If you live in the presence of God, high above the deafening storm, the sun will always be shining on you; and deep below the roaring and destructive waves, peace and calm will reign in your soul. ST. JOSEMARIA ESCRIVA The Forge, no. 343 “They saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the […]
God has a special right over us, his children: it is the right to our response to his love, in spite of our failings. This inescapable truth puts us under an obligation which we cannot shirk. But it also gives us complete confidence: we are instruments in the hands of God, instruments that he relies […]
Today we see the full conclusion of the Emmaus story (Luke 24:35-48). As the two disciples recount what had just happened to them on their journey, and in the breaking of the bread, the same risen Jesus stands in their midst and imparts His “Peace” to the gathered disciples. What is the meaning of this […]
Christian life on earth is often called a journey, a pilgrimage. Even on our best days in this world, we never feel entirely at home here, entirely comfortable or at rest. We’re not supposed to.
One of the hardest tasks we face is the conversion of our ways. Wouldn’t we all like to walk out of church on a Sunday morning feeling compelled to change our lives for the better? To feel so inspired that we are willing to give up anything and do anything for the Lord? It always […]
Where does prayer come from? Especially prayer of the deepest kind with “sighs too deep for words” (Rm 8:26)? Is there a bedrock from which prayer rises utterly pure, sincere, and true? What Scripture calls “the depths” we could call the ‘ground zero’ of our prayer life—a place which few have explored and mapped as […]
God is very close to us right now. Isn’t that the promise of Christmas, God-with-us? What is the right response to that closeness? God has chosen to create a closeness between Himself and ourselves. He has taken our body on Himself. It’s His doing, His “project,” from start to finish. What should be the result […]
Images of rest and peace are woven throughout today’s readings. [1] The Lord reminds David of the “rest” He has given the king from his “enemies on every side,” and how He intends to plant Israel in a secure dwelling place, free from “further disturbance.” Zechariah’s canticle ends with a light dawning from on high […]
“Who of us can live with the consuming fire?” asks the prophet Isaiah, a question that should resonate with anyone who not only tries to serve God but to grow very close to Him (Is 33:14). Something about closeness to God makes us feel the heat of a consuming fire. The canonization of Elizabeth of […]
Why, one will hardly die for a righteous man—though perhaps for a good man one will dare even to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. Romans 5:7-8 If God’s love is proved by a sacrificial death for the salvation of people dead […]
“Christ plants the seeds one by one so that each Christian in his own setting can bear witness to the fruitfulness of the death and resurrection of the Lord.” St. Josemaria Escriva Christ is Passing By, no. 157 Saint Josemaria liked to apply our Savior’s image of Himself as a dying and rising seed directly […]
This greatest of all parables is a response to a complaint: “Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes murmured, saying, ‘This man receives sinners and eats with them’” (Lk 15:1-2). Jesus justifies the coming of “undesirables” to Him as a kind of long-overdue […]
“Jesus is passing by. How often have I marveled at this simple way of describing divine mercy! Jesus is headed somewhere, yet he is not too busy to spot human suffering.” St. Josemaria Escriva Christ is Passing By, no. 67 As a seminarian in Rome during the last ordinary Jubilee I remember browsing one afternoon […]
Traditionally a celebration of the consecrated life, the Feast of the Lord’s Presentation forms an especially meaningful moment in the Year of Consecrated Life proclaimed by the Holy Father (November 2014-February 2016). Pope Francis has invited religious and laity alike to cultivate a deep gratitude for a state of life which uniquely displays the work […]
For us Christians the fleetingness of our journey through life should be a spur to help us make better use of our time. It should never be a motive for fearing Our Lord, and much less for looking upon death as a disastrous and final end. Cf. Friends of God, no. 39 The Gospel for […]
At the beginning of Lent, this Gospel teaches us too how to become Christ’s welcome table-fellows. But the table to which He now calls us is that Table which is also an altar of sacrifice, an empty tomb, the most privileged place of our communion with God. We cannot think of Matthew’s table without also […]
“He who lives by faith may meet with difficulty and struggle, suffering and even bitterness, but never depression or anguish, because he knows that his life is worthwhile, he knows why he has been born.” St. Josemaria Escriva Christ is Passing By, no. 45 Carmelites all over the world begin celebrating the fifth centenary […]
“Not to hate one’s enemies, not to return evil for evil, to refrain from vengeance and to forgive ungrudgingly were all considered at that time unusual behaviour, too heroic for normal men…. But Christ wanted to teach his disciples — you and me — to have a great and sincere charity, one which is more […]
“A mature and profound Christian life cannot be improvised, because it is the result of the growth of God’s grace in us. In the Acts of the Apostles we find the early Christian community described in a single sentence, brief but full of meaning: ‘and they continued steadfastly in the teaching of the apostles and […]
“‘The doors were locked,’ but ‘They rejoiced when they saw the Lord.’ The disciples were afraid—afraid of being harmed, insecure about the future. Better not let anybody in. This is how we are at times: Jesus stands knocking at our door and we are barricaded on the inside, afraid of something new, different, or unexpected. […]
