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.
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.
LENTEN ITINERARY | Day 36: “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
LENTEN ITINERARY | Day 35: “St. Joseph and the Mission of the Man”
On the occasion of the Solemnity of St. Joseph, we will reflect today, in context with our Lenten journey, a little on the one whom God chose to be the foster father of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Mt 1:16,18-21,24ª
Jacob fathered Joseph the husband of Mary; of her was born Jesus who is called Christ. This is how Jesus Christ came to be born. His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph; but before they came to live together she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Read More
LENTEN ITINERARY | Day 34: “The scourging of the Lord – Fiducia Supplicans”
With today’s reflection, I would like to add a sad and topical chapter of an aberration so that the faithful are not confused by official Church documents that are in stark contradiction to what the Holy Scriptures teach and what the Church has always authoritatively handed down.
This is the document “Fiducia supplicans”, which was issued by the Vatican on 18 December 2023. Read More
LENTEN ITINERARY | Day 33: “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 32: “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.
LENTEN ITINERARY | Day 31: “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. If the course taken by the majority of the Church hierarchy and lay bodies in this country is based more on the mentality of the world than on Holy Scripture and Church teaching, then the anti-Christian influence is evident.
LENTEN ITINERARY | Day 30: “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.
Since Christ is present in His Church and is the true Lord, the attack of the Antichrist and his minions will be directed particularly against this Church, as it stands in the way of the realisation of their plans.
LENTEN ITINERARY | Day 29: “Following Christ in anti-Christian times (II)”
The spirit of discernment and the Antichrist.
Let us return today to the theme of the Antichrist, to whom we will dedicate several meditations. We will continue with this theme, giving also some concrete guidelines for dealing with the threat emanating from the Antichrist and his henchmen.
As I mentioned in yesterday’s meditation, there are strong passages in Scripture that speak of the Antichrist. Thus St. Paul writes to the Thessalonians: