We are now on the threshold of Holy Week. From tomorrow, daily meditations, accompanied by a video and many songs, will lead us through the events of this week, which is rightly called the “Great Week” of the year.
The time has come to look back on the path we have travelled, to look at the fruits that have come from it and to give thanks to the Lord.
St. Francis de Sales suggests that, having completed a meditation, one should gather a “spiritual bouquet”; that is to say, “we should choose one, two or three points, those which have pleased us most and those which are most to our advantage, to remember them (…) and to smell them spiritually”.
When we accompanied groups of pilgrims in the Holy Land, we used to make this suggestion our own. At the end of the pilgrimage, each of the pilgrims could say what had touched them and moved them in a special way. These testimonies would be written down as a “spiritual bouquet”, which we would then offer to the Sorrowful Mother by the Cross of Our Lord on Calvary.
Now, at the end of our Lenten journey, I would also like to collect a “spiritual bouquet”. If you wish, you can write to us what has been most important to you along this journey. We will collect these points and bring the bouquet as a thanksgiving to the Virgin Mary and the Lord on Calvary in Jerusalem and, if possible, also to the Tomb of the Risen Christ. You can write to us at the following e-mail address: contact@jemael.org or send us a message (WhatsApp or Telegram) to the following number: 0097252929357964
Now, let’s take a look at the road we have travelled until the beginning of Holy Week:
-The call to conversion.
-Fasting.
-Doing everything with our gaze fixed on the Lord.
-Serenity in adversity.
-Rejection of temptations in the Name of the Lord.
-Works of mercy.
-The Word of God.
-Penance.
-Purification of the outer and inner temple.
-The fight against vices: pride, greed, wrath, envy, lust, gluttony and sloth.
-The virtues, beginning with fortitude and prudence.
-A regular rhythm of prayer.
-Passive purification.
-The grace of the sacraments.
-Fidelity to Tradition.
-Listening to the prophets, with special reference to the prophetic messages we receive from heaven.
-Contemplation and recollected prayer.
-St Joseph and the mission of the man.
-Obedience in all its splendour.
-Prayer in times of persecution.
Following Christ in anti-Christian times.
-Church in the desert.
-Suffering and serenity.
-The seven sorrows of Mary.
If we look at each of these stations, we will see that they are but counsels for the way of holiness, to which we are all called. But in apocalyptic times, this call takes on a special urgency. We must live and profess our faith in all its beauty and clarity. Especially the five meditations on the following of Christ in apocalyptic times should help us to wake up from all lethargy and false security, which could become dangerous.
We will have to continue to address this theme, especially with regard to the “Church in the desert”. In fact, this was the theme of the last lecture I have just published on my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8zuTCDdi6M
It takes courage and determination to give oneself fully to the way of following Christ. If we feel that we still lack courage, we can ask the Lord for it. There is an urgent need for our holy Church to be renewed and for the face of Christ to shine visibly through her again. This renewal can only take place if those called by the Lord sincerely walk their way. This implies a willingness to be seriously converted and to persevere on this path with God’s help. Some will even have to undergo deep inner purifications, in order to grow more and more in love.
We know well that our Saviour redeemed us through the Cross, and all who follow Him are called to become like Him. That is why we conclude our Lenten journey with a meditation by Fr. Gabriel on the Sorrowful Mother: may she accompany us on our journey and teach us to love her Son as she loves Him! With her company and intercession, we will be able to walk the straight path. Especially in these times of tribulation, she will be very close to us.
So I would like to conclude this Lenten journey by thanking all of you who have walked it with us: May the joy of the Lord’s Resurrection accompany us on the way to His glorious Return! Come, Lord Jesus, Maranatha!
And don’t forget to send us your little testimony as a “flower” for our “spiritual bouquet”…
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Meditation on the reading of the day: http://en.elijamission.net/2022/04/09/
Meditation on the Gospel of the day: http://en.elijamission.net/2021/03/27/