Nov 1 Wed - Sanctity is for all

 

Nov 1 Wed
Today, the feast day of all the saints, we have the opportunity to increase our hope, since most of the saints were unknown, and strove “to fulfill God's will perfectly without leaving their ordinary tasks, or their condition and state of life in the world.... Some have been canonized by the Church. However, the great majority of these souls have remained unnoticed, in obscurity and silence. It is almost impossible to know to what extent their holy lives have been an example to others, and have contributed to manifesting the sanctity of the Church.”

By this feast the Church reminds us that sanctity is within everyone's reach. For “all of the baptized can and ought to sanctify themselves, and be a powerful leaven of Christian life (cfr 1 Cor 5:6), while they continue their normal life of work in the midst of the world.” Jesus taught this very clearly: You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

“Our Lord wants each of you to strive to be a saint in the particular circumstances of your own situation in the world. This is God's will, your sanctification” (1 Thess 4:3).

The Gospel stipulates some of the requirements for sanctity. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven... Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God… The beatitudes show the path that we must follow to reach holiness.

“The call to sanctity is truly universal, and not merely for a few or for a particular state in life. It does not generally require abandonment of the world; any work, any profession, can be a path to sanctity, and a means for apostolate.”

We are not the only travelers along the road to sanctity. We live the communion of the saints when we help one another achieve sanctity. We are united to all Christians: to those already triumphant in heaven, to those undergoing purification in purgatory, and to those still journeying on earth. “A Christian cannot be an individualist. He cannot be uninterested in others. He cannot have his back selfishly turned to the world. He is essentially social, a responsible member of the Mystical Body of Christ.”

We live the Communion of the Saints by our prayer for one another. Throughout the day we ask many times that grace may strengthen or heal the one most in need. Thus, we too will experience the Communion of the Saints.

If you feel the Communion of the Saints—if you live it—you'll gladly be a man of penance. Our daily work will also contribute toward spreading divine life in the souls of our friends, and in others, whom we do not even know.

Our Lady, Queen of All the Saints, will help us to awaken in all hearts the universal call to holiness, the foundation for our apostolic zeal and our co-redemptive work in the midst of the world.

 

Oct 31 Tue - Reflections on Psalm 2 (4) TUESDAY

 

Oct 31 Tue
Reflections on Psalm 2 (4) TUESDAY
Trust God's help. “I contemplate the Work as God wanted it to be, Saint Josemaría told us, and we have to wait. I see it projected forward in time, centuries away, cutting a deep, broad furrow, bright and fruitful, through the history of mankind, with humble, silent work.” But for this to come true, we need to pray.

“Ask of me,” Psalm 2 goes on. God foresaw all the prayers and joyful sacrifices offered by everyone. “God wants to be asked, says St Gregory the Great; he wants to be coerced, he wants to be overborne by a sort of importunity.” Jesus Christ teaches us this in many parables. The conclusion is always the same: “Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. Truly, truly I say to you, if you ask anything of the Father, he will give it to you in my name. Hitherto you have asked nothing in my name; ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.”

Although God had decreed the Incarnation of the Word, he wanted to be asked for it insistently. How often, and with what confidence in God's promise, the just men and women of the Old Testament “demanded” - so to speak - the help he had pledged to give. After one of the many times when Israel had sinned and merited God's anger, Moses stood up to God in these terms: “O Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you have brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand?... And the Lord repented of the evil which he had thought to do to his people.” Moses' prayer was necessary, in God's Will, for the Jewish people to reach the Promised Land.

To ask for things in prayer is to identify ourselves with God's Will. “Pray, pray, this is the system; and then work, serenely and joyfully,” because God relies on our efforts to do His Work; and our efforts, paradoxically, consist, above all, on letting God's power act.

“Lord, you are who you are. I am nothingness itself. You have all the perfections: power, strength, love, glory, wisdom, authority, dignity... If I unite myself to you, like a child who goes to the strong embrace of his father, or sits on his dear mother's knee, I will feel the warmth of your divinity, I will experience the light of your wisdom, I will sense your strength running through my veins.”

I trust in you, O Lord. I say, “You are my God.” My times are in your hand. Let us put our trust in God:
“Blessed are all who take refuge in him.”
He will perform this sowing of holiness and apostolate throughout the world.

 

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Oct 30 Mon - Life of Holiness

 

Oct 30 Mon
Life of holiness.
The Lord said: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they shall be filled.” This hunger is not for bodily food, this thirst is not for any earthly drink: it is a longing to be blessed with holiness, and to be filled with the Lord himself.

Happy is the soul that longs for the food of holiness or justice, and thirsts for this kind of drink; no one would seek such things if he had not previously tasted them. When the someone hears the voice of the Spirit saying: “Taste and see that the Lord is good,” he has already received a portion of God’s goodness, and he is on fire with love, the love that gives joy of total purity.

For this person, all that belongs to time counts as nothing; he is entirely consumed with desire to eat and drink the food of holiness. That person finds the true meaning of the first and great commandment: “You shall love the Lord God with your whole heart, and your whole mind and your whole strength,” because to love God is to love holiness, sanctity of life.

Finally, just as the love of God should result in concern for one’s neighbor, so the desire for holiness should result in the virtue of mercy, as it is said: “Blessed are the merciful, for God will be merciful to them.”

Remember, Christian, God –Mercy itself– wishes you to be merciful and compassionate; The Holy One himself wishes you to be holy, so that the Creator may shine forth in his creature, and the image of God may be reflected in the mirror of the human heart as it imitates his qualities. The faith of those who live their faith is a serene faith. What you long for will be given you; what you love will be yours forever.

Since it is by giving yourself that everything becomes pure for you, you will also receive that blessing which is promised next by the Lord: “Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God.”

Great is the happiness of those for whom such a reward is prepared. Who are the clean of heart if not those committed to live a holy life? What mind can imagine the great happiness of seeing God? What words can express it? Yet man will achieve this, when he has been transformed, so that he will see God, “no longer in a mirror or obscurely but face to face.” In the deep joy of seeing God, human nature will possess “what eye has not seen or ear heard, what man’s heart has never conceived.”

 

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Where to am I walking?

 

Today, we are going to pray looking at this beautiful round bas-relief made by Luca della Robbia, they were two brothers, I think, of the Italian Renaissance… And when you look at it, the first thing you see is the Child Jesus; at least it happened to me. I look at Jesus; he's the central figure… Right? Why? Because he is God; he is the center of everything; we come from him; we begin with him, whether we like it or not; he gave us existence, that's why we exist, we are what we are.
And what is he doing? He is looking at his Mother. So, our eyes immediately go to his Mother. Look at her face; it's inclined; it's not vertical, right? It is inclined towards Jesus, looking at him, listening to him, loving him.
What about you and me? Is our head, our glance, inclined to Jesus? Our thoughts in Jesus? Learn from her; she is embracing Jesus.

You see, the Child Jesus is holding practically her dress, as if not allowing her to go away; as if sustaining himself in her.
What about you and me, do we embrace Our Lady, as Jesus does? He is indicating it to us, and he knows a lot about this. He's God, imagine…
Devotion to our Mother, she does not ignore us because she is our mother. On the contrary, she looks at us, she's ready to help us… sometimes she scolds us because she's a real Mother.

Look at her, you see, her head and body are covered with the mantle. That mantle covers her, indicating her modesty. She's not a crazy woman going around shouting and demanding… No.  She is a Mother; she's the Mother of God. Even so, she lives the virtue of modesty, keeping herself away from whatever may offend God.

That veil, in the Jewish custom, indicates also that she is a married woman; that on top of her, she has the Spouse, in a symbolic manner; that's why she uses the veil on top of her head. Men did not use veils; it means that Our Lady is the spouse of God the Holy Spirit. She recognizes that God has loved her, all the time.

She represents also the Church. The Church is the Bride; Jesus Christ is the Groom, the Bridegroom.

Continue looking at Our Lady, she has a cincture at her waist, which represents traditionally the virtue of chastity, purity. She had no eyes but for God. How will it happen, I have no man? she said. She has eyes only for God, to receive the Light from God; that's why the Child Jesus has a halo. By the way, it's the only figure with halo. Our Lady does not have it, in this representation, meaning, all the life comes from God, from Jesus.

Where is my life? Where do I want to receive life from? From material satisfaction, or from God?

Look at Our Lady, look at Jesus, she's holding Jesus, her hand under the Child Jesus is holding him up, materially… the weight of Jesus is on her hands.
The Body of Jesus is the Church. So, the weight of the Church should be on us…on you and me. You and I have to sustain the Church with our prayer, with our self-denial, with our apostolate, with our thinking of the others: sustaining Jesus, not just hanging but sustaining Jesus.
What do you sustain? What are you attached to?

Look at the other hand of Mary, she is holding the feet of Jesus. Jesus has no sandals. The Child cannot go around without sandals. He needs sandals; and the sandals it's you and me. We have to be “the sandals of Jesus”, to go to the world, to bring him to the world. Sandals, in a manner of speaking, bring people to other places. Our Lady covers the feet of Jesus, like indicating, I go where you go, and I will preserve the sole of your feet.

Continue looking at the figures; Our Lady and the Child Jesus are over a background in blue, with light scratches. It's not very clear, right? Why? Because it represents heaven; and heaven… well, we know what heaven is, but isn't it true that sometimes it's not clear to us? Sometimes we prefer to make a little heavens for ourselves here, on earth, despising the real happiness. Well, even if you don't see clearly heaven, because we are just human beings, heaven is there; the blue sky, the blue heaven, the real thing.

The whole thing is framed, with a round frame, right? This represents the world; this represents all of us; this represents everything that is in the world; there is nothing outside… and everything is centered on Jesus Christ. The world cannot go anywhere but to God… for glory, or for condemnation.
Where to am I walking? Ask yourself.

You see, every point of the frame is equidistant to the center, to Jesus. So, all of us have the same obligation to follow Jesus… the Pope? yes; the cardinals? yes; the bishops? the priests? the lay people? the religious?... All are people, women and men, yes, all of us are there, in the fray; no one is, you know, preponderant; no one there is exceptional. In these matters of salvation, we are all Christians. This is called the baptismal priesthood, we are all baptized with the same baptism: one baptism, one Faith.

So, continue looking at the frame… don't you notice so many defects, pockmarks, right? Yes, we are not perfect…but, still, it’s a frame, and Our Lady is happy with it. Still, it gives glory and testimony to God.

Look down at the lower part of this frame: it is broken, right? Yes. Yes, maybe, some people have abandoned the Church, have abandoned the struggle to follow God, have begun thinking of themselves…
Where are they? Where is that missing piece? The little missing piece, where is it? I don’t know; most likely in the garbage pile! You know, it fell off, you know? Nobody cares for it; well, yeah, it went off on its own, because it wanted to.
But look at the others… even with their defects they are centered in Christ…hoping to go to the inner part, to heaven, to the happiness of heaven.

Look how, in that small representation, the sculptor Luca della Robbia represents so many things useful for us.
 

 

Oct 29 Sun - The greatest Commandment of the Law

 

Oct 29 Sun
One the Pharisees, a lawyer, asked Jesus: “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus answered: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the prophets.”

Every Jew learned the ‘Shema’ by heart (“Hear, O Israel: the Lord is our God, the Lord is One and you shall love the Lord …”). They knew but apparently it didn’t reach their hearts. They knew a lot but they did not love much.

Like them, many people forget that God did not ask them to ‘know Him with all their understanding’ but to “love Him with all their hearts.”  We have been given a limited capacity for understanding but an almost unlimited capacity for loving. Not all of us can be ‘wise’ but we all can and should be ‘lovers’. All the commandments are just one: Love. Spread the word: God is a beggar of love. He gives everything and the only reward He asks for is love.

All the time that we spend without loving God is wasted. A priest found a gravestone in a cemetery with the inscription: “Here lies So‑and‑So, who died at the age of 90 but did not live more than three years.”

When he asked the meaning of it, they told him it belonged to a man who converted to the love of God when he was 87. So, he wanted to leave written in stone that only those years he spent loving God were the years he was ‘alive’.

St Josemaría told a similar story. Visiting the Cathedral of Valencia, he came across the tomb of a venerable old priest. They explained to him that, when the old priest was asked how many years he had lived, he would reply with great conviction, in his Valencian dialect, ‘Poquets’, ‘Very few! For he only considered worth mentioning the years he had spent in love with God.

Moreover, we often fail, in our love of neighbor. Yet Christ says that this commandment is like the first. Love of neighbor is an essential part of our obligations toward God. If we fail in this, we fail in our love for God, for we refuse to carry out this sacred duty. If we do not recognize our neighbor as our brother, we do not recognize God as our Father, and we do not love him. As St. John puts it: “Anyone who says ‘I love God’ and hates (does not love) his neighbor is a liar’ (1 Jn.3: 20).”

