May 12 Fri
St Josemaría once said, “I am going to give you three points of meditation which you can then take to your prayer.
The first is those words from the Gospel, ‘Go and teach them all’ (Mt 28:19). To you and to me our Lord has said, ‘Go’! Teach with your example, even if you are full of errors, even though you have defects. Even then, ‘Go and teach them all’...

“The second point: ‘Without me, you can do nothing’ (John 15:5). Why does he tell us to go out if we can do nothing?

“And then, the third point: ‘I can do everything in he who comforts me’ (Phil 4:13). Imagine a vine with branches which can give fruit, fruit which will mature. But if they are torn from the vine, they dry up and end up trodden under foot by horses or men and are good only for the fire. But the branch which is united to the vine matures and produces wine for the table or the altar.

“What must we do? We must be very united with Jesus Christ, our vine. How? With the Bread and the Word: with the Sacred Eucharist and with prayer throughout the day, repeating spiritual communions and telling him affectionate things...

"If the branch is cut off, even if it has fruit, it rots; it becomes a seething pile of worms; it becomes a means for evil instead of for good. And so, my sons, Go and teach them... without me, nothing!... and I can do everything in he who comforts me.
Always bear in mind the image of the vine which, if torn apart, is only useful for animals to walk on or for fuel for a fire. Taste the good wine, from mature grapes. And finally, call upon the Blessed Virgin to teach you to be very close to the vine, united to Jesus Christ. She always was."
[Today, Bl. Alvaro del Portillo. With him, say: "Thank you, Lord. Forgive me. Help me more"]