Come, Lord Jesus Maranatha! – Part 2
“’As it was in Noah’s day, so will it be when the Son of man comes. For in those days before the Flood people were eating, drinking, taking wives, taking husbands, right up to the day Noah went into the ark, and they suspected nothing till the Flood came and swept them all away. This is what it will be like when the Son of man comes. Read More
General reflections
After looking at the historical coming of Jesus in the first week, reaching as far as Bethlehem where we stopped with the meditations, the second week was dedicated to the coming of the Lord into our hearts. It was about strengthening the relationship with Jesus in our inner being. Read More
The birth of the Lord in us, Part 7
First of all, a warm greeting to Latin America on the feast of our beloved Mother of Guadalupe. We need her especially in these days of worldwide tribulation and it is a great comfort to us to know that she will crush the head of the serpent (cf. Gen 3:15). Read More
The birth of the Lord in us, Part 6
The reflections of this week lead us step by step into the encounter with contemplation.
There is a rich tradition in our holy church which describes the deeper encounter of the soul with God and also invites us to embark on such a journey. We know of communities which are completely devoted to contemplative prayer and which in this way bring the concerns of the Church and the world to God. They withdraw completely from the world and let the flame of love for God burn in their hearts. Read More
The birth of the Lord in us, Part 5
In this week’s reflections so far, we have considered the meditation of the Word of God, the Rosary and the prayer of the heart, and we have briefly mentioned the reception of Holy Communion in the celebration of Holy Mass. On the latter topic, a few more thoughts. Read More
The birth of the Lord in us, Part 4
Already in 2019 I have written down three revised reflections on the prayer of the heart practised in the Eastern Church and recommend reading them in our archives (http://en.elijamission.net/?s=prayer+of+the+heart), as well as searching for further literature if one wants to get to know this precious prayer and its history better[1]. Read More
The birth of the Lord in us, Part 3
Today, on this wonderful feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, it is very appropriate to talk about the Rosary, because it is a classical Christian meditation and is especially associated with the Virgin Mary.
It was she who carried the Lord under her heart and in her heart. If we want to take Jesus deeper into our hearts, she will gladly come to our aid as a spiritual mother. Read More
The birth of the Lord in us, Part 2
The internalization of our faith is a decisive moment in how much the grace God has given us unfolds in our lives. At the very beginning of my journey of following Christ, I read a sentence by a protestant mystic named Angelus Silesius. He wrote: “And if Jesus had been born a thousand times in Bethlehem and not in you, you would still be lost”. Read More
When we talk about the coming of the Lord, we think of a triple coming of Jesus: the historical coming with the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, the birth of the Lord in us and the coming of the exalted Lord at the end of times.
In this second week of Advent we contemplate the presence of Jesus in our hearts. It is crucial that Jesus also lives in our hearts, because this is where the transformation of man takes place: To let Jesus into our hearts means to give Him shelter, to give space in our souls to the love of God. Read More
The Long Road to Bethlehem, Part 6
“But when the completion of the time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born a subject of the Law to redeem the subjects of the Law, so that we could receive adoption as sons.” (Gal 4:4-5).
The archangel Gabriel appeared to the Virgin Mary in Nazareth and it was a decisive hour in the history of salvation. God’s love chose the person from among his people to whom he wanted to entrust his son. It was a woman who, as we know for certain from the teachings of the Catholic Church, was kept free from original sin. Read More