Mary, my Mother, help me to express to all that the time we spend without loving God and neighbor, is wasted time; that the quality of life is not measured in years but in the intensity of love.

Image: The Jewish Shema with its pronunciation. 

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Oct 28 Sat - Can the Church bless homosexual unions?

 

Oct 28 Sat
Can the Church bless homosexual unions?
Some claim that the Church should bless these unions out of “charity.” Yet the main manifestation of charity is to transmit the truth. The Church cannot lie for the sake of false “accommodation”.

I would tell a person with homosexual tendencies: God loves you just as you are, but when you let yourself be loved by Him, he transforms you and sanctifies you.

God cannot bless a path that goes in the wrong direction.
There is a difference between homosexual tendency, and homosexual act. Thus, God blesses sinners –like all of us– but not sin.

The Church distinguishes between people with homosexual inclinations, whom she accompanies and blesses so that they may grow, and homosexual acts that are clearly contrary to God's design.

The Church recognizes that the homosexual tendency is not in itself a sin.
The action is. Every sexual relation outside of marriage is a sin.

God also calls all to live on the path to holiness, even those within that homosexual inclination. God can redirect a homosexual inclination, with his grace, and human correspondence: with prayer, sacrifice, and the sacraments.

The Church has three reasons for saying ‘no’ to the blessing of the union of same-sex couples.

The first reason is that blessings are similar to the sacraments, which are liturgical actions of the Church that require a consonance of life with what they signify. That is to say, a human blessing requires that what is blessed is in accordance with God's design. One cannot “bless” what God rejects (something sinful).

The second reason is that God's design with respect to conjugal love is that it should result in the union of a man and a woman, open to the transmission of life, and stable forever.

The third reason is that such a blessing would imply a sacramental simulation. It may “look like,” but it cannot be a sacrament.

On this question of whether or not the Church can bless homosexual unions, neither a Synod, nor a Council, nor a Pope can change the response, since the opposite would be a break, or rupture with the Magisterium of the Church.

 

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Oct 27 Fri - God scolds us to correct us

 

Oct 27 Fri
God scolds us to correct us.
The Lord says, listen to my words: I have not stopped speaking to all. My son, my words are spirit and life, and cannot be comprehended by human senses alone. They are not to be interpreted according to the capricious pleasure of the listener, but they must be listened to in silence, and received with all humility and great affection.

And I said: Blessed is the man whom you teach, Lord, and whom you instruct in your law; for him you will soften the blow of the evil day, and you do not desert him on the earth.

The Lord says: Even to the present time, I have not stopped speaking to all men, but many are deaf and obstinate in response.

Many hear the world more easily than they hear God; they follow the desires of the flesh more readily than the pleasure of God. The world promises rewards that are temporal and insignificant, and these are pursued with great longing; I promise rewards that are eternal and unsurpassed, yet the hearts of mortals respond slowly.

Blush, then, you lazy, complaining servant, for many are more inclined to the works of death than to the works of life. They take more joy in vanity than in truth.

Yet they are often deceived in their hope, while my promise deceives no one, and leaves empty-handed no one who trusts in me. What I have promised, I shall give; what I have said, I will fulfill for any man who remains faithful in my love to the very end. I am the Rewarder of all good men, the One who rigorously tests the devoted.

Write my words in your heart and study them diligently, for they will be absolutely necessary in the time of temptation. Whatever you fail to understand in reading my words will become clear to you on the day of your judgment.

I visit my elect in a double fashion: that is, with temptation and with consolation. And I read to them two lessons each day: one to scold them for their faults; the other to exhort them to increase their virtue.

He who possesses my words, yet spurns them, earns his own judgement on the last day.
From “The Imitation of Christ” 

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Oct 26 Thu - Fidelity to the Magisterium

 

Oct 26 Thu
“In Opus Dei, my beloved daughters and sons, we always try in all things to be of one mind with our Mother the Church: corporately we don't hold any other doctrine than that taught by the Magisterium of the Holy See. We accept everything the Magisterium accepts, and we reject everything it rejects.” St. Josemaría

Fidelity to the Magisterium is fidelity to our Lord Jesus Christ himself. “Truth is perennial: Christ's word never changes. The Christian must be faithful to that truth, even though it might be uncomfortable, even if at times it can be the cause of friction and misunderstanding.”

We have to overcome the temptation to falsify the truth. “Some unscrupulous individuals don't hesitate – without admitting it – to bend the truth as it suits them. Not only can one try to ‘adapt’ the truth, one can even go so far as to ‘create’ it.

I once heard a story (I don't guarantee that it is true) about how in a certain country a writer proposed to resurrect a forgotten literary figure of bygone days. He began to write newspaper and magazine articles about this unjustly-neglected man of letters: other writers, he said, have noble monuments in our city, but this great literary giant doesn't have even the smallest statue to commemorate him. Public opinion became outraged, money was raised, and eventually a design was commissioned. When everything was ready, the promoter of the forgotten writer announced that it would be impossible to make the statue, because... that great literary genius had never existed.”

“Modifying the truth, ‘creating the truth’,… subjectively, can be easy; the difficult thing is to defend it charitably. Even in human affairs, there is something disgusting and repulsive about a person who is not prepared to be faithful to his convictions. On the other hand, a person who, though mistaken, works in good faith, always deserves affection and respect. Anyone who, though possessing the truth, hides it through cowardice, incurs the severe censure pronounced by Pope Paul the Sixth: ‘One of our most painful sorrows is the infidelity of some good people who forget the beauty and gravity of the commitment that binds them to the Church. This is a phenomenon which the evolution of modern life painfully accentuates, both in the sphere of doctrine and in moral behavior. How much weakness, how much opportunism, how much conformity, how much vileness!’”

We want to be faithful to the deposit of faith protected and promulgated by the Church's Magisterium; we want to preserve it in all its purity, integrity and genuine meaning, because otherwise’ “it would not be a wealth of divine truths, but something human, which neither saves nor redeems: it would be salt that had lost its taste.”

 

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Oct 25 Wed - All things have their beginning by the love of God

 

Oct 25 Wed
March 13, 1373 was an important day in the life of Lady Julian of Norwich.  She recovered from a life-threatening illness, during which she claimed to have had sixteen visions from Our Lord.  She recorded them in a text today known as "Revelations of Divine Love".  Many call it the first surviving English text by a woman.

One of Julian’s visions is evoked in a Norwich church by a small table with a hazelnut on it:

    … And in this, He [Christ] showed me a little thing, the quantity of a hazel nut, lying in the palm of my hand, as it seemed. And it was as round as any ball. I looked upon it with the eye of my understanding, and thought, “What may this be?” And it was answered, “It is all that is made.”
I marveled how it might last, for I thought it might suddenly have fallen to nothing for littleness. And I was answered in my understanding: It lasts and ever shall, for God loves it. And so have all things their beginning by the love of God.  
In this little thing I saw three properties:
The first is that God made it.
The second that God loves it. And
the third, that God keeps it.

The tiny hazel nut is all creation, “all things visible and invisible” as the Creed puts it.  For us, so often seduced by the world, the flesh, and the devil, the fact that all of creation in all its splendors can be contained in a single hazel nut puts things in perspective, a Divine perspective.

Julian’s commentary on the “three properties” of creation likewise deserves our attention.  “God made it.”  Creation is not a chance or an accident, the fortuitous emergence of Shakespeare from a typewriter pounded by monkeys.  It is a plan, a plan of Wisdom.  Creation is, as Joseph Ratzinger puts it, a “divine project.”

Nor is God some cold intellect, a supernatural Spock “ordering” things.  What God does, He does out of love because He Is Love.  The revelation Julian claims to have received affirms that: what exists does so because “God loves it.”  God is not indifferent to His Divine Project.  His Divine plan is in fact intended to advance our salvation and the universe with us, because salvation is nothing more (or less) than God drawing back, in freedom, what He loves to Himself, i.e., to a communion of persons.

Finally, “God keeps it.”  People today tend to overlook providence as an essential dimension of the theology of Creation.  Although modernity babbles a lot about “sustainability,” it frequently overlooks the fact that, without God’s sustaining it, the splendorous hazel nut of Creation would all revert to nothingness.
Fragment by John M. Grondelski

 

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Oct 24 Tue - Reflections on Psalm 2 (3) - Divine Filiation

 

Oct 24 Tue
Reflections on Psalm 2 (3) TUESDAY
Meditating on Psalm II deepens our sense of divine filiation.
"Every Tuesday, after invoking the holy Guardian Angel with a request to accompany you in your prayer, you kiss the rosary, as a proof of love for our Lady and to show that prayer is your most effective weapon. And then you recite Psalm Two. I advise you ... to use this text for your prayer on Tuesday. And you will understand, after you have prayed, why this is the cry many repeat on earth, and raise to heaven, before beginning great battles and always."

Saint Josemaría wrote this in 1939, when he was preparing to begin a new stage in the apostolate, which the three years of civil war had not interrupted. He wanted to encourage the handful of his sons who then made up the Work to undertake a daring, boundless apostolate, relying above all on God's grace.

Meditating on Psalm Two always fills us with encouragement. "I want you to prepare for the age-old battle, which is ‘militia and service’ of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Roman Church, by praying the Psalm of Christ's kingship with the spirit of a monk and a warrior, for such is the temper of our calling..."

The reflection on Psalm Two should lead us to consider "how God cares for us and is always ready to listen to us - waiting for man to speak," because He loves us as dear children.

The Blessed Trinity's loving providence led the Word to become flesh in order to redeem sinful humanity. As the fruit of his Incarnation, Life, Death, and Resurrection, Christ sent from the Father his most precious gift, the Holy Spirit, who moves us to cry out Abba! Pater! - who identifies us with Christ and makes us God's children.

While meditating on Psalm Two, we contemplate our identification with Christ and ponder God our Father's words:
“You are my son;
today I have begotten you.
Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
and the ends of the earth your possession."
St John Chrysostom said: "No longer are we given the promise of lands overflowing with milk and honey, long life, many children, wheat, wine and herds. We are promised the very riches of heaven: divine filiation and brotherhood with the only-begotten Son, a share in his inheritance, to reign and be glorified with him."

Our Blessed Lady, protect our way. My children, Saint Josemaría insists, "invoke our Lady with all your heart, trustingly. Realize that she has been our greatest protector, our greatest recourse, ever since that second of October 1928, and even before then."

 

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Oct 23 Mon - Be faithful, be an apostle

 

Oct 23 Mon
"Be faithful, be an apostle," St John Paul II told me.

Alejandra Vanney is a lawyer and in the 1990s she moved to Poland, from Argentina, to help the beginnings of Opus Dei's apostolic work in that country.

John Paul II loved people, one by one, and had a universal heart, that led him to love every charisma of the Church. On one occasion I saw how he approached a group of Carmelites, and made a joke to them telling them: “Did you escape the cloister?” I also saw how he became an Italian with the Italians. Specifically, while receiving an Italian family he commented, "But how?" The Nono and the Nona [grandparents] are left standing? And he took care of getting a chair for each one.

He showed great delicacy in dealing with each person. At an audience where I was present, a gentleman was showing him a book. As it was very heavy, it fell to the ground. Instantly those present laughed. The Pope then looked at us surprised and made us notice our lack of charity.

He had a great ability to talk about what was of interest to each group, listening to each person. The bishops were asked about their seminarians, who they were, how they were.

Once I conveyed to him the concern I had, about a person who was far from God. Getting serious, he told me, "Are you praying to St. Josemaría for him?" “Yes, I am,” I said. "Well, trust him," he replied.

Then, with that capacity he had to go from the most sublime to the most human, changing his serious face, and with an accomplice smile assured me: "Don't worry, the Pope will pray for him, also."

When he met my parents, he was very affectionate. As soon as he saw them, he said: "I want to thank you." He was referring to having a daughter fully committed to God, and accepting that she lived in Poland, away from them.

I especially remember the time I saw him with a group of Polish women. He strongly encouraged us to be generous with God: "In these days Jesus is going to pass very close by," he said, and added: "I ask you that if He asks you to give Him everything, do not say no. I ask you this as the Vicar of the Church. I ask you as the Vicar of Christ, it is the strongest argument I have.”

The last time I saw him, a few days before his death, I told him that he had been with us more than ever, because we had prayed a lot for him. At that point his personal secretary spoke up and said, "The Pope is very happy because he knows he can count on you, the young people of UNIV, even if he cannot see you."

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Oct 22 Sun - Man should live in society

 

Oct 22 Sun
God’s plan is that man should live in society with his fellowmen. Society must be governed by an authority to coordinate the actions of the component members toward the common good. The common good is principally, though not exclusively, the material welfare of the members as a whole. As his ultimate end, however, man has his spiritual good.

Authority, this temporal power to rule and direct the human groups or societies or states, comes, therefore, from God; he wills that such societies should exist. The answer of our Lord explicitly restates this fundamental norm of the divine natural law. “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s.” The state authorities have a right to the obedience and cooperation in all things related to the material welfare of the state, as long as the rulers’ demands do not impede the spiritual welfare of the members.

As a partly spiritual being man is destined to be a citizen of a spiritual eternal kingdom, and while on this earth he has the duty and the responsibility of preparing himself for citizenship in that kingdom. And since this kingdom is of a higher and much more important nature, man’s primary aim in life must be to reach that kingdom. He must, in other words, find out and fulfill his duties toward God; he must “give to God what is God’s.”

This dual citizenship of man, and the dual obligations that arise from it, are known to us by natural law; but in the answer of Christ to the Pharisees, he makes them more explicit still; it is a precise and perfect resume.

We have duties to God and duties to our country; the fulfillment of the latter is part of the fulfillment of the former. We Christians have no doubts as to our obligations under these two headings.

We fulfill our duties to God by being faithful, loyal, active members of the spiritual kingdom, the Church, which Christ established on earth in order to lead us to our eternal kingdom.

We fulfill our duties to our country by loyally obeying the just laws of the State, by paying all lawful taxes, and by contributing our share, whenever called on, toward the common good.

Both St. Peter (1 Pet. 2: 13-14) and St. Paul (Rom. 13: 1-7), stressed the obligation on the early Christians of being an example to all in their loyalty as citizens of the state. The same necessity obliges us too.

Our loyalty to the Church and to God must make us loyal also to our country. We must live with a lay mentality. Thus, more than an impediment, the exact fulfillment of our duties as citizens should be a means for our sanctification and to do apostolate. Through it, we strive to place Christ on top of all human activities.

 

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Oct 21 Sat - In the rosary we practice vocal prayer

 

Oct 21 Sat
In the rosary we practice vocal prayer. In it, the first is the prayer our divine Redeemer himself pronounced when his disciples asked him, "Lord, teach us to pray." It shows us the way to render God glory, and addresses all the needs of our body and soul. How could the eternal Father refuse to come to our aid when we employ the very words of his Son? We can ask for whatever we want: for an apostolic work, for a friend, for a personal need.

The second prayer begins with the salutes of the archangel Gabriel and of St Elizabeth, and ends with that pious supplication in which we beg our Lady's help now and at the hour of our death.
St Josemaría urges us to "think about what you are saying, who is saying it, and to Whom. Because talking fast, without pausing for reflection, is only noise—the clatter of tin cans."

Though it is true that we always say the same things in the rosary, "don't people in love always say the same things to each other...? Might it not be that you find the rosary monotonous because, instead of pronouncing words like a man, you mumble noises, while your mind is very far from God? Moreover, listen: before each decade we are told the mystery to be 'contemplated.' Have you ever contemplated these mysteries?"

Later, our contemplation of the other mysteries of the rosary should also be something very personal. "An aspiration, or a brief consideration of each mystery is enough. This will give rise to some internal words in our heart: some words from Scripture, an aspiration we know, or anything else that comes to our mind and heart in that moment. It doesn't matter if it's always the same. What's important is that we pray briefly each day about the mysteries of the rosary."

The rosary is a brief but light-filled contemplation of the life of our Lord and our Lady, a contemplation that is always very personal. "We shall hear their family conversation. We shall see the Messiah grow up. We shall admire his thirty years of hidden life. We shall be present at his Passion and Death. We shall be amazed at the glory of his Resurrection. In a word: carried away by Love (the only real love is Love), we shall contemplate each and every moment of the life of Christ."

 

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Oct 20 Fri - Running away from God

 

 

Oct 20 Fri
Running away from God
Open your eyes for a moment and you will see your God in tears. Open your eyes and you will see the utter confusion of this age in which we live. In all the history of humanity has there ever been worse chaos? Men and women, young and old, rich and poor, have all run away from their God.

Perhaps, we may think that only the uncultured and the illiterate are ignorant of the ways and precepts of God. Then we turn to men of influence, men of power: we speak to them of God. Surely, they, at least, will know His commandments.
But they are also running madly from their God. And then in their wild, irrational flight they suddenly stumble against the Cross standing dark and lonely in their path. But they keep on, escaping from this Cross.

Where are they going? They have left God far behind, and now they go about searching for something worth believing in, something to quench their thirst, but they do not know where to look for water.

The earth for them is a hateful place, and heaven is so far off. Where are they going? They seek new gods and new creeds. They try to replace the divinity of God, who is our Father, by adoring His creatures.
The ancient cry of the Holy Spirit is still new: "Two wrongs this people of mine committed; they forsook me, the Fountain of living water, and thereupon they dug cisterns of their own, leaking cisterns, that had no water to give them." Jeremiah 2, 13.

And nowadays these leaking cistern-makers are shaping the destinies of the nations of the earth. They know only hate, nothing of love. The education and formation of the men of tomorrow is in their dirty hands, and they vainly promise order and prosperity.

They speak of a great brotherhood to unite the rich with the poor, masters with their servants, children with their parents, soldiers with statesmen. They speak of this great union which ignores Christ, and laughs at His Church. These vain cistern-makers, in their mad escape from God, tell us of new magic "sacraments" which can give life to rotting skeletons!

And you? Have you too forgotten God? Do you realize that right now you are living and working side by side with saints who are trying to build their lives on a new foundation?
Whatever you may think of yourself as an individual, you must realize that you carry within you the possibility, the seed, of a marvelous human life on which the supernatural life — which is grace — can be firmly based, and which will make of you, not just one more man, but a real son of God with all the strength and courage of our prophets.

 

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Oct 19 Thu - The Presence of Christ in the Mass

 

Oct 19 Thu
The Presence of Christ in the Mass
The Mass contains a great treasure, especially because Christ himself is present in it. His presence is expressed in various ways; four times in the liturgy it is said: "The Lord be with you".

The original “Dominus vobiscum” could have been translated into English, as:
"[May] the Lord be with you", in the subjunctive mode; it points to a desire: hopefully Christ will be more deeply rooted in you.
Or, in the indicative mode, "The Lord is with you", that describes reality.
The Latin language includes both aspects.

(1) At the beginning of Mass: Christ’s presence IN THE ASSEMBLY.

"Where two or more are gathered in my name, there am I in their midst." It is a real presence, not merely intentional.

Every baptized person is called to be, together with other Christians –and especially on Sunday– a symbol of a communion that is above our divisions, to such an extent that St. Cyprian says that "the Church is unified in the image of the Trinity".
Every Eucharistic assembly is a local congregation of the universal Church, a sign that manifests her. The Lord is with her. He convokes it. The holy assembly is a foretaste of the heavenly Jerusalem, a figure and proclamation of a hope that will find its fulfillment beyond space and time.

(2) Before the Gospel: Christ’s presence in the proclaimed WORD

Real presence as well. In the liturgical celebration of the word of God, the presence of Christ with the Holy Spirit is affirmed. God the Father, as Irenaeus of Lyons writes, works through his two arms: the Son, and the Spirit.
He who spoke through the prophets is the same one who now speaks through the reader.

(3) In the Preface: Christ’s presence in the CELEBRANT

The Eucharistic prayer is about to begin, the moment when heaven is closest to earth. It is the prayer of Christ and of the Church, in whose bosom the whole work of our redemption is accomplished.
Now, the greeting acts as a wake-up call to help us discover that it is Christ –whom we hear in the voice of the priest– who acts.
With the greeting, the priest is overcome by the mystery that transcends him absolutely. For the community, it is an opportunity to verify whether our hearts are truly raised to participate in the eternal Liturgy of the Jerusalem of heaven.

(4) In the final blessing: Christ is present SENDING US

This last greeting confirms us that we have become what we have taken: christified. The Lord is with us, and now we are ready for our mission: "Glorify God with your lives; you can go in peace".

At the beginning of the Mass, we were "con-vocated" by the Lord; now, we are "sent" to be “the Church” in the middle of the world.

If a simple greeting opens for us unsuspected horizons, what other riches of meaning can we not find in other equally important elements of the Ordinary of the Mass? 

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Oct 18 Wed - Saling with Jesus

 

Oct 18 Wed
The Gospel narrates that Jesus walked at night on the waters of the Lake of Galilee toward his disciples who were crossing the Lake in a boat (cf. Matthew 14:22-33). Why did Jesus do this? Why did he want to walk on the water?

At that time, the seas were thought to be the place of monsters, and evil powers that man was not able to master. Particularly when storms made them turbulent, the oceans were symbols of chaos and recalled the darkness of the underworld.

Now, the disciples found themselves in the middle of the Lake when it was dark. They are afraid of sinking, of being sucked in temptation. And Jesus came, walking on the water, that is, over the powers of evil. He walked on top of the powers of evil and said to His disciples: “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid” (v. 27). I put your enemies under my feet” –sinful lifestyles, the devil, the flesh — these are the enemies, our enemies. And Jesus tramples on these enemies for us.

And so, what should we do when we see only darkness, and we feel we are going under? We need to do two things, like the disciples:
•    Invoke, call on Jesus, “Lord, save me!” (v. 30). and
•    Welcome Jesus. As soon as He got into the boat, “the wind ceased” (v. 32). In our moments of darkness, He comes to meet us, asking to welcome him.

How do I react when I am afraid, in difficulties? Do I go ahead alone, with my own strength, or do I call on the Lord with trust? And what is my faith like? Do I believe that Christ is stronger than the waves and winds? But above all: Am I sailing WITH HIM? Do I welcome Him? Do I make room for Him in the boat of my life — never alone, always with Jesus? Do I hand the helm over to Jesus?

In the dark crossings, may Mary, the Mother of Jesus, Star of the Sea, be for us the lighthouse beacon that will lead us to the safe harbor of Jesus.

 

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Oct 17 Tue - Reflections on Psalm 2 (2)

 Oct 17 Tue
Reflections on Psalm 2 (2)
Heaven is committed to carrying out his plan of salvation. This certainty should encourage us to be more faithful, more dedicated, and more generous, every day.
"I will make the nations your heritage,
and the ends of the earth your possession."
These are his plans. He could, of course, do it without us; but he wants to do it with us; we should be good instruments in his hands. Accordingly, he purifies us, so that we come to realize that everything comes from him and nothing from ourselves. "All the many setbacks we have suffered have never made us lose our joy or our peace for a single moment, because we found how God brings forth sweetness, wonderful honey, from the dry rocks of hardship: He filled them with honey from the rock."

"We must have certain guiding principles to come back to, regularly; to strike fire from them anew. One of them is this: we are not alone, because God exists, and he called me into existence, he holds me in being, and gives me my strength. What's more, he has chosen me out with special love, and if I trust him, he will give me constancy and firmness for my journey, because when he begins something, he completes it; all his works are perfect."

 And so, in any difficulties that may come up, tell the fearful person, if need be, those words of Isaiah: "Say to the fainthearted, take courage and fear not, because our God will always carry us forward."

The work of Redemption "will continue for as long as there are people on earth. Therefore, you and I have to put our whole lives into making sure that the Work never comes to any harm out of lack of vitality or lack of fortitude."

"You have to be balm and strength for other people, you must be ever-conscious of our Lord's words: Without me, apart from me you can do nothing." While our Lord could perfectly well do everything himself, he prefers to make use of us, and even of our shortcomings. "Look at the holy Gospel: our Lord's Apostles were useless, selfish and ignorant. You or I would never have chosen them for the job."

The same is true now, "God chose what is foolish in the world, to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world, to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are."

We look trustingly towards our Lord, confident that we are doing his Work. "Christ is under an obligation to you because of this promise, says St Augustine, and he is true and absolutely faithful."
Image: Paolo Veronese, The Wedding at Cana (1563), fragment.

 

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Oct 16 Mon - Personal responsibility when we face the gift of grace

 

Oct 16 Mon
The Christian virtues are the fibers that make up the wedding garment.
The king went in to see the guests, and noticed a man who was not wearing the wedding garment; and he said to him, "Friend, how did you get in here without wearing a wedding garment?" But he could not answer.

He had to fulfill only one condition: he must wear the simple clean white robe, which was distributed free at the entrance, and which each one placed over the garment he wore. In this way the inner joy and festivity was expressed.

What is the garment that God requires to take part in the wedding feast of his Son?
It is this: the love that proceeds from a pure heart, an upright conscience, and a sincere faith (1 Tim 1:5). This is the wedding garment.”

Thus, we should help people to develop solid virtues, to preserve the enthusiasm of their first encounter with Jesus, and move them to constantly improve. In a word, they must be taught to cultivate a solid Christian life.

"Interior life is like the wedding garment spoken of in the Gospel. The fabric is made up of each of the norms or practices of piety which, like fibers, give strength to the cloth. A garment with a tear is despised, even if the rest is in good condition. If you pray, if you work..., but you are not sacrificed –or the other way around– your interior life is not, so to speak, complete."

