Tag Archives: Fr John Flader

Love for the priesthood

Icon of Christ the eternal high priest

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We can sometimes take our priests for granted, or even complain about them. In this meditation we look at what our priests do for us and how we can help them. We consider:

  • Jesus Christ, the eternal high priest, instituted the priesthood to continue his priestly ministry down the ages
  • Priests do so much for us: celebrating the sacrifice of the Mass in order to offer this pure sacrifice to the Father, to leave Christ in the tabernacle and give him to us in holy Communion; forgiving our sins, anointing us when we are in danger of death, teaching us the faith…
  • St John Vianney, the Cure of Ars, has beautiful things to say about the priesthood
  • St John Paul II wrote wonderfully about what people expect from priests
  • We should give thanks for our priests and pray for them so that they will be holy and faithful
  • We should pray too for seminarians, for young men considering a priestly vocation and for families, the seedbed of vocations

Seeing Christ in others

Charity, as St Paul writes, is the greatest of the virtues (cf. 1 Cor 13: 13) but it is also one of the hardest to live. A big help in being more kind and generous is to see Christ in everyone around us. In this meditation we consider how:

  • Christ taught us that whatever we do to the least of our brethren we do to him (cf. Mt 25:40).
  • Our Lord showed us by his example how to love others and he gave us the New Commandment to love others as he has loved us (John 13:34).
  • We love others because God first loved us (cf. 1 John 4:19).
  • St Mother Teresa of Calcutta was truly exemplary in seeing Christ in the poorest of the poor.
  • Those closest to us have the first claim on our love.

The Gifts of the Holy Spirit

Stained glass image of Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit, also called the Paraclete, is the third person of the Holy Trinity. One of its more popular symbols is that of a dove.

 

 

 

When we were baptised we received along with sanctifying grace and the infused virtues the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. Few people truly understand the important role of the Gifts in the spiritual life. In this meditation we consider:

  • The announcement of the gifts in the prophecy of Isaiah
  • The nature of the gifts and their relationship with the virtues
  • The role of the gifts
  • How we can use each of the Gifts to better advantage in our spiritual life

Prayer for the holy souls

Purgatory

Purgatory

In the month of November we pray especially for the souls in purgatory, but we should pray for them always. They are forgotten by many here on earth but we can be their good friends by praying and offering Masses and good works for them. In this meditation we consider:

  • Why some souls go to purgatory
  • How our prayers and suffrages can help them
  • The two principal pains these souls undergo and their great happiness
  • What we can learn from apparitions of two souls in purgatory, one to St Margaret Mary Alacoque and another related in the book Hungry Souls by Gerard van den Aardweg

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

Take up your cross

Christ carrying the Cross - Titian

Christ carrying the Cross – Titian

With the occasion of the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross we consider how Christ invites us to take up our own cross and follow him. We cannot be soft and comfort seeking if we want to be Christ’s followers. Rather we must be strong willed  in order to be effective in bringing Christ to others. In this meditation we consider:

  • Christ’s exaltation on taking up his cross
  • His invitation to us follow him
  • The difficulties we face in the world, the flesh and the devil
  • The need to be strong willed and how we can grow in fortitude
  • The example of the Paralympians
  • Thoughts of St Josemaria in his books The Way and Furrow

The barren fig tree

Christ and the fig treeChrist tells the apostles that it was he who chose them and appointed them to go out and bear fruit, fruit that would abide. He has said the same thing to us. In this meditation we consider: