Tuesday, December 4, 2012

John 1:12

“But to all who received him, he gave power to become children of God” (Jn 1:12).


One finds this verse in the Christmas liturgy in which we meditate on the coming of God on earth.

In the Christmas liturgy the readings emphasize that God Himself reveals Himself, He Himself gives Himself to us, entering into our lives, He brings forth the source of our future from the base of our lives.

Since He united Himself to us, He became radically God-with-us and God-for-us; by now His reign has definitively begun. The sun no longer illuminates beyond the horizon of only a few stars that bear witness to Him, but goes beyond the line of the horizon; it rises, it wants that it might be full day.

So what happens to me, for you, for every man?

We can walk and live in the light of God, in the present and eternal light of God. “The true light that enlightens every man was coming into the world” (Jn 1:9)! With these words, Jesus means to tell us that God has radically changed His position with regard to our lives, Who breaks in this life of ours, and with Him the future passes into a durable present, which no fear and no insecurity will be able to put in doubt.

The Source of the future makes itself present; God arises and from the periphery He comes to the center of our life.

But to be able to “become children of God” we must do our part. One reads in the two verses before this verse:
“He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, yet the world knew Him not. He came to His Own home, and His own people received Him not” (Jn 1:10-11).

Relativism, according to Pope Benedict XVI, is "the most profound difficulty of our time." (http://popebenedictxviblog.blogspot.it/2005_05_01_archive.html).

In his homily at the Mass preceding the conclave that quickly elected him Pope Benedict XVI, then Cardinal Ratzinger said: “How many winds of doctrine have we known in recent decades, how many ideological currents, how many ways of thinking. The small boat of the thought of many Christians has often been tossed about by these waves - flung from one extreme to another: from Marxism to liberalism, even to libertinism; from collectivism to radical individualism; from atheism to a vague religious mysticism; from agnosticism to syncretism and so forth. Every day new sects spring up, and what St Paul says about human deception and the trickery that strives to entice people into error (cf. Eph 4: 14) comes true. Today, having a clear faith based on the Creed of the Church is often labeled as fundamentalism. Whereas relativism, that is, letting oneself be "tossed here and there, carried about by every wind of doctrine", seems the only attitude that can cope with modern times. WE ARE BUILDING A DICTATORSHIP OF RELATIVISM that does not recognize anything as definitive and whose ultimate goal consists solely of one's own ego and desires.” (http://www.vatican.va/gpII/documents/homily-pro-eligendo-pontifice_20050418_en.html; http://www.ignatiusinsight.com/features2005/colson_relativism_may05.asp).

I believe that there are a great number of people who are in the illusion of being OK with their own conscience, or according to the standards of the world, or according to the common thought (“everybody does it”), or according to the criteria of the devil, BUT NOT ACCORDING TO THE CRITERIA OF GOD, that is, according to THE TRUTH! This is the fundamental deception of Satan from the beginning of mankind and always (Gen 3:4-5)! We human beings are very capable and astute in deceiving ourselves, WILLFULLY, and then we forget about it so easily! This is the great trap of today for countless souls. Few people go to confession today. When we die, Jesus will ask us if we sought the truth in His revelation in Sacred Scripture interpreted by His Church, or if we decided and determined ourselves, alone (like little gods!), the truth. The other day a man who never goes to Mass said to me in his store: “I am totally ok” (“Io sono apposto”). And I asked him: “According to who?” For him, totally immersed in relativism, there is only one “who”; himself. God, the Bible, the Church have nothing to do with his conviction: “I am totally ok”! BUT WHEN HE DIES, WHO WILL DECIDE IF HE IS TOTALLY OK OR NOT?

In this period of Christmas let us spend more time with Him, Who loves us more that everyone else, with Baby Jesus, before the Tabernacle, in order to let this Baby speak to our hearts, to let His graces slowly penetrate and make soft our hearts in order to be able to trust in Him and His holy Will even if we must change our lives and suffer with Jesus on the cross. This Baby loves us much more than we love ourselves if only we let Him by trusting Him instead of our own intelligence and our own human wisdom. Let us ask help from this Baby’s Mother who leads us sweetly with much love to her Child and helps us to become like her Son. In this way we can truly “become children of God”!

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An Experience of Life:

On 28 November I was in Abidjan with my husband, who was in need of medical check-ups, while our children were still in Man (Ivory Coast). That night the city was taken by the rebels. As soon as we found out, we called the boys trapped there (the phone was still working), urging them to be very careful and to follow the recommendations that we were giving them. That same night, however, four rebels broke into our home. After robbing our children of the little money they had and of their cell phones, they wanted to recruit by force our Jean-Louis who has a physique of an athlete. In vain did the brothers begged them to leave him alone.

Suddenly, inexplicably, the leader of the rebels gave up his idea, and while he was leaving the house he whispered in the ear of our eldest daughter, “Get out of here as quickly as possible: this time they are letting your brother go, but they will return tomorrow.” Then he indicated the path to take.

It might be a trap? God only knew. In any case, the boys left at the break of dawn. With very little money, they walked 45 kilometers before coming to a town from which to continue the trip on a truck. But the price of transport, given the situation, had tripled. An unknown man invited them to get in the truck while paying their fare; despite the insistence of the boys he did not want to give them his address so that they could later reimburse him.

Having arrived at Duokoué, our children found shelter from a family also unknown. They were refreshed, they washed themselves and were accompanied to the station to take a bus to Abidjan.

Upon their arrival in Abidjan, my husband and I cried seeing the terrible condition of our boys, but the thing that struck them more was the experience of the love of God. The next day we took them to Dabou, to their uncle’s place. The first thing that Jean-Louis asked was where he could find a church. “Do you know, Dad – he confided - your God is really powerful!” It was he who, although baptized, but not yet having strong roots in the faith, had come to doubt in God’s existence.

Christine, Ivory Coast



Friday, November 2, 2012

John 14:23

“Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him” (John 14:23).


Living the Word, as a response to Love, determines the presence of Jesus in those who love Him and trust in Him.

And in this lived reality, Jesus approaches the people and the people rediscover the joy of meeting Him.

The Word must be so well known and announced, but - because the word of God that has the smell of the earth and the taste of heaven - is first and foremost welcomed, loved and lived. Then it will give its fruits!

For this reason, believers have no reason for worry and anxiety. Our pains, unforeseen calamities, absurd diseases can remind us of Jesus' cry, "My God, why hast thou forsaken me?".

Let us try, then, to recognize Jesus in every hardship, the constrictions of life, in all the darkness, the personal tragedies of others, sufferings of humanity that surrounds us. It is He, because He has made them His own. It will be enough to tell Him with faith: "It is You, Lord, my only good"; it will be enough to do something concrete to relieve "His" suffering in the poor and unfortunate, in order to go beyond the door, and find beyond a joy never felt, a new fullness of life”(Chiara Lubich).

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An Experience of Life:

We are a group of boys from a small town in northern Italy, and for a good bit of time we have decided to commit ourselves to live the new commandment of Jesus, that is to love each other as He has loved us, in order to build among us a little piece of a united world. So, every two weeks, we meet in my house to spend some time together as well as to share with each other how each one of us has tried in the last two weeks to love and to live the words of the Gospel.

Communicating the experiences is very important to us; it helps us, in fact, to strengthen the unity among us and to overcome some of the difficult moments. Trying to put into practice the words of the Gospel, we discover how beautiful it is to love whoever passes by us: the elderly person to whom you give your seat in the bus; the immigrant who you meet at the traffic light, the classmate who is unable to resolve a problem or is going through a difficult time, the friend who seems too domineering, and the brothers and sisters with whom you share the room, and, it seems strange, but also the teachers that are not so pleasant.

Of course these experiences will not be mentioned in the history books. But the joy of unity that is created between us which we want to bring to so many other boys, reciprocates 100 times all the effort that sometimes we may encounter in building it.

Mirco, Alex, Mario and Vincenzo

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Luke 5:5


‘If you say so, I will let down the nets’ (Lk. 5:5).


The crowd had gathered around Jesus to hear His word. The disciples were in the boat from where the Master spoke; after a night of wasted effort, they experienced, in obeying His Word, the abundance of fruit. The fatigue and the amazement of Peter and his companions for that invitation so unexpected, gave way to trust and surrender to Jesus, and from that moment on they became fishers of men, that is, called to continue His mission.


In this passage Jesus calls every believer, precisely when the faith is put to the test in many ways. To follow Jesus means decision, commitment, perseverance, while in this world, everything seems to invite us to relax, to mediocrity, to 'let go'. The task seems too big, impossible to achieve or seen as a failure beforehand. But, like Peter, it is precisely the fruitlessness, sin itself acknowledged and confessed to Jesus, which becomes the place not of failure but of the call.


On your word, O Lord ... I get back to continuing that task half done, I try to restore that broken relationship, I get out of myself to help ... It is necessary to have trust in His Word, never doubting about what He asks of us. On the contrary, basing every moment of our life on His Word.


We will base, in this way, our existence on what is more solid and safe, and we will contemplate in amazement that precisely there, where every human resource fails, He intervenes and that there, where it is humanly impossible, we will gather the fruits of life.


Alberto P.

 
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An Experience of Life:

It had been a few months since the day I had embraced, full of hope, the new job in Belgium among the Flemish. But now a sense of fear and loneliness gripped my soul. It seemed that between me and the girls with whom I was working and living, there was erected an insurmountable mountain. I felt isolated, foreign among the people that I only wanted to serve with love. Everything depended on having to speak a language that was neither mine, nor of those who listened. I was told that in Belgium people speak French and I had learned it, but in direct contact with the people I realized that the Flemish study French only in school, and generally speak it reluctantly. So many times I tried to move that wall of exclusion that kept me away from the others, but in vain. What could I do for them?


I still saw before me the face of my companion Godelieve, full of sadness. That evening she had gone to her room without food. I had tried to follow her, but I had stopped at the door of her room, shy and hesitant. I wanted to knock ... but what words to use to make oneself understood? I remained there for a few seconds, then I gave up once again.


The next morning I went to church and sat down in the back, with my face in my hands so as not to show my tears. That was the only place where there was no need to speak another language and where it was not even necessary to explain oneself. I looked down on the Gospel of that day and found: "Have faith, I have overcome the world." These words descended like oil into the soul and I felt a great peace. Returning for breakfast, I noticed that the first to come down from the rooms upstairs was Godeliève, who was looking for a coffee in a hurry, in order not to see anyone. But there she stopped; perhaps my peace had touched her heart in a stronger way than any words.


That evening, on the way back home, Godeliève joined me with the bike and trying to speak in a way understandable to me, whispered to me: "Your words are not necessary; today your life told me: love, also you!" . The mountain had moved aside.


Lella


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In this Word of Life we read:
“After a fruitless night, Peter, who was an expert at fishing, could have just smiled and refused Jesus’ invitation to let down the nets during the day, which was a less favorable moment. Instead, going beyond his own reasoning, he trusted in Jesus.”

How many “Catholics” “just smiled and refused” Pope Paul VI’s encyclical Humanae Vitae and did not “go beyond their own reasoning in order to trust in Jesus” and now we see the prophecies of this encyclical being fulfilled in the destruction of the fundamental cells of our society, the family?

POPE PAUL VI PROPHESIED TO US ABOUT THE “GRAVE CONSEQUENCES OF ARTIFICIAL METHODS OF REGULATING BIRTHS” IN HIS ENCYCLICAL: HUMANAE VITAE:
Consequences of Artificial Methods
“Responsible men can become more deeply convinced of the truth of the doctrine laid down by the Church on this issue if they reflect on the consequences of methods and plans for artificial birth control. Let them first consider how easily this course of action could open wide the way for marital infidelity and a general lowering of moral standards. Not much experience is needed to be fully aware of human weakness and to understand that human beings - and especially the young, who are so exposed to temptation - need incentives to keep the moral law, and it is an evil thing to make it easy for them to break that law. Another effect that gives cause for alarm is that a man who grows accustomed to the use of contraceptive methods may forget the reverence due to a woman, and, disregarding her physical and emotional equilibrium, reduce her to being a mere instrument for the satisfaction of his own desires, no longer considering her as his partner whom he should surround with care and affection.” (Humanae Vitae, no. 17; http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/paul_vi/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-vi_enc_25071968_humanae-vitae_en.html).

WHEN SO MANY COUNTRIES FOUND THEMSELVES WITH MORE WELLBEING AFTER THE SECOND WORLD WAR, as well as with the discovery of the “pill” (1960), many Catholics (and non-Catholics) were expecting the Church, guided by the “ROCK” (Mt 16:18), to update itself according to the mentality of the world. And so when Pope Paul VI issued his prophetic encyclical, “HUMANAE VITAE” (1968), there was an incredible negative reaction not only on the part of lay men and women but also on the part of numerous so-called “theologians”, priests and bishops, even entire Episcopal conferences (e.g., the ‘Winnipeg Statement’ of the Canadian Bishops)! We cannot imagine what darkness this brings down on earth this radical egoism in the heart of the fundamental cell of society, THE FAMILY! And then we ask why the world is in such bad shape and the economy is coming down!?! For the first time in the history of the world, there are more grandparents than children who work to pay for the pensions of the grandparents!

IT WAS EVEN AGAINST THE CIVIL LAW IN MOST COUNTRIES 60 YEARS AGO TO SELL OR BUY BIRTH CONTROL DEVICES precisely because they understood 60 years ago in a culture of life how much damage is done by these things to the marital relationship and thus to the family. Sixty years ago in a more wholesome environment, it was instinctively understood that each person had to make little sacrifices for the common good. Today there is virtually no concern for the common good unless if effects directly the egotistical desires of the individuals. This has everything to do with all that we are seeing today. The basic decomposition of our beloved country and the whole western world, the meltdown of western civilization, is tied into this.

WHEN THE ANGLICAN CHURCH FIRST APPROVED THE USE OF CONTRACEPTION IN 1930 IT WAS ONLY FOR SERIOUS REASONS and only for married people who have been generous for life. However, by providing an opening for contraception, the qualifying phrase “for serious reason” was quickly ignored. Subsequently the use of contraception was viewed as virtuous behavior, and even the silent holocaust of abortion has become a private ethical choice of birth control. The unborn, unwanted babies no longer have any legal protection; they are now ripped to pieces after they are brutally murdered. What nice words! “Freedom of choice” of the woman! This is “freedom” to kill for our conveniences and our comfort?!? This is a fundamental example of how modern and egotistical men have detached freedom from the truth as Pope John Paul II indicated in “Evangelium Vitae”. BABIES DO NOT CHOOSE TO DIE!

AS SOON AS ONE DOES NOT SEE LIFE AS A PRECIOUS GIFT BUT ONLY AS A COMMODITY OF CONVENIENCE, OUR SOCIETY DESCENDS INTO THE CHAOS OF HELL IN THE CULTURE OF DEATH!

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How many Bishops and priests “just smiled and refused” to obey the “Instruction on the Manner of Distributing Holy Communion”, “MEMORIALE DOMINI” and did not “go beyond their own reasoning in order to trust in Jesus”?

WHEN THERE IS LACKING FAITH AND HUMILITY BEFORE THE MOST BLESSED SACRAMENT THE GRACES RECEIVED PERSONALLY AND FOR THE WHOLE CHURCH AND FOR THE WHOLE WORLD ARE GREATLY DIMINISHED! Our nuclear spiritual bomb to be able to support the world in this “cosmic struggle” (John Paul II) is reduced to a fire cracker, or worse, a punishment! When Catholics slid into this subtle defect which seems to many insignificant, the whole world suffers more than we can imagine. Even the Satanists believe in the Eucharist; they seek to acquire the consecrated Hosts in order to profane them at their black masses; at the major basilicas of Rome and in many other churches, there is a guard next to the priest who distributes Holy Communion to make sure that the people put the Body of Christ in their mouth and do not take It out of their mouth.

Bishops and priests who have not obeyed the living Pope will have to answer for all of the souls under their care at the moment of death. A subtle mistake of a jet pilot can kill all the passengers; a passenger changing his seat to the other side of the plane affects the flight very little. On May 29, 1969 the Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship issued “MEMORIALE DOMINI”, containing the Instruction on the Manner of Distributing Holy Communion, which is still in vigor and could be summarized as follows: the prohibition of receiving Holy Communion in the hand remains in vigor in the universal mode and the bishops, priests and faithful are heartily exhorted to diligently follow this law newly reasserted. Nonetheless, WHERE THIS USE MAY HAVE BEEN ENTRENCHED AND INTRODUCED IN AN ILLICIT MANNER, there is provided the possibility to concede to those sectors which are NOT DISPOSED TO OBEY THIS EXHORTATION. (http://www.rinascimentosacro.com/2008/11/itinerario-verso-il-fatto-compiuto.html; http://www.ewtn.com/library/curia/cdwmemor.htm).

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The children of parents who did not obey Holy Mother Church have taken this logic of veiled egoism and lack of respect and humility before the infinite God in the Eucharist among so many church-going Catholics even further.

Visit: “An Open Letter To A Fellow Priest” (http://testimony-polo.blogspot.com/2009/11/open-letter-to-fellow-priest.html).

Monday, September 3, 2012

John 4:13-14


“Every one who drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst; the water that I shall give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (Jn 4:13–14).


How much one suffers of thirst today, and they all run to drink again, not yet convinced to have mistaken the source!

Is there a source that refreshes? Yes, it is Jesus.

Today activism drains us, it pushes us into a race so anxious so as to lose direction, and one wastes infinite energies in the pursuit of very provisional goals.

Only by satiating that thirst which makes you feel loved by the Father, fully valued and accepted by Him, placing in His hands every concern, looking to Jesus for the Words of Light that assign to every dimension of life the right value, you discover that you no longer need to run because you have already arrived, you are in Christ, in the fullness of life and you move in His presence.

Will you allow yourself to love yourself? To find a space worthy for your interior life, for prayer and meditation, in order to say thank you, in order to ask for pardon, in order to recognize your limits and your greatness? You would become a person with whom one likes being around, like being near the source! … and near the springs rose up entire cities!

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An Experience of Life:

After the first few years of marriage, we moved to a house that best suited our needs. This house had a large garage. Often, we wondered what to make of this environment, which had remained unused for years.

As a married missionary couple of the Community of Villaregia, we wanted to give to our family life the color of the missionary outreach. The work of Tino allowed us to have some free afternoons which we utilized to collect clothing and medicines in the various collection centers for the mission, existing in our area.

Four years ago, we had an idea: why not make available the garage for storage and distribution of medicines? This insight increased the vitality of the family. Every Tuesday, about fifty people gather in our house to select drugs to be shipped in the containers. From early afternoon until late in the evening, there is a steady stream of adults and young people who offer their services to the poor brethren. Last year, thanks to the generosity of so many physicians and pharmacists, and the constant commitment of this group of friends, we were able to prepare thirty-two crates of medicines, worth about three million euros.

Even our four children, not withstanding their study commitments, participate in the initiative, happy to make space within the domestic walls, for brothers near and far.

Tino e Marta (Tombelle (VE), Italy)

Saturday, August 4, 2012

Matthew 10:32-33


“So every one who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven; but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven” (Mt 10:32-33)

At the time he wrote, Matthew wrote to Christians who already experienced opposition and persecution. It was an invitation to testify without fear the Kingdom of God, the Gospel that we have discovered and received as "the treasure".

But the courage, the valor in the face of unforeseen difficulties, we cannot give this virtue to ourselves: it comes from our Father who knows the number of our hairs and follows us as beloved children. Our "security", serenity and peace, because we trust by believing the Word of Jesus, will then be the most eloquent testimony. Then, at the opportune moment, can follow the spoken word, but it will serve to the extent in which it will be the fruit of our being abandoned to Love.

A great number of Christians today have swallowed the lie of Satan that Satan and hell do not exist because God is Love. Even many bishops and pastors do not believe that the devil exists (http://www.speroforum.com/site/article.asp?id=2879) and prefer to tell the people in their diocese and in their parishes what they think the people want to hear! Satan disguises himself as an angel of light (2Cor 11,14) and thus does not tell us the whole truth that God, Who is true Love, respects our dignity created in the image of God (Gen 1:26-27) and thus respects our choice, our free will. If a person during his whole life does not seek the Truth (big “T”) outside of his head but fabricates the comfortable truth (little “t”) in his head, God at his death, will confirm this choice and that person will be separated from the Truth, Who is God, for all eternity. The saints explain that this definitive separation of the creature from the Creator is more painful than all other pains in hell put together. Here on earth, whether we believe it or not, those of good will and those not of good will are surrounded by the love of God. At death, God, out of love, will confirm our choice for all eternity!

Even Pope John Paul II had to insist firmly to the US bishops to “acknowledge the Truth (Jesus) before men” and to fight against this "pick and choose smorgasbord type Catholicism" in LA in his September 1987 visit: "It is sometimes reported that a large number of Catholics today do not adhere to the teaching of the Church on a number of questions, notably sexual and conjugal morality, divorce and remarriage. Some are reported as not accepting the Church's clear position on abortion. It has also been noted that there is a tendency on the part of some Catholics to be selective in their adherence to the Church's moral teachings. It is sometimes claimed that dissent from the Magisterium is totally compatible with being a “good Catholic” and poses no obstacle to the reception of the sacraments. This is a grave error that challenges the teaching office of the bishops of the United States and elsewhere. I wish to encourage you in the love of Christ to address this situation courageously in your pastoral ministry, relying on the power of God's truth to attract assent and on the grace of the Holy Spirit which is given both to those who proclaim the message and to those to whom it is addressed" (http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/speeches/1987/september/documents/hf_jp-ii_spe_19870916_vescovi-stati-uniti_en.html).

When Saint John the Baptist said to Herod “it is not lawful” to have the wife of your brother, he lost his head (Mt 14:1-12). How many Christians are ready to loose their head to “acknowledge” the Truth, Jesus, “before men”? How many people today do not want to hear the words “it is not lawful” by way of the example of authentic Christians, and want to get rid of the true Christians in the public square or put their heads “on a platter” as they did to Saint John the Baptist, in order not to hear anymore “it is not lawful”?

Our good witness and prayers are more important today than ever before in the history of the world. When few people pray, those aliened in the army of Satan go forward. The technique to brainwash our heads and lead us in a direction that we do not want to go, without us knowing it, is highly developed today, having taken control of the motors of the culture: the mass media, the schools and almost all of the religious institutions. The true Christians feel tremendous pressure to not acknowledge the Truth, Who is God, before men in the public square. Today “free sex” is considered the thing to do, a good; chastity in ones state of life is considered very strange. “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness” (Is 5:20).

If you might want to have a little taste of how the forces of evil are becoming incarnate today in the world, visit: “Catholic Prophecy Today” (http://markbeast.blogspot.com). In particular to understand how they are brainwashing us in a very destructive and sly way, as well as the well planned strategy to get rid of true Christians out of the public square and to make them feel as hypocrites, read the section: “37. The Astounding Impact of the Ruthless Manipulation of Militant Gay Activists!”.

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An Experience of Life:

There was a great silence in the classroom while the professor of philosophy was teaching. Her speech was perfect: logical, convincing and exciting. And yet inside of me a small voice was urging me to be on guard, to defend the truth. That way of thinking in fact was very dangerous. Following the thought of that philosopher of which she was speaking, we would come to conclusions very absurd.

She said that man can be happy only if he lives alone, if he has plenty to drink and to eat, if he has a house to rest. She even stated that man’s life came about by chance and that the soul is mortal, destined to end with the body.

After the explanation the teacher asked what we thought. Some of my companions said that they agreed with the thought that she had exposed. But I had a very different opinion. Overcoming the fear of being alone against the whole class, I raised my hand to be able to speak, sure that the Holy Spirit would suggest to me what to say. I began by explaining that the life of every person is a precious commodity that comes from God, and not by chance, and that we fulfill ourselves not so much by estranging ourselves from the world and thinking selfishly for ourselves, but rather if we love and live for others.

How is it possible to say that God does not exist? Just look at the balance and harmony of nature to be certain of His presence. Just think of man, of his greatness, who has the capacity to understand that his life comes from God and is destined to return to Him.

The words continued to come out of my mouth with great confidence, while the class watched me very attentively. I realized that in that moment I was like an instrument that God was using to illuminate my companions. At the end of my intervention everyone began to agree with me. They realized it was not right to adhere to the thought of that philosopher.

On leaving the school, the professor of philosophy came up to me and whispered: “You know, it was very nice what you said! It helped me a lot and even your classmates now think like you.

It was the first time that I decided to speak openly of my ideas, and God was at my side.

Anna Rosaria (Rome, Italy)

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Father Joseph Dwight

Ps.
It is becoming very quickly, in the world today, very difficult to acknowledge Jesus, the Truth! How many Christians are ready to loose their titles, prestige and work, and enter into poverty in order not to deny Jesus, in order not to deny the Truth and to not commit a grave, mortal sin, which kill the soul?!?



MARY ANN GLENDON EXPLAINS WHY THE BISHOPS ARE SUING THE U.S. GOVERNMENT

The main goal of the mandate is not, as HHS claimed, to protect women’s health. It is rather a move to conscript religious organizations into a political agenda, forcing them to facilitate and fund services that violate their beliefs, within their own institutions.



UK DOCTORS WHO REFUSE TO PERFORM SEX CHANGES CAN BE BANNED FROM PRACTICING

The General Medical Council has issued guidance warning that it would be “discriminatory” for doctors not to prescribe either the pill or morning-after pill because they disagree with people having sex before marriage.




Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Matthew 13:12

“To anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” (Mt 13:12)





This passage from the Gospel of Matthew is part of the parable of the sower. The seed is the Word. The Word is not just something added to man, something which man can do without. The earth (the human creature) and the seed (the Word) in fact were created one for the another. It makes no sense to think of the seed without a relationship with the soil. And the soil without the seed is an uninhabitable desert. Man as we know him, if he cuts off all relations with the Word becomes an arid steppe. The Word is just right for the land. It meets and crosses the aspirations of man, his problems, his sins, his longing for salvation, his accomplishments in the personal and social fields.

And Who is this Word? It is Jesus, the Word that has made His dwelling among us. In the word of Jesus is present Jesus Himself Who speaks, Who speaks to us. And so we meet Him in the Word. And receiving the Word in our hearts, as He wants it to be received (that is, being ready to translate it into life), we are one with Him and He is born and grows in us, and so "we are". But for this we must live the Word, make it our own, we set aside ourselves for the Word; to put it above our thoughts, our affections. And with the Word, blooms the Christian community.

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An Experience of Life:

The words of the Gospel continue to make us wonder, especially regarding the "giving".

And so to make available the most immediate and effective practical help we created a site on the Internet. We called it "electronic sharing." There appears a list of offerings: clothing, tools, rental houses, available lessons, possibilities for holidays ... and a list of needs. This simple tool has proven very useful, we have been able to help many people.

For example, a woman abandoned by her husband, with two sons, underpaid work, poor health, needed a car to go to work.

A family discovered this need by way of the "electronic sharing" and offered their car at a very affordable price. Other families offered a contribution to buy the car which was then fixed up. Within a few days the car was delivered and a party was held. Emotion and gratitude. Actually, even that lady offered a contribution to those who find themselves in difficulty.

J. T., Hungary

Sunday, June 3, 2012

John 6:27


“Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.” (Jn.6:27)

The feast of the Body of Christ runs a risk: that Jesus offered to us today as Bread, might be admired, contemplated, adored along the streets and squares, but then He remains closed in the monstrance and tabernacle.

But Jesus says: “take and eat”! So how should we live concretely the gift of the Eucharist?

We need to take and eat. That is transform ourselves into Jesus, to be Him. To live not for ourselves, but that Jesus might be, live and work among Christians.

Christians then, among themselves, if they want to be totally committed, must conduct themselves as members of one body. But this is not enough. During the day this communion must become concrete in social relations in a spiritual communion in actions and material goods.

This applies for Christians. But for those who do not communicate in the sacrament of the Body of Christ? We ourselves must be communion for them with our body: by loving we give Jesus.

Indeed, allowing ourselves to be "eaten" by others, we make ourselves Eucharist for them. Letting ourselves to be eaten means to be people who do not impose themselves, but who make themselves one with everyone, suffering with those who suffer, rejoicing with those who rejoice, participating in the life, problems, struggles, and joys of others.

In a continual giving of love they make of themselves a bridge between Jesus and humanity so that the invitation of Jesus will reach the others: “Take and eat, this is My Body!”.

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An Experience of Life:

At work something that always saddened me a lot was to see that, when a reprimand was to be given, it was done before everyone; in fact it happened that a coworker was reprimanded in the department.

I always asked Jesus that there might be a good time to do something about this. Sometime ago there was a trade union meeting and at the end of a talk of a union organizer he asked if there were any questions or problems to deal with. It was the opportune moment to intervene. And so I raised my hand and I explained my point of view, saying that I had witnessed reproaches made to colleagues in public and with offensive words and I saw it was not right: if a colleague had worked badly or had made a mistake, it was the duty of the manager to let him know, but it should have taken place between them.

My words caused a general murmur of approval. A few days after our union rep told me that my speech was very important; she knew that they had spoken at the summit and we both noted that afterwards we did not witness a similar scene. She once said: "I willing talk with you because you are a humane and fair person. I was once like you too; I tried to help everyone, then I saw that when I myself needed help no one did anything, so now I just mind my own business.

I listened to her trying to "make myself one" and I sensed that there was a lot of suffering under her words. I told her that I understood because I had to face in life many trials, but one thing I was certain: to turn ones back on people was not the right solution to be well.
 
(Daniela, VR)

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Luke 12:49


“I came to cast fire upon the earth; and would that it were already kindled!” (Lk 12:49).

Immediately after these words in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus continues: “I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how I am constrained until it is accomplished!” (v.50).  The fire may be the purifying Holy Spirit or charity. The baptism is the baptism of blood of the Passion (cf. Mk 10:39). This fire of the Holy Spirit, of true charity, is set aflame only through “the baptism” of the sufferings in our lives embraced out of love in union with Jesus on the cross. Paul said: “Indeed I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Phil 3:8).

We do not lose our lives for Jesus, or better, we do not find ourselves in Him only through martyrdom, but also by doing His will with love moment by moment.

Pius XI, speaking of the life of St. Therese, entirely spent for love, defined her life as “daily martyrdom”, a witness of heroic love. Those who train everyday in this martyrdom of love find themselves prepared, if they might be asked, to undergo martyrdom of blood: all this in order to find themselves in Jesus.

Three butterflies desired one day to draw closer to the fire to understand it. Stopping to observe one of them said: “It is something that gives light.” The second, feeling the heat, said: “It's something that warms.” But the third one took off in flight, went deep into it and became of itself a living flame. It alone understood what really is the fire!

If salt does not accept to be dissolved, it would not be worth anything; if wood does not accept to be burned, it would not give heat and would rot needlessly. “Whoever loses his life for My sake shall find it”.

A song is not a song until it is sung; a bell is not a bell until it is rung. By its very nature, love is not love until it is given away!

From the pierced heart of Jesus gushed forth, as two rivers, blood and water, figures of baptism and the Eucharist. By living these two sacraments, which makes us children of God and one in body with Jesus, we can enter the heart of Christ and, through Him, into the abyss of love of the Trinity.

This transformation process takes place each time, while making ourselves empty in order to love, we become capable of receiving the gift of Jesus in every neighbor we encounter.

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An Experience of Life:

Every act of love turns on a light. If then this takes place in the deepest darkness of hatred, then it provokes an explosion of light. Today, in our modern secular culture, there is less true Christian love than every before.  
George Bielecki, a prisoner of Auschwitz, wrote about what happened when Father Kolbe offered his own life to save a prisoner condemned to death:

“It was a huge shock for the whole prison camp. We realized that someone among us, in that dark spiritual night of the soul, had raised the measure of love to the highest peak. A stranger, one like everyone else, tortured and deprived of his name and social condition, offered himself to a horrible death to save someone who was not even related to him. Thousands of prisoners convinced themselves that the world continued to exist and that our torturers could not destroy it. More than one individual started to seek this truth within themselves, to find it and to share it with other comrades in the prison camp.

To say that Father Kolbe died for one of us or for the family of that person would be an understatement. His death was the salvation of thousands of human lives. And in this, I could say, lies the greatness of that death. And as long as we live, we who were at Auschwitz, will bow our heads in memory of what had happened. That was a shock to us that brought back to us optimism, that regenerated us and gave us strength; we were dumbfounded by his gesture, which became for us a powerful burst of light capable of illuminating the dark night of the prison camp…”


Tuesday, April 3, 2012

John 15:3

You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. (Jn 15:3)

(http://www.focolare.org/en/news/2012/04/01/aprile-2012/)

One finds this verse in the passage where Jesus speaks of the vine and the branches (John 15:1-8). These disciples of Jesus "have already been cleansed" because they live the word of Jesus, each one individually and together as a community.

The true vineyard is the community of those who adhere to Jesus, as the branches to the stump. Only he who remains united to Jesus, as the vine to the branches, belongs to the Father's vineyard. The disciple who follows Jesus is called, every day, to give his response to the Word, and in this way is grafted into Jesus. The Word of Jesus, accepted and lived, is like a seed of rebirth, like a germ of life, destined to grow incessantly in those who live it. An ever greater fidelity to the Word is the condition of every apostolic activity. The branch can have apostolic power only to the point that it is rooted in the Lord, bearing witness to Him in sorrows, trials and even death. This indwelling of Christ is a strong and courageous, manly and daily faithfulness. Because this fidelity of the disciple is guaranteed by the faithfulness of the Lord: "I in him."

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An Experience of Life:

Simone Weil, a Jewish converted to Christianity, looking one day at the tall and slender plants, with long and leafy branches, commented that these branches, flooded with sunlight, by way of the phenomenon of chlorophyll, transmitted the lifeblood to the whole plant and thus the roots branched deep into the earth. Concluding her paper, Simone Weil posed a question: "But the plants, then, where do they have their roots, in the earth or in heaven?". And she herself replied: "In Heaven". And she concluded: "So too we have our roots in heaven, and the more one is rooted in God, so much the more one becomes man and so much the more one enters into humanity and becomes companion to each man.”

Thursday, March 1, 2012

John 6:68

‘Lord to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life’ (Jn 6:68)

(http://www.focolare.org/en/news/2012/03/01/marzo-2012/)

How many words we hear in a day! There are simple and difficult words, those for love or for hate, those which soothe or make angry. There are tender words or words of reproach. There are words that are imprinted in the memory, which enter into the heart, others that slip away and that we forget quickly. Jesus, after the multiplication of the loaves and fishes, turns to the crowd with a long speech. In the first part He speaks of the mystery of His Person. In the second part Jesus pauses to talk about the bread of the Eucharist. And He identifies Himself with this Food: it is He, Jesus, the living Bread. He who eats It deeply unites himself to God and can live for God Himself.

The listeners were surprised and found it difficult to receive these words. This is why so many leave. Jesus sees the uncertainty of faith even among the twelve. Jesus asks them also to take a position. Peter responds on behalf of the friends with an authentic profession and experience of Christian faith: he recognizes and testifies that only the revelation of Jesus can lead into the divine life: "You have words of eternal life," of the fullness of life. The words of Jesus are words of life. Not only because they can be put into practice, but also because when you live the words your life takes on a particular fullness. We learn to hear the word of God, distinguishing it from a thousand other words that pass by. It is the Word of a Father Who wants the good of the children and this is why He gives us words that give meaning to daily life.

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An Experience of Life:

I went many times to visit Franca in prison. Her pain, her anguish, within the walls of the prison grew every day. I just felt helpless, but every now and then I could give her a bit 'of serenity.

One day she said to me: "I like you because you are like me ".

She had expressed the desire to come to our home during the periods of leave. We talked with the children and together we received her with joy. There was with us, at that time, our mother, rather ill, and it was surprising to see how she knew how to console Franca.

Then there was a special Christmas; Franca was already at our house when we received the news of the arrival of my brother with his whole family.

Knowing his way of thinking I was afraid that the presence of Franca would upset him. Instead, seeing our willingness and the joy that Mom felt in helping the unfortunate girl, after a first moment of surprise, he was taken up by the climate of solidarity without judgment. Franca had found the warmth of a family.

N.S., Italia

P.s.

I highly recommend reading the book:

The True Devotion To Mary,

By St. Louis De Montfort.

(http://www.catholictradition.org/Classics/secret-mary.htm).

In particular read paragraphs 47-59 for our very particular period of time in the history of the world and of the Church.

