This marvelous task of liberty is accomplished according to Christ’s program and His Kingdom on the terrain of truth. Being free means achieving the fruits of liberty, acting in the truth. Also knowing how to yield, how to submit to the truth; not to subject truth to oneself, to one’s fancies and will, to one’s interests at the moment.
Being free is not passive enjoyment, but the labor of liberty. At the price of such effort, man does not ‘waste’; but ‘gathers’ and ‘accumulates’ with Christ. Man also obtains that unity in himself which is proper to the Kingdom of God. At the same price, too, families, social groups, societies, achieve similar unity: of truth with liberty; and of liberty with truth.
My dear friends! This unity is your particular task, unless you wish to want to surrender to the unity of that other program, that which seeks to accomplish itself in the world, in mankind, in our generation and in each of us, the program of whom Holy Scripture calls “the father of lies” (Jn 8:44).
Do not permit destruction of this interior unity, which, through the Holy Spirit, Christ constructs in the conscience of every one of you. Unity, where liberty grows out of truth; and truth is the measure of liberty.
Learn to think, speak and act according to principles of evangelical simplicity and clarity: ‘Yes, yes; no, no.’ Learn to call ‘white, white’, ‘black’, ‘black’ -- ‘bad’, ‘bad’, ‘good’, ‘good’.
Ref: Cf “Prayers and Devotions from Pope John Paul II”, 1984, p120
Holy Purity -- The spotless purity of John’s whole life makes him strong facing the cross. The rest of the Apostles flee fom Golgotha. He, with the Mother of Christ, remains. (St Josemaria Escrivá, “The Way”, 144)
The Christian Apostolate
St John has recorded a wonderful phrase by our Lady. At Cana she told the waiters: “Do whatever he tells you.” (Jn 2:5) It’s all about getting people to face Jesus and ask him: “Lord what do you want me to do?” (Acts 9:6)
The christian apostolate --about an ordinary Christian living as just one more man or woman among equals -- is a great work of teaching. Through real, personal, loyal friendship, you create in others a hunger for God and you help them to discover new horizons: naturally, simply. With the example of your faith lived to the full, with a loving word which is full of the force of divine truth.
Ref: Cf St Josemaria Escrivá, “Christ is passing by”, 149
Scruples -- Don’t think any more about your fall. Besides overwhelmng and crushing you under its weight, that recollection may easily be an occasion of future temptation. Christ has forgiven you! Forget the “old man” -- your former self. (St Josemaria Escrivá, “The Way”, 261)
Unity among Christians
“The company of those who believed were of one heart and soul.” (Acts 4:32) These words summarize the deep unity and fraternal love of the first Christians, which attracted so much attention from their fellow citizens. “The disciples bore testimony to the Resurrection not only with their words but also with their virtues.” (St John Chrysostom, “Homilies on the Acts of the Apostles”, 11)
Christ expressly wished this Church unity from the very start. He speaks of one Pastor (cf Jn 10:16); emphasizes the Kingdom which cannot be divided (cf Mt 12:25), of the building with a single foundation (cf Mt 16:18). This unity was always founded on the profession of one faith, observance of a single form of worship; and submission to a sole hierarchical authority, constituted by Christ.
“There is only one Church of Jesus Christ which is like a big tree into which we are all grafted. It’s a matter of a deep vital unity which is a gift from God. It is not merely, nor above all, an external unity; it is a mystery and a gift ...
“This unity then is shown around him who in each diocese has been constituted as Shepherd, the Bishop. In the universal Church it is shown around the Pope, the Successor of Peter.” (John Paul II, “Homily”, Madrid, 3 November 1982)
The unity of faith was, among the first Christians, the support of their fortitude and of the inner life which flowed over into the exterior. The same Christian life has been lived since then by very different peoples. “... they shared, experienced and transmitted one single doctrine with the same soul and the same heart and identical voice.” (St Irenaeus, “Adversus Haereses”, 1, 10, 2)
The first Christians defended this unity of theirs to the point of facing persecution and even martyrdom. The Church has always encouraged her children to watch over their precious unity and pray for it.
Our Lord prayed for it at the last Supper: “that they all may be one; even as thou, Father, are in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us” (Jn 17:21). Unity is a great benefit; we must daily implore it because “every kingdom divided against itself cannot stand ” (Mt 12:25).
Ref: Cf F Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 2:349-50
St Peter and St John go to the sepulchre
The apostles reacted differently to the news of the holy women. St Peter and St John half-believed and half-doubted. “Peter, therefore, went out and that other disciple, and they came to the tomb.” (Jn 20:3) The impulse of reason and conscience prevailed over the words and actions of the others.
How happy should we be if our conduct had been always like theirs, making God, our conscience, and the norms of our vocation the rule of our lives! But, have we often adopted a course of action either from cowardice or human respect and finding excuses in our tepidity?
They both ran together, so eager to reach the tomb, and to discover what had become of their beloved Master. Their love made them run on their way.
Do we fulfill the duties that God and obedience enjoin us with the same promptness and energy? If our conscience bears witness in our favor, it is a proof of fervor.
Rejoice! Otherwise, we have reason to fear, particularly if age or infirmities warn us that our days are numbered; and endeavor to avoid deathbed regrets.
St John, younger and swifter, reached the tomb first. He tells us “he went not in”, out of respect for St Peter, to whom our Lord had given primacy and jurisdiction. To their great surprise, all they found were “the linen cloth and the napkin that had been about his head” (Jn 20:7).
St Peter had sinned grievously by his three-fold denial of Jesus. Still, St John showed honor and respected him as his superior. This should teach us to overlook the errors and imperfections of directors; but to consider them as representatives of God bearing in mind our Lord’s words, “he that hears you, hears me; and he that despises you, despises me” (Lk 10:16).
Do my thoughts, words, and deeds conform to this doctrine?
Ref: Cf “Practical Meditations” by a Father of the Society of Jesus, 1964, pp208-10
• Apparition of Our Lady to St Ludwina, in the year 1433. — John Brnshman. (“Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; www.bethlehemobserver.com)
• Apparition of Our Lady to St. Ludwina (1433). (www/divinewill.org/feastsofourlady.html); (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html); (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html)
• Apparition of Mary to St. Ludivina. 1433. (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm)
• Our Lady of Guam (1825). (www/divinewill.org/feastsofourlady.html); (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html)
• Our Lady of Guam. (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm)
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