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 […]
St. Josemaria Escriva was deeply devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary throughout his entire life. His writings and his interior life are equally marked by this devotion; so too is Opus Dei, which, under God’s providence, he founded on October 2, 1928 as a path to holiness in ordinary life. The founder of Opus Dei […]
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 […]
In the sermon The Praise of Men, [1] after indicating that ridicule is a powerful weapon used by the devil, Blessed John Henry Newman describes a case in which it is the cause of much pain: when a person who had shunned religion turns by God’s grace back to the practice of religion and meets […]
The Saints are men and women whom the Church sets as standards for living holy lives as children of God. Today is the memorial or feast day of Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890), a renowned Anglican convert and Catholic priest who stands out for his intellectual accomplishments lived with humility and charity. In “The Praise […]
Junipero Serra, a Spanish Franciscan and founder of nine of the twenty-one California missions in the 18th century, was declared a saint by Pope Francis at a solemn Mass at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D. C. The canonization of Junipero Serra is a call to personal holiness and evangelization. The saints […]
“Love Jesus with all the strength of all the hearts of all those who have loved him most. Be daring: tell him you are carried away with more love than Mary Magdalene, more than Teresa and little Therese, more carried away than Augustine and Dominic and Francis, more than Ignatius and Xavier.” St. Josemaria Escriva […]
I was deeply moved by the Epistle in today’s Mass, and I imagine the same will have happened to you. I realized that God was helping us, through the words of the Apostle, to contemplate the divine interlacing of the three theological virtues which form the backing upon which the true life of every Christian […]
Our Christian vocation, this calling which Our Lord makes to each of us personally, leads us to become identified with him. But we should not forget that he came on earth to redeem everyone, because ‘he wishes all men to be saved’. There is not a single soul in whom Christ is not interested. Each […]
Let us consider for a moment the texts of today’s Mass, Tuesday in Passion Week, for they will help us to distinguish ‘true godliness’ from ‘false godliness’. We shall be speaking about humility, for this is the virtue which helps us to recognise, at one and the same time, both our wretchedness and our greatness. […]
Let us now consider the Master and his disciples gathered together in the intimacy of the Upper Room. The time of his Passion is drawing close and he is surrounded by those he loves. The fire in the Heart of Christ bursts into flame in a way no words can express and he confides in […]
Now that we are at the beginning of Holy Week, and so very close to the moment when the Redemption of the whole human race was accomplished on Calvary, it seems to be an especially appropriate time for you and me to reflect on how Our Lord Jesus Christ saved us, and to contemplate this […]
Whenever we feel in our hearts a desire to improve, a desire to respond more generously to Our Lord, and we look for something to guide us, a north star to guide our lives as Christians, the Holy Spirit will remind us of the words of the Gospel that we ‘ought to pray continually and […]
During this week which Christians traditionally call holy week, we are given another chance to reflect on and to re-live the last hours of Jesus’ life. All the things brought to our mind by the different expressions of piety which characterize these days are of course directed to the resurrection, which is, as St Paul […]
The whole Church recognizes St Joseph as a patron and guardian. For centuries many different features of his life have caught the attention of believers. He was a man ever faithful to the mission God gave him. That is why, for many years now, I have liked to address him affectionately as “our father and […]
Jesus Christ is our model, the model for every Christian. You are well aware of this because you have heard it and reflected on it so often. You have also taught this to many people in the course of your apostolate of friendship (true friendship, with a divine meaning) which by now has become a […]
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 […]
Many people begin, but few finish. And we, who are trying to behave as God’s children, have to be among those few. Remember that only work that is well done and lovingly completed deserves the praise of the Lord which is to be found in Holy Scripture: ‘better is the end of a task than […]
“This day shall light shine upon us; for the Lord is born to us.” This is the great announcement which moves Christians today.
By Martin Mazloom The theme of thanksgiving is inextricably woven into St. Josemaría’s life and books. In his collection of spiritual meditations The Way, he emphasizes the Christian’s duty to constantly thank Our Father: “Make it a habit to raise your heart to God, in acts of thanksgiving, many times a day. Because He gives […]
