Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved

Download PDF

Mk 16:15-20

Gospel for the memorial of St. Willibrordo of Utrecht

And he said to them, ‘Go out to the whole world; proclaim the gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptised will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned. These are the signs that will be associated with believers: in my name they will cast out devils; they will have the gift of tongues; they will pick up snakes in their hands and be unharmed should they drink deadly poison; they will lay their hands on the sick, who will recover.’ Read More

Pray for the expansion of the Word of the Lord

Download PDF

2 Th 2:16-3:5

May our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father who has given us his love and, through his grace, such ceaseless encouragement and such sure hope, encourage you and strengthen you in every good word and deed. Finally, brothers, pray for us that the Lord’s message may spread quickly, and be received with honour as it was among you;  Read More

The Good Shepherd and His Own

Download PDF

Jn 10:11-18

A reading for the memorial of St. Charles Borromeo

Jesus said at that time, “I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep. The hired man, since he is not the shepherd and the sheep do not belong to him, abandons the sheep as soon as he sees a wolf coming, and runs away, and then the wolf attacks and scatters the sheep; he runs away because he is only a hired man and has no concern for the sheep. Read More

The sublimity of the knowledge of Christ

Download PDF

Phil 3:3-8

We are the true people of the circumcision since we worship by the Spirit of God and make Christ Jesus our only boast, not relying on physical qualifications, although, I myself could rely on these too. If anyone does claim to rely on them, my claim is better. Circumcised on the eighth day of my life, I was born of the race of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrew parents. Read More

Solemnity of All Saints – The universal call to holiness

Download PDF

Rev 7:2-4,9-14

Then I saw another angel rising where the sun rises, carrying the seal of the living God; he called in a powerful voice to the four angels whose duty was to devastate land and sea, ‘Wait before you do any damage on land or at sea or to the trees, until we have put the seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.’ And I heard how many had been sealed: a hundred and forty-four thousand, out of all the tribes of Israel. Read More

A SERIES ON SPIRITUAL LIFE: The Willingness to Change  

Download PDF

Today, being the last day of the month of October, we will conclude the series on the spiritual life, which was intended to give us a perspective on what is conducive to the path of following Christ and what makes it fruitful. Before we resume our customary biblical meditations tomorrow, today’s meditation – the last in this series on spirituality – will point us to a basic condition that we must fulfill if we are to grow spiritually.  Read More

A SERIES ON SPIRITUAL LIFE: Passive Purification

Download PDF

Even if we apply all our will to carry out in ourselves the active purification, we will not be able to overcome everything that prevents us from fully corresponding to the love of the Lord. There are attitudes and attachments that are too deeply rooted, and often we are not even aware of them… That is why the Lord comes to our aid by means of another process, which goes beyond what our own efforts in active purification could bring us: It is the so-called “passive purification”. Read More

A SERIES ON SPIRITUAL LIFE: Active Purification

Download PDF

In the classical mystical tradition, the path of following the Lord is usually described in three “ways”: the purgative way (purification), the illuminative way (illumination) and the unitive way (unification).

By having lived a serious conversion, by striving to acquire the virtues and by consciously taking up the fight against our three enemies – the world, the devil and the flesh – the Lord initiates in us the process of interior purification. We are dealing here with our attachments to our passions, as well as to our own ideas, illusions, desires, etc. Read More