"We live in a world where love itself is condemned: people call it weakness, something to grow out of. Some are saying: «Love is of no importance, we should rather develop our strength; let each one become as strong as he can and let the weak perish!» Again, they say...
“Let your prayer be entirely simple. One word was enough for the publican and for the prodigal son to obtain God’s forgiveness (cf. Lk 15,21)… No pretentiousness in the words of your prayers; how often it is that the simple and unadorned stammerings of children sway...
Over the years, there have been many films about Mary. Most of them focus on Mary during the life of Jesus, or maybe one of her apparitions. Full of Grace covers a time period that is not frequently seen in films, taking place ten years after the resurrection of...
“Brethren, let no disagreement remain amongst you seeing that these are the holy days [of Lent]… Maybe you begin to say to yourselves in thought: “I want to make peace but my brother is the one who has offended me… and doesn’t want to come to terms”. What then?… In...
“Let us not be consumed with haste, as if time dedicated to Christ in silent prayer were time wasted. On the contrary, it is precisely then that the most wonderful fruits of pastoral service come to birth. There is no need to be discouraged on account of the fact that...
“The modern mind will accept nothing on authority, but will accept anything on no authority. Say that the Bible or the Pope says so and it will be dismissed without further examination. But preface your remark with ‘I think I heard somewhere,’ or, try but fail to...
“Remember then how our fathers worked out their salvation; remember the sufferings through which the Church has grown, and the storms the ship of Peter has weathered because it has Christ on board. Remember how the crown was attained by those whose sufferings gave new...
“The cheerful person always sees in any present evil some prospective good; in pain he sees a Cross from which will issue a Resurrection; in trial, he finds correction and discipline and an opportunity to grow in wisdom; in sorrow, he gathers patience and resignation...
“It is good for us to have trials and troubles at times, for they often remind us that we are on probation and ought not to hope in any worldly thing. It is good for us sometimes to suffer contradiction, to be misjudged by men even though we do well and mean well....
Perhaps, like me, you have already made and broken several New Year’s Resolutions. Maybe you haven’t made any, or maybe you are doing great with all your plans. But have you thought of choosing a patron saint for the year? I know people who spend hours chopping lists...
”The poor are thirsty for water but also for peace, truth and justice. The poor are naked and need clothing, but also need human dignity and compassion for those who sin. The poor have no shelter and need shelters made of bricks, but also of a joyful heart,...
”For in truth we are not called once only, but many times; all through our life Christ is calling us. He called us first in Baptism; but afterwards also; whether we obey His voice or not, He graciously calls us still. If we fall from our Baptism, He calls us to...
“In the mystery of our Lord’s incarnation there were clear indications of his eternal Godhead. Yet the great events we celebrate today disclose and reveal in different ways the fact that God himself took a human body. Mortal man, enshrouded always in darkness, must...
“Behold, goodness and kindness has appeared, the humanity of God our Savior” (Tit 3,4 Vg). Thanks be to God, through whose mercy in this our pilgrimage, in this our banishment, in this our state of misery, has also greatly increased our consolation… Before his...
“O what a novel and wonderful mystery! John has not yet been born but already he gives voice with his bounds; he has not yet appeared but already he manifests signs of his presence; he cannot yet cry and already he is heard through what he does; as yet he has not...
“Dear Brothers and Sisters, Today, we celebrate one of the most beautiful and popular feasts of the Blessed Virgin: the Immaculate Conception. Not only did Mary commit no sin, but she was also preserved from original sin, the common legacy of the human race. This is...
“What man knows all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge hidden in Christ and concealed in the poverty of his flesh? Though he was rich, yet for our sake he became poor, so that by his poverty we might become rich. When he made mortality his own and made...
“Where there is love, light shines forth in the world; where there is hatred, the world remains in darkness. In the stable of Bethlehem there appeared the great light which the world awaits. In that Child lying in the stable, God has shown his glory – the glory of...
“Look how gently the Lord invites us. His words have human warmth; they are the words of a person in love: “I have called you by your name. You are mine.” God, who is beauty and greatness and wisdom, declares that we are his, that we have been chosen as the object of...
This time of year, throughout the holiday season, we tend to hear a lot about the importance of being thankful. Some of us may ask, though, what about those moments or seasons in life when we just don’t feel like we have anything to be grateful for? Often our trials...
If a man tries to overcome temptations without prayer and patient endurance, he will become more entangled in them instead of driving them away. - St. Mark the Ascetic, On Spiritual Law
Sin is a blazing fire. The less fuel you give it, the faster it dies down; the more you feed it, the more it burns. St. Mark the Ascetic, On Spiritual Law
It is better to pray devoutly for your neighbour than to rebuke him every time he sins. - St. Mark the Ascetic, On Spiritual Law
First Defect: Jesus does not have a good memory (Luke23:42-43) During his agony on the cross, Jesus heard the voice of the thief at his right side: Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom. If it had been me, I would have answered him: “I won’t forget...
"Too late did I love You! For behold, You were within, and I without, and there did I seek You; I, unlovely, rushed heedlessly among the things of beauty You made. You were with me, but I was not with You. Those things kept me far from You, which, unless they were in...