand in what the deepest unity between God and humanity consists.

Certainly, we are all called to live as children of God and to love and respect one another. But this fraternity can only be fully realized when we fulfill the condition that Jesus mentions by striving with all our will and with all our heart to do the Will of our Father. Then the closest bond with the Son of God is formed and we become “one spirit” with Him. And not only with Him, but with all the believers here on earth and with the whole heavenly family whose joy it is to always do the Father’s Will. Read More

JESUS PRAISES THE WISDOM OF THE FATHER

466th Meditation

 

“I thank thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to babes” (Mt 11:25).

In these words of Jesus we can perceive how much He rejoices in the wisdom of His Father. If we praise the Father for His wisdom as we come to know and love Him more and more each day, how much more will our Lord do so! As His beloved Son, He understands the Heavenly Father on another level. He knows the glory of the Father in all its fullness, without the limitations that we human beings have. Read More

AT THE END OF TIME YOU SENT YOUR SON

464th Meditation

“But at the end of time You sent Your Son – our Lord Jesus Christ – and You required of Yourself the sacrifice that Abraham was not made to offer. You gave Your only begotten Son for the life of the whole world, so that Your people and all the peoples of the earth might find their salvation in Him” (Hymn of Praise to the Most Holy Trinity). Read More

IN YOUR GOODNESS, YOU SENT THE PROPHETS

463rd Meditation

“In Your goodness, You sent the prophets to bring them back to the right path, but how often did Your people not listen to their words, but persecuted and killed those whom You sent!” (Praise of the Blessed Trinity).

Our Father did everything to lead His people on the path of salvation. But again and again, the history of Israel shows how they strayed. It was difficult for them to be different from the surrounding nations. Read More

THE PEOPLE REJECT GOD

462nd Meditation

“There [in the Promised Land] You would have had them led by judges, but they, wanting to be like other peoples, preferred to have kings. So You gave them kings, but they often did what displeased You” (Praise of the Blessed Trinity).

The drama surrounding the people of Israel was not over. After Joshua’s death, the Israelites turned away from the Lord and served the Baals. They followed the gods of the surrounding peoples (Judg 2:11-12). As a rebuke, the Lord delivered them into the hands of the robbers and the enemies around them (v. 14). They were no longer victorious in the wars and fell into great misery. Read More

THE JOURNEY THROUGH THE DESERT

461st Meditation

“But again and again Your people rebelled against You. And so they were made to wander through the desert for forty years – until You brought them into the Promised Land, by the hands of Your servant Joshua” (Praise of the Blessed Trinity).

The Covenant sealed between God and His people did not guarantee that all the Israelites would henceforth be free from confusion and sin, and that, trusting in God, they would from then on take the straight path and be guided docilely by the Lord towards the Promised Land. Read More

THE COVENANT OF THE FATHER WITH HIS PEOPLE

460th Meditation

“You then brought Your people out of Egypt with a strong hand and led them into the wilderness with signs and wonders. On the mountain You revealed to Your servant Moses the commandments that had been obscured in the hearts of the peoples” (Praise of the Blessed Trinity).

The darkness into which human beings had plunged since the fall into sin made it necessary for our Father to isolate His people from the pagan nations in order to teach them the way to true life. Read More

OUR FATHER COMES TO THE AID OF HIS PEOPLE

459th Meditation

“You then created for Yourself the people Israel, who bear Your name within them, and whom You called Your first-born. In Egypt You made them grow, making them into a great people, until they cried out to You in their oppression by Pharaoh” (Praise of the Blessed Trinity).

From that just man whom God found in the midst of the confusion of the nations, a whole people arose. This was to be prepared so that, through the kind providence of our Father, the Just One, the Redeemer of humanity and Head of the Church, which is one, might be born of him: “He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church” (Col 1:17-18a). Read More

OUR FATHER DID NOT GIVE UP

458th Meditation

“You saved Noah from the flood and Lot from the destruction of the corrupt city. In Abraham you blessed all peoples” (Praise of the Blessed Trinity).

Even in the midst of the growing chaos in humanity, our Father always found a just man whom He could draw to Himself in a special way, showing Him His favor and saving him from widespread corruption. Read More