Meditation

We must create, amongst ourselves, a climate of tolerance and mutual respect with the conditions for steadfast and loyal confrontations, where it is possible to seek different ways of dialogue. As for us Christians, rather than hardening and wrongly consecrating our positions by manipulating God’s word and identifying him with our own attitude,...

The blessed fra Giles of Assisi, one of St. Francis' friars and friends, summarizes the idea of this Gospel when he says: "Pray faithfully and devotedly, because a grace God has not granted you once, He may grant to you some other time. On your part, humbly place your whole mind in God, and God will place his grace in you, as and when He pleases".
 

We can see right away that the prayer, according to Jesus, is something like a “father-son” kinship. That is, a family matter based on a relation of closeness and love. The image of God as a father speaks to us of a relationship based on affection and intimacy, not on power and authority.
 

On the path of sainthood not any two souls are exactly alike. We all try to love God, but within our own style and personality, without imitating anyone. Our models are Christ and the Mother of God. Do you resent how others treat God? Try to learn from his personal piety.
 

Jesus' proposal is clear: "Go then and do the same". It is not a theoretical conclusion of the debate but an invitation to live the reality of love, which is not only an ethereal feeling but a behavior that overcomes social discrimination and arises from a person's heart. St. John of the Cross reminds us "at the twighlight of your life you will only be examined of love".
 

“If you want to be useful, serve”, asserted St. Josemaría Escrivá; he wanted us to understand that “to be useful” we have to live a life of generous service without seeking honors, human glory or applause.

St. Augustine writes: "What can we better carry in our heart, or say with our mouth, or write with the pen, than these words ‘Thanks to God’? There is nothing that can be said so briefly, nor listened to with more joy, nor make you feel with more elation, nor done with more profit". 

"Whoever listens to you listens to me" (Lk 10, 16). These words ending today's Gospel are a call to conversion and are bearers of hope. If we listen to Jesus' voice, we still have time. Conversion happens when love banishes selfishness from our life, which is a permanent unfinished task.

Let us learn from this celebration of the archangels “ascending and descending” upon the Son of man, that they serve God, but they serve him for our sake. They glorify the Holy Trinity, and they do it while serving us. And, consequently, we realize how much devotion we owe them and how grateful we should also be to the Father who sends them for our own good.

Christian life demands this radical following of Jesus. Radical, not only because it must be guided, all the way, by the Gospel (hence, to the last days of our life), but, mostly, because all their aspects, from the most extraordinary to the most ordinary ones, want to be and must be the manifestation of the Spirit of Jesus Christ inspiring us.

Today the Gospel offers us two main points for personal reflection. In the first place, it tells us that "when the days in which He was to be taken to heaven were completed, Jesus made the decision to go to Jerusalem" (Lk 9, 51). The verb that Saint Luke uses means "to complete", "to consummate";...

Jesus' reaction to the thoughts of his disciples —and, perhaps, their remarks, too— reminds us of the old prophets' style. Before words come gestures. Jesus "took a little child and stood him by his side" (Lk 9, 47). Afterwards, comes the teaching: "the least among you all, is the one who is the greatest" (Lk 9, 48).

Today, Jesus confronts us with the social iniquity direct consequence of the growing inequality between rich and poor. As if belonging to one of these awful scenes we are used to watch on TV, the Lazarus' yarn hits us, and achieves the sensationalist effect to prompt our emotions: "Even dogs used to come and lick his sores" (Lk 16, 21). 
 

Today, that the Creator of all Life announces his own delivery into the hands of those whom He has come to save in exchange of his own life, is quite a provocation. It can be said that it was not necessary, that it was an exaggeration. But we keep on forgetting the heavy load overwhelming Christ's heart, our sin, the most radical evil, cause and effect of our placing ourselves in the place of God. 

There is a second question for us: "Who then do you say I am?" (Lk 9, 20). This becomes a fundamental question knocking at our door; a question demanding from each one of us: adhesion or denial; veneration or aloofness; to walk along with him and in him or just end up a relationship of simple sympathy...

