Mar 1 Sun - Why the Transfiguration?

 

Mar 1 Sun
Why the Transfiguration?

With the Transfiguration, Christ wanted to strengthen the apostles’ faith in the face of his coming Passion.

By extension, Christ’s glory, briefly revealed on the mountain, shows the hidden glory of his Body the Church that radiates in the sacraments.

When we receive the sacraments of the Church, we participate in the Transfiguration. Peter, James, and John saw the radiance of the Son of God. In the sacraments, we receive that radiance, God’s grace. With the apostles, we have “the hope of glory.”

The voice of the Father bids the apostles to “listen” to his beloved Son. To listen to Christ means both to grasp what He says and to carry it out. We can do so with the help of grace, bestowed on us in Jesus Christ.
Grace is the help God gives us to respond to our vocation of becoming his adopted sons, as children of God. It introduces us into the intimacy of the Trinitarian life. 

The first effect of grace is a ‘new identity’: it makes us children of God. The holy life God calls us to is not any life we may wish. His design or plan is that we should become “his adopted sons” sharing in “the intimacy of the Trinitarian life.” That is our divine vocation. This is impossible to attain without God’s help. And that help is grace.

Grace precedes, and prepares the free response of man. Grace responds to the deepest yearnings of human freedom, calls freedom to cooperate with it, and perfects freedom. 

What does my freedom yearn for? Does it want to choose perfect happiness forever?
Yet we know from experience from our fallen human nature that our freedom is not that free. It needs to be healed and helped.

This is why God’s grace does not replace our freedom or overpower our freedom. Instead, grace guides our freedom, if we say yes to it. Grace is there before we make a choice, gets us ready to make that choice, and draws that choice out of us.

What is my response to grace?

Recall St. Paul’s advice: “Bear your share of hardship for the gospel with the strength that comes from God.”

In our ordinary life, we will experience some hardship without looking for it. And we will bear some additional hardship if we are faithful to our Lenten resolutions.

Let us be very aware that we have the strength that comes from God to bear these difficulties through the sacraments we have received: Baptism, Confirmation (if we have received it), Matrimony (if we are married), Holy Orders (in the case of a priest or deacon), the Holy Eucharist, and Confession, if we need it.

Our lives will be conformed to the will of God,  
- if we bear the small hardships that come our way 
- if we cooperate with God’s grace.

For a little while, we are under a kind of dark cloud, but God’s “own design” is for us to be gloriously transformed, like Christ on the mountain, forever.

Feb 28 Sat - Does God want me to be perfect?

 

Feb 28 Sat
Does God want me to be perfect?

God calls everyone to holiness, without distinction of profession, age, and social standing, in each one’s walk of life.

“You, therefore, must be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Matt 5:48), we read at the end of today’s Gospel. During these forty days of preparation for Easter the Church reminds us in many different ways that God expects much more of us -He expects a serious determination on our part to struggle for holiness.

Our Lord speaks not only to the Apostles, but to all those who really want to be his disciples. Our Lord has great demands to make on each one of us, according to our own circumstances. The Master calls us to holiness, without any distinction of age, profession, race or social standing. There are no followers of Christ who do not have a Christian vocation, a personal call to sanctity. 

By divine inspiration, this teaching about the universal call to holiness is, since 1928, one of the central points of the preaching of St. Josemaría, who has reminded us again in our own times, in all possible ways, that, through Baptism, every Christian is called to the fullness of Christian life: to holiness.

The Second Vatican Council has declared anew this ancient evangelical doctrine for the whole Church: a Christian is called to sanctity in the very place that he occupies in society.

Today we can ask ourselves whether it would be enough for us to want to be ‘merely good’, without having to make a determined effort to be saints.

We can and we must exert effort to attain to sanctity, with an increasing love for God and for other people for God’s sake, through everyday things which we do over and over again, with apparent monotony. 

“Sanctity for the vast majority of men implies sanctifying their work, sanctifying themselves in it; and sanctifying others through it. Thus, they can encounter God in the course of their daily lives.”

Sanctify work: do it well, faithfully fulfilling the virtue of justice and constantly striving to improve professionally.

Sanctifying ourselves at work: This will lead us to make it an occasion and place for dealing with God, offering it to Him, and living human and supernatural virtues. 

Sanctifying others through work: Work can and should be a means of making Christ known to many people if we are exemplary in our Christian way of acting, full of naturalness and firmness.

The Church reminds us of the urgent task of being present in the world, to bring all earthly realities to God. This is what the first Christians did. This will only be possible if we remain united to Christ through prayer and the sacraments. The Lord spent his life on earth doing good. A Christian must be "another Christ." This is the great power of Christian witness. Let us ask Our Mother to help us be witnesses of her Son as we strive to seek holiness in our personal circumstances.

Feb 27 Fri - Why should I go to confession?

 

 

 Feb 27 Fri
Why should I go to confession?

Lent is the most opportune time for considering how we receive the sacrament of Penance, that meeting with Christ, who makes himself present in the priest. In it, He welcomes us as the Good Shepherd, He heals our wounds, He cleanses us and strengthens us. 

When we go to receive this sacrament, we must think of Christ above all else. We must make sure He is the center of this sacramental act. We need to look at Jesus much more than at ourselves. We must keep our eyes on his goodness rather than on our own wretchedness, because interior life is a dialogue of love in which God is always the point of reference.

Every contrite Confession is a drawing near to the holiness of God, a rediscovery of one’s true identity, which has been damaged by sin, a liberation in the very depth of one’s self and thus a regaining of lost joy, the joy of being saved, which the majority of people in our time are no longer capable of experiencing. It is up to us to help others to be aware of, to experience, a sense of loss of God, so that they may draw close to him, for He is waiting for them.

The desire that we have to make Christ the center of our Confession is important if we are to avoid routine.

Previously, we need to make a good examination of conscience.

We must go to Confession to ask for absolution for our faults as we would beg for alms that we would not deserve. But we go with confidence; trusting, not in our merits, but in his mercy, which is eternal and infinite and always ready to forgive. 

He asks us only to acknowledge our faults; to humbly and sincerely acknowledge our debt. That is why we go to Confession — so that the person who takes God’s place and acts on God’s behalf can forgive us for him. It is not so much that he should understand or encourage us. We go to ask for forgiveness. That is why accusing ourselves of our sins does not consist simply in recounting them, because it is not a question of an historical account of our transgressions, but of sincerely and truly accusing ourselves of them: I accuse myself of ... 

St. Josemaría used to advise us that our Confession should be: concise, concrete, clear, complete.

Concise: Confession with few words, just the words that are needed to say humbly what we have done or have failed to do, without any unnecessary elaboration or adornment.

Concrete: Without digression, without generalities. The penitent will declare his sins, the time that has elapsed since his last Confession, the surrounding circumstances that have a bearing on his faults so that the confessor can judge, absolve and heal.

Clear: A Confession where we make ourselves understood.

Complete: Integral Confession, without leaving anything out through a false sense of shame so as not to appear bad in the confessor’s eyes.

The sincere Confession of our faults always leaves great peace and joy in the soul.

Feb 26 Thu - Why do we refer to Christ’s Passion and Death in the Mass?

 

Feb 26 Thu
Why do we refer to Christ’s Passion and Death in the Mass?

The Mass is the sacramental memorial of Christ’s Passion and Death.
A part of the Canon, called Anamnesis or Memorial, comes after the acclamation of the Consecration. In it the Church calls to mind the Lord’s Passion, Resurrection, and Ascension into heaven.

We have just been asked to “proclaim the mystery of faith.” And what is this mystery? Precisely the redeeming sacrifice of Christ celebrated in these rites.

We are now reminded that the Church is acting in memory of our Lord and obeying his explicit command: “Do this in memory of me.” We are mindful of Christ’s mandate and profess fidelity to Christ’s express indication. Thus, the Church declares that the Eucharist is a sacramental reenactment of Christ’s death on Calvary and not an attempt to “add to” the sacrifice of the Cross.

Pope Saint John Paul II wrote: “This sacrificial value is expressed earlier in every celebration by the words with which the priest concludes the presentation of the gifts, asking the faithful to pray ‘that my sacrifice and yours may be acceptable to God, the almighty Father.’ … Thus, by virtue of the consecration, the species of bread and wine re-present in a sacramental, unbloody manner the bloody propitiatory sacrifice offered by Him on the cross to His Father for the salvation of the world.”
 
We are not mere spectators; rather, we play an active part: we offer. But we should make a distinction here. The common priesthood of all baptized persons empowers us to offer the Mass. On the other hand, the priest, having received the sacrament of Holy Orders, possesses the ministerial priesthood that empowers him to celebrate the Mass.

Lay people are members of the people of God, which is ‘holy.’ United to the entire Church, we now offer Christ’s sacrifice with the desire that it becomes the center of our daily life and apostolic eagerness. Meanwhile, “the Church presses forwards amid persecutions of the world and the consolations of God, announcing the cross and death of the Lord until He comes.”

We not only announce what happened in the past but also prophesy what is to come: the final fulfillment of the kingdom, the light that knows no setting.

The Third and Fourth Eucharistic Prayers show:

- The expectation of the coming of the Lord is explicitly stated. 
- The sacrificial character of the Eucharist is stressed, showing that Christ is the direct object of the offering.
- An element of thanksgiving has been added to that of memorial.

Following the footprints of Jesus, our life should become a prolonged Mass. Here is a summary or program of life by which we can achieve this ideal:

- To remember Christ’s passion and death. It delivered us from the real evil, sin; and merited for us all true good.
- To experience constantly the joy of his resurrection.
- To proclaim his resurrection and ascension, through our words and deeds.
- To center our day on this holy sacrifice, while we look forward to Christ’s coming.

Feb 25 Wed - What kind of priests does the Church need today?

 

Feb 25 Wed
What kind of priests does the Church need today?

In a letter to the priests of Madrid and the entire Church, Pope Leo XIV outlined his vision of the “type of priests that the entire Church needs at this time.”

Let's ask God for priests at the measure of the Heart of Christ. Such priests, he wrote, are godly, men who are in the world but not of it, and characterized by fraternal charity. They are faithful to the living Tradition of the Church guarded by the Magisterium, celebrate the sacraments with faith and dignity, and go to Confession themselves. They appreciate the diversity of charisms and spiritualities within the Church. Above all, they are men of prayer centered on the Eucharist, on the altar, and in the tabernacle.

The Pontiff analyzed how many people, especially the young, are searching for deeper meaning.
In the hearts of many people, especially young people, a new restlessness is opening up today. The exclusive concern for well-being has not brought them the expected happiness; a freedom detached from the truth has not generated the promised fullness; and material progress, by itself, has not succeeded in fulfilling the deep desire of the human heart.

The priests the Church needs are certainly not men defined by the multiplication of tasks, but men configured to Christ, capable of sustaining their ministry from a living relationship with Him, nourished by the Eucharist, and expressed in a pastoral charity marked by the sincere gift of self.

The priesthood, in its most authentic nucleus, is being ‘alter Christus’ -another Christ.

The Pope said that priests should be:

- Christ centered: The priest is never an end in himself. He must refer his whole life to God, without usurping His place.

- Being in the world, but not of the world: Priestly life is marked by commitments that allows the priest to belong entirely to God without ceasing to walk among men.

- Living fraternity: Knowing that we are responsible for one another, resisting the individualism that impoverishes the heart and weakens the mission.

- Faithful to Catholic teaching: When the priest remains anchored in the living Tradition of the Church, and guarded by the Magisterium, he avoids building on the quick sands of partial interpretations.

- Focused on the Sacraments: These are the real and effective force of the priestly ministry. The priest must celebrate the sacraments with dignity and faith. “But do not forget that you are not the fountain, but the channel, and that you also need to drink of that water. Therefore, do not cease from going to Confession, to always return to the mercy you proclaim.”

- Appreciative of the Church’s different charisms and diverse spiritualities.

- Centered on the Eucharist: “Here is what gives meaning to what you do every day and from which your ministry springs. On the altar, through your hands, Christ’s sacrifice is actualized in the highest action entrusted to human hands; in the tabernacle, He whom you have offered, is entrusted once again to your care. Be worshippers, men of deep prayer, and teach your people to do the same.”

Feb 24 Tue - Is love blind?

 

Feb 24 Tue

Is love blind?

Love is not blind: it is profoundly clairvoyant.

Far from being blind, love makes one see, and be perceptive and discover the current inner richness of the beloved.

I’m talking about authentic, genuine love; not mere passion, whim, or a more or less disguised egocentrism.

Real, well-tested love, far from clouding the vision of the person who loves, makes it more penetrating and astute, more subtle, and understanding.

When you love, nature ceases to be an enigma.
We perceive in them all that they have been, all that they could have been, all that they are now, and all that they can be in the future.

Those around them only see them from the outside but spouses, to take the most frequent example, love each other with genuine madness, and this going out of themselves to enter into the beloved, makes them shrewd, understanding, and intuitive.

The same is true of mothers. Each one delights in praising her beloved son as her life, her everything, her love, her king, her heaven, while none of these nicknames seem appropriate for the neighbor’s child.

Only committed love allows one to perceive the intimate dignity and future fulfillment of the beloved.

Love is not blind; it is by no means blinded. Love is bound, and the more bound it is, the less blinded it is.

“The more bound…”: the reason for this truth is that, as the bonds that unite us to the loved one intensify, the identification becomes greater.

The one who loves becomes one with the beloved, transforms into the other, without losing one’s own uniqueness.

Love takes us out of ourselves and introduces us to the intimacy of the beloved.

To love, therefore, means to know in depth what the beloved is in the present and, progressively, to anticipate what they are destined to be, their future ideal, their fullness.

Unlike what happens with merely instinctive desires, which are directed towards anyone who can appease them, true love is always directed towards a specific person, not interchangeable with any other: Love has nothing to do with an anonymous partner in instinctive relationships.

We could say that loving means being able to say “you” to someone; and to say “yes” to them: to accept them in all that they are worth. To love is to see the other person as God intended.

Love not only welcomes the fellow human being in their human condition, but in their strict uniqueness and singularity: as a person, as a unique, unrepeatable ‘you’.

This is also how God, our Father, loves us: His Love is the Greatest Love. “You and I belong to Christ's family, for 'He himself has chosen us before the foundation of the world, to be saints, to be blameless in his sight, for love of him, having predestined us to be his adopted children through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his Will'. We have been chosen gratuitously by Our Lord. His choice of us sets us a clear goal.” Our goal must be personal sanctity.

With excerpts from Tomás Melendo.

Feb 23 Mon - What is today the greatest obstacle to peace?

 

Feb 23 Mon
What is today the greatest obstacle to peace?
Recently, Pope Leo XIV reflected on peace as “a gift, a covenant, and a promise.” 

“Peace is above all a gift. We receive it from those who came before us, and for this, we must be grateful.”

“Peace is also a covenant, which binds us to one another and commits us to preserve it where it exists and to pursue it where it is absent.”

“Finally, peace is a promise, because it opens before us the hope of a better world, a hope shared by all people of good will.”

Politics plays an indispensable role in this task. Thus, we must work together to establish forms of participation in our countries that allow all citizens—men and women alike—to engage in the institutional life of our nations. Upon this foundation of justice, it will be possible to build a universal fraternity that is already taking shape among many young people, a sign of a new era.

“With this in mind, we must reflect on the fact that there can be no peace while humanity wages war against itself—by discarding the weak, excluding the poor, and remaining indifferent to refugees and the oppressed. Only those who care for the least among us are capable of accomplishing what is truly great."

Christians, as followers of Christ, have a particular responsibility for peacebuilding. This responsibility extends not only to relations between nations but also to the concrete places of daily life: the place you live, where you study, and where you work. We must be peacemakers.

If we try to foster harmony within the university or our workplace, or among political parties and civic associations, we will be able to build peace within society as a whole, and even between peoples and continents.

In this context, Mother Teresa of Calcutta remarked that “The greatest destroyer of love and peace is abortion, which is war against the child. There, the mother doesn't love, but kills to solve her own problems. Any country that accepts abortion is not teaching its people to love, but to use any violence to get what they want.”

Her words remain prophetic. No policy can genuinely serve the people if it denies the unborn the gift of life or neglects to support those in need, whether in their material circumstances or in their spiritual distress.

Communion in the Church, in its many aspects, “teaches us to listen to the perspectives of others, instead of relying solely on our own.” Together we can do great things.

The one God has entrusted the earth to us as a common home for all peoples; therefore, the label “One Humanity, One Planet” finds its fullest expression when completed by the words “One God.” Recognizing in him our loving and benevolent Creator, our religious traditions call us to contribute to social progress by always seeking the common good, which rests upon the firm foundations of peace and justice.

Feb 22 Sun - Is personal conversion the main requirement of this Lent?

 

Feb 22 Sun
Is personal conversion the main requirement of this Lent?

"You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve."
These words, addressed by our Lord Jesus Christ to Satan, are the program of life for man, called to the service of God and God alone. Yet, throughout his life, man is exposed and susceptible to all "temptations," driven by the devil, who does everything possible to dominate and manipulate man by trying to set him against God.

Faced with Satan, who promises man even "all the kingdoms of the world" in exchange for worship, Jesus responds with the light and strength of the Word of God, who had warned the chosen people against the temptation of idolatry.

Lent is a time for inner conversion. Sacred Scripture presents human life in its relationship with God as a continuous inner conversion. God, in His infinite love, calls man to live in communion with Him. But man is fragile, weak, sinful; therefore, to enter into communion with God, he must reverse the path that leads him to evil; he must even change ways of thinking that are opposed to the will and word of God.

And Jesus, the incarnate Son of God, calls men to conversion: "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

Lent represents in the life of the Church a cry for conversion: "If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts." Lent is a continuous, urgent call to the urgency of authentic interior conversion.

Conversion is fundamentally a turning away from sin and a going toward the living God. This is the invitation of the prophet Hosea, who insists on the interior character of authentic conversion, always stirred and inspired by love and knowledge of God.

Conversion is a gift from God, which man must ask for with fervent prayer and which Christ has earned for us. This is what today's liturgy has led us to meditate on in the passage from St. Paul's Letter to the Romans: through the disobedience of the first Adam, sin and death entered the world and dominate man. But if it is true that "through the offense of the one man (that is, Adam), death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ."

Christians, strengthened by the power that comes from Christ, increasingly distance themselves from sin, from specific sins, mortal or venial. Moreover, by overcoming evil inclinations, vices, and habitual sin, they will increasingly weaken the inclination to sin. This occurs to the extent that grace, God's gift, granted by the merits "of one man, Jesus Christ," abounds in us more and more.

In this way, conversion is a gradual, effective, continuous struggle to pass from the "old" Adam to the "new" one, who is Christ. This exhilarating spiritual process, during the period of Lent, must become particularly conscious and incisive in every Christian.

Feb 21 Sat - Is being humble the opposite of being natural?

 

Feb 21 Sat
Is being humble the opposite of being natural?

“When we try to be humble, we feel God's power acting in us, based on our weakness; and we come to understand that we are never stronger than when we have only God to rely on. We also learn that age and experience alone are not a guarantee that we will get things right; otherwise, all elderly people would be geniuses. It is God who makes us more prudent than our teachers and wiser than the aged."

"Humble people realize that their lives are in the hands of God. And when they turn to God in prayer, they do so without pride, without putting on false airs, since they know that their mistakes and sins are not hidden from God's sight."

"Humility prevents us from becoming discouraged by our own faults. Our Father God knows what kind of clay we are made of. Our human weaknesses give our Father God a chance to shine forth and to show His almighty power by excusing and forgiving."
Humility makes us see things as they are and face ourselves in God's presence.
Humility doesn't stop us from aspiring to greatness, but it reminds us that we are merely instruments.

To be humble means being natural; it means being simple and straightforward in our dealings with God and with others. Since we live in the midst of the world, our humility must never be confused with timidity or a lack of self-confidence.

"It may be that an asceticism proper to religious orders could involve some rather eye-catching expressions of humility. But in the Work, the exact opposite is the case. As our sanctity hinges on our work, we need to build up professional expertise and respect, and each of us will acquire, in our own job and social sphere, the dignity and good name we deserve, gained through honest competition with our professional colleagues. Our humility doesn't entail being timid and shy, or lacking in daring in the field of noble human endeavor. With a desire to serve, we must strive to be among the best." (St. Josemaría)

"Some people without a genuine lay outlook on life understand humility as a lack of confidence, a kind of indecisiveness that stops them from taking action. They think it involves waiving their rights (sometimes even the rights of truth and justice) to avoid friction and disagreements, so that they can be nice to everyone. There will always be some who don't understand our way of practicing a deep—and genuine—humility; they may even call it pride. The Christian concept of this virtue has been severely deformed, possibly because the various forms of humility that people have attempted to transfer onto secular society are really more suited to convents than to Christians whose vocation requires them to be at the crossroads of the world."

Let us ask Mary to remove every trace of pride from our hearts so that every day we may become more closely identified with her Son.

Feb 20 Fri - What is inculturation?

 

Feb 20 Fri
What is inculturation?

The term Catholic means universal. Have you ever wondered how the Catholic Church, the body of Christ, connects with different cultures around the world? The answer lies in a fascinating process called inculturation. Inculturation is the process by which the Catholic Church integrates her teachings and practices into various cultural contexts. This approach allows the Church to remain universal while respecting and incorporating the unique traditions of different cultures.

So, what exactly does inculturation involve? It is about adapting Christian practices to fit within different cultural settings. This adaptation happens without changing the core teachings of the Church. The goal is to present the gospel message in a way that is understandable to diverse cultures and from various backgrounds.

Historically, inculturation has been part of the Christian journey since the early days of the Church. For instance, when Christianity spread to Europe, it absorbed elements from local cultures. Existing festivals and customs were often used to celebrate Christian holidays.

This practice continued as Christianity reached other regions, including Africa and the Americas. In practical terms, inculturation allows local customs and traditions to be woven into Christian worship. This not only enriches the worship experience but also makes it more relatable for local congregations.

Missionaries have also utilized inculturation to introduce Christianity to new areas. One of their first tasks was learning the local language. By learning the local language and culture, they could communicate the gospel more effectively.

It is important to distinguish inculturation from syncretism. Syncretism involves blending different religious beliefs in a way that can compromise the original faith.

In contrast, inculturation aims to preserve the core teachings of Christianity while emphasizing cultural elements that align with these teachings.

Pope Leo points out: 
The inculturation of faith is not a question of adapting the Gospel to the world, but of finding in each culture the appropriate ways to proclaim the Word that does not fade away, enriching and serving human existence.

Faced with the evils that undermine society, such as tribalism, interethnic conflicts, wars, and family divisions, the Gospel calls for reconciliation and the pacification of hearts. As Saint Pope John Paul II underlined, ‘The new evangelization will thus aim at building up the Church as family, avoiding all ethnocentrism and excessive particularism, trying instead to encourage reconciliation and true communion between different ethnic groups, favoring solidarity and the sharing of personnel and resources among the particular Churches, without undue ethnic considerations.”

The family of God requires pastors to be close to the people entrusted to them in a spirit of listening, compassion, and benevolence.

In the study of the Church, known as Ecclesiology, inculturation plays a vital role. It shows how the Church interacts with different cultures, highlighting her ability to be both universal and local. This approach reflects the Church's mission to be a global community that includes people from all nations and backgrounds. Through inculturation, the Catholic Church continues to grow and adapt while remaining true to its foundational beliefs.

Feb 19 Thu - Why does the priest raise the Host and the chalice?

 

Feb 19 Thu
Why does the priest raise the Host and the chalice?
After the consecration, the priest elevates –separately– the Host and the chalice containing the Blood of our Lord, inviting us to reflect on the transubstantiation that has been caused.

The priest shows the consecrated host to the people, and then genuflects in adoration. Likewise, he shows the chalice to the people and genuflects in adoration.  

If incense is used, a server incenses the host and the chalice during the elevations. 

This ceremony was instituted to counteract the errors of Berengarius of Tours (eleventh century), who denied Christ’s presence in the Eucharist.

This is the same Body that was hanging on the cross, the same Blood that was poured there: We should repeat these truths once and again until we truly believe them and begin to love. Before the Eucharistic mystery, it is necessary for us, more than ever, to be humble. 

Three things are intended by the elevation of the sacred host:

- To expose Jesus Christ, now present on the altar, to the adoration of the faithful.

- To represent the elevation of Jesus Christ’s body on the cross. He said, “And I, when I am lifted from the earth, will draw all things to myself.”

This is the mystery of Christ that we commemorate: his incarnation, his life of work in Nazareth, his preaching and miracles, his death and resurrection. Through this great mystery, Christ is the center of the universe, the firstborn and Lord of all creation. “St. Paul gave a motto to the Christians at Ephesus: To fill everything with the spirit of Jesus, placing Christ at the center of everything.” This should also be the program of our life.

- To offer to God in silence this only one Victim of our salvation, as the priests of the Old Testament offered God their lambs as victims by elevating them. 

During the elevation, we should glance at the Eucharistic species in adoration. But we should also remember that we have come to Mass not only to worship Jesus Christ present in the sacrament of the altar. That could be done equally well in the Exposition of and Benediction with the Blessed Sacrament. We come to Mass first of all to offer Jesus Christ on the cross with the priest and the entire Church, and to offer ourselves to God with Jesus Christ and as part of his Mystical Body: We come mainly to share in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
As part of the Church, we are united to Christ in the act wherein He offers himself in sacrifice to his Father.

The acclamation of the faithful follows the consecratory formula. We have four responses commonly used in English.

When we recite any of these acclamations, we in effect declare and give witness to the encounter of the risen Christ and Mary Magdalene on Easter Sunday.

We will find the meaning of our life by sharing the Victim’s offering and by proclaiming the message of the cross and resurrection among our peers, announcing it through what we say and do.

Feb 18 Wed - Me? … A saint?

 

Feb 18 Wed
Me? … A saint?

Lent begins today, and God's call us to penance. The Church is offering us an opportunity for a new conversion, to be saints. To be a saint in this world is to develop to the full one's human potential.

The Lord continues to do "mad" things to this day. If we happen to meet some day in the middle of this busy world ask me about the latest mad actions of this God who loves us. Then I will tell you everything He did, and you will love Him with me.

The mad things He did for you may inspire you to seek and find a true and worthy outlet for your loyal rebellion, for your anxious restlessness, for your legitimate unhappiness, for that holy dissatisfaction that you share with other sons of God.

Those who fled from God have now degenerated into a cold and bitter paganism. There are very few heretics left in the modern world. Those who abandon the one true God very soon become slaves of the most barren dryness of soul. They are simply pagans: and today they can be seen all around us straining their sightless eyes, vainly seeking that happiness for which their instincts cry out, groping about in the dark, blindly trying to find the way, the truth, and the life.

We try to help them. We have told them a thousand times to look to our Christ. They have tried to look, but they see nothing. We have shouted at them that Christ is alive, really alive, the same Man that He always was, and always will be, but the force of our arguments was quenched by their cold indifference.

And yet it is easy enough to understand this dryness and bitterness in the souls of these poor pagans when we read the cynical challenge in their eyes: "Show us by your lives that Christ is alive."

Their argument is all too just. We cannot expect them to be won over by treatises on theology, some of them so dry and formal. Their argument is fair enough: "Show us by your lives that Christ is alive."

We look around us, among our fellow Christians of today, for lives to which we could point as examples and models for those men who have lost faith, and we are torn with grief when we cannot find them. It is a cause for bitter regret to see the insipid and crumbling spectacle we present to the world after twenty centuries of so-called progress.

Our world is full of living Christians, but yet it is the lifeless who are in command. We have churches in plenty, but so few good lives. All we lack is lives, lives to inspire these dead people, to convince them, to strengthen the wills of poor weak mortals, to enlighten the minds of the diseased, to soften the selfish hearts of greedy materialists — passionate lives, generous lives, lives ablaze with love. So, few good lives!

We must live this time of penance making specific resolutions to improve. 
Don’t you think that you and I are called to become the saints the world needs?

Feb 17 Tue - How can I achieve consistency in life, living without a mask?

 

Feb 17 Tue
How can I achieve consistency in life, living without a mask?

Consistency in life denotes a harmonious integration of strong faith with daily actions, thoughts, and feelings. This is not merely an abstract ideal but a divine grace that transforms the believer into a living witness of Jesus Christ. To be Christian means to think, feel, and act accordingly, recognizing the Lord's presence in every aspect of life.

This inner unity avoids the scandal of inconsistency—which can distance others from the faith—and fosters a fulfilling life, oriented toward love and service.

Consistency prevents hypocrisy and addresses key questions: Do I truly believe what I proclaim? Do I live what I believe? Do I speak about what I live? This unity between faith and action inspires a credible witness, trusting in the Holy Spirit to renew the Church and engage in dialogue with the world. Holiness is not reserved for a select few but is a path open to all.

Saint Thomas More shines as a powerful example of consistency in life. Imprisoned in the Tower of London for over a year, he endured hardships with serenity and good humor, writing letters filled with faith and familial love. He rejected offers of wealth and power to save his life, declaring, "I am not a man who changes his mind out of fear." He was beheaded on Tower Hill, accepting death with joy. John Paul II proclaimed him "an exemplary model of that unity of life" which expresses holiness in everyday situations and the public sphere.

Thomas More integrated his faith into politics without separating it from morality; he defended the primacy of a well-formed conscience over any human power, living in complete unity between belief, thought, and action. His martyrdom was the culmination of a consistently lived life.

Practical suggestions for living a more coherent life:

- Daily examination of conscience: Dedicate a few minutes at the end of the day to review whether your actions reflect your faith, humbly seeking guidance to correct inconsistencies.

- God's presence in the ordinary: Offer daily work, conversations, and small tasks as acts of love to God, turning routine into continuous prayer.

- Ongoing formation: Regularly read the Gospel and engage in spiritual reading to deepen your understanding of doctrine, informing concrete decisions in family, professional, and social life.

- Self-control and contemplation: Practice small sacrifices (such as controlling your tongue, responsibly using social media, or keeping your environment tidy) to build inner order and avoid divisions in your personality.

- Witness in the public sphere: Act with Christian consistency in the workplace, political, or digital arenas, being a light without imposing, attracting others through the joy and authenticity of a unified life.

- Community and spiritual direction: Seek guidance from a confessor or director who can help identify weaknesses and foster growth in this unity.

Living without masks is not a burden but a liberation: it makes us freer, holier, and happier, reflecting the beauty of Christ in the world. By uniting wisdom and holiness in a single, consistent life, each of us can aspire to be a luminous and transformative witness.
Excerpts from Patricia Jiménez Ramírez, in Exaudi

Feb 16 Mon - How can I overcome hardships in my family?

 

Feb 16 Mon
How can I overcome hardships in my family?

Family life has its challenges. From daily tensions to difficult trials like failing an exam, experiencing heartbreak, or losing a job, these moments can leave us feeling vulnerable. However, the Catholic faith teaches that no adversity is without purpose: each can be an opportunity to grow in love, unity, and trust in God.

Constant distractions, rushing, and cellphones that steal our attention can erode the harmony of the home. The key is to reclaim our presence: looking each other in the eye, truly listening, and turning off notifications when we're together. Learning to be "bored" as a family allows us to enjoy simple things and discover the beauty already present.

A sincere hug, a word of encouragement, a heartfelt "thank you"—these are powerful medicines for the soul. When we cultivate daily gratitude for small blessings (like breakfast together, shared laughter, or a day without major problems), the family becomes a haven of peace, even amidst the daily grind.

A failing grade, an unplanned course, or a learning difficulty can crush a child's self-esteem and worry the entire family. But failure isn't the end; it's an invitation to humility and renewed effort.

From a Catholic perspective, education is an act of love and service, patiently supporting our children without judgment or comparison, reminding them that their worth is not defined by grades, but by being beloved children of God.

Instilling the certainty that God accompanies them in every stumble and that persevering through effort and prayer is already a victory transforms failure into a lesson in maturity and strength.

A broken relationship, a marital crisis, or the pain of separation leaves deep wounds affecting the entire family. True love, however, doesn't disappear; it is purified.

In moments of emotional "dark night," when feelings wane, we can choose to love selflessly, honoring our commitment before God. In marriage, letting go of selfishness and individualism to build a strong "we" brings genuine joy, even when feelings fluctuate.

Forgiving, asking for forgiveness, and renewing affection in everyday life (a gesture, a prayer together, shared silence) heals wounds and shows children that true love endures and grows stronger in times of trial. The family thus becomes a place of healing and a living witness to Christ's love.

Losing a job creates fear, but it's also an opportunity for true family leadership: to protect, encourage, find solutions together, and maintain hope.
Focus on what is essential: a person's dignity does not depend on an employment contract, but on being a child of God. While searching for work, the family can grow in solidarity, with creativity to reduce expenses, trusting prayer, and small projects that bring everyone together.

Have confidence that God never abandons His own and often prepares greater graces through difficult times.

Overcoming adversity as a family isn't about avoiding suffering, but about facing it hand in hand with God and our loved ones.

When we unite in family prayer, in the Eucharist, in mutual service, and in daily dedication, we discover that difficulties do not destroy us; they shape us more into Christ and make us a stronger, brighter, holier family.
Excerpts from Exaudi

Feb 15 Sun - Does the Sacred Scripture have a human dimension? Does it have a divine origin?

 

Feb 15 Sun
Does the Sacred Scripture have a human dimension? Does it have a divine origin?

Today, we read Jesus stating, “Until heaven and earth pass away, not a single letter, … will disappear from the Law until all things have been accomplished."

The divine origin of the Bible is a truth of faith. This belief must be a starting point. When we read the Bible, we must remember that God is its author. Thus, we must search out what God wanted to manifest to us.

Even though the human writer (called the hagiographer) is involved in writing the sacred books, God is the primary author, the three divine Persons in one, but it is attributed to the Holy Spirit.

Oftentimes, the Fathers of the Church compared the action of God in inspiring Sacred Scripture to that of a writer using a pen, the human writer being analogous to the pen. The hagiographer was the instrument God used to write the Bible.

In every action caused with the use of an instrument, we can observe that there is a principal cause (or agent) and the instrumental cause (or instrument). The agent raises the instrument above its nature when the agent applies it to the action.

In the writing of the holy books, God is the principal cause, and the hagiographer is God’s instrument: He makes him capable of writing something beyond natural human capabilities.

Furthermore, any instrument has two actions: a proper action, according to its nature (to make strokes is proper of a pen); and an instrumental action, influenced by the main agent (to write a poem). In this way, the writer’s activity is at the service of God, without losing his particular traits.

The Sacred Scripture is “the Word of God in human words.”

Pope Leo told us recently:
“Sacred Scripture, read in the living Tradition of the Church, is a privileged space for encounter where God continues to speak to the men and women of every time, so that, by listening, they can know him and love him. In some cases, making oneself understood to others is the first act of love. This is why God chooses to speak using human languages and thus, various authors, inspired by the Holy Spirit, have written the texts of Sacred Scripture.” 

“Therefore, not only in its content, but also in its language, the Scripture reveals God’s merciful condescension towards men, and his desire to be close to them.”

We must be aware of two deficient approaches to Scripture.
“A correct interpretation of the sacred texts cannot dispense with the historic environment in which they developed and the literary forms that were used; on the contrary, to renounce the study of the human words that God used risks leading to fundamentalist or spiritualist readings of the Scripture, which betray its meaning.”

“Equally reductive, on the other hand, is a reading of Scripture that neglects its divine origin and ends up understanding it as a mere human teaching, as something to be studied simply from a technical point of view or as a text ‘only of the past.’”

God gives us the essential nourishment of his Word; our lives must not obscure the love of God that is narrated in Scripture.

Feb 14 Sat - How was Our Lady's work as a housewife in Nazareth?

 

Feb 14 Sat
How was Our Lady's work as a housewife in Nazareth?

Look at this painting of Our Lady; the distinctive mark is that she is wearing an apron; I call this painting Our Lady of the Apron. She looks like an ordinary, modest housewife.

Our Mother is looking towards heaven seeking directions in her life, for her decisions, instead of choosing just what is “popular,” “cool,” or “more comfy.”

In seeking God’s Will, she is internally talking to God, praying. Our work should be prayer, contemplation; we must do it in the presence of God.

She is ready to serve because our Christian vocation leads us to serve, following Christ, who did not come to be served but to serve. But not any kind of service, not any kind of work, rather, she's ready to work well as an act of love of God.

She has her hair gathered to be more effective in her work, so nothing will fall from her hair.
“Professional work -and working in the home is also a first-class profession- is a witness to the worth of the human creature; a chance to develop one’s own personality; a bond of union with others; a fund of resources; a way of helping in the improvement of the society we live in, and of promoting the progress of the whole human race…"
- For a Christian, these grand views become even deeper and wider. Because work, which Christ took up as something both redeemed and redeeming, becomes a means, a way of holiness, a specific task which sanctifies and can be sanctified.”

She's carrying the Child Jesus. When we work, in a manner of speaking, we are carrying the Child Jesus with us, because we are doing his work. 

The Child is looking towards heaven, because He, and the Father, with the Holy Spirit, are not separated, but one God. He is always doing the Will of his Father, who sent him. 

He is wrapped in a tallit (טַלִּית), the prayer shawl typical of the Jews, indicating that He belongs to the people of Israel. He is declaring the continuity of the covenant, and that He is the fullness of the New Covenant.

The painting is framed with a thin golden frame; our work, no matter how humble, becomes pure gold in the eyes of God. Thus, we collaborate in God’s work of redemption.

The painting is resting upon a red carpet. Our Lady is hinting to us that we must be like carpets, soft carpets, on which the others may be able to step comfortably.

It means that this service to others should be directed to make their life, and their way to heaven, easier, more pleasant, as an expression of fraternity, because we are all involved in the same journey, as a family, towards heaven.

Feb 13 Fri - What should I choose, what is ‘practical’ or the truth?

 

Feb 13 Fri
What should I choose, what is ‘practical’ or the truth?

Here are 10 principles from Benedict XVI that can help us to navigate our way through any crisis of faith.

1. Truth must precede our practices. 
Truth cannot be established only based on what is ‘practical’, praxis. Sometimes, what looks ‘practical’ is not morally correct. 

2. Truth is not the “middle term” between authority and subjectivity.
It is not enough to mean well and follow our conscience; our conscience can err, and if it does so, we have failed to perceive the truth. 
Truth is above consensus. Mere consensus is no guarantor of the truth.

3. Trust in Scripture.
We must not dismiss the Scriptures on the ground that no one followed Christ around with a tape recorder. On the contrary, we have to trust that the Holy Spirit was active in the composition of the Scriptures.

4. The Eucharist Is Not a Sinner’s Banquet.
We encounter Christ especially through the sacrament of the Eucharist, the very body and blood of Christ. The Eucharist is not a “fellowship meal” or a celebration of the achievements of the local community. 
The Eucharist has a particular relationship to the sacrament of matrimony. Conjugal love is a sacramental sign of Christ’s love for his Church, a love culminating in the Cross.

5. Church Teaching Develops Organically.
The Church cannot develop her teaching by majority opinion. Truth is not discerned by taking opinion polls and searching for a consensus. 
Christian tradition cannot hold as truth today what was heresy yesterday. Also, there must also be an internal coherence among the teachings in different areas of theology.

6. Relationship between Faith and Reason.
Faith and reason need to purify each other. The Catholic tradition represents a synthesis or integration of the two.

7. We must believe in a Creator God.
Since human beings are indeed created by God, they are creatures, not commodities. Moreover, the dignity of the creature is not found in their capacity to choose their own gender but in their having been made in God’s image. The belief in creation is also important for the understanding of our stewardship of creation.

8. Understanding of Synodal authority.
Speaking of the idea of a synodal structure of mixed lay and episcopal membership, Ratzinger declared:
“The idea of the mixed synod as a permanent supreme governing body of the national churches is a chimerical idea in terms of the Tradition of the Church as well as her sacramental structure and her specific goal. Such a synod would lack any legitimacy, and therefore obedience to it has to be decisively and unequivocally denied.”

9. Understanding of Holy Orders
Pope Benedict always defended the practice of a celibate priesthood and the notion of a priest as someone more than a community leader.

10. Understanding of the Petrine Office
The Pope is not the instrument through which one could, so to speak, bring a different Church into existence, but is a protective barrier against arbitrary action.
As such, a pope is not an absolute monarch, but rather like a constitutional monarch whose powers are restrained by a constitution.

Feb 12 Thu - Are the Institution Narrative and Consecration the central points of the Eucharistic Prayer?

 

Feb 12 Thu
Are the Institution Narrative and Consecration the central points of the Eucharistic Prayer?

What mankind has been waiting for through centuries is now going to take place among us. God has arranged everything to happen at its own time and in the most fitting manner. At this moment, we are invited to a greater recollection and devotion. To remind us about this, a little before the Consecration, the server may ring a bell as a signal to the faithful. Depending on local custom, he also rings the bell at the elevation of both the host and the chalice. 

The Consecration is the essential part of the Mass. Only the priest pronounces the words of the Consecration.
The human minister has received, with his ordination, the power to pronounce the great and wonderful prayers of the Consecration, and these will be effective. In truth, he is but the instrument of Christ. “The priest offers the Holy Sacrifice ‘in persona Christi’; this means more than offering ‘in the name of’ or ‘in the place of’ Christ. In persona means in specific sacramental identification with ‘the Eternal High Priest’ who is the author and principal subject of this sacrifice of his, a sacrifice in which, in truth, nobody can take his place.”
 
The priest does not act on his own account. “The priest’s identity consists in being a direct and daily instrument of the saving grace which Christ has won for us.” That is why, “if you ever come across a priest who, apparently, does not seem to live in keeping with the Gospel, do not judge him; let God judge him. Bear also in mind that if he celebrates Mass validly, with the intention of consecrating, our Lord would still come down into his hands, however unworthy they are.”
 
The priest’s own personality is blotted out to clothe himself with the person of the everlasting Priest. It is Jesus Christ himself who, at every Mass, performs the Consecration, while the priest lends him his voice. The priest repeats the words pronounced by Christ, not as he would describe the history of some beautiful event that happened in the past, but as bearing the same effective power Christ attached to them.

After the Consecration, what were bread and wine are no longer bread and wine, although our senses continue to perceive them as such, with all their sensible attributes. But it is now Christ himself–with his body, blood, soul, and divinity–who is there, under the appearances of bread and wine, offering himself to the Father for the redemption of all.

The full work of our redemption is truly and effectively carried out in the Mass, not only in a symbolic manner. “To accomplish so great a work [the work of redemption], Christ is always present in his Church, especially in her liturgical celebrations; He is present in the sacrifice of the Mass, not only in the person of his minister, ‘the same one now offering, through the ministry of the priests, who formerly offered himself on the cross,’ but especially under the Eucharistic species.”

Feb 11 Wed - What is Relativism?

 

Feb 11 Wed
What is Relativism?
Relativism is the rejection of objective moral truths, leading to significant consequences for ethical understanding and practice.

Pope Francis highlighted that Relativism, under the guise of tolerance, ultimately allows those in power to define moral values according to their interests, which can result in laws being perceived as arbitrary impositions rather than reflections of objective truth.

The Church emphasizes the existence of objective moral norms that are valid for everyone, countering the notion that morality is merely a subjective result of individual conscience or cultural evolution.

Furthermore, the Church teaches that true freedom is found in submission to truth; a culture that loses sight of this relationship between truth, good, and freedom risks moral disorientation.

Thus, the Church's teachings present a clear opposition to relativism, advocating for recognizing objective moral truths as foundational for genuine human freedom and ethical behavior.

Already, at the beginning of the last century, some proposed that the Church’s doctrinal expression of sacred revelation was stifling and should yield to the fresh formulations of each age.

For some, nowadays, the call to sanctity is displaced by the ‘call to action’. Incidentally, this was the name of an experiment of the late 1970s, that eventually was cast into the landfill of failed experiments.

Christian piety and devotion are replaced by political fervor, and humble submission to the will of God collapses before a careful attention to the Self.

Thus, Relativism reigns supreme. They cast the Church’s doctrinal and spiritual Tradition aside as outdated and harmful. Just as the Jacobins erased history with the adoption of a new calendar, some desire to re-invent Faith, and have the Church’s beginning in the present century.

The problem with Relativism is that in due course, today’s relativism falls victim to tomorrow’s Relativism. When truth disappears, so does the firmness of any position. Even false ones. All are eventually cast into the devouring fires of the Relativist Moloch.
Disingenuously, Rousseau put it succinctly: “Sometimes men must be forced to be free.”

Contrast this with the elegant formulation of the great Thomist Garrigou-Lagrange:

“The Church is intolerant in principle, because she believes, but is tolerant in practice, because she loves. The enemies of the Church are tolerant in principle, because they do not believe; but are intolerant in practice, because they do not love.”

It shouldn’t surprise us that the relativists’ methods are arbitrary and crushing. Since they have long left the bright uplands of virtue and doctrine, their weapons leave behind the delicacy of those instruments that once were the arsenal of Mother Church. They passionately argue that these are a ‘paternalism’ of a dead past.
Closer to the truth, it is one of the most ancient terms for the Church, beginning with St. Cyprian in the third century: “No one can have God as their Father, who does not have the Church as their mother.”

Feb 10 Tue - What is the Tradition of the Church?

 

Feb 10 Tue
What is the Tradition of the Church?

Jesus scolded the Pharisees: “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? Matthew (15:3). These were their human traditions.

Our family traditions change; they are not like heirlooms, which can be handed down in a preserved state from one generation to another. But neither are our traditions like the game of telephone, where the transmission from one to another invariably and irretrievably degrades and jumbles the message as it passes to the next player.

Tradition is less about transmitting certain facts than it is about reverence and veneration of something precious – an inheritance that is precious both in itself and precious because of the one who bestowed it. In the end, the guarantor of tradition is always love.

There is also Tradition (big “T”), which, with Sacred Scripture, constitutes the deposit and source of what we believe: our Faith. The Holy Spirit is the decisive agent and guarantor of this Church’s Tradition.

Our grasp of that Tradition is never static or stale – it grows deeper and richer as it is shared – but it never ceases to be what it always is. Evolving, but always in itself; not in an anarchic manner but within the body of the Church and under her pastors. Its content becomes clearer and finds its application in new circumstances. Love himself guarantees the faithful transmission of that Tradition. Otherwise, it is not The Tradition of the Church, but merely “human traditions.”

Pope Leo recently said that “Ecclesial Tradition branches out throughout history through the Church, which preserves, interprets, and expresses. The Word of God, then, is not fossilized, but rather is a living and organic reality that develops and grows in Tradition. 

Thanks to the Holy Spirit, Tradition understands the Word of God in the richness of its truth and expresses it in the shifting coordinates of history.”

Christianity, both as a communal experience and as a doctrine, is a dynamic reality, in the manner indicated by Jesus himself in the parables of the seed: a living reality that develops thanks to an inner vital force.

Thus, the importance of safeguarding the deposit of faith:
Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture form one sacred deposit of the Word of God, committed to the Church, interpreted by the living teaching office of the Church [the Magisterium], whose authority is exercised in the name of Jesus Christ.

Any “deposit” imposes on the depositary the duty to preserve its content, which in this case is the Faith, and to transmit it intact.

The “deposit” of the Word of God is still in the hands of the Church today, and all of us. In our various ecclesial circumstances, we must continue to preserve it in its integrity, as a lodestar for our journey through the complexity of history and existence.

Sacred Scripture and Tradition are so linked and joined together that they cannot stand independently, and together, each in its own way, under the action of the one Holy Spirit, they contribute effectively to the salvation of souls.

Feb 9 Mon - Does the desire for purity of heart improve my prayer?

 

Feb 9 Mon
Does the desire for purity of heart improve my prayer?

If you’ve ever sat down to pray and felt distracted, restless, or “somewhere else,” you’re not unusual. Many of us know what it’s like to want to pray but struggle to bring our full attention to it. We show up physically—but our minds are racing, half-present, half-elsewhere.

What’s often missing isn’t technique but attitude. And one of the most transformative attitudes of prayer—yet one of the most overlooked—is purity of heart.
But what does “Purity of Heart” even mean?

At first glance, “purity of heart” might sound like a lofty biblical phrase, or something reserved for saints. But it isn’t about moral perfection, nor is it restricted to a select few. It means wanting what God wants in the everyday choices of life.

It’s the difference between:
- praying because you should, and praying because you desire communion with God
- offering a quick formula of words, and offering your entire heart
- seeking prayer as a task, and seeking prayer as a relationship.

Purity of heart isn’t a prerequisite we must earn before God will listen; it’s an attitude that transforms prayer from “something I do” into “a meeting with the One I love.”

When we let go of interior clutter—anxiety, pride, distraction—prayer becomes a doorway instead of a duty.

Here are some practical ways to achieve it:

1. Say, “Here I am—open to You, even if I’m distracted.”
Offer what you have. This honest start softens resistance and invites God into the real state of your heart.

2. Purity of heart isn’t about ignoring life’s responsibilities—it’s about noticing what pulls your heart away from God. This awareness will lead you to the right choice.

3. Purity of heart is built by simple, repeated choices—not grand gestures. This might include:

- Pausing briefly to offer your day to God.
- Making the sign of the cross with intention.
- Praying for someone who irritates you.
- Offering a moment of frustration to Christ.

Prayer isn’t perfect. It’s present tense.

Purity of heart isn’t an achievement—it’s an attitude you cooperate with, one moment at a time.

So, if your prayer life feels cluttered, distracting, or distant this year, start with where you are. A heart open to God—even imperfectly—is a heart God can heal, guide, and transform.

Heaven doesn’t wait for perfection.
He joins you in your real journey toward purity—one humble step at a time.

“My secret is a very simple one: I pray. To pray to Christ is to love him.
Thus, you will be able to bring others close to Jesus because it is not possible to engage in direct apostolate without being a soul of prayer. 
We must be aware of our oneness with Christ, as He was aware of his oneness with His Father. Our activity is truly apostolic only insofar as we permit him to work in us, and through us, with his power, with his desire, with his love." (Mo. Teresa)

Feb 8 Sun - How can I be like a torch giving light to all around me?

 

Feb 8 Sun
How can I be like a torch giving light to all around me?

- Having apostolic zeal.
“Its symptoms are: hunger to know the Master; constant concern for souls; perseverance that nothing can shake."

José de la Pisa was 53 years old and had served as lieutenant colonel of Spanish Marines in Lebanon, the Indian Ocean, and the Royal Guard.

He went from the special forces to priest of Opus Dei: “I wanted what is most difficult, where I could help more. In the difficulties and hardships of life, you learn to give to others without reservation, to share and to need nothing but help others."  

"It's been 25 years of military work in the Marine Corps. The toughest thing in the Navy. A quarter of a century in areas of conflict, warring territories and peace missions (from Lebanon to the Indian Ocean) from which he learned some teachings that, he said, will serve him on his new priestly path." 

"You learn to give yourself to others. Military life has allowed me to be in contact with many people who suffer, with people completely uprooted, with refugees, with human beings who have lost everything or who live immersed in hatred. Knowing these realities firsthand allows you to see the people behind them, to realize that everyone, in the end, wants the same, and that we all suffer." 

"In the difficulties and hardships of life, you learn to give yourself to others unreservedly, to share, and to need nothing but to serve others."

"We were deployed in southern Lebanon. It was especially hard to see the kids approach the moving vehicle to ask for water and some food. It was even harder to have to give the order not to do so because if not, we risked that one of those kids could end up under the wheels of our moving vehicles."
Still as a numerary of Opus Dei, de la Pisa was stationed in the Indian Ocean under the command of a special operations team. "We were able to stop a big group of pirates, with a history of murders and excesses that would horrify anyone. When you questioned them, you realized that, just as they had chosen to go out to sea and face the real dangers of drowning, many others in their villages had chosen to seek honest ways of living. In a world where they have nothing, it is very interesting to wonder why some opt for good and others don't," he explains.

"I was lucky enough to study for a year in the United States, at US Marine Corps University in Quantico, Virginia. There, I coincided with 200 other U.S. military personnel and 25 other foreigners. Then we started a social group that looked like a joke: a Spaniard, a Taiwanese, a Tanzanian, an Afghan, and a Malaysian. We were forging a good friendship, and questions always came up… about the Blessed Trinity, or the role of Our Lady... and so many questions and very varied, which they then tried to understand. Their friendship greatly enriched me.

Feb 7 Sat - Is it important to live the virtue of order in my daily life?

 

Feb 7 Sat
Is it important to live the virtue of order in my daily life?

“Virtue without order? Strange virtue!" Saint Josemaría Escrivá emphasized the virtue of order as essential to effective living and spiritual growth, advocating a structured approach to work and daily responsibilities.

Here you have some of his most relevant teachings on the Virtue of Order:

Importance of Planning:
In "The Way," St. Josemaría highlights that without a plan of life, one cannot achieve order. He stresses that having a structured plan allows individuals to manage their time effectively and fulfill their duties in a balanced manner.

Time Management:
He believed that when order is brought into one’s life, time seems to multiply, enabling individuals to dedicate more time to God and their responsibilities. This reflects his view that virtue without order is a strange concept, as order is fundamental to living out virtues effectively.

Balanced Life:
St. Josemaría encouraged a well-structured plan that encompasses all aspects of life, including spiritual, family, professional, and social responsibilities. He taught that achieving balance in these areas is crucial for personal development and fulfilling one’s vocation.

Work as a Gift:
He viewed work as a divine gift and emphasized that all work, regardless of its nature, should be approached with order and dedication. He stated that work done carelessly cannot be sanctified, as it lacks the love that makes any action pleasing to God.

After this, you may say, how can I apply this to my daily life? Consider these Practical Applications:

Daily Plan:
“Without a plan of life, you will never have order." St. Josemaría advised establishing a fixed routine to cultivate the virtue of order. This includes waking up at a consistent time and allocating specific times for prayer, work, and family activities. “If you don't get up at a fixed time, you will never carry out your plan of life."

Avoiding Procrastination:
“Don't put off your work until tomorrow." He warned us against putting off tasks, encouraging us to tackle our responsibilities promptly to maintain order in our lives.

