In this passage, Joseph is defined as an “upright man.” He was reluctant to take Mary and the child into his home not because he believed his wife to be an adulteress, but because he considered himself upright. The Gospel overturns this mentality, typical of religious people of all times, namely: to consider God’s gift… Read more »
Prayers
Third Sunday of Advent 2019
God of the Living, Not the Dead
John the Baptist, the greatest of the prophets, has doubts and asks: “Are you the one who is to come?” John, a man of the Old Testament, was formed in that school in which God is not only the God of the living, but also of the dead, in the sense that he can also… Read more »
Second Sunday of Advent 2019
Life and Fruitfulness
John the Baptist, the point of transition from the Old to the New Testaments, from religion to faith, invites us to welcome that love which has now become a Presence alongside us, because love–a gift–can only be received. It is not something to be understood, studied or learned. It is a presence to be welcomed… Read more »
First Sunday of Advent 2019
Love: A Raft of Salvation
They did not know…. Life is a practice of attention. The drama is to live unconsciously–passively, routinely–in such a way that inattentiveness becomes the principal feature of one’s existence. In the end, the “flood”–biological death–will touch everyone and will submerge those who always lived as though dead because while death cannot touch the living, it… Read more »
Christ who is your life
Saint Anthony of Padua
Christ who is your life is hanging before you so that you may look at the Cross as in a mirror. There you will be able to know how mortal were your wounds, that no medicine other than the Blood of the Son of God could heal. If you look closely, you will be able… Read more »
Prayer
Saint Cyprian
Therefore let us pray, beloved Brethren, as God our Teacher has taught us. It is a trusting and intimate prayer to beseech God with his own word, to raise to his ears the prayer of Christ. Let the Father acknowledge the words of his Son when we pray, and let him also who dwells within… Read more »
Hymn On the Pearl
Saint Ephrem
I placed (the pearl), my brothers, on the palm of my hand, to be able to examine it. I began to look at it from one side and from the other: it looked the same from all sides. (Thus) is the search for the Son inscrutable, because it is all light. In its clarity I… Read more »
Easter Sunday 2019
Acts 10:34, 37-43; Ps. 118; Col. 3:1-4; Jn. 20:1-9 Christ is risen! Alleluia! “Christ is risen; he is truly risen! Alleluia!” With these simple words voiced by the first Christians, I want to wish all of you a blessed Easter. May the light of our hope never die out and may our courage in… Read more »
Palm Sunday 2019
Is. 50:4-7; Ps. 22; Phil. 2:6-11; Lk. 22:14–23:56 I too…would have… Every year, the solemn Liturgy of Palm Sunday once again offers us a reading of the Passion of Jesus: a moving account that should be well-pondered, allowing it to enrich our life. Permit me to offer a reflection that springs from my heart… Read more »
Fifth Sunday of Lent 2019
Is. 43:16-21; Ps. 126; Phil. 3:8-14; Jn. 8:1-11 It Is Always Possible To Start Over We are all very familiar with the words of Jesus, taken from the Gospel of this Fifth Sunday of Lent: “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” In… Read more »