"No one is excluded from salvation, if he freely yields to the loving demands of Christ." Outside of Him, there is only desolation and shadows of death.

Being gratuitous, the divine invitation is an urgent and imperative call. The Lord addresses it to all men, imposing only one condition on them: that they clothe themselves with the merits of his Son as with a wedding garment.

Jesus concludes by recalling our personal responsibility when we face the gift of grace. "You know perfectly well the development of the parable. Many are invited but few are chosen (Mt 22:14). All are called, but there are many who do not want to enter the banquet hall, or come without putting on the wedding garment that the Master himself provides."

No one ever lacks the help of Heaven, but everyone must welcome God’s call with a personal response. Let us follow the advice of St. Josemaría: "Have constant recourse to the Blessed Virgin, Mother of God and Mother of humanity: and She will attract, with the gentleness of a Mother, the love of God to the souls you deal with, so that they may decide –within their ordinary work, in their profession– to be witnesses of Jesus Christ."

 

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Oct 15 Sun - Accepting God's call

 

Oct 15 Sun
In the parable, three invitations were sent forth. The first two were given to special invited guests. These “invited guests” refer especially to the people of Israel who were raised in the faith handed down from Moses and the prophets. We should also see in them those who have been raised within the Christian faith today. Those invited refused to come. After the second invitation, some who were invited reacted with indifference, while others reacted with hostility. These responses are common today.

The tone of the parable is compelling. Accepting the King's invitation is not just a private matter for the guests, who might decline the summons according to their personal preferences. It is, certainly, a personal decision, but it affects other people as well. Accepting God’s call is a duty that takes precedence over any other occupation, no matter how important it may seem.

We, as St Josemaría wrote, "must cry out, with all the strength and urgency that may be necessary, lest the scene of the parable be repeated: And they refused the invitation: someone, because he went to his own selfish pursuits, to his own comfort (Mt 22:5): some other, because he became absorbed in his professional task, without knowing how to make of it a divine path on earth – no one taught him; without knowing that work is a very principal part of our divine vocation as a Christian; without realizing that it is precisely in our profession or in our job that the Lord wants us to sanctify ourselves."

"We must teach all men that to be a Christian is something amazing, because the soul of the believer is God's holy temple (cf. 1 Cor 3:17), where the Most Blessed Trinity dwells (cf. Jn 14:23). But, if one wants to attain Christian perfection, it is necessary to fight the battles of the interior life with courage, because the kingdom of God is attained only by effort."

To refuse the King's invitation is a great mistake that will bring many misfortunes to the ungrateful guests and, by imitation, to so many other people.

Thus, this is a call to personal responsibility. "Keep in mind, my son, that you are not just a soul who joins with other souls to do a good thing."
"That is much..., but still, it is little. –You are an Apostle who fulfills an imperative command of Christ."  On our fulfillment of God's Will depends our earthly and eternal happiness, and the happiness of so many other people. "On you and me behaving as God wants – don't forget – many great things depend." 

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Oct 14 Sat - Embracing the Cross

Oct 14 Sat
On Sep 14, The Church commemorates the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, the recovery of the Holy Cross, which had been placed on Mount Calvary by St. Helena, and preserved in Jerusalem, but then had fallen into the hands of Chosroes, King of the Persians. The precious relic was recovered and returned to Jerusalem by Emperor Heraclius in 629.

Emperor Heraclius was carrying the Cross on his shoulders back to Jerusalem. He was clothed with costly garments and with ornaments of precious stones. But at the entrance to the city a strange incident occurred. Try as hard as he would, he could not go forward. Zacharias, the Bishop of Jerusalem, then said to the astonished monarch: “Consider, O Emperor, that with these triumphal ornaments you are far from resembling Jesus carrying His Cross.” The Emperor then put on a penitential garb and was able to continue the journey.

To follow Christ, we must take up His cross, step on his footprints, and become obedient until death, even if it means death on the cross. We identify with Christ on the Cross and become co-redeemers, sharing in His cross.

We must venerate more and more deeply the mystery of the Cross, to understand life; since the crucified Christ knew both the absolute joy of the beatific vision (He is God), and the full measure of human suffering.

Embracing the cross, we reach to understand that there is no opposition between faith and reason, but that one demands the other. Faith without reason withers into myth and superstition.

The Cross warns reason against a proud self-sufficiency, just as it warns faith against the decay happening once reason is abandoned.
The Cross turns charity into a blazing fire of compassion and self-sacrifice.

"The Cross on your chest? … Very good. But the Cross on your shoulders, the Cross in your flesh, the Cross in your mind. Only then will you live for Christ, with Christ and in Christ; only then will you be an apostle."  St. Josemaría

We make the Sign of the Cross before prayer, which helps to fix our minds and hearts to God. After prayer, we resume our ordinary occupations; we make the Sign of the Cross to go on, close to God.

During trials and temptations, our strength and protection is the Sign of the Cross. At Baptism, we are sealed with the Sign of the Cross, signifying that the Cross has bought us back from the Devil, and that we belong to Christ.

Let us look to the cross frequently, find Mary there, and realize that when we make the Sign of the Cross, –like her– we give our entire self to God — mind, soul, heart, body, will, and thoughts.
 

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Oct 13 Fri - Understanding for people, along with loyalty to God

 

Oct 13 Fri
The spirit which God wants for us consists of
‘holy intransigence’ for error,
together with ‘holy tolerance’ for people.

St. Josemaría: "Some men have also sown cockle, as in the Gospel parable, and propagated false teachings which poison minds and cause rebellion, sometimes even violent rebellion, against Christ and his holy Church."

"Faced with all this, how should a child of God react? Should we ask our Lord, like the sons of thunder, to send fire on earth to consume sinners? Or perhaps lament continually, like a bird of ill omen or a doomsayer?"

"You well know that this is not our spirit because it is not our Lord's: ‘the Son of Man has come to save men's lives, not to destroy them’. I like to translate this verse freely by saying we must drown evil in an abundance of good. Our first obligation is to spread doctrine, while loving all souls."

"You also know my rule of thumb to practice this spirit: holy intransigence for error and holy tolerance for people, who may be mistaken. You need, however, to teach many people to practice this doctrine, because it's not difficult to find those who confuse intransigence with bullheadedness, and tolerance with abdicating rights or compromising the truth."

"We, Christians, do not hold the legacy of Christ's truth as our personal property to dispose of it at whim; rather, it is safeguarded by the Church. It belongs to God, and his Church keeps it, and we have no right to cede, cut back or give way in what is not ours."

