Virtue is a personal “device” that Michel Foucault would have included in what he called “technologies of the self.” But the concept of “device” should be understood according to the meaning attributed to it by this significant French philosopher. A device is not a contraption, an instrument, an electronic gadget. In the present context,… Read more »
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 »
Prayer, the Rhythm of Life We have come to the end of the Christmas season. The Liturgy for the Feast of the Epiphany brings to a close our Advent reflections, pointing out to us, through the adoration of the Magi, the element on which the whole spiritual life is founded: prayer, or even better, adoration, that is,… Read more »
God’s Dwelling Place It is not by chance that the Feast of Mary, Mother of God, is also World Peace Day. In fact, the presence of the Spirit, which fills the heart and womb of Mary, reminds us that we will have peace only if we allow ourselves to be inhabited by the mystery we… Read more »
Christmas is here! God has been incarnated and reveals his glory. The Inaccessible One has finally made himself known. Only when the glory of God is proclaimed from the heavens can the peace which the angels announced at Bethlehem spread on earth. In fact, the last stage of our journey speaks to us precisely about… 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 »
Becoming Small so as To Welcome God’s Greatness The next step on our journey toward Christmas is to enter the mystery of “smallness”–a paradox because only those who are small are able to welcome the greatness of God. The Eternal One makes himself small: he whom the whole universe cannot contain takes on flesh and… Read more »
Allowing His Mystery To Shine Through Having reached the halfway point on our journey toward Christmas, we now celebrate the day on which we view every event from the perspective of joy. But if hope does not shine through that joy, then it is sterile folly. “Rejoice!” This exhortation is an important part of the… Read more »
To See the Invisible Continuing our Advent journey, let us now enter into what seems to be a paradox in the spiritual life, namely: to “see the Invisible.” Since the Second Sunday of Advent presents us with the voice as a basic element in helping us perceive what is imperceptible to our senses, it might… Read more »
