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FRIENDS and SERVANTS of the WORD Tuesday 18 January 2022 Ordinary Time 2 WORD of the DAY He shall say of me, ‘You are my father, my God, the Rock, my savior.(Psalm 88 (89) 27) How shall I live this Word? In our personal prayer when we invoke the Lord, we know from Jesus, that He is not a distant father, but an affectionate one, an Abbà, which means daddy, dad. In our prayers we can bring out all the love we feel towards an Abbà who will never be able to give us bad things as Jesus says in the Gospel according to Matthew “… how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” (Mt 7: 9-11 and Lk 11: 11-13). Precisely this certainty makes us aware that in our interior life, in the depths of our hearts, the more we invoke the Lord, the more our life will be sheltered from the elements. The invocations within our daily prayer, in addition to helping us to face the events of life, give us the strength to put His teachings into practice, because Jesus will tell us, “Not whoever says to me: Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of the heavens, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven” (Mt 7:21). Our security will be in doing His will and thus we will live in Him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word and my Father will love him and we will come to him and make our home with him.” (Jn 14:23). Abba’... read more
a current event, Accompaniment, Ad maiorem Dei gloriam and the salvation of souls!, Francis de Sales, Salesian Family Gatherings, Spirituality Days, Strenna
ALL-IN-ONE RESOURCE PAGE: https://donboscosalesianportal.org/salesian-family-spirituality-days-2022/ FROM ANS: Italy – SF Spirituality Days 2022: “We shall do all for love, nothing by constraint” (ANS – Turin) – The final session of the Salesian Family Spirituality Days is a more delicate moment: the extensive and fervent work of the regional groups of the previous days must arrive at a synthesis that indicates the “news” that emerged and the “intentions” for the year that opens. Just as Don Bosco wanted to impress a “strong thought” on his boys, so the Rector Major today must also be able to ascertain whether the thread that binds the 32 Groups to common inspiration is sufficiently robust, