After having moved through the streets of Nazareth in fresh, verdant Galilee, and from there journeyed south to Ain Karem and Bethlehem in dusty, sun-baked Judea, the travels of the Word come to a halt in Jerusalem (the Hebrew word Yerûšälaºim means “city of peace” and its Arabic counterpart, al-Quds, means “holy city”). The best… Read more »
Rome, 6 January 2018 To the Circumscription Superiors, Superiors of the Communities Dependent on the General Government and All the Sisters Dear Sisters, Today we are celebrating the Feast of the Epiphany–the feast of “light and traveling.” Guided by the light of Christ, the Magi first make a stopover in Jerusalem. These… Read more »
Dearest Sisters, It’s Christmas! The joyous announcement resounds: “Today a Savior has been born to you: Christ the Lord” (Lk. 2:11). Mary settles him into a new grotto–that of our earth, our history, our hearts. He comes as salvation, as Emmanuel, God-with-us. We are a poor grotto, stripped bare and empty, but in it shines… Read more »
Dearest Sisters The Gospel for the Feast of Jesus Master, Year A, invites us to reflect on the last evening of Christ’s earthly life. In the so-called “Cenacle” or Upper Room of a house in Jerusalem, he performs the surprising gesture of washing the feet of his disciples–an act that even Jewish servants were not… Read more »
Lord Jesus, in journeying towards the Synod, your Church turns her attention to all the young people of the world. We pray that they might boldly take charge of their lives, aim for the most beautiful and profound things of life and always keep their hearts unencumbered. Accompanied by wise and generous guides, help them… Read more »
It is the love of Christ that fills our hearts and impels us to evangelize. Today as in the past, he sends us through the highways of the world to proclaim his Gospel to all the peoples of the earth (cf. Mt 28:19). Through his love, Jesus Christ attracts to himself the people of every… Read more »
After stopping in Ain Karem, the Word of God moves on to Bethlehem. The Old Testament mentions two places that bear this name. One is in northern Palestine–in Galilee, to be precise, not far from Nazareth. Sprawling over a wooded hill, it is one of the 12 towns assigned by Joshua to the tribe of Zebulun… Read more »
The worst punishment we can inflict on another person is to say: “I’m not speaking to you anymore!” because in this case silence serves to exclude the other person from our life. It is not a way of chastising the person nor is it mutism. Instead, it is a profound negation of the other person’s… Read more »
May the Virgin Mother help us to say our own “yes”, conscious of the urgent need to make the Good News of Jesus resound in our time. May she obtain for us renewed zeal in bringing to everyone the Good News of the life that is victorious over death. May she intercede for us so… Read more »
Going on mission is not like tourism, and Jesus cautions them: “you will find persecutions”. Jesus’ dispatch [of the disciples] on mission does not guarantee their success, just as it does not protect them from failure and suffering. They have to take into account both the possibility of rejection and that of persecution. This is… Read more »