The Church is rooted in this fundamental mystery of our Catholic faith: the mystery of God who is one in essence and three in persons.
Having just read in the Acts of the Apostles about Pentecost, the day when the Holy Spirit came down on the Lord’s disciples, we are conscious of being present at the great display of God’s power with which the Church’s life began to spread among all nations.
Once more the liturgy reminds us of the final moment in Jesus’ life among men, his ascension into heaven.
If we look at the world, at the People of God, during this month of May, we will see devotion to Our Lady taking the form of many old and new customs practiced with great love.
“Christ is alive.” This is the great truth which fills our faith with meaning. Jesus, who died on the cross, has risen.
“Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end” (Jn 13:1). The reader of this verse from St John’s Gospel is brought to understand that a great event is about to take place.
When saying Mass a few days ago I paused to reflect on a phrase from the psalms in the Communion Antiphon: “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.”
I want to talk to you about time, that passes so swiftly. I am not going to repeat to you the well-known phrase about one year more being one year less…
I am the way, the truth and the life. In these clear and unmistakable words Our Lord traces out for us the true path that leads to everlasting happiness.
Today, once again, I set myself this goal and I also remind you and all mankind: this is God’s Will for us, that we be saints.
To “live” the holy Mass means to pray continually, and to be convinced that, for each one of us, this is a personal meeting with God. We adore him, we praise him, we give thanks to him, we atone for our sins, we are purified, we experience a unity with Christ and with all Christians.
“Mary has been taken up to heaven by God in body and soul, and the angels rejoice.” Joy overtakes both angels and men. Why is it that we feel today this intimate delight, with our heart brimming over, with our soul full of peace?
This hymn to freedom is echoed in all the mysteries of our Catholic faith. The Blessed Trinity draws the world and man out of nothing, in a free outpouring of love. The Word comes down from Heaven and takes on our flesh, an act which bears the splendid mark of freedom in submission.
Today, on the feast of Corpus Christi, we come together to consider the depths of our Lord’s love for us, which has led him to stay with us, hidden under the appearances of the blessed Sacrament.
We are at the beginning of Lent: a time of penance, purification and conversion. It is not an easy program, but then Christianity is not an easy way of life.
Grace renews a man from within and converts a sinner and rebel into a good and faithful servant. The source of all grace is God’s love for us, and he has revealed this not just in words but also in deeds.
I remember, many years ago now, I was going along a road in Castile with some friends, when we noticed something in a field far away which made a deep impression on me at the time and has since often helped me in my prayer.
Our mother is a model of correspondence to grace. If we contemplate her life, our Lord will give us the light we need to divinize our everyday existence.
At Christmas our thoughts turn to the different events and circumstances surrounding the birth of the Son of God. As we contemplate the stable in Bethlehem or the home of the holy family in Nazareth, Mary, Joseph and the child Jesus occupy a special place in our hearts.
In an interview published in ‘Conversations with Saint Josemaria Escriva’, St. Josemaria was asked to comment on the virtue of poverty in view of increasing social awareness in society.