Tag Archives: Catholic

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

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

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

The Prodigal Son

Prodigal Son 2

 

One of the most beloved parables is that of the Prodigal Son, who leaves his father’s home for a life of sin, then repents and returns to a warm embrace and a big celebration. Jesus gives us the parable to tell us that if we are sorry for our sins, God our merciful Father will always forgive us, no matter what we have done. In this meditation we consider:

  • The story of the Prodigal Son
  • Why Christ gave us the sacrament of Penance
  • Why telling our sins to a priest corresponds to our human nature
  • Ten benefits of going to confession
  • How regular confession helps us grow in holiness
  • What Pope Francis says about the importance of confession
  • How we should help others make use of this sacrament

Meditation “Blessed the merciful”

The parable of the prodigal son is mercy perosnified.

A great example of mercy is the parable of the prodigal son.

Now that the Jubilee Year of Mercy proclaimed by Pope Francis has begun, it is good to meditate on this important virtue so that we can discover new and better ways to live it out in our daily lives. In this meditation we will consider:

  • How God is merciful to us
  • What the Scriptures say about mercy
  • The nature of mercy
  • Why it is so important that we live mercy ourselves
  • The seven corporal works of mercy
  • The seven spiritual works of mercy

Meditation “Preparing for Christmas”

Christmas is a celebration of the birth of our saviour.

Every nativity scene you look at always has Mary, our holy mother with her son and St Joseph, her spouse.

Now that we are in Advent, we want to prepare well for Christmas. A good way to do this is by the hand of Our Lady. After all, she too prepared for the birth of Christ. In this meditation we consider nine lessons Our Lady gives us about how to prepare for this great feast:

 

 

 

  • Avoiding sin and going to confession
  • Docility to the will of God
  • Charity with others
  • Spreading joy
  • Presence of God
  • Not complaining about hardship
  • Penance
  • Contemplation and meditation
  • Bringing Christ to others