As we come to the end of our Lenten itinerary, we do not want to miss a glance at the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God. What creature could better understand the suffering of her Son than the one who received the unspeakable grace of being His Mother and disciple? The traditional calendar dedicates the Friday before Holy Week to contemplating Mary’s sorrows. Read More
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LENTEN ITINERARY | Day 37: Suffering and serenity
We are just 3 days away from the beginning of Holy Week, and our Lenten itinerary is coming to an end. I would like to dedicate today’s meditation to the theme of how to deal with suffering in the right way, which is undoubtedly one of the most difficult lessons in our journey of following Christ.
To address this issue, we will draw on an excellent meditation of Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalene, O.C.D., from his book “Divine Intimacy”. Read More
LENTEN ITINERARY | Day 36: “Ecclesia in deserto”
We have already travelled a long way on our Lenten itinerary and now we are almost at the gates of Holy Week.
During the last five days we have been dealing with the serious subject of the Antichrist, who is to come at the End of Time, but whose spirit is already manifesting itself beforehand in various guises. Here we are confronted with the abyss of iniquity, a dark personification of the alienation from the living God. But in the end, as St. John’s Revelation describes, the Beast (often interpreted as an image of the Antichrist) and the False Prophet will be cast into the lake of fire (cf. Rev 20:9-10). Read More
LENTEN ITINERARY | Day 35: Following Christ in anti-Christian times (V)
Spiritual resistance to the anti-Christian threat
In our journey towards the great Feast of the Resurrection of Our Lord, we have dealt with the grave threat of the anti-Christian powers. These have even penetrated our Church, seeking to disintegrate and weaken her from within, so that she loses her clear and unequivocal witness and is no longer able to give true guidance to men. The more the Church adopts the “smell of this world”, the less she reflects the face of her Divine Bridegroom. Read More
LENTEN ITINERARY | Day 34: Following Christ in anti-Christian times (IV)
The crisis in the Church
If we take a critical look at the current situation in the Church, we can quickly focus on Germany, where a “different Church” is already manifesting itself in certain aspects. Those who follow more closely what is happening on the so-called “synodal way” can see that here a process of adaptation of the Church to the world is taking place. The Catholic identity is increasingly being renounced in order to adopt the moral standards of the world. Read More
LENTEN ITINERARY | Day 33: “Following Christ in anti-Christian times (III)”
The attack on the Church
All that we have heard in the previous meditations on the Antichrist clearly shows us the great danger that the antichristian spirit poses to humanity. It is the most tenacious and perhaps also the last attempt of the Devil to expand his dominion over the whole orb of the earth, to subjugate it and, if possible, to induce mankind to worship him. Read More
LENTEN ITINERARY | Day 31: Following Christ in anti-Christian times (II)
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The spirit of discernment and the Antichrist.
Let us return today to the theme of the Antichrist, to whom we will dedicate several meditations. After having celebrated the Solemnity of the Annunciation tomorrow, we will continue with this theme, giving also some concrete guidelines for dealing with the threat emanating from the Antichrist and his henchmen. Read More
LENTEN ITINERARY | Day 30: “Following Christ in anti-Christian times”
It is also part of our Lenten itinerary to take a careful look at the difficult times in which we find ourselves, which – as I have repeatedly said – I consider to be apocalyptic in character. While we should not be intimidated by its threat, neither can we close our eyes to the events that are happening around us. Read More
LENTEN ITINERARY | Day 29: Prayer in times of persecution
We return today to the theme of prayer; this time from another perspective. Undoubtedly, prayer serves first and foremost to glorify the Lord and to bring the soul into and remain in the “great dialogue” with Him.
In liturgical prayer, we take part together with all the faithful in the prayer of the Bride (the Church) to her Bridegroom. In Holy Mass, as the culmination of liturgical prayer, we unite ourselves to the sacrifice of Our Lord on the Cross. This hierarchy in prayer life should always be preserved and cultivated. Read More
LENTEN ITINERARY | Day 28: The splendour of obedience
In yesterday’s meditation we highlighted the obedience of St. Joseph, who promptly complied with God’s Will, as soon as he had recognised it. His attitude invites us to reflect more generally on the virtue of obedience, which is a great good when properly understood and practised.
Obedience is related to listening, paying attention, hearing, heeding…. Read More