During Lent, the Church ponders these words with particular emotion, since it is the time when the Church more profoundly desires to convert herself to Christ. ‘Without these words there is no conversion in all its interior meaning.’
... man cannot truly enter into the Mystery of the Resurrection of Christ, so as to obtain the fruits of Redemption and Grace from them. Those key words show man’s great interior openness to God: “Father, I have sinned against you.”
If it is true that sin in a certain sense shuts man off from God, it is likewise true that ‘remorse’ for sins opens up all the greatness and majesty of God, his fatherhood above all, to man’s conscience.
Man remains shut to God so long as the words are absent from his lips, above all, ... from his ‘conscience’, from his ‘heart’.
Being converted to Christ, finding the interior power of His Cross and Resurrection, the full truth of human existence ‘in Christ’, is possible only with this form: “Father, I have sinned.” And only at the cost of them.
In Lent, the Church labors above all that everyone may blame himself / herself for sins before God alone; and may consequently accept the salvific power of the pardon in Christ’s Suffering and Resurrection.
Ref: Cf Pope John Paul II, “Prayers and Devotions”, 1994, pp124-5
On serving others
It is impossible to practise charity without humility and a spirit of service. There can be no effectiveness. Devoid of humility there is no holiness. Jesus does not want conceited self-centered friends in his service: “the instruments of God are always humble”. (St John Chrysostom, “Homilies on St Matthew”, 15)
In striving to be humble we become effective and strong. We must be ever vigilant, because the worst kind of ambition is to seek one’s own exaltation. ‘Pride attacks on all flanks and its victim finds it all around.’
Unless we are humble we become unfit for helping others, for pride infects everything. Where there is a proud person nothing goes right; nobody is treated properly: family, friends, colleagues. He expects and demands special treatment for himself because he considers himself different. He can be over-sensitive.
The dogmatic tone of his words, his ironic or sarcastic opinions in any discussion, his tendency to cut short conversations are all signs of a deep-seated egoism. The limited horizons of his life are centered on himself.
Humility on the other hand makes us recognize our weaknesses and defects. We are then able to understand the shortcomings of others, and lend a helping hand. We can love and accept them, defects and all.
The Blessed Virgin, ‘handmaid of the Lord’, will teach us that to serve others is among the ways of finding joy in this life and one of the shortest routes to Jesus.
Ref: Cf Francis Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 2:79-84
The Guiding Influence of the Holy Spirit
A correct understanding of the teaching of Jesus makes us react in a creative and co-operative fashion to the challenges that face us in life, without fear of acting mistakenly and alone; but under the guiding influence of his own Holy Spirit at every moment, in every circumstance, great or small.
This extraordinary divine assistance is guaranteed to all who offer their lives to Jesus. God the Father’s plan of salvation embraces all mankind; his one same Holy Spirit is sent as gift to all who are open to receive him in faith. We each form a part of God’s overall plan.
‘An exclusively personal and private attitude to salvation is not Christian’ and is born of a fundamentally mistaken mentality. Consequently, your lives cannot be lived in isolation, and even ‘in deciding your future you must always keep in mind your responsibility’ as a Christian towards others.
There is no place in your lives for apathy or indifference to the world around you. Selfishness has no place in the Church. You must show a conscientious concern that the standards of society fit the plan of God.
Christ counts on you, so the effects of his Holy Spirit may radiate from you to others, and thus permeate every aspect of public and private sectors of national life. To each person the Spirit’s manifestation is given for the common good. (cf 1 Cor 12:7)
Do not let the sight of the world in turmoil shake your confidence in Jesus. Not even the threat of nuclear war [or nuclear explosion]. Follow the example of Our Blessed Lady, the perfect model of trust in God and wholehearted cooperation in his divine plan for salvation of mankind.
Keep in mind the advice she gave servants at Cana: “Do whatever he [Jesus] tells you.” (Jn 2:5) Jesus changed the water into wine for his Mother on that occasion. Through her intercession he will transform your lives.
Ref: Cf Pope John Paul II, “Prayers and Devotions”, 1994, pp215-6
THE SEVEN SUNDAYS DEVOTION TO ST. JOSEPH -- Honors the seven joys and seven sorrows of St Joseph. (“Handbook of Prayers”, Fr Charles Belmonte and Fr James Socias [Eds], 1988, pp321-3)
“What must Joseph have been, how grace must have worked through him, that he should be able to fulfill this task of the human upbringing of the Son of God.
“For Jesus must have resembled Joseph: in his way of working, in the features of his character, in his way of speaking. Jesus’ realism, his eye for detail, the way he sat at table and broke bread, his preference for using everyday situations to give doctrine -- all this reflects his childhood and the influence of Joseph.
“It’s not possible to ignore this sublime mystery: Jesus who is man, who speaks with the accent of a particular district of Israel, who resembles a carpenter called Joseph, is the Son of God.”
Ref: St Josemaria Escrivà, “In Joseph’s Workshop” in “Christ is passing by”, 40
The seventh sorrow and joy of St Joseph -- His sorrow when he lost the child Jesus; his joy in finding him in the temple.
“They were overcome when they saw him and his mother said to him, ‘Child, why have you done this to us? See how worried your father and I have been, looking for you.’” (Lk 2:43)
“Get to know Joseph and you will find Jesus. Talk to Joseph and you will find Mary, who always sheds peace about her in that attractive workshop in Nazareth.”
Ref: St Josemaria Escrivà, “In Joseph’s Workshop” in “Christ is passing by”, 56
• Our Lady of the Empress, at Rome. A tradition records that this image spoke to St Gregory the Great in the year 593. — Antonius Yepez, ad ann. 84, divi Benedicti. (“Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; www.bethlehemobserver.com)
• Our Lady of the Empress. Rome. 593. (www/divinewill.org/feastofourlady.htm); (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html); (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm)
• Our Lady of the Empress (Rome). (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html)
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