“Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the desert where for forty days he was tempted by the devil.” (Lk 4:1)
As man, Jesus possessed the fullness of wisdom and grace; perfectly secure against all error, surprise, or illusion. However, he acted only according to the leading of the Holy Spirit, to which he submitted with utmost docility. This same Spirit who, through grace we received, has led and drawn us into our present state in life; and never ceases to guide and encourage us onward to perfection.
His obedience to the Holy Spirit was generous and heroic. Wild beasts were his companions. He had no roof above his head. He ate nothing in those days and spent the whole time in contemplation, interrupted only by the tears he shed over our miseries, and the prayers he addressed to his heavenly Father on our behalf.
From John the Baptist’s baptism of penance, Jesus moved on to works of penance, and thus prepared himself for his public life and ministry. What does Jesus teach us here? First, that holy baptism (to early Christians, a call to martyrdom) in “The life of a Christian ought to be a perpetual penance” (Council of Trent). Second, that we must prepare for work in the middle of the world by prayer and mortification so that our labors will be meaningful, successful.
Ref:cf “Practical Meditations” by a Father of the Society of Jesus, 1964, pp342-4
Effectiveness of the Sacrament of Penance
In the Old Testament the Messiah was described as the shepherd who would come to care lovingly for his sheep, binding up their wounds and healing the sick. (cf Isaiah, 61:1 et seq; Ezekiel, 34:16 et seq) To seek what was lost, to call sinners, to give his life as a ransom for many. (cf Lk 19:10) As prophesied, it is He who “has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows ...” (Isaiah, 53:4 et seq)
Christ cures all our infirmities, sometimes acting directly in our soul: “I will, be clean” (Mt 8:3); keep going, be more humble, don’t be worried. Always when there is grave sin, Our Lord says, “Go and show yourselves to the priests” (Lk 17:14). Go to the Sacrament of Penance where the soul finds the opportune medicine.
“By reflecting on the function of this Sacrament, the conscience of the Church discovers within it, as well as its judicial character, a medicinal character. ‘I want to cure, not to accuse’ St Augustine used to say, referring to this pastoral practice of penance ... thanks to the medicine of Confession the experience of sin does not degenerate into despair.” (John Paul II, Apostolic Exhortation, “Reconciliatio”)
God, who directs the struggle, will certainly always encourage us and help us to begin again. “... an army Chief on the battlefield has more respect for the soldier who, having once given way to flight, returns and attacks the enemy bravely than for the soldier who never turned tail, but neither ever performed any act of valour.” (St Gregory the Great, “Homilies on the Gospels”, 4, 4)
Ref: cf F Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 2:20-22
Let Yourselves Be Reconciled with God
The call to reconciliation ought to have particular resonance and force in our hearts and consciences. If we are really disciples and confessors of Christ -- who reconciled man with God -- we cannot live without seeking such interior reconciliation for our part too. We must not remain in sin and fail to make efforts at finding the way again which leads to the Father’s house, where He is always awaiting our return.
The Church calls us [especially] during Lent to look for this way: “We implore you, in Christ’s name be reconciled with God.” (2 Cor 5:20) Only by being reconciled with God in Christ’s name can we taste how good the Lord is (cf Ps 34:9), by trying for ourselves, experimentally, as it were.
It is not of God’s severity that confessors throughout the world, those where men and women reveal their sins, speak; they speak rather of his merciful bounty. How many approach the confessional, sometimes after many years’ absence, bearing the weight of mortal sins and, as they depart from it, find the desired relief?
They find joy and peace of conscience, which they could not find anywhere else. No one actually has the power to free us from our sin; God alone has that power. And the person who obtains such remission receives the grace of a new life of the spirit, which God alone can grant us in his infinite goodness.
“When the afflicted called out, the Lord heard, and from his distress he saved him.” (Ps 34:7)
Ref: cf Pope John Paul II, “Prayers and Devotions”, 1994, p136
Contrition for sin
Contrition makes us forget ourselves and make our way to God. Our falls ought not to discourage us. Deep contrition always brings peace. ‘Go in peace’ are the very words the priest says to us after forgiving us our sins. Contrition is also a sign of the depth of our love and calls down God’s mercy upon us.
As Isaiah prophesies: “This is the man to whom I will look, he that is humble and contrite in spirit.” (Is 66:2) Thus our worst defects and failings ought not to dishearten us, even if they are many and frequent.
Let us ask the Blessed Virgin Mary, the ‘Refuge of sinners’, that she win for us from her Son a sincere sorrow for our sins and a deep and effective appreciation of the Sacrament of Penance.
We must pray to God for perseverance in our effort to be holy and reach His love.
Ref: cf F Fernandez, op cit, 3:583-4, 588
Penance
While the Holy Family was asleep, the angel appeared to Joseph so that they would be able to flee to Egypt. Mary and Joseph took the Child and started out on the journey without delay. They did not rebel, they did not find excuses, they did not wait till the following morning.
Tell our Holy Mother Mary and our Father and Lord Saint Joseph that we wish to be prompt in loving all passive penance.
Ref: St Josemaria Escrivá, “Furrow”, 999
Memorial: Our Lady of the Word (Speech) Montserrat, Spain, 1514 http://www.starharbor.com/santiago/m feasts.html; (http://www.divinewill.org/feastofourlady.htm; MaryLinks Calendar.htm)
Memorial: Our Lady of the Word, near Montserrat, in Spain; so-called because it is asserted that she restored speech to a dumb man, in the year 1514. (“Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; http://www.bethlehemobserver.com)
Sunday, January 10, 2010
13 January 2010: The Magi return to their country
We cannot imagine the happiness and spiritual delight the Magi experienced with the Infant Jesus. How they would have loved to live there! But they had to leave, with great regret -- thanking him with all their hearts; begging his blessing; devoting entirely to his interests and glory; desiring to make him known and loved by all men.
Thus must we be on leaving the real Presence of Jesus Christ each time we visit him in the Blessed Sacrament or receive him in Holy Communion. Do we leave with strange coldness, even abruptly? Perhaps, because we were insincere or with too weak a faith?
“Having received an answer in sleep that they should not return to Herod, they went back another way into their country.” (Mt 1:12) Probably, more animated with a perfect love, a desire to work and suffer, for Jesus.
Such ought to be our affections and resolutions with God in prayer -- at Mass, visits to the Blessed Sacrament, and especially in Holy Communions.
Ref: cf “Practical Meditations” by a Father of the Society of Jesus, 1964, pp31-2
Who is the devil?
A personal, real and individual being; an indivisible spirit who separated himself from God forever by his sin, “because the devil and the other demons were created naturally good by God; but they became bad by themselves” (Fourth Lateran Council, Dz 800 (428). “He is a liar and the father of lies” (Jn 8:44), of sin, discord, affliction, hatred, all that is absurd and evil on earth (cf Heb 2:14).
The astute and envious serpent who brings death to the world (cf Wis 2:24), the enemy who sows evil in man’s heart (cf Mt 13:28-39); the only being we must fear if we are not close to God. His avowed sole purpose is our perdition.
“It all began with his rejection of God and God’s kingdom, when he usurped his sovereign rights and tried to overturn the economy of salvation and the very ordering of creation itself. This attitude [is] reflected in the words of the tempter to our first parents: ‘You will be like gods.’ This is how the evil spirit endeavours to transplant into man the attitude of proud rivalry, of insubordination and opposition to God ...” (John Paul II, “General Audience”, 13 Aug 1986)
The devil is the first cause of evil, disorders and breaks in families and in society. In tempting us, the devil deceives because he can present only a false good and fictitious happiness, which inevitably turn into loneliness and bitterness.
Outside of God true good or happiness do not, and cannot, exist; only darkness, emptiness and endless misery. The devil’s limited power is under the dominion and sovereignty of God, the only Lord of the universe.
The devil cannot violate our liberty. “It is a certain fact that the devil cannot seduce anybody if he does not freely give to the devil the consent of his will.” (Cassian, “Conferences”, 7)
The holy ‘Curé d’Ars’ says “the devil is a great chained dog which puts people to flight, makes a great noise, but only bites those who come too close” (“Sermon on Temptations”). “No human power can vanquish him and only God’s light can unmask the snares he lays. The soul that would overcome the power of the devil will fail to do so without prayer, nor will it recognize his deceitful traps without the aid of mortification and humility.” (St John of the Cross, “The Spiritual Canticle”, 3, 9)
The life of Jesus was summarized in the words, “He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil” (Acts 10:38). And St John, speaking about the cause of the Incarnation, explains, “The Son of God was revealed ... to destroy the works of the devil” (1 Jn 3:8).
Christ is the true victor over the devil. Jesus said in speaking about his death, “Now the ruler of this world will be driven out” (Jn 12:31). God “decided to enter into the history of mankind in a new and definitive manner by sending his own Son in human flesh, so that through him He might snatch men from the power of darkness and of satan” (cf Col 1:3, Acts 10:38). (Second Vatican Council, “Ad gentes”, 3)
Our Lord has left us many means of conquering and living in this world with peace and joy of a good Christian. These include prayer, mortification, frequent reception of Holy Communion and Sacrament of Penance, and love for Our Lady. We are always safe in her company.
Ref: cf F Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 2:33-6
Our Temptations
The number and manifold character of our temptations have their basis in that 3-fold concupiscence: “For nothing that the world affords comes from the Father. Carnal allurements, enticement for the eye, and life of empty show -- all these are from the world.” (1 Jn 2:16)
As is well known, the ‘world’ from which the Christian should keep away is not creation, the work of God which was entrusted to the dominion of man; but the symbol and sign of everything which is the opposite of ‘God’s kingdom’.
There are three aspects of the world from which the Christian should keep his distance, so as to be faithful to Jesus’ message. These ‘three concupiscences’ are sensual appetites, excessive hunger for earthly goods and prideful self-sufficiency in regard to God ... three great temptations to which the Christian will be subjected during his earthly life.
But behind this threefold temptation, we find the earliest and all-embracing temptation Satan addressed directly to our first parents: “You will be like gods who know what is good and what is bad.” (cf Gen 3:5) The first Adam chose himself instead of God. He yielded and became poor, weak, ‘naked’, ‘the slave of sin’ (cf Jn 8:34).
Christ, the second Adam, confirmed the fundamental dependence of man upon God against Satan. Christ tells us that man is not humiliated, but is exalted in his own dignity whenever he prostrates himself and adores the Infinite Being, his Creator and Father: “You shall do homage to the Lord your God; him alone shall you adore.” (Mt 4:10)
Ref: cf Pope John Paul II, “Prayers and Devotions”, 1994, pp117-8
Pius V reformed the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin, in the year 1571. (Balivehem on the Calendar.) (“Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; http://www.bethlehemobserver.com)
Pius V reformed the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin, in the year 1571.-- Balivehem on the Calendar.) (“Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; http://www.bethlehemobserver.com)
Thus must we be on leaving the real Presence of Jesus Christ each time we visit him in the Blessed Sacrament or receive him in Holy Communion. Do we leave with strange coldness, even abruptly? Perhaps, because we were insincere or with too weak a faith?
“Having received an answer in sleep that they should not return to Herod, they went back another way into their country.” (Mt 1:12) Probably, more animated with a perfect love, a desire to work and suffer, for Jesus.
Such ought to be our affections and resolutions with God in prayer -- at Mass, visits to the Blessed Sacrament, and especially in Holy Communions.
Ref: cf “Practical Meditations” by a Father of the Society of Jesus, 1964, pp31-2
Who is the devil?
A personal, real and individual being; an indivisible spirit who separated himself from God forever by his sin, “because the devil and the other demons were created naturally good by God; but they became bad by themselves” (Fourth Lateran Council, Dz 800 (428). “He is a liar and the father of lies” (Jn 8:44), of sin, discord, affliction, hatred, all that is absurd and evil on earth (cf Heb 2:14).
The astute and envious serpent who brings death to the world (cf Wis 2:24), the enemy who sows evil in man’s heart (cf Mt 13:28-39); the only being we must fear if we are not close to God. His avowed sole purpose is our perdition.
“It all began with his rejection of God and God’s kingdom, when he usurped his sovereign rights and tried to overturn the economy of salvation and the very ordering of creation itself. This attitude [is] reflected in the words of the tempter to our first parents: ‘You will be like gods.’ This is how the evil spirit endeavours to transplant into man the attitude of proud rivalry, of insubordination and opposition to God ...” (John Paul II, “General Audience”, 13 Aug 1986)
The devil is the first cause of evil, disorders and breaks in families and in society. In tempting us, the devil deceives because he can present only a false good and fictitious happiness, which inevitably turn into loneliness and bitterness.
Outside of God true good or happiness do not, and cannot, exist; only darkness, emptiness and endless misery. The devil’s limited power is under the dominion and sovereignty of God, the only Lord of the universe.
The devil cannot violate our liberty. “It is a certain fact that the devil cannot seduce anybody if he does not freely give to the devil the consent of his will.” (Cassian, “Conferences”, 7)
The holy ‘Curé d’Ars’ says “the devil is a great chained dog which puts people to flight, makes a great noise, but only bites those who come too close” (“Sermon on Temptations”). “No human power can vanquish him and only God’s light can unmask the snares he lays. The soul that would overcome the power of the devil will fail to do so without prayer, nor will it recognize his deceitful traps without the aid of mortification and humility.” (St John of the Cross, “The Spiritual Canticle”, 3, 9)
The life of Jesus was summarized in the words, “He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil” (Acts 10:38). And St John, speaking about the cause of the Incarnation, explains, “The Son of God was revealed ... to destroy the works of the devil” (1 Jn 3:8).
Christ is the true victor over the devil. Jesus said in speaking about his death, “Now the ruler of this world will be driven out” (Jn 12:31). God “decided to enter into the history of mankind in a new and definitive manner by sending his own Son in human flesh, so that through him He might snatch men from the power of darkness and of satan” (cf Col 1:3, Acts 10:38). (Second Vatican Council, “Ad gentes”, 3)
Our Lord has left us many means of conquering and living in this world with peace and joy of a good Christian. These include prayer, mortification, frequent reception of Holy Communion and Sacrament of Penance, and love for Our Lady. We are always safe in her company.
Ref: cf F Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 2:33-6
Our Temptations
The number and manifold character of our temptations have their basis in that 3-fold concupiscence: “For nothing that the world affords comes from the Father. Carnal allurements, enticement for the eye, and life of empty show -- all these are from the world.” (1 Jn 2:16)
As is well known, the ‘world’ from which the Christian should keep away is not creation, the work of God which was entrusted to the dominion of man; but the symbol and sign of everything which is the opposite of ‘God’s kingdom’.
There are three aspects of the world from which the Christian should keep his distance, so as to be faithful to Jesus’ message. These ‘three concupiscences’ are sensual appetites, excessive hunger for earthly goods and prideful self-sufficiency in regard to God ... three great temptations to which the Christian will be subjected during his earthly life.
But behind this threefold temptation, we find the earliest and all-embracing temptation Satan addressed directly to our first parents: “You will be like gods who know what is good and what is bad.” (cf Gen 3:5) The first Adam chose himself instead of God. He yielded and became poor, weak, ‘naked’, ‘the slave of sin’ (cf Jn 8:34).
Christ, the second Adam, confirmed the fundamental dependence of man upon God against Satan. Christ tells us that man is not humiliated, but is exalted in his own dignity whenever he prostrates himself and adores the Infinite Being, his Creator and Father: “You shall do homage to the Lord your God; him alone shall you adore.” (Mt 4:10)
Ref: cf Pope John Paul II, “Prayers and Devotions”, 1994, pp117-8
Pius V reformed the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin, in the year 1571. (Balivehem on the Calendar.) (“Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; http://www.bethlehemobserver.com)
Pius V reformed the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin, in the year 1571.-- Balivehem on the Calendar.) (“Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; http://www.bethlehemobserver.com)
11 January 2010: Offering of the Magi
The Magi diligently observed an Oriental custom that no one comes before a king or powerful prince without offering him presents. After having adored the Infant Jesus by prostrating themselves, they opened their treasures, and “offered Him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh” (Mt 2:11).
These gifts were the most precious products of their native land; but by a secret disposition of Providence, they also represent the three eminent characteristics of the Messiah. His eternal and universal royalty is represented by gold; His divinity by frankincense; and His humanity by myrrh.
“Thou shalt not appear before Me empty” (Ex 3:15) was the Lord’s precept to the people of Israel after He had enriched them with the spoils of Egypt. He gives the same to us, whom he has enriched with the infinite merits of His blood and His death.
Thus, it is ‘a want of devotion if we adore God without offering Him something’ (St Chrysostom). At the foot of the Tabernacle, let us add to our acts of adoration the offering of a mortification or generous resolution.
The feelings which accompanied the Magi’s gifts were their chief merit. ‘Feelings of joy and generosity’ -- they offered the superb gifts with all their hearts. ‘Feelings of humility’ -- grieved not to be able to offer gifts a thousand times more precious. ‘Feelings of love and the tenderest filial devotion’ -- to the service of their King and God.
God values our gifts, not in terms of their actual worth, but based on the accompanying feelings (recall the poor widow in Lk 21:2 and Mk 12:42). With what goodwill must he have received the gifts of the holy Kings, looking on them with eyes full of love! And he is never outdone in generosity. Undoubtedly, in return he gave them infinitely more precious gifts: of grace and of final perseverance.
How consoling and encouraging are these thoughts! They bring to mind the promise of Jesus Christ -- that our smallest offerings, our most trifling good actions, even if it be but ‘a drop of cold water’ (cf Mt 24:40), in his name, will not lose their reward.
Ref: cf “Practical Meditations” by a Father of the Society of Jesus, 1964, pp24-6
On our charity, prayers and sacrifices
The Creator of all things does not need our gifts; but he wants us to be generous so that we may receive more graces and gifts from him.
We present him ‘the gold’ of our charity-- our desire to love him more, to treat others with more love. We offer ‘the frankincense’ of our prayers and good works. We give ‘the myrrh’ of our sacrifices united to the Sacrifice of the Cross as renewed in the Holy Mass.
Ref: cf F Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 6:13
The Finding of Jesus in the Temple
“On the third day they came upon him in the temple sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. All who heard him were amazed at his intelligence.” (Lk 2:46-7)
At that time a meeting such as this had a deep significance: knowledge, wisdom, guidance of practical life in the light of the Old Testament. Such, in every age, is the task of human intelligence: to garner the wisdom of the ages, to transmit sound teaching, to firmly and humbly pursue scientific studies, for we all die and hopefully, we go to God; but mankind journeys toward the future.
Christ is never absent on the level of supernatural and natural knowledge. He is always at His place: “Only one is your teacher, the Messiah.” (Mt 23:10)
This fifth decade of the joyful mysteries is a specially beneficial invocation for all those who are called by God, because of their natural gifts or the circumstances of their lives, to the service of truth. They are all called to imitate Jesus since they have the particular task of honoring the truth, and must communicate it with pious fidelity and utmost prudence.
Ref: cf Rev Joseph A Viano, SSP, “Two Months with Mary”, 1984, p62
Jesus is our only Teacher
On beginning his public life, people “were amazed at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not like the scribes” (Mk 1:22). When they were listening to him the crowds forgot their hunger, their cold. He told his disciples, “You call me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for that is what I am” (Jn 13:13).
Jesus continuously taught-- in the Synagogues (Mt 4:23), by the lakeside (Mk 3:9), in the Temple (Mt 21:22-3), along the roads (Jn 4:5), in houses, etc. “There is much else besides that Jesus did. If all of it were put in writing, I do not think the world itself would contain the books which would have to be written.” (Jn 21:25)
Jesus always tells each one of us what we need to hear. When we read with a faithful heart the Gospel for a few minutes each day, meditating on it slowly, we feel urged to say with St Peter: “Lord, you alone have the words of eternal life” (Jn 6:68).
We must learn to hear Christ in our life, in our soul, in the different ways and circumstances in which he speaks to us. He always has something to tell us, personally. Our heart must know how to listen, attentive to the things of God: Our Teacher always; today and will be, tomorrow.
Ask above all for a heart capable of listening, and of understanding those interior motions of the Paraclete in our soul-- this language of God who speaks to us through the Magisterium of the Church; this doctrine, which comes to us so clearly through the Pope and the Bishops in union with him and which demands a practical response.
We ask Our Lady that we may be attentive to the voice of God, who speaks to us today as he did twenty centuries ago, although at times he uses intermediaries.
Ref: cf F Fernandez, op cit, 1:353-5, 358-9
Fruitfulness -- “Let us go to Jesus in the Tabernacle where we can get to know him and assimilate his teaching, and then be able to hand out this food to souls.” (St Josemaria Escrivá, “The Forge”, 938)
Our Lady of Bessiere, in Limousin. A certain heretic, who had derided the devotion paid to this image, saw his house consumed without being able to discover whence the fire originated. (“Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; http://www.bethlehemobserver.com)
These gifts were the most precious products of their native land; but by a secret disposition of Providence, they also represent the three eminent characteristics of the Messiah. His eternal and universal royalty is represented by gold; His divinity by frankincense; and His humanity by myrrh.
“Thou shalt not appear before Me empty” (Ex 3:15) was the Lord’s precept to the people of Israel after He had enriched them with the spoils of Egypt. He gives the same to us, whom he has enriched with the infinite merits of His blood and His death.
Thus, it is ‘a want of devotion if we adore God without offering Him something’ (St Chrysostom). At the foot of the Tabernacle, let us add to our acts of adoration the offering of a mortification or generous resolution.
The feelings which accompanied the Magi’s gifts were their chief merit. ‘Feelings of joy and generosity’ -- they offered the superb gifts with all their hearts. ‘Feelings of humility’ -- grieved not to be able to offer gifts a thousand times more precious. ‘Feelings of love and the tenderest filial devotion’ -- to the service of their King and God.
God values our gifts, not in terms of their actual worth, but based on the accompanying feelings (recall the poor widow in Lk 21:2 and Mk 12:42). With what goodwill must he have received the gifts of the holy Kings, looking on them with eyes full of love! And he is never outdone in generosity. Undoubtedly, in return he gave them infinitely more precious gifts: of grace and of final perseverance.
How consoling and encouraging are these thoughts! They bring to mind the promise of Jesus Christ -- that our smallest offerings, our most trifling good actions, even if it be but ‘a drop of cold water’ (cf Mt 24:40), in his name, will not lose their reward.
Ref: cf “Practical Meditations” by a Father of the Society of Jesus, 1964, pp24-6
On our charity, prayers and sacrifices
The Creator of all things does not need our gifts; but he wants us to be generous so that we may receive more graces and gifts from him.
We present him ‘the gold’ of our charity-- our desire to love him more, to treat others with more love. We offer ‘the frankincense’ of our prayers and good works. We give ‘the myrrh’ of our sacrifices united to the Sacrifice of the Cross as renewed in the Holy Mass.
Ref: cf F Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 6:13
The Finding of Jesus in the Temple
“On the third day they came upon him in the temple sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. All who heard him were amazed at his intelligence.” (Lk 2:46-7)
At that time a meeting such as this had a deep significance: knowledge, wisdom, guidance of practical life in the light of the Old Testament. Such, in every age, is the task of human intelligence: to garner the wisdom of the ages, to transmit sound teaching, to firmly and humbly pursue scientific studies, for we all die and hopefully, we go to God; but mankind journeys toward the future.
Christ is never absent on the level of supernatural and natural knowledge. He is always at His place: “Only one is your teacher, the Messiah.” (Mt 23:10)
This fifth decade of the joyful mysteries is a specially beneficial invocation for all those who are called by God, because of their natural gifts or the circumstances of their lives, to the service of truth. They are all called to imitate Jesus since they have the particular task of honoring the truth, and must communicate it with pious fidelity and utmost prudence.
Ref: cf Rev Joseph A Viano, SSP, “Two Months with Mary”, 1984, p62
Jesus is our only Teacher
On beginning his public life, people “were amazed at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not like the scribes” (Mk 1:22). When they were listening to him the crowds forgot their hunger, their cold. He told his disciples, “You call me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for that is what I am” (Jn 13:13).
Jesus continuously taught-- in the Synagogues (Mt 4:23), by the lakeside (Mk 3:9), in the Temple (Mt 21:22-3), along the roads (Jn 4:5), in houses, etc. “There is much else besides that Jesus did. If all of it were put in writing, I do not think the world itself would contain the books which would have to be written.” (Jn 21:25)
Jesus always tells each one of us what we need to hear. When we read with a faithful heart the Gospel for a few minutes each day, meditating on it slowly, we feel urged to say with St Peter: “Lord, you alone have the words of eternal life” (Jn 6:68).
We must learn to hear Christ in our life, in our soul, in the different ways and circumstances in which he speaks to us. He always has something to tell us, personally. Our heart must know how to listen, attentive to the things of God: Our Teacher always; today and will be, tomorrow.
Ask above all for a heart capable of listening, and of understanding those interior motions of the Paraclete in our soul-- this language of God who speaks to us through the Magisterium of the Church; this doctrine, which comes to us so clearly through the Pope and the Bishops in union with him and which demands a practical response.
We ask Our Lady that we may be attentive to the voice of God, who speaks to us today as he did twenty centuries ago, although at times he uses intermediaries.
Ref: cf F Fernandez, op cit, 1:353-5, 358-9
Fruitfulness -- “Let us go to Jesus in the Tabernacle where we can get to know him and assimilate his teaching, and then be able to hand out this food to souls.” (St Josemaria Escrivá, “The Forge”, 938)
Our Lady of Bessiere, in Limousin. A certain heretic, who had derided the devotion paid to this image, saw his house consumed without being able to discover whence the fire originated. (“Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; http://www.bethlehemobserver.com)
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
10 January 2010: Baptism of Jesus Christ
Sunday after Epiphany (or after 6 January) -- First Sunday in Ordinary Time
“This is my Son, the Beloved ...” (Mt 3:17)
Jesus went to the Jordan where John the Baptist was preaching and baptizing sinners. Mingling with the crowd, he asked to be baptized. John, inwardly enlightened by the Holy Spirit, humbled himself before Jesus, and begged to be baptized by him instead. But in obedience to the Saviour, John baptized him.
[Jesus began his public life by receiving the Baptism of penance at the hands of his precursor, John the Baptist. (Rev Juan MH Ledesma, SJ, STD, “The Life of Our Lord Jesus Christ”, notes on Lk 3:3, p26)]
John tried to refuse: “I should be baptized by you, yet you come to me!” Jesus answered, “Give in for now. We must do this if we would fulfill all of God’s demands.” (Mt 3:13-5)
Jesus meant, ‘We shall give God the glory ... justly due to him-- I by an act of profound humiliation, you by one of blind obedience; we shall thus repair the injustice done to God by the pride and rebellion of man.’
By this act Jesus taught us two great lessons-- 1) as Baptism is the first and most essential of all the Sacraments, so is humility regarding all the virtues; and 2) our humility, and the obedience it brings, is what pleases God best; thus he blesses our labors.
“He that shall humble himself shall be exalted.” (Lk 14:11) Jesus accomplished this at his baptism. Coming out of the water, suddenly he saw the Spirit of God descend like a dove and hover over him. A voice from the heavens said, “This is my beloved Son. My favor rests on him.” (Mt 3:16-7)
The same favor has been granted gratuitously to us in our baptism. Jesus Christ, as man, merited this favor for us by the deep humility of his baptism. As soon as the water was poured upon our head the heavens, closed to us by original sin, were opened. The Holy Spirit descended upon us and a voice from heaven said, ‘This is now my beloved child’.
Ref: cf “Practical Meditations” by a Father of the Society of Jesus, 1964, pp340-42
The institution of Christian Baptism
“The Lord desired to be baptised, so that he might freely proclaim through his humility what for us was to be a necessity.” (St Augustine, “Sermon 51”, 33) By his baptism, Jesus left for us the Sacrament of Christian Baptism which he directly instituted, and imposed as a universal law from the day of his Ascension.
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me”, the Lord said. “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” (Mt 28:13)
In Baptism we receive faith and grace. The day of our baptism was the most important day of our lives. Just as the parched land yields no harvest if it does not get water, so also we who were like dried sticks can produce fruits of life only if we receive freely the gentle and abundant rainfall of grace from on high. (St Irenaeus, “Treatise against heretics”, 3, 17) Before our baptism we were locked out of Paradise, unable to bring forth the slightest supernatural fruit.
We must rejoice in the cleansing of our souls from the stain of original sin, and of any other personal sin(s) before our baptism.
“Thanks to the Sacrament of Baptism you have been turned into a temple of the Holy Spirit. Don’t ever let it happen that you drive away so noble a guest by your evil deeds, or ever again submit to the power of the demon: for the price you were bought with is the blood of Christ.” (St Leo the Great, “Christmas Homily”, 3)
‘Almighty, eternal God, when the Spirit descended upon Jesus at his baptism in the Jordan, you revealed him as your own beloved Son. Keep us, your children born of water and the Holy Spirit, faithful to our calling.’ (“Collect of the Mass”)
“Baptism initiates us into the Christian life. It is a true birth into supernatural life. It is the new life preached by the Apostles and spoken of by Jesus to Nicodemus: ‘Truly I say to you ... he who is not born again from on high cannot enter ... Heaven: what is born of the flesh is flesh; but what is born of the Spirit is spirit.’” (Jn 3:3-6)
Ref: cf F Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 1:376
Our Lady of the Guides, at Constantinople, where one of the distaffs of the Blessed Virgin was shown, with some of the clothes of the Infant Jesus, which St. Pulcheria bestowed on this church.
Ref: “Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; http://www.bethlehemobserver.com
“This is my Son, the Beloved ...” (Mt 3:17)
Jesus went to the Jordan where John the Baptist was preaching and baptizing sinners. Mingling with the crowd, he asked to be baptized. John, inwardly enlightened by the Holy Spirit, humbled himself before Jesus, and begged to be baptized by him instead. But in obedience to the Saviour, John baptized him.
[Jesus began his public life by receiving the Baptism of penance at the hands of his precursor, John the Baptist. (Rev Juan MH Ledesma, SJ, STD, “The Life of Our Lord Jesus Christ”, notes on Lk 3:3, p26)]
John tried to refuse: “I should be baptized by you, yet you come to me!” Jesus answered, “Give in for now. We must do this if we would fulfill all of God’s demands.” (Mt 3:13-5)
Jesus meant, ‘We shall give God the glory ... justly due to him-- I by an act of profound humiliation, you by one of blind obedience; we shall thus repair the injustice done to God by the pride and rebellion of man.’
By this act Jesus taught us two great lessons-- 1) as Baptism is the first and most essential of all the Sacraments, so is humility regarding all the virtues; and 2) our humility, and the obedience it brings, is what pleases God best; thus he blesses our labors.
“He that shall humble himself shall be exalted.” (Lk 14:11) Jesus accomplished this at his baptism. Coming out of the water, suddenly he saw the Spirit of God descend like a dove and hover over him. A voice from the heavens said, “This is my beloved Son. My favor rests on him.” (Mt 3:16-7)
The same favor has been granted gratuitously to us in our baptism. Jesus Christ, as man, merited this favor for us by the deep humility of his baptism. As soon as the water was poured upon our head the heavens, closed to us by original sin, were opened. The Holy Spirit descended upon us and a voice from heaven said, ‘This is now my beloved child’.
Ref: cf “Practical Meditations” by a Father of the Society of Jesus, 1964, pp340-42
The institution of Christian Baptism
“The Lord desired to be baptised, so that he might freely proclaim through his humility what for us was to be a necessity.” (St Augustine, “Sermon 51”, 33) By his baptism, Jesus left for us the Sacrament of Christian Baptism which he directly instituted, and imposed as a universal law from the day of his Ascension.
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me”, the Lord said. “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” (Mt 28:13)
In Baptism we receive faith and grace. The day of our baptism was the most important day of our lives. Just as the parched land yields no harvest if it does not get water, so also we who were like dried sticks can produce fruits of life only if we receive freely the gentle and abundant rainfall of grace from on high. (St Irenaeus, “Treatise against heretics”, 3, 17) Before our baptism we were locked out of Paradise, unable to bring forth the slightest supernatural fruit.
We must rejoice in the cleansing of our souls from the stain of original sin, and of any other personal sin(s) before our baptism.
“Thanks to the Sacrament of Baptism you have been turned into a temple of the Holy Spirit. Don’t ever let it happen that you drive away so noble a guest by your evil deeds, or ever again submit to the power of the demon: for the price you were bought with is the blood of Christ.” (St Leo the Great, “Christmas Homily”, 3)
‘Almighty, eternal God, when the Spirit descended upon Jesus at his baptism in the Jordan, you revealed him as your own beloved Son. Keep us, your children born of water and the Holy Spirit, faithful to our calling.’ (“Collect of the Mass”)
“Baptism initiates us into the Christian life. It is a true birth into supernatural life. It is the new life preached by the Apostles and spoken of by Jesus to Nicodemus: ‘Truly I say to you ... he who is not born again from on high cannot enter ... Heaven: what is born of the flesh is flesh; but what is born of the Spirit is spirit.’” (Jn 3:3-6)
Ref: cf F Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 1:376
Our Lady of the Guides, at Constantinople, where one of the distaffs of the Blessed Virgin was shown, with some of the clothes of the Infant Jesus, which St. Pulcheria bestowed on this church.
Ref: “Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; http://www.bethlehemobserver.com
9 January 2010: Alarm, hypocrisy and disappointment of King Herod
At the Magi’s question as to where the King of the Jews, whose star they had seen, was born, “Herod was troubled and all Jerusalem with him” (Mt 2:3). Why is King Herod terrified? Was it selfishness, ambition or jealousy? He feared losing his kingdom!
We also become troubled, sad or discouraged. Is it because God is offended? Or because we have been humbled, reprimanded, contradicted? The bottom line is pride, vanity, jealousy, or loss of comfort!
Herod privately learned from the wise men the time the star appeared. Sending the Magi to Bethlehem, he said, “Go and diligently inquire after the Child; when you have found Him, bring me word, that I also may come and adore Him” (Mt 2:8).
What was Herod’s real plan in this seemingly respectful and pious counsel? To find out the age and home of the Divine Child, that he might put Him to death. And to ensure success of his evil plan, he orders a massacre of all children of the same age born in the vicinity of Bethlehem. What hypocrisy!
Hypocrisy offends God and men. To make a pretext of virtue, unmindful of its reality, is hypocrisy. Some examples of hypocrisy are: To obey orders, or conform to rule, only because we are observed. To pretend that we approve of our director and of his orders in his presence, but condemn him at his back. To speak out just to obtain what we desire. To speak ill of one’s self, so as to attract praise.
The angel of the Lord ordered the Magi to return by another way. Then he told Joseph to flee with the Child into Egypt. Thus, the wicked plans of King Herod were rebuffed. The massacre of the children peopled heaven with new saints. Herod earned the hatred of men and of posterity.
Ref: cf “Practical Meditations” by a Father of the Society of Jesus, 1964, pp21-3
Our supernatural growth
In the growth of Jesus, Divine Wisdom required that the Redeemer should be like us in all things. (St Cyril of Alexandria, "One in Christ") Our maturity in years must be accompanied by a commensurate progressive increase in human virtue and the supernatural life. The growth the Lord requires of us is unique: to renew and refresh our youth instead of leaving it.
In the supernatural life, the Christian never grows old. We can always turn towards “God Who gives joy to my youth” (Ps 42:4) even in old age. God keeps young those who love Him. We might have known saintly people who, though old in years, have had great interior youthfulness of spirit due to a faithful relationship to Christ as manifested in all their acts.
This supernatural growth comes from grace, obtained especially through the Sacraments and continual practice of the virtues. Grace, deposited in our hearts like a seed (cf 1 Jn 3:9), struggles to grow and brings us to its fulness (cf Eph 4:13). “The obstacle it contends with is sin -- ... a diminution of the human person -- which prevents a man reaching his fullness of spirit.” (Second Vatican Council, “Gaudium et spes”, 13)
The spiritual man acts through the impulse of the Holy Spirit (cf Eph 3:16) by practising the virtues; and reaches his fulness of being with the help of the gifts of this same Holy Spirit, whose mission is to perfect the supernatural life by means of the yet imperfect theological virtues. These gifts are found in every soul in a state of grace.
Both human and supernatural maturity is a daily task of many minor successes gained by responding to grace in small things. By habitually practising the virtues and with an eye for detail we fashion a true character -- docile to the action of the Holy Spirit, a will fixed on God and on the needs of others for God’s sake.
Our supernatural growth must accompany our human growth to maturity. The natural virtues are the foundation of the supernatural. One’s true vocation is to be found embodied within one’s supernatural Christian vocation.
“When a soul strives to cultivate the human virtues, the heart is already very close to God. The Christian sees that the theological virtues -- faith, hope and charity -- and all the other things that bring with them the grace of God, impel him never to be neglectful of the good qualities that he shares with so many other men.” (St Josemaria Escrivá, “Friends of God”, 91)
Maturity makes one realistic and objective besides requiring the tenacity to continue a work, once begun, to completion despite any difficulty.
Our Blessed Mother Mary, “the model and living school of all the virtues” (St Ambrose, “Treatise on Virginity”, 2), will “help us to reach a perfect maturity according to Christ Jesus” (Eph 4:13).
Ref: cf F Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 1:369-73
Prayer for Patience
· “O God, Who by the patience of Thine only-begotten Son has crushed the pride of the old enemy, give unto us, we beseech Thee, ever devoutly to have in mind what he with love endured for us, and thus, after His example, to bear with long suffering the troubles which come upon us. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.” (Very Rev Charles J Callan, OP, STM and Very Rev John A McHugh, OP, STM, “Blessed Be God”, 1925, p490)
Offer Our Gifts to the Divine Child with the Magi
Modern man, too ... meets with God when he opens up to Him with the interior gift of his human “ego”, to accept and exchange the immense gifts which He presented to him first: the gift of existence, the gift of the Redemption, the gift of faith.
And that Child, who accepted the gift of the Wise Men, is still always He before whom people and entire people “open their coffers”, that is, their treasures. The gifts of the human spirit take on a particular value in the act of this opening to the incarnate God; they become the treasures of the various cultures, the spiritual wealth of the peoples, and of the nations, the common patrimony of all mankind. The center of this exchange is Christ: the same who accepted the gifts of the Magi.
Ref: cf Pope John Paul II, “Prayers and Devotions”, 1994, p51
Our Lady beyond the Tiber, at Rome. This church was built by Calixtus I in the year 224. (“Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; http://www.bethlehemobserver.com)
We also become troubled, sad or discouraged. Is it because God is offended? Or because we have been humbled, reprimanded, contradicted? The bottom line is pride, vanity, jealousy, or loss of comfort!
Herod privately learned from the wise men the time the star appeared. Sending the Magi to Bethlehem, he said, “Go and diligently inquire after the Child; when you have found Him, bring me word, that I also may come and adore Him” (Mt 2:8).
What was Herod’s real plan in this seemingly respectful and pious counsel? To find out the age and home of the Divine Child, that he might put Him to death. And to ensure success of his evil plan, he orders a massacre of all children of the same age born in the vicinity of Bethlehem. What hypocrisy!
Hypocrisy offends God and men. To make a pretext of virtue, unmindful of its reality, is hypocrisy. Some examples of hypocrisy are: To obey orders, or conform to rule, only because we are observed. To pretend that we approve of our director and of his orders in his presence, but condemn him at his back. To speak out just to obtain what we desire. To speak ill of one’s self, so as to attract praise.
The angel of the Lord ordered the Magi to return by another way. Then he told Joseph to flee with the Child into Egypt. Thus, the wicked plans of King Herod were rebuffed. The massacre of the children peopled heaven with new saints. Herod earned the hatred of men and of posterity.
Ref: cf “Practical Meditations” by a Father of the Society of Jesus, 1964, pp21-3
Our supernatural growth
In the growth of Jesus, Divine Wisdom required that the Redeemer should be like us in all things. (St Cyril of Alexandria, "One in Christ") Our maturity in years must be accompanied by a commensurate progressive increase in human virtue and the supernatural life. The growth the Lord requires of us is unique: to renew and refresh our youth instead of leaving it.
In the supernatural life, the Christian never grows old. We can always turn towards “God Who gives joy to my youth” (Ps 42:4) even in old age. God keeps young those who love Him. We might have known saintly people who, though old in years, have had great interior youthfulness of spirit due to a faithful relationship to Christ as manifested in all their acts.
This supernatural growth comes from grace, obtained especially through the Sacraments and continual practice of the virtues. Grace, deposited in our hearts like a seed (cf 1 Jn 3:9), struggles to grow and brings us to its fulness (cf Eph 4:13). “The obstacle it contends with is sin -- ... a diminution of the human person -- which prevents a man reaching his fullness of spirit.” (Second Vatican Council, “Gaudium et spes”, 13)
The spiritual man acts through the impulse of the Holy Spirit (cf Eph 3:16) by practising the virtues; and reaches his fulness of being with the help of the gifts of this same Holy Spirit, whose mission is to perfect the supernatural life by means of the yet imperfect theological virtues. These gifts are found in every soul in a state of grace.
Both human and supernatural maturity is a daily task of many minor successes gained by responding to grace in small things. By habitually practising the virtues and with an eye for detail we fashion a true character -- docile to the action of the Holy Spirit, a will fixed on God and on the needs of others for God’s sake.
Our supernatural growth must accompany our human growth to maturity. The natural virtues are the foundation of the supernatural. One’s true vocation is to be found embodied within one’s supernatural Christian vocation.
“When a soul strives to cultivate the human virtues, the heart is already very close to God. The Christian sees that the theological virtues -- faith, hope and charity -- and all the other things that bring with them the grace of God, impel him never to be neglectful of the good qualities that he shares with so many other men.” (St Josemaria Escrivá, “Friends of God”, 91)
Maturity makes one realistic and objective besides requiring the tenacity to continue a work, once begun, to completion despite any difficulty.
Our Blessed Mother Mary, “the model and living school of all the virtues” (St Ambrose, “Treatise on Virginity”, 2), will “help us to reach a perfect maturity according to Christ Jesus” (Eph 4:13).
Ref: cf F Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 1:369-73
Prayer for Patience
· “O God, Who by the patience of Thine only-begotten Son has crushed the pride of the old enemy, give unto us, we beseech Thee, ever devoutly to have in mind what he with love endured for us, and thus, after His example, to bear with long suffering the troubles which come upon us. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.” (Very Rev Charles J Callan, OP, STM and Very Rev John A McHugh, OP, STM, “Blessed Be God”, 1925, p490)
Offer Our Gifts to the Divine Child with the Magi
Modern man, too ... meets with God when he opens up to Him with the interior gift of his human “ego”, to accept and exchange the immense gifts which He presented to him first: the gift of existence, the gift of the Redemption, the gift of faith.
And that Child, who accepted the gift of the Wise Men, is still always He before whom people and entire people “open their coffers”, that is, their treasures. The gifts of the human spirit take on a particular value in the act of this opening to the incarnate God; they become the treasures of the various cultures, the spiritual wealth of the peoples, and of the nations, the common patrimony of all mankind. The center of this exchange is Christ: the same who accepted the gifts of the Magi.
Ref: cf Pope John Paul II, “Prayers and Devotions”, 1994, p51
Our Lady beyond the Tiber, at Rome. This church was built by Calixtus I in the year 224. (“Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; http://www.bethlehemobserver.com)
8 January 2010: Three circumstances during the journey of the Magi
The star disappeared when they came near to Jerusalem. Deprived of this heavenly guide, their consolation until then, what were they to do? They were not discouraged; but proceeded to the city. On King Herod’s advice, they consulted the doctors of the law to learn where the Messiah should be born. On being told it would be Bethlehem, they immediately took the road that leads to it.
God treats his faithful servants as He did the Magi. He gives them light and consolation. Or He withdraws these leaving them alone in a sort of dark night, to try them and to purify their faith and their love. What must we do then?
Let us imitate the holy Kings and lay aside all discouragement. Adore the designs of God; relax none of our duties and pious practices. Waiting for the light to return, seek with humility and docility the advice of our directors.
God immediately rewarded the humble confidence and docility of the Magi. They had scarcely left Jerusalem when the star reappeared; “... they rejoiced with exceeding great joy; and it went before them until it came and stood over where the Child was” (Mt 2:9-10).
Such is and always will be what diverse trials God gives us bring provided we imitate the fidelity and constancy of the holy Kings. But we are often unfaithful and inconstant! Instead of persevering in our resolve and going to our spiritual directors, we run to creatures for consolation!
The Magi must have been surprised to find a deserted stable beneath the star. Inside was a little Infant wrapped in swaddling clothes, on a little straw in a manger, with His Mother (just like any ordinary woman), a craftsman, and some poor shepherds. What a test of their faith!
How can this Child be the promised King of Israel, the Saviour of mankind? It was enough to wound their pride and be discouraged; but the Magi were humble. God manifests Himself and ‘gives grace to the humble’.
Suddenly grace enlightens them. They understand the great mystery of the voluntary humiliations of the Saviour God. They adore Him, and their souls flooded with great delight. The stable is changed for them into paradise.
Ref: cf “Practical Meditations” by a Father of the Society of Jesus, 1964, pp19-21
On our being children of God
Divine sonship is the foundation of true freedom amidst every kind of oppression, especially in striving to dominate our evil inclinations (cf Rom 6:12-3); the firm anchor of peace and joy. The Christian finds in God the fatherly affection and confidence for an always uncertain future.
Our being children of God leads us to respect other people, who are God’s children, too. Our Lady invites us to come beside the crib and look at her Son. We will be good children of our Father God by being close to Jesus. We ask her for a behaviour to equal this supreme dignity.
We also beg Our Lady to help us never to forget, whatever our status, that we are really and truly children of God. “And if children, then heirs: heirs of God and fellow-heirs with God.” (Rom 8:17)
Ref: cf F Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 1:295-6
Mary makes us feel brothers
Selfish personal problems will find no place in our mind. Mary brings us to Jesus, and Jesus is “the firstborn among many brothers” (Rom 8:29). And so, if we know Jesus, we realize that we can live only by giving ourselves to the service of others. A Christian can’t be caught up in personal problems; he must be concerned about the universal Church and the salvation of all souls.
Concern with one’s own spiritual improvement is not really a personal thing, for sanctification is completely bound up with apostolate. ...
Ref: cf St Josemaria Escrivá, “Christ is passing by”, 145
On the value of Time
‘Time is as precious as heaven.’ (St Bernard) How true! Without the trials of time no one will reach heaven, the eternal reward for a good use of time which can depend upon an instant well employed. Witness the good thief -- his life had been bad. Near death, but enlightened by grace, humbly realized his sins, and implored mercy. At once, Jesus said, ‘... today you will be with Me in Paradise’ (Lk 23:43). And all he asked is to be remembered!
‘Time is as precious as the Blood of Jesus Christ’, adds St Bernard, because one timely good action can merit before God only for redemption which was bought with his Blood. ‘A single drop of that Blood would suffice to redeem the world.’ (St Thomas) He bestows His gifts and graces in torrents, but time He gives only tick by tick. And how people waste time on trifles! They study how to offend God and court eternal misery.
Jesus Christ assures us that time lost, insignificant it may be, will be noticed: “I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall render an account for it on the Day of Judgment.” (Mt 12:35)
Ref: cf “Practical Meditations” by a Father of the Society of Jesus, 1964, pp10-12
The Time of Truth
“Anyone who does not take up his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” (Lk 14:27) So it is a time of deep truth, truth which converts, restores hope, puts everything in its place, reconciles and lets optimism arise.
It is a time which makes us think about our relations with ‘Our Father’. A time which reestablishes the order that ought to reign among brothers and sisters. A time which makes us responsible for one another and frees us from our egoisms, our pettinesses, our meannesses, our pride. A time which enlightens us and lets us understand better that we also must serve, like Christ. ...
A time of Truth. Like the Good Samaritan, it makes us halt on the way and recognize our brother, put our time and goods at his service in daily sharing. The Good Samaritan is the Church! The Good Samaritan is each of us! Through vocation! Through duty! The Good Samaritan lives charity.
And this is our responsibility! We are called to others, to our brethren. Where is our love in it? Where is our Truth?
Ref: cf Pope John Paul II, “Prayers and Devotions”, 1994, pp110-11
Memorial: Our Lady of the Commencement at Naples. This chapel was built by St. Helena, and consecrated by St. Sylvester, in the year 320. (“Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; http://www.bethlehemobserver.com)
God treats his faithful servants as He did the Magi. He gives them light and consolation. Or He withdraws these leaving them alone in a sort of dark night, to try them and to purify their faith and their love. What must we do then?
Let us imitate the holy Kings and lay aside all discouragement. Adore the designs of God; relax none of our duties and pious practices. Waiting for the light to return, seek with humility and docility the advice of our directors.
God immediately rewarded the humble confidence and docility of the Magi. They had scarcely left Jerusalem when the star reappeared; “... they rejoiced with exceeding great joy; and it went before them until it came and stood over where the Child was” (Mt 2:9-10).
Such is and always will be what diverse trials God gives us bring provided we imitate the fidelity and constancy of the holy Kings. But we are often unfaithful and inconstant! Instead of persevering in our resolve and going to our spiritual directors, we run to creatures for consolation!
The Magi must have been surprised to find a deserted stable beneath the star. Inside was a little Infant wrapped in swaddling clothes, on a little straw in a manger, with His Mother (just like any ordinary woman), a craftsman, and some poor shepherds. What a test of their faith!
How can this Child be the promised King of Israel, the Saviour of mankind? It was enough to wound their pride and be discouraged; but the Magi were humble. God manifests Himself and ‘gives grace to the humble’.
Suddenly grace enlightens them. They understand the great mystery of the voluntary humiliations of the Saviour God. They adore Him, and their souls flooded with great delight. The stable is changed for them into paradise.
Ref: cf “Practical Meditations” by a Father of the Society of Jesus, 1964, pp19-21
On our being children of God
Divine sonship is the foundation of true freedom amidst every kind of oppression, especially in striving to dominate our evil inclinations (cf Rom 6:12-3); the firm anchor of peace and joy. The Christian finds in God the fatherly affection and confidence for an always uncertain future.
Our being children of God leads us to respect other people, who are God’s children, too. Our Lady invites us to come beside the crib and look at her Son. We will be good children of our Father God by being close to Jesus. We ask her for a behaviour to equal this supreme dignity.
We also beg Our Lady to help us never to forget, whatever our status, that we are really and truly children of God. “And if children, then heirs: heirs of God and fellow-heirs with God.” (Rom 8:17)
Ref: cf F Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 1:295-6
Mary makes us feel brothers
Selfish personal problems will find no place in our mind. Mary brings us to Jesus, and Jesus is “the firstborn among many brothers” (Rom 8:29). And so, if we know Jesus, we realize that we can live only by giving ourselves to the service of others. A Christian can’t be caught up in personal problems; he must be concerned about the universal Church and the salvation of all souls.
Concern with one’s own spiritual improvement is not really a personal thing, for sanctification is completely bound up with apostolate. ...
Ref: cf St Josemaria Escrivá, “Christ is passing by”, 145
On the value of Time
‘Time is as precious as heaven.’ (St Bernard) How true! Without the trials of time no one will reach heaven, the eternal reward for a good use of time which can depend upon an instant well employed. Witness the good thief -- his life had been bad. Near death, but enlightened by grace, humbly realized his sins, and implored mercy. At once, Jesus said, ‘... today you will be with Me in Paradise’ (Lk 23:43). And all he asked is to be remembered!
‘Time is as precious as the Blood of Jesus Christ’, adds St Bernard, because one timely good action can merit before God only for redemption which was bought with his Blood. ‘A single drop of that Blood would suffice to redeem the world.’ (St Thomas) He bestows His gifts and graces in torrents, but time He gives only tick by tick. And how people waste time on trifles! They study how to offend God and court eternal misery.
Jesus Christ assures us that time lost, insignificant it may be, will be noticed: “I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall render an account for it on the Day of Judgment.” (Mt 12:35)
Ref: cf “Practical Meditations” by a Father of the Society of Jesus, 1964, pp10-12
The Time of Truth
“Anyone who does not take up his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” (Lk 14:27) So it is a time of deep truth, truth which converts, restores hope, puts everything in its place, reconciles and lets optimism arise.
It is a time which makes us think about our relations with ‘Our Father’. A time which reestablishes the order that ought to reign among brothers and sisters. A time which makes us responsible for one another and frees us from our egoisms, our pettinesses, our meannesses, our pride. A time which enlightens us and lets us understand better that we also must serve, like Christ. ...
A time of Truth. Like the Good Samaritan, it makes us halt on the way and recognize our brother, put our time and goods at his service in daily sharing. The Good Samaritan is the Church! The Good Samaritan is each of us! Through vocation! Through duty! The Good Samaritan lives charity.
And this is our responsibility! We are called to others, to our brethren. Where is our love in it? Where is our Truth?
Ref: cf Pope John Paul II, “Prayers and Devotions”, 1994, pp110-11
Memorial: Our Lady of the Commencement at Naples. This chapel was built by St. Helena, and consecrated by St. Sylvester, in the year 320. (“Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; http://www.bethlehemobserver.com)
7 January 2010: Fidelity of the Magi in obeying the inspirations of Grace
Fidelity to grace presumes ‘promptness’ in following its inspirations. The Magi had wonderful fidelity. An interior voice made them understand the meaning of an extraordinarily bright star which attracted their intense interest. Their excitement aroused, they immediately broke all ties and began to follow it. They could truly say to King Herod, “We have seen the star of the new-born King in the East, and we come to adore Him” (Mt 2:2).
We may have lost many graces by our delays in corresponding with the inspirations God has sent us. To delay is to neglect. How many times have we thought of doing an act of charity, paying a visit to the Blessed Sacrament, or some other good work; but we put it off?
Fidelity to grace also presumes ‘generosity’ -- conquering the difficulties and seeming futility that discourage our self-love which invites cowardice.
The Magi needed this generosity. Their journey was long, the weather severe, the roads rough. They knew not where the star would lead them; how long they would be away. They also faced criticism and ridicule by their countrymen. Fully confident on who had called by these clear signs, nothing stopped them.
Why am I so often unfaithful to grace, to certain practices of piety and mortification, which I know so well are important? Is it because I fail in generosity, discouraged by the fear of imaginary difficulties?
Fidelity to grace is premised on perseverance as shown by the Magi. Nothing discouraged them -- even the disappearance of the star as they drew near to Jerusalem, or the extraordinary indifference of its inhabitants. God rewarded their constancy. The star reappeared, and led them to our Divine Saviour. Beside the Holy Infant they found his Blessed Mother.
Ref: cf “Practical Meditations” by a Father of the Society of Jesus, 1964, 18-9
Confidence in God
God never comes late to the aid of his children. Even if all seems lost, God is always present; perhaps in secret and mysterious ways. Thus, complete confidence in God and availing of all human means gives the Christian great fortitude and peace amidst great trials.