We cannot yield in anything that pertains to the deposit of faith entrusted by Christ to the Church, for the simple reason that "it's the truth, and the truth does not admit of compromise. But together with holy intransigence, the spirit of the Work of God asks of you a constant tolerance, which is also holy. Being faithful to the truth, accurate in doctrine, defending the faith, does not mean having a sad attitude, nor should it be accompanied by a desire to destroy those who are mistaken."

"Perhaps some do act in this way, but it can't be our way. We can never be like that poor deranged fellow who, applying Scripture his own way, ‘blessed’ his enemies by calling down upon them fire and brimstone and stormy winds."

"We don't want anyone to be destroyed. Holy intransigence isn't a rude and surly intolerance. Nor is it ‘holy’ unless it is accompanied by holy tolerance."

Let us ask Our Lady to help us sow abundant understanding for people, along with loyalty to God.

 

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Oct 12 Thu - Persevere confidently in prayer.

 

 

Oct 12 Thu
It is believed that the Apostle Saint James was assigned to preach the Gospel in the Roman province of Hispania (Spain). After some time preaching, there were no converts. In Saragossa, by the bank of the river Ebro, he was praying, downcast for the lack of results. Then, Our Lady –still alive presumably in Ephesus– heard his prayer, and appeared to him on a stone pillar, offered him consolation, and promised him that the true Faith will not disappear from that land. Quite so; later on, people of that land brought the seed of the Faith to our shores.

We have to pray even though it may seem that God is not listening to our plea. When our Lord seems to be hiding, and our petition seems to go unanswered, that is the time to cry out more resolutely and urgently, like the Canaanite woman who, faced with the Master's apparent coldness, persisted in her request with the humble reply: “yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master's table.”

Humble, confident, constant petition. “Everything has its time. Our Lord knows perfectly well what our needs are, yet he wants us to ask with the same persistence as the people in the Gospel: ‘Lord, if you will, you can make me clean;’ Domine, ut videam, ‘Lord, that I may see.’ Ask the same way they did: they asked him for everything. I won't say that man's life should be spent in nothing but asking, for there are times when one sees the need to abandon oneself, and one ceases to ask, but later on, one comes back to it.”

“Nowadays, I ask a lot. I keep on asking. After having abandoned myself in God's hands for years, I now consider it better to ask.”

Our Lord always gives in to those who approach him with the desire to please him. His heart is moved when we place in his hands all our needs, desires, and worries. Before the insistent supplication of the Canaanite woman his apparent initial coldness changes to open admiration. "O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire." And her daughter was healed instantly.

Christ is always close by, although at times we don't see him. He is continually listening to us, and lovingly watching us, in spite of the fact that we may not "feel" anything.

We ought, therefore, to persevere confidently in our prayer. The more difficulty we experience in obtaining what we desire, the more firmly we must believe that God will grant it to us. “And when we are assaulted by the violent temptation of discouragement, opposition, struggle, tribulation, a new dark night of the soul, the Psalmist places on our lips and in our minds these words: "I am with you in the time of trial."

 

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Oct 11 Wed - Faith.To believe in Jesus is to become a child of God

 

Oct 11 Wed
Faith. To believe in Jesus is to become a child of God. The Second Vatican Council teaches us that “only the light of faith, and meditation on the Word of God, can enable us to find always and everywhere the God ‘in whom we live, and move, and have our being;’ only thus can we seek his Will in everything, see Christ in all, whether acquaintances or strangers, and make sound judgements on the true meaning and value of earthly things.”

Faith gives us the true measure of the things of this earth, of people, and events. Everything makes sense when viewed in the context of the divine plan.

Saint Josemaría says: “There are only two possible ways of living on this earth: either we live a supernatural life, or else an animal life. And a child of God … can only live the life of God, a supernatural life. What does it profit someone to have all the riches of the earth, all the extravagances of a satiated heart, all the aspirations of mind and will? What is it worth if it all comes to an end, if it all crumbles away, if everything in this world is mere stage scenery, if afterwards there is eternity for ever, for ever, for ever?”

Faith, hope and charity grow together. “Let us grow in hope, thereby strengthening our faith which is truly that which gives substance to our hopes, which convinces us of things we cannot see. Let us grow in this virtue, let us beg our Lord to increase his charity in us; after all, one can only really trust that which one loves with all one's might. And it is certainly worthwhile to love our Lord.”

Men lie when they say "for ever" in temporal affairs. It is only completely true when referring to the next life; and that is how you have to live, with a faith which makes you taste the honey of heavenly sweetness, when thinking about heaven, which is indeed for ever.

And your flesh? No, it will rot away. Your ambitions? No, they're too small. Your selfishness? No, it's worthless. You have to serve God and love him, in faith, for ever!

Yet the spiritual life is not separate from ordinary life. All our daily activities need to be filled with faith, hope and charity; there is no other recipe for effectiveness, and happiness. 

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Oct 10 Tue - Psalm 2 (1) - God never breaks his promises.

 

Oct 10 Tue
Psalm 2 (1)
God never breaks his promises.
"Why do the nations conspire,
and the peoples plot in vain?"
The words of the Psalm can give us optimism today. Our failings are not really important if we consider that the Almighty is with us, and that he is always faithful to his promises. What do enemies from outside matter?
"He who sits in the heavens laughs. All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord abides forever."

The history of the people of Israel is a clear proof of God's loyalty. When Adam and Eve sinned, God gave them back some hope, with the promise of a Redeemer. A just man, Abraham, fell heir to this promise. And one night, God appeared to him, saying: "Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them." Then he said to him, "So shall your descendants be." And he believed the Lord.

God listens to the prayer of his people. "God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." When Jesus Christ founded his Church, he promised Peter that the powers of death shall not prevail against it. And God is faithful: "Forever, O Lord, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens."

Jesus Christ promised a Paraclete, the Consoler. And from the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit has been present in his Church, and in every “living” member of her. Our life is full of trust, because we are God's children - "You are my son." Also, because he has promised us his help - "I am with you always, till the close of the age.” And because God always keeps his promises – “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom."

The awareness of our divine filiation forms the basis of our spiritual life as God's children. Saint Josemaría: "This characteristic feature of our spirit, was born with the Work, and it took shape in 1931. In humanly very difficult moments, when I felt nonetheless certain of the impossible – what you now see has come true – I felt God bringing to flower the tender invocation, Abba! Pater! in my heart and on my lips, with imperative strength."

 

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