Tag Archives: Catholic

The Annunciation

The Annunciation, shwoing St Gabriel announcing to Mary the good news.

The annunciation, the Archangel Gabriel telling out Holy Mother the good news of her being chosen to be the mother of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

 

On the feast of the Annunciation we celebrate Mary’s yes to God, which brought the Son of God into the world and our redemption near at hand. It was a momentous moment in the history of salvation and it all depended on the response of a young girl. In this meditation we consider:

  • Why we needed to be redeemed and why God chose this way to bring it about
  • The call of Mary and Joseph from all eternity to fulfil their roles
  • The eminent virtues of Mary and Joseph
  • The significance of the angel’s message to Mary
  • A prayer to Mary by St Bernard calling upon her to say yes
  • Mary’s response and our own promptness and saying yes to God

Jesus and the Eucharist

Our Lord, Jesus Christ, depicted with the Holy Eucharist, a sacrament He founded during His Last Supper.

In the words of St Josemaria Escriva, the Eucharist should be the “centre and root” of the spiritual life. After all, the Eucharist is Jesus himself, who gives himself to us as the nourishment of our soul and who waits for us in the “prison of love”, the tabernacle. In this meditation we pray about how we can grow in love for Jesus in the Eucharist, using words that Catalina Rivas puts on his lips in her book The Passion, published by the Apostolate of the New Evangelization. We consider:

  • Why Jesus washed the feet of the apostles before instituting the Eucharist
  • The many fruits that come from receiving Jesus well in Holy Communion
  • The sorrow of Jesus when people receive him unworthily
  • The story of a Chinese girl who was killed  for her love of the Eucharist
  • How we can grow in love for Jesus by keeping him company in the tabernacle

Unity in the Church

St Peter's Basilica

St Peter’s Basilica

In the Last Supper Christ prayed that all might be one. He wants all in his Church to be united with the hierarchy and with one another. Sometimes this unity can be lacking. In this meditation  we make use of the Catechism of the Catholic Church and writings of the Fathers of the Church, to pray about:

  • The three bonds that unite all in the Church: our common faith, worship and government
  • How we can live each of these bonds better
  • How important it is to foster unity in the Church

Rechristianising society

City street image

Christian influence in today’s society is challenged in many ways.

Two thousand years ago, Jesus Christ sent twelve men out to change the world. They succeeded. Within some 350 years, under the Emperor Theodosius the Roman Empire, that had persecuted the Church for 250 years, declared Christianity its official religion, giving rise to the Holy Roman Empire. Now the Christian influence in society is waning and is under attack. All the baptised are called to bring Christ and his teaching back into society.

In this meditation we consider how:

  • Christ sent the apostles out to teach all nations and they were very successful
  • The Christian influence on society is now challenged in many ways
  • The Second Vatican Council called all the baptised to help rechristianise society
  • We should not be daunted by the immensity of the task
  • St John Paul II called upon the youth to improve their world
  • We begin by growing in holiness ourselves
  • There are many things each of us can do to make a difference
  • Our Lady, Help of Christians, is our advocate in this task

The power of the Rosary

our-lady-of-the-rosary

Our Lady is our intercessor. And, we can ask her to intercede for us using the rosary.

The rosary is a beautiful prayer, in which we honour Our Lady in the Hail Marys and we meditate on the life of Christ in the mysteries. It is also a powerful prayer, which has brought about many great and small blessings over the centuries. In this meditation we consider how:

  • St Dominic used the rosary to win over the heretics
  • The battle of Lepanto was won with many people praying the rosary
  • The communist regime in Russia collapsed after many rosaries were said in response to Our Lady’s request at Fatima
  • Many people have been converted through the rosary
  • Families who pray the rosary find peace and harmony
  • The rosary is a great comfort to the sick and the dying
  • Those who pray the rosary are helped to grow in love for God and Our Lady

Witnesses for Christ

Christ sends the apostles

We are called to be witnesses to Christ. Here we see our Lorde sending out his disciples.

 

Christ has called all the baptised and sent us out to be his witnesses in the world, to bear fruit that will abide. If we are to fulfill this mission we must be branches very much united to the vine. We do this through our life of prayer, following a daily plan. In this meditation we will consider:

  • Our calling to be witnesses for Christ
  • How we must be branches united to the vine
  • The need for a daily plan of spiritual activities, just as we have a daily plan of meals, work, relaxation and sleep
  • The principal activities of this plan

The heart of Mary

Icon of the heart of Mary

The Immaculate Heart of Mary

When the soldier pierced the heart of Christ as he hung on the cross, the spear pierced the heart of Mary too. Her heart and his were one. In this meditation we consider how:

  • Mary pondered the mysteries of Christ in her heart
  • Her heart and his were united throughout their lives
  • Mary suffered intensely with Jesus at Calvary
  • St Bernard considered Mary to be truly a martyr
  • Mary loves us as she loves Jesus

Life of Prayer

vocal prayer and mental prayer

 

 

 

In our hectic life it is essential to find the time each day to stop and converse with God in prayer. In this meditation we consider:

  • Why we should pray
  • The different forms of prayer
  • The qualities our prayer should have
  • How to deal with distractions in prayer

Christ our Light

Resurrection of Christ

Christ’s resurrection on the first Easter Sunday

At a time of much spiritual darkness and evil in the world, the light of the risen Christ at Easter brings light and hope to all. In this meditation we consider:

  • Christ’s resurrection and appearance to Mary Magdalene
  • The risen Christ has overcome the world
  • We have received the light at Baptism but can lose it through sin
  • We should return to the light through confession and help others to do so
  • We should keep our light burning and make it grow ever more brightly
  • We should share our light with many others

Do not judge

christ-and-the-woman-taken-in-adultery-1653-oil-on-canvas-louvre-paris-france-poussin

 

We all tend to judge others, to criticise them, find fault and be judgmental. The encounter of Our Lord with the woman caught in adultery has much to teach us about how to be less quick to judge. In this meditation we will consider:

  • Our Lord’s encounter with the woman caught in adultery
  • Reasons why we tend to be judgmental
  • What we can do to be less ready to judge and more ready to forgive
  • Words of St Josemaria Escriva from his book The Way