Blessed Pope John Paul II wrote about this book:

“The reading of this book was a decisive turning point in my life. I say ‘turning point,’ but in fact it was a long inner journey… This ‘perfect devotion’ is indispensable to anyone who means to give himself without reserve to Christ and to the work of redemption.” “It is from Montfort that I have taken my motto: ‘Totus tuus’ (‘I am all thine’). Someday I’ll have to tell you Montfortians how I discovered De Montfort’s ‘Treatise on True Devotion To Mary’, and how often I had to reread it to understand it.”

Friday, February 3, 2012

Mark 1:15

Repent, and believe in the gospel. (Mk 1:15)

(http://www.focolare.org/en/news/2012/02/01/febbraio-2012/)

In the primitive Church Lent was a precious time dedicated to the “catechumenate”, that is to the preparation for the Sacrament of Baptism at the Easter Vigil. Also for us who have already received the gift of the Christian life, Lent is a precious moment to reflect on the received gift, not only to “feel” part of the baptized people, but especially to “live” as baptized people.

This is what it means to “repent”, to overturn our hearts, that is, to go to God with a “new heart”. Conversion is not just about a pagan who embraces the faith in Christ the Savior, but every Christian, in fact the more one is holy, feels even more the need to go to God with the “heart renewed”. To this we are invited in the walk of forty days, helped by the gift of the word of God, because it becomes life of our life, similar to how bread that we eat becomes our flesh.

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An Experience of Life:

I CONDEMNED A DEAD MAN

I committed a big error. I knew that John had died in a sad shameful way: after a night out in drunkenness with prostitutes. He was rich, he had a wife and children, but he also had some really bad habits.

Today will be held the funeral. They called me to bless the body. I said that I would not go. Because of the life that he lived up to the last moment – I replied – he did not deserve the blessing of the Church. I felt I had to defend justice, to give a good example to the people, to do, you might say, my duty.

I was left alone; I did not have peace. I asked myself what would Jesus have done in my place and I was ashamed of myself. In this moment of sorrow, while the wife and the children are crying because there is no longer Dad because he left in that way, I, who could bring a little relief, I condemned a dead man! I know this man from the outside; only God knows him from the inside. I am not his judge, but Jesus Who for him poured out His Blood! That night I was not able to sleep.

The next day I went to find the widow and the children. I asked for their pardon and we made a date for the funeral Mass. The fact became known to the people: the priest went to ask pardon! Perhaps this gesture evangelized more than all of my homilies!

Father E. P. (Italy)

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Colossians 3:1

“If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.” (Col 3,1)

(http://www.focolare.org/en/news/2012/01/01/%C2%ABse-dunque-siete-risorti-con-cristo-cercate-le-cose-di-lassu-dove-si-trova-cristo-assiso-alla-destra-di-dio%C2%BB-col-31/)

An icon of the Eastern Churches depicts the Risen Christ that breaks down, in a powerful way, the door that holds the dead prisoners. The hinges and even the nails fly in every direction. Jesus stretches out His arms: with one hand He pulls out Adam, and with the other Eve. In the first human couple is represented humanity snatched from death and brought into the kingdom of the risen Christ.

Jesus with His death descended into the abyss of our anguish, of our death, of our sin, to raise us up to heaven. Being incorporated as members, in Him, we already participate in His resurrection, and we are already risen in him, in the heart of the Trinity. But, while we are itinerants on the earth, the work of sanctification continues unrelentingly. Every day we see the gap between "what is above" and our fragility that leads us to give up. "Up there" sin and death can no longer enter and the Father's will is perfectly done. Instead, as long as we are on this earth, we are exposed to thousands of difficulties and temptations that can slow or even divert our path toward false goals.

Knowing the struggle that is in us, St. Paul urges us: "Risen with Christ, seek the things above." He urges us to engage ourselves in order to witness in our surroundings the realities that Jesus brought to earth: the spirit of concord and peace, service to others, understanding and forgiveness, honesty, justice, fairness at work, fidelity , purity and respect. Affirming with our lives these realities, we bring the world to better reflect the life of "above".

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An Experience of Life:

Twenty years, and the belief that to live my life meant to do whatever I liked. A circle of friends beyond the limits of legality: drugs, disco, hooliganism, clashes with the police, the thirst for money and power, fights between rival gangs.

My brother had started at that time to hang around with new friends who immediately struck me: they had between them a relationship very different from what I had lived with my gang and they lived taking seriously the words of Jesus. God for me was nothing and those guys intrigued me, but I could not understand them: I watched them so that later I could have a good laugh with my friends.

Then, the accident: a car struck me while I was on a motorcycle going to the disco. The drama of a moment: if my life had ended, what was left in my hands? I in a flash there appeared to me all of the futility of my years spent chasing nothing, that left me nothing. And a suddenly flash: a trip to the mountains many years before, a person who had proposed that I entrust my life to God. By now it was too late to do it, or perhaps God had accepted that prayer?

At the hospital, none of my friends ever came to see me. Instead the girl friend of my brother came immediately and stayed by me all the days of hospitalization. With her, slowly, was born a friendship and deep esteem and I discovered that her God-Love could transform and enrich even my life.

"Love one another as I have loved you," Jesus repeated even to me: it was a radical revolution. In my heart I said yes. I drastically decided to get out of the gang. It was not easy. But there were my new friends to support me and the personal love of God to give me strength. I felt reborn and the Gospel indicated to me, step by step, the way to go.

Susy F., Milan (Italy)