Meditation

When you are afraid, ask yourself, —why am I so cowardly? Are my own fears so real or so necessary to me that I cling to them although they cause me to question my Lord's infinite Love for me?

In every Christian's, soul Jesus Christ has sown —by virtue of the Baptism— the grace, the sanctity, the Truth... It is necessary that these seeds sprout, grow and bear a multitude of good fruits, our deeds: deeds of service and charity, of kindness and generosity, of sacrifice to properly comply with our daily duty and to make happy those around us;...

St. Paul's conversion is a great event: from persecuting Jesus' followers he converted into a servant and defender of the cause of Christ. Quite often, perhaps, we have also been “persecutors”: and, as St. Paul, we need to convert from “persecutors” into servants and defenders of Jesus Christ.

Jesus today is no different than yesterday. Man and his urge to learn how to love have not changed either. Today, there are also some who, more directly, receive and understand the Word — by grace and free divine election, mysteriously... while, on the other hand, there are many who need more descriptive and deliberated explanations of the Revelation.
 

Jesus is exhorting those sitting there —and everybody else— to enter their hearts in spiritual communion with him by abiding with the Divine Will. At the same time, however, He also praises his mother, the Virgin Mary, who is always blessed for having believed.
 

Therefore, be surprised if we find in our path these contradictions. They will just be the sign we are following the right way of life. Let us then pray for these people and ask our Lord to give us the necessary patience.
 

On the morning of New Year’s Day, in St. Peter’s Basilica, Pope Francis celebrated Mass to mark the Solemnity of Mary, Most Holy Mother of God.

Today, the Gospel emphasizes the troubles and contradictions we Christians have to suffer because of Christ and his Gospel, and how we must stand firm and persevere to the end. Jesus promised us: "I am with you always ...

Today, the Gospel invites us to evangelize, it says: “Preach” (Mt 10:7). The announcement is Jesus’ good news, trying to tell us about the kingdom of God...

Today, the Gospel presents us —through two personages— a quality the good disciple of Jesus must have: to dispense with all material goods. Before, however, St. Matthew's text points out ...

Today, Jesus' categorical claim strikes us: "Not everyone who says to me: ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my heavenly Father" (Mt 7:21)...

We have to receive Jesus in our life; thus, we shall be opening the doors to the very same God. It is like programming our life to keep on going.

God can translate our heart language into the heart language of the listener and they can hear a resonance deep within that speaks to their deepest needs, deepest joys, deepest hurts and deepest longings.

Joy and peace are always fruit of the exuberance of our apostolic commitment and of our struggle to become saints. It is the logic and supernatural outcome of love for God and of a spirit of service towards our fellowmen.

"Peter was saddened because Jesus asked him a third time, ‘Do you love me?’", and he said, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you’". His triple denial makes him rectify, and just remembering it, saddens him.

We find a solid basis for trust in the Gospel: "Holy Father, I pray not only for these but also for those who through their word will believe in me...". It is Jesus' heart, which, in the intimacy of Jesus with his disciples, opens up the inexhaustible treasures of His Love.

Jesus prayed to his Father in our Gospel today, "I leave these my words in the world that my joy may be complete in them" (Jn 17,13).

Jesus let us share his most precious mystery; God Father is his origin and, at the same time, his destination: "As I came from the Father and have come into the world, so I am leaving the world and going to the Father".

All this week the Liturgy speaks of revitalizing, of exulting (jumping with joy), of an eternal and certain happiness. Everything leads us to live in prayer.

Let us turn to God and beg for a deep faith, a constant uneasiness to quench our thirst in the Eucharist Source, while listening to and understanding God's Word; by eating and satiating our spiritual hunger with the Body of Christ.

Spirit of Truth, open up our hearts and our lives to Christ's Gospel: that this light be the light to lighten our daily existence. Holy Spirit, our Helper, make us strong to live Christ's truth, thereby giving testimony to everyone.

The Apostles could not quite understand the unity between the Father and Jesus; they did not quite realize Jesus is God and Man in one person.

We are witnesses of Jesus not only when we know His teachings, but - and mainly - when we want and make others to know Him and love Him. As the saying goes: "Words move people, examples compel them".

One of the main characteristics of Christ's followers is fighting all evil and sin to be found in the world and inside every man. This is why, Jesus is the light of men, the light that illuminates the world's darkness.

Jesus speaks to you as a friend, for He has told you that his Father calls you, that He wants you to become an apostle, and that He expects you to bear fruit, a fruit that is manifested through love.

The Father's love for the Son is immense, tender, dear. We can read it in the Book of Proverbs, when He affirms that long before initiating his deeds "Then was I beside him as his craftsman, and I was his delight day by day, playing before him all the while"...

We may see Jesus surrounded by the Apostles in an atmosphere of especial intimacy. He is giving them what we could consider as his final recommendations: what is normally said in the last moment, in the last farewell; that which has an especial force, as if it would be the last will.

Jesus Christ quietly suffered to please the Heavenly Father with an act of costly obedience, through which He willingly offered Himself for our salvation.

There would be plenty to speak about as to why the word of the Gospel does not reverberate with strength and conviction; as to why we, Christians, keep a leery silence regarding what we believe in, in spite of the so called “new evangelization”.

What Jesus says and does emanates from the Father, and the Father fully expresses Himself in Jesus. Whatever the Father wants to tell us is to be found in the Son's words and deeds.