Give relief to those in distress, visit the ailing, help the poor: this is prayer. Prayer is good, and its works are beautiful. Prayer is accepted when it gives relief to one’s neighbour. Prayer is heard when it includes forgiveness of affronts. Prayer is strong when it is full of God’s strength. Aphraates, “the Sage”
Documents
Spiritual friendship
It is a blessed thing to love on earth as we hope to love in Heaven, and to begin that friendship here which is to endure for ever there. I am not now speaking of simple charity, a love due to all mankind, but of that spiritual friendship which binds souls together, leading them to… Read more »
Closure of the Centenary of the Pauline Cooperators
Rome, 30 June 2018 To All the Sisters Dearest Sisters, The first International Encounter of the Pauline Cooperators was a great feast of languages, cultures, songs and Pauline enthusiasm….a lively gathering marked by the colors of the world! The event, held to celebrate the Association’s Centenary, took place in Rome and in the places linked… Read more »
Imitating Jesus
Tolerating evil does not have to do simply with patience and resignation; it means imitating Jesus, carrying our burden, shouldering it for his sake and that of others. It means accepting the cross, pressing on in the confident knowledge that we are not alone: the crucified and risen Lord is at our side. So, with… Read more »
I have fought the good fight
Tolerating evil means overcoming it with Jesus, and in Jesus’ own way, which is not the way of the world. This is why Paul considered himself a victor about to receive his crown (cf. 2 Tim4:8). He writes: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (v…. Read more »
Study first of all the lectio of the divine Scriptures
Study them, I say. For we need to study the divine writings deeply… and while you study these divine works with a believing and God-pleasing intention, knock at that which is closed in them and it shall be opened to you by the porter, of whom Jesus says, “To him the gatekeeper opens”. While you… Read more »
God our Father
Help us to be a Church that goes forth, drawing near to all, especially the less fortunate. Teach us to be missionary disciples of Jesus Christ, the Lord of Miracles, living in love, seeking unity and practising mercy, so that, protected by the intercession of Our Lady of Evangelization, we may live the joy of… Read more »
52nd World Communications Day: To Become a Land and a Country
In the book The Moon and the Bonfires by Cesare Pavese, an Italian writer and poet, the protagonist–an orphan–closes his eyes to see if, upon reopening them, the world before him has disappeared and been replaced by a better one. Perhaps many of us have done the same thing at one time or another. And… Read more »
Toward the Synod on Young: #Withoutfilters
Speak courageously. Don’t be ashamed. Here, shame should be left at the door. Speak courageously. I say what I feel and if anyone is offended by it, I ask their pardon and move on. You know how to speak like this. But one must also listen with humility. If someone I don’t like is speaking, I… Read more »
Toward the Synod on Young: People Listening by Way of the Internet
The big event is drawing nearer. The XV General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, scheduled for October 2018, will focus on contemporary youth. The Church wants to listen to the new generations. The Synod will be about young people, but when Pope Francis announced the event, he revealed that his intention was to make… Read more »