Tag Archives: Jesus Christ

Mary, Ark of the Covenant

Mary, our mother is the Ark of the C ovenant.

In the Litany of Loreto we call Our Lady “Ark of the Covenant”. In this meditation we use texts from Scripture to see how Mary truly deserves this title and how we can learn much from it for our own spiritual life. We consider how:

  • In the book of Revelation Mary, after a long and quite ordinary life on earth, appears in heaven in all her glory as the Ark of the Covenant. We too can look forward to heaven after an ordinary life lived with love for God.
  • Mary bears Jesus, the Word of God, in her womb, just as the Old Testament Ark contained God’s word on tablets of stone. We too have Jesus in our soul and we bring him into the lives of those around us by our smile, our kindness, our faith.
  • Mary, with Jesus in her womb, goes to visit her relative Elizabeth, bringing great joy to that household, just as we bring joy to others when we reflect Jesus in our lives.
  • Mary appears in heaven attacked by the devil, and she helps us overcome temptations when we ask for her intercession.

On the road to Emmaus

In the afternoon of the Resurrection, two discouraged disciples of Jesus left Jerusalem for the nearby town of Emmaus. Christ met them on the way without revealing who he was. He showed them from the Scriptures how he was meant to suffer and die. When they reached Emmaus the disciples begged Jesus to stay with them and when, with great joy, they recognised him in the breaking of the bread, they returned to Jerusalem that very night to tell the apostles what they had experienced. In this meditation we consider how:

  • We too can go through difficult times which make us worried and sad, but Christ is always there for us
  • Like the disciples, we should open our hearts to those who guide us in our spiritual life
  • Our hearts, like those of the disciples, will burn within us when we encounter our Lord in prayer, the Scriptures and the sacraments
  • We discover that suffering unites us with Christ and can be a true blessing
  • Our Lord sends us out, as he did the apostles, to announce to others the good news of his resurrection and love for mankind.

Lessons from the Manger

From the manger in Bethlehem, the infant Jesus has much to teach us. In this meditation we use texts of Scripture to consider seven of his lessons, which are all important for our spiritual life:

  1. Love
  2. Spiritual childhood
  3. Contemplation
  4. Humility
  5. Detachment from comforts
  6. Zeal for souls
  7. Peace and joy

Learning from the humanity of Christ

 

Everyone wants to be a better person. But what do we mean by this? Who is the standard, the model? It is obviously Christ himself, perfect man as well as perfect God.  In this meditation we use texts from Scripture to consider the humanity of Christ and some of the many virtues we can learn by contemplating it, among them:

  • Love for God and neighbour
  • Spirit of service
  • Kindness and compassion
  • Forgiveness
  • Humility
  • Fortitude
  • Chastity
  • Joy

Lessons from Holy Week

Holy Week should be holy not only in its name and in the events we commemorate, but in the way we live it. In this meditation we consider the numerous lessons we can learn from this week and how we can put them into practice. We will consider:

  • Palm Sunday – praising God by our life
  • Holy Thursday – frequenting the sacrament of Penance
  • Washing of the feet – spirit of service
  • Institution of the Eucharist – love for the Eucharist and prayer for priests
  • Prayer in the garden – spirit of prayer
  • Passion and death – spirit of penance
  • Jesus gives us his mother – love for Mary
  • Resurrection – joy and hope

Bringing our friends to Christ

A paralytic is lowered through the roof by his friends for Jesus to cure him.

In his Gospel St Luke relates how the friends of a paralytic went to great lengths to take him to Christ, going onto the roof of the house and lowering him down through the opening they had made. We too should do all we can to bring our friends and relatives to Christ. In this meditation we use texts of Scripture, St John Chrysostom and St Josemaria to consider how:

  • Christ wants all to be saved but he needs us to help him
  • For some of our friends and relatives, we are the only one in a position to help them find Christ
  • We can help them in various ways: explaining how important the faith is for us and for them, giving them an article or book to read, inviting them to a talk and, always, praying for them

Lessons from the Cross

Jesus crucified

Our Lord, Jesus Christ, crucified.

Jesus’ passion and death teach us many lessons.  In this meditation we use texts from Scripture and St Thomas Aquinas to consider some of the many virtues Christ teaches us from the Cross:

  • Charity
  • Humility
  • Patience
  • Obedience
  • Fortitude
  • Perseverance
  • Joy

One with Christ

A depiction of our Lord, Jesus Christ

Through Baptism we become members of the Mystical Body of Christ. We become one with him. He lives in us and we live in him. In this meditation we use texts of Scripture,  St John Eudes, St Josemaria Escriva and St John Paul II to consider how:

  • We can ask Jesus to let us see with his eyes, hear with his ears, love with his heart and think with his mind
  • We should act in such a way as to make Christ present to those around us
  • We can grow in union with Christ through reading and meditating on the Gospels, receiving him well in Holy Communion, acting as he would act in our situation, and struggling to overcome the defects which obscure his image in us

John the Baptist, Precursor of Christ

In the lead-up to Christmas, the liturgy reminds us repeatedly of the important role of St John the Baptist, the precursor of Jesus in preparing the people to receive him. In this meditation we consider:

  • The similarities between the annunciations by the archangel Gabriel to Zechariah and Mary  of the birth of a child
  • The importance of John’s role as the last and greatest prophet to announce the way of the Lord
  • John’s virtues of detachment from comforts and humility that make him so efficacious in carrying out his role
  • John’s efficacy in announcing Christ to two of his own disciples: John the Evangelist and Andrew
  • Our own mission of making Christ known to the people of our day

United to the vine

Christ chose his apostles and gave them the mission to go out and bear fruit, fruit that would abide. He warned them that they would be persecuted as he was. After his ascension into heaven they went to the upper room to pray. We too have been sent out, into a very damaged world, and we too need to be very united to the vine of Christ if we are to hold on to our faith and share it with others. In this meditation we consider how:

  • We are united to the vine of Christ through our life of prayer and penance
  • We need a daily plan for our spiritual life just as we do for our bodily life
  • Having a plan gives us order and peace
  • Our plan might include such activities as mental prayer, Holy Mass, spiritual reading, the rosary, reading of Scripture, and a  visit to the Blessed Sacrament.