“If you don’t abandon him, he will not abandon you.” (St Josemaria Escrivá, “The Way”, 730) “At the very moment when everything seems to be collapsing before our eyes, we realize that quite the opposite is true, ‘because you, Lord, are my strength’. (Ps 42:2) If God is dwelling in our soul, everything else, no matter how important it may seem, is accidental and transitory. ... we, in God, stand permanent and firm.” (St Josemaria Escrivá, “Friends of God”, 92)
St Paul comforted the first Christians in Rome who faced a panorama of difficulties: “If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, will he not also give us all things with him? ... Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? ...
"No, in all these things we are more than conquerors, through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus Our Lord.” (cf Rom 8:31-9)
St Thomas tells us: “Every man, no matter who he is, is God’s friend and should have great confidence in being freed by him from any type of affliction ... And as God helps his servants in a special way, he who serves God should live in great peace.” (“Explanation of the Apostles’ Creed”, 5) The only condition is, be friends of God and live as his children.
“We know that in everything God works for good.” (Rom, 8:28) Even our mistakes and deviations from the right path always end up well, for God “arranges absolutely everything to his own advantage ...” (St Augustine, “De corresp et gracia”, 30:35)
The man who knows himself to be a son of God is always happy and never loses his peace of mind without turning away from reality. “This is the difference between us and those who do not know God: they, in adversity, complain and grumble; we, on the other hand, are not drawn away from virtue by the things that go against us but are strengthened in it.” (St Cyprian, “De moralitate”, 13)
Let us go close to Mary, whom we contemplate in the ‘stable’ close to her son. She will teach us how to conduct ourselves like children of God at all times.
Ref: cf F Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 1:271-5
The intercession of our Blessed Mother
We don’t ask the holy Kings for gold, frankincense or myrrh. It is more natural to ask them the way to Christ so daily we can bring to him our own gold, incense and myrrh. Let us ask “the Mother of God, our Mother, to prepare for us the way that leads to the fullness of love: Most sweet heart of Mary, prepare a safe way! Her sweet heart knows the surest path to find Christ.
“The three Kings had their star. We have Mary, ‘Stella Maris’, ‘Stella Orientis’, Star of the Sea, Star of the East.” (cf St Josemaria Escrivá, “Christ is passing by”, 38)
Ref: cf F Fernandez, op cit, 1:333
Mother of Christ
The Gospel passages about our Lady show her as the Mother of Jesus, following her Son step by step, playing a part in his redemptive mission, rejoicing and suffering with him, loving those whom Jesus loves, looking after all those around her with maternal care.
Just think, for example, of the marriage at Cana. Our Lady was a guest at one of those noisy country weddings attended by crowds of people from many different villages. But she was the only one who noticed the wine was running out. (cf Jn2:3) ... This scene from Christ’s life seems familiar.
The greatness of God lives at the level of ordinary things. It is natural for a housewife, to notice something was lacking, to look after the little things which make life pleasant. That is how Mary acted. St John, the only evangelist who has recorded this example of our mother’s concern for us, wants us to remember that Mary was present at the beginning of the public life of our Lord.
Ref: cf St Josemaria Escrivá, “Christ is passing by”, 141
Return of Our Lady, with Jesus and St. Joseph, from Egypt into Judea. (Bethlehem 'Observer' Historical Calendar)
We may have lost many graces by our delays in corresponding with the inspirations God has sent us. To delay is to neglect. How many times have we thought of doing an act of charity, paying a visit to the Blessed Sacrament, or some other good work; but we put it off?
Fidelity to grace also presumes ‘generosity’ -- conquering the difficulties and seeming futility that discourage our self-love which invites cowardice.
The Magi needed this generosity. Their journey was long, the weather severe, the roads rough. They knew not where the star would lead them; how long they would be away. They also faced criticism and ridicule by their countrymen. Fully confident on who had called by these clear signs, nothing stopped them.
Why am I so often unfaithful to grace, to certain practices of piety and mortification, which I know so well are important? Is it because I fail in generosity, discouraged by the fear of imaginary difficulties?
Fidelity to grace is premised on perseverance as shown by the Magi. Nothing discouraged them -- even the disappearance of the star as they drew near to Jerusalem, or the extraordinary indifference of its inhabitants. God rewarded their constancy. The star reappeared, and led them to our Divine Saviour. Beside the Holy Infant they found his Blessed Mother.
Ref: cf “Practical Meditations” by a Father of the Society of Jesus, 1964, 18-9
Confidence in God
God never comes late to the aid of his children. Even if all seems lost, God is always present; perhaps in secret and mysterious ways. Thus, complete confidence in God and availing of all human means gives the Christian great fortitude and peace amidst great trials.
“If you don’t abandon him, he will not abandon you.” (St Josemaria Escrivá, “The Way”, 730) “At the very moment when everything seems to be collapsing before our eyes, we realize that quite the opposite is true, ‘because you, Lord, are my strength’. (Ps 42:2) If God is dwelling in our soul, everything else, no matter how important it may seem, is accidental and transitory. ... we, in God, stand permanent and firm.” (St Josemaria Escrivá, “Friends of God”, 92)
St Paul comforted the first Christians in Rome who faced a panorama of difficulties: “If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, will he not also give us all things with him? ... Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? ...
"No, in all these things we are more than conquerors, through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus Our Lord.” (cf Rom 8:31-9)
St Thomas tells us: “Every man, no matter who he is, is God’s friend and should have great confidence in being freed by him from any type of affliction ... And as God helps his servants in a special way, he who serves God should live in great peace.” (“Explanation of the Apostles’ Creed”, 5) The only condition is, be friends of God and live as his children.
“We know that in everything God works for good.” (Rom, 8:28) Even our mistakes and deviations from the right path always end up well, for God “arranges absolutely everything to his own advantage ...” (St Augustine, “De corresp et gracia”, 30:35)
The man who knows himself to be a son of God is always happy and never loses his peace of mind without turning away from reality. “This is the difference between us and those who do not know God: they, in adversity, complain and grumble; we, on the other hand, are not drawn away from virtue by the things that go against us but are strengthened in it.” (St Cyprian, “De moralitate”, 13)
Let us go close to Mary, whom we contemplate in the ‘stable’ close to her son. She will teach us how to conduct ourselves like children of God at all times.
Ref: cf F Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 1:271-5
The intercession of our Blessed Mother
We don’t ask the holy Kings for gold, frankincense or myrrh. It is more natural to ask them the way to Christ so daily we can bring to him our own gold, incense and myrrh. Let us ask “the Mother of God, our Mother, to prepare for us the way that leads to the fullness of love: Most sweet heart of Mary, prepare a safe way! Her sweet heart knows the surest path to find Christ.
“The three Kings had their star. We have Mary, ‘Stella Maris’, ‘Stella Orientis’, Star of the Sea, Star of the East.” (cf St Josemaria Escrivá, “Christ is passing by”, 38)
Ref: cf F Fernandez, op cit, 1:333
Mother of Christ
The Gospel passages about our Lady show her as the Mother of Jesus, following her Son step by step, playing a part in his redemptive mission, rejoicing and suffering with him, loving those whom Jesus loves, looking after all those around her with maternal care.
Just think, for example, of the marriage at Cana. Our Lady was a guest at one of those noisy country weddings attended by crowds of people from many different villages. But she was the only one who noticed the wine was running out. (cf Jn2:3) ... This scene from Christ’s life seems familiar.
The greatness of God lives at the level of ordinary things. It is natural for a housewife, to notice something was lacking, to look after the little things which make life pleasant. That is how Mary acted. St John, the only evangelist who has recorded this example of our mother’s concern for us, wants us to remember that Mary was present at the beginning of the public life of our Lord.
Ref: cf St Josemaria Escrivá, “Christ is passing by”, 141
Return of Our Lady, with Jesus and St. Joseph, from Egypt into Judea. (Bethlehem 'Observer' Historical Calendar)
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