Today, the Gospel tells us how Herod was anxious to see Jesus (cf. Lk 9:9). Such an urge to see Jesus was born out of curiosity. A lot was being said about Jesus because of the miracles which He was performing. Many spoke about Him. And Jesus’ behavior was bringing to the minds of a lot of people the names of several prophets: Elijah, John the Baptist etc. 

In his conversion we can see God's mercy, as shown by Jesus' answer to the Pharisees' criticism: “I desire mercy, not sacrifice. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.” (Mt 9, 13).
 

Jesus tells us what we need to do to likewise pertain to his family: "those who hear..." (Lk 8, 21) and to hear him we must get close to him, as his own relatives did, when they went where He was, but could not get to him because of the crowd. But, then, they tried to get closer.

Today, a Gospel as brief as this one, is all the same rich in themes appealing to our attention. In the first place, “to give light”: everything is clear in God's eyes! Second great theme: Graces keep in line, if we are faithful to one, we receive one blessing after another: "Gratia pro Gratia" (Jn 1, 16).
 

Are you so selfish that you only think of amassing material goods, even if it is as the Gospel's steward did, by lying, stealing, by being stingy, hard-hearted and indifferent to others' needs? Do you ever ponder over St. Paul's words? "God loves a cheerful giver" (2Cor 9, 7). Be generous!
 

"If we would learn to live by trusting more in the Divine Providence, assured —with a strong faith!— of its daily protection that never fails us, how many worries and fears should not we avoid! All those chimaeras, that in Jesus' words are normal to the pagan world, to the worldly men, would simply disappear (cf. Lk 12, 30), of the persons who are missing a supernatural feeling (...).

Today, in the Gospel, we can appreciate what a normal day in the three years of Jesus' public life should have been. St. Luke explains it in a few words: “Jesus journeyed from one town and village to another, preaching and proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of God” (Lk 8, 1). This is what we contemplate in the third Mystery of Light of the Holy Rosary.
 

Today, in the celebration of the feast of our Lady of Sorrows, we hear the most unspeakable words in the mouth of old Simeon: “You yourself a sword will pierce” (Lk 2, 35). From its context, we can assert this declaration does not only concern Jesus Christ's passion, but his missionary work,...

We do know the Cross was the most ignominious and heinous torture of its time. To exalt the Holy Cross would therefore be some sort of cynical joke, were it not for the crucified Christ hanging on it. The cross, without the Redeemer, is sheer cynicism; but with the Son of man the Cross is the new tree of Wisdom.

In reading this fragment of the Gospel about the resurrection of that young man of Naim, we could emphasize Jesus' divinity and stand fast on it, by saying that only God could have brought back his life to this young man; but, today, I would rather stress Jesus Humanity as, here, we do not see Jesus as a remote being, or as someone very different to us...
 

Today, we are faced with an interesting question. Why did the captain in the Gospel not personally approach Jesus but rather, sent messengers ahead with the request to heal his servant? The captain answers this question for us in the Gospel passage. "You see I didn't approach you myself. 

Today, we are to consider one of the most celebrated parables of the Gospel: the parable of the prodigal son, who, while realizing the gravity of his offense to his father, goes back to him and is received with immense joy.
 

It is not enough to get close to Jesus, but we have to listen, with the maximum attention, to his teachings and, most of all, to prompt them into action. For even the curious, the heretic or the history or philology scholar may approach him... So only by coming close to him, and basically, by practicing Jesus' doctrine, shall we be able to build a building of Christian saintliness...

Today, the words of the Gospel make us think about how important examples are along with procuring an exemplary life for others. Yes, indeed, we have a saying that goes "“Friar example” is the best preacher", and another one saying "an image is worth a thousand words". 

Today, Jesus' genealogy, the Savior that had to come and be born of Mary, shows us how the work of God is interwoven into human history, and how God acts in the secret and silence of every single day. At the same time, we can see his reliability to accomplish his promises. Even Ruth and Rahab (cf. Mt 1, 5), foreigners, converted to the faith of the only God, were our Savior's ancestors.