“When they drew close to the town they were going, he made as though he would go farther.” (Lk 24:28) Our Lord fully intended to confer on these disciples the wonderful privilege of becoming their guest, and of making himself known to them that very day. He however, desired that this favor should be granted only at their pressing invitation.
God willingly comes and enters into our soul and manifests his presence by heavenly graces and favors. ‘My delights are to be with the children of men’; but he will be sought for and invited with fervor and perseverance. If he seems far, and our soul is void of those movements of grace his presence creates, could tepidity towards him be the cause?
The disciples, whose hearts had burned during the discourse of the unknown pilgrim, begged him not to leave them. “Stay with us because it is towards evening, and the day is now far spent.” Adding action to word, “they constrained him. And he went in with them.” (Lk 24:29)
The practical conclusion here is -- if we wish to draw our Lord and his sensible graces into our souls, we must use a sort of holy violence towards him. At certain occasions, we increase our devout practices and mortifications, till, like the disciples, we constrain him to yield to our desires. Like them, we may urge ‘that it is now towards evening’, and ‘that the day’ (of our life) ‘is now far spent’ and tending, perhaps without our suspecting it, towards its decline.
The pleas of the disciples, and their gentle violence towards him, pleased their Divine Lord. He yielded, and went in with them. Joyful, they did their best to be hospitable though still they knew not the dignity of their guest. What would they have done had they known?
I know the guest whom I receive into my heart at Holy Communion. How must I receive him?
Ref: cf “Practical Meditations” by a Father of the Society of Jesus, 1964, pp218-20
Christ Draws All to Himself
Among the crowds who had come to Jerusalem were some Greeks who professed monotheism and frequented the synagogue. These Gentiles accepted certain practices of the Mosaic Law, such as prayer, almsgiving, the Sabbath rest, and the annual pilgrimages.
Noting the reception given to Jesus on Palm Sunday, and hearing about the miracles he had performed, these men keenly desired to meet him and converse with him. They approached Philip, who came from Bethsaida in Galilee, a town where Jews and Gentiles mixed and mingled. He had a Greek name, and he must have understood Greek. They said to him: “Sir, we should like to see Jesus.” (Jn 12:21) Philip consulted Andrew and they told Jesus.
St John does not tell us if Jesus granted the Gentiles their request. We would like to believe the interview was given for Jesus never rejected anybody. He patiently instructed the Samaritan woman, heard the centurion’s prayer and praised his faith, did not resist the repeated prayer of the Canaanite woman, and he cured the Samaritan leper.
We would like to think these men were the first fruits of the spread of the Christian faith in the Hellenic world. Besides, the event would give greater meaning to our Lord’s exclamation about his glorification, which also involved drawing all men to himself.
The Greeks’ request seemed to have brought to Jesus’ mind the immense fields in which the Church would reap countless souls for God’s glory. He looked beyond Andrew and Philip, and said: “Now the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.” (Jn 12:23) For a fleeting moment, the Redeemer contemplated his triumph over Satan.
Ref: cf Fr M Guzman, “Encounters With Christ”, 1990, pp120-21
For God all the glory
“Am I seeking human approval or God’s? ... If I were still pleasing people, I would not be a servant of Christ.” (Gal 1:10) “It is a very small thing that you should judge me ... The Lord alone is my judge.” (1 Cor 4:3-4)
“Among the surprises which await us on the day of judgment, not least will be the silence with which Our Lord will greet those actions of ours which merited the applause of men ... On the other hand it can happen that he will weigh in positive terms some actions which have drawn down criticism and censorship upon us ...” (G Chevrot, “In Secret”)
A wrong intention destroys the best of actions: the deed can be well done, it can even be beneficial; but, since it is corrupted at source, it loses all value in the eyes of God. Vanity or self-seeking can destroy, sometimes completely, what could have been a deed meriting holiness. Without a right intention, we go astray.
Occasionally, receiving some praise is a sign of friendship and can help along the way of goodness. But this praise must be directed towards God in all simplicity. Besides, it is one thing to receive a word of praise, a sign of being well received; another thing is to look for praise. We must always be careful when we are praised or commended.
“Since many times our poor soul goes off the right path, as soon as it is applauded ... thus it finds its delight more in being called happy than in actually being so. And that thing which should have been a reason for praising God becomes instead a cause of our separation from him.” (St Gregory the Great, “Moralia”, 10, 47-8)
God accepts our actions, even small ones, if we offer them to him with a pure intention. “Do everything for the glory of God.” (1 Cor 10:31) The two small coins that the poor widow put into the box in the Temple (cf Mk 12:42) became a great treasure in heaven. We have a marvellous aspiration to say repeatedly: “Lord, for myself I want nothing. All for your glory and for Love.” (St Josemaria Escrivá, “The Way”, 788)
Ref: cf F Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 2:394-7
Our Lady -- “Mary spent three days and three nights looking for the son who was lost. May you and I also be able to say that our willingness to find Jesus knows no rest.” (St Josemaria Escrivá, “Furrow”, 794)
Our Lady of Betharam, in the diocese of Lescar, in the province of Bearn. This image was found in the year 1503 by some shepherds who, seeing an extraordinary light on the spot where the high altar of the chapel now stands, came up and found an image of Our Lady, for which they at once erected a chapel. — Triple Couronne. n. 32. (“Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; http://www.bethlehemobserver.com)
Our Lady of Betharam (diocese of Lescar: Bearn, France). (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html)
Our Lady of Betharam, France (1503). (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html); (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm)
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