As I mentioned yesterday, I do not want to fail to remember St. Joan of Arc again and again. The day of her death was 30 May 1431, when she was publicly burned as a witch in the marketplace of Rouen, France. I cordially invite you to listen to the radio play, which gives a good impression of the mission of the saint (Radio play St. Joan of Arc). The unjust ecclesiastical trial against her was annulled twenty-five years after her death. In 1920, Joan of Arc was canonised. Read More
Concluding meditation on the Holy Spirit
Now you have come, beloved Holy Spirit. This time you came in a violent wind (cf. Acts 2:2), not as you did with your friend Elijah (cf. 1 Kgs 19:11-13). Then it was more hidden, as you usually work in the souls of the people who let you in. But today it was different as the Holy Scripture reminds us. How wonderful and convincing was Your work! The apostles spoke and proclaimed in their own tongue, but everyone else understood them in their own language. Read More
Beloved Holy Spirit, with today’s meditation we conclude this preparation for the great feast of Your coming. May Your fruits grow and ripen in us, for in this way we can glorify the One from whom everything comes and bear witness to You before the world!
For this we need patience, for these fruits ripen more with each passing day. We need patience even more with other people, so that they can receive what God has prepared for them. Read More
Beloved Holy Spirit, You want us to live in faithfulness – and this in a time when infidelity is almost becoming a way of life. You will have a lot of work to do, because many people no longer understand the meaning of fidelity, whether it is in the marital relationship or in promises made or even in religious vows. We often need to learn anew what faithfulness, responsibility, constancy and stability mean. Read More
What ornament, O Holy Spirit, is a modest soul; a soul in which Your fruit, dwells! In her, the disorderly desire is restrained and has come to rest. She does not think for herself constantly and is easily satisfied with everything. She does not want to be the centre of attention, but wants to take the place that You have intended for her. Read More
Holy Spirit, with Your gifts that You sink into our souls, You want to bring forth all the fruits that we contemplate in these days before we celebrate the feast of Your coming in the Church. They are true fruits that make our lives bright, they are expressions of Your love and help us to relate to each other as human beings in the incomparable way that Jesus said to His disciples: Read More
Holy Spirit, today I come to you with a special request which darkens the lives of many people.
The sense of chastity has been lost and for too many people it seems to be a relic of times gone by. If one speaks of it, one is often met with complete incomprehension, and even in ecclesiastical circles it not infrequently evokes a pitiful smile. Yet chastity is a fruit of life with You and a glorious gift that strengthens the dignity of the person immensely! Read More
Come, Holy Spirit, enlighten us, for You are the light that makes our darkness bright. Take away from us all our spiritual blindness, so that we may better recognise You and perceive reality in Your light. There is a big difference between recognising You in the work and only seeing the natural reality.
You know, Holy Spirit, we actually understand very little! Read More
Beloved Holy Spirit, one of Your wonderful gifts is peace. It is a peace that the world cannot give (cf Jn 14:27), but neither can it take. This points to a peace different from the peace we usually know – it is a peace that lasts. Read More
Holy Spirit, it is said of You that You are a kind and human loving Spirit, and that a fruit that You make grow in the human soul is kindness!
Kindness is an agreeable attitude of man by which one easily wins the other person and makes him feel loved and acknowledged! And if this kindness is without falsehood – which it is without doubt, if it matures in the soul as a fruit of Your work – then it is a sun in the life of man! It reflects the attitude with which God meets us, because God does not only want us to recognize Him as our Father, but He also wants to be our trusted friend! Read More