In summary, Saint Josemaría Escriva's teachings on the virtue of order emphasize the necessity of planning, time management, and a balanced approach to life, all of which contribute to a more fulfilling and spiritually enriched existence. By integrating these principles, individuals can enhance their ability to serve God and others through their daily actions.

“When you bring order into your life, your time will multiply, and then you will be able to give God more glory by working more in his service."

If you make daily effort to pray, work conscientiously, and care for others, you will, little by little, become the kind of person God expects you to be. People will believe you because they see you struggle to be authentic and live what you propose to others. Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses.

Feb 6 Fri - Where is God when terrible accidents happen?

 

Feb 6 Fri
Where is God when terrible accidents happen?

Frequently, we hear about terrible accidents and casualties. How could God allow this to happen? Where was God? What can be done to restore hope to the victims and their relatives? 

We can answer yes, that God was there. He was also in the ‘good Samaritans' who offered first aid, in the members of the emergency services, in many others. "God's mercy is endless, and his compassion never fails."

Suffering is universal on this earth. No one escapes it, not even animals. Why suffering exists is a mystery: that is, it is only partly intelligible.

We can have faith that God permits suffering to bring about a greater good. Since God is the highest good, He would not allow any evil to exist unless to produce greater good.

Sometimes we can see the good that God brings out of evil; sometimes we cannot.

We can glimpse that somehow suffering and death are the consequences of sin, yet suffering existed on this earth long before the first sin was committed.

We can see how witnessing suffering can unleash compassion and care in us, which makes us more human.

Through our own suffering, we can see that we are vulnerable, and need God and the help of other human beings. Suffering can make us humble and remove our individualistic tendencies.

Some suffering seems fair, as when criminals are punished. But other suffering seems totally unjust, and we feel that God should not permit it, for example, the suffering and death of an innocent child or an innocent child becoming an orphan.

Three points will shed light on the problem: First, in becoming man, God took on our human condition and suffered with us. 
Second, He transformed the meaning of our suffering: it is now part of his work of redemption. 
Third, through his suffering and death, He overcame death and opened the gate of eternal life in heaven to us: He transformed death from a pit into a door, from an end into a beginning.

Regularly, we must take on some correction to make up for our sins and to improve our character. This discipline makes us suffer a little. This suffering is a mortification, that is, a small death, to kill some of our bad qualities, if possible. These practices help us become humble and aware of our need for God. They may also make us more compassionate, because they help us see what others are going through.

The Christian response to another’s suffering is kindness and mercy, and to alleviate that suffering if we can. What are some things we might be able to do to alleviate others’ suffering?
        We can pray for them.
        We can offer their ordeal to God on their behalf.
        We can be with them.
        We can let them talk and listen to them.
        We can do little things for them that please them.
        We can help them in a way they want to be helped.

Feb 5 Thu - Why does the priest invoke the Holy Spirit during the Mass?

 

Feb 5 Thu

Why does the priest invoke the Holy Spirit during the Mass?

The Epiclesis is the invocation to the Holy Spirit in the Eucharistic Prayer where the priest requests God the Father to send the Holy Spirit so that the bread and wine offered may become Christ’s body and blood, and so we may be able to celebrate the Eucharistic mystery, and to make all the effects of the sacrament operative in us.

At the same time, the priest extends his hands, palms downward, over the chalice and host, and traces the sign of the cross over them. With this gesture, he asks God to pour his blessing over the gifts offered and to turn them into his Son’s body and blood.

“Why does the priest ask for what he positively knows will happen at the Consecration?” How many times did Jesus Christ ask for what he well knew would infallibly happen? The priest seems to pray, not so much for the miracle of transubstantiation as for the happy fruits it may produce in our souls.

After the last notes of the Sanctus, the people again fall silent. For it is how man should approach God –in silence.

In the Old Testament, the high priest, carrying the blood of the victims, entered the Holy of Holies alone once a year. Leaving the people behind, he offered a sacrifice to God in an atmosphere of awe and respect for God.

In the early Middle Ages, the priest entered the sanctuary, and curtains were drawn, thus isolating him from the people. To accentuate the importance of this part of the Mass, clerics carrying candles placed themselves on either side of the altar. The people attended these ceremonies kneeling.

The First Eucharistic Prayer acknowledges God the Father as our most merciful Father so that we may deal with him with the confidence of children:

- To you, therefore, most merciful Father,
we make humble prayer and petition
through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord:
that you accept
and bless ✠ these gifts, these offerings,
these holy and unblemished sacrifices,

We find the Epiclesis at the beginning of the Second and Third Eucharistic Prayers. 

The Fourth Eucharistic Prayer, which has its own Preface, links it, after the Sanctus, with a narrative of the history of salvation in the form of anamnesis (remembrance). The Epiclesis comes after:

- Therefore, O Lord, we pray:
may this same Holy Spirit
graciously sanctify these offerings,
that they may become
the Body and ✠ Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ
for the celebration of this great mystery,
which he himself left us
as an eternal covenant.

How often have we relegated the Holy Spirit to a secondary role! We now promise him we shall be more docile to his sanctifying action. “That means we should be aware of the work of the Holy Spirit all around us, and in our own selves we should recognize the gifts he distributes, the movements and institutions he inspires, the affections and decisions he provokes in our hearts.”

Feb 4 Wed - 8 Powerful Quotes from St. Josemaría Escrivá

 

Feb 4 Wed
8 Powerful Quotes from St. Josemaría Escrivá 

#1 “To be holy isn’t easy, but it isn’t difficult either. To be holy is to be a good Christian, to resemble Christ. The more closely a person resembles Christ, the more Christian he is, the more he belongs to Christ, the holier he is.” (The Forge, 10)

#2 “When you pray, but see nothing, and feel flustered and dry, then the way is this: don’t think of yourself. Instead, turn your eyes to the Passion of Jesus Christ, our redeemer. Be convinced that he is asking each one of us, as he asked those three most intimate Apostles of his in the Garden of Olives, to ‘watch and pray.’” (The Forge, 753)

Prayer is not primarily about feelings; it is a dialogue of love.

#3 “We cannot separate the seed of doctrine from the seed of piety. The only way to inoculate your work of sowing doctrine against the germs of ineffectiveness is by being sincerely devout.” (The Forge, 918)

Religion turns sterile and lifeless when piety does not accompany doctrine.

#4 “There are some people who, when they speak about God or the apostolate, seem to feel the need to apologize. Perhaps it is because they have not discovered the value of human virtues, but, on the other hand, have been greatly deformed spiritually, and are too cowardly.” (Furrow, 37)

#5 “I am going to summarize your clinical history: here I fall, and there I get up. The latter is what matters. So, continue with that interior struggle, even though you go at the pace of the tortoise. Forward! You know well, my son, where you can end up, if you don’t fight: one depth leads to another and another.” (Furrow, 173)

#6 “Look at the set of senseless reasons the enemy gives you for abandoning your prayer. ‘I have no time’—when you are constantly wasting it. ‘This is not for me.’ ‘My heart is dry…’ Prayer is not a question of what you say or feel, but of love. And you love when you try hard to say something to the Lord, even though you might not actually say anything.” (Furrow, 464)

#7 “Here is a thought to help you in difficult moments. ‘The more my faithfulness increases, the better will I be able to contribute to the growth of others in that virtue.’ How good it is to feel supported by each other.” (Furrow, 948)

When God gives us grace, it’s not just for us. 

#8 “What zeal men put into their earthly affairs! Dreaming of honors, striving for riches, bent on sensuality! Men and women, rich and poor, old and middle-aged, and young and even children: all of them alike. When you and I put the same zeal into the affairs of our souls, then we’ll have a living and working faith. And there will be no obstacle that we cannot overcome in our apostolic works.” (The Way, 317)

A recommended daily spiritual practice is an examination of conscience.
We so easily invest ourselves in worldly things—yet where is God? How is He moving and working in our lives? When we devote some time to God, He fills us with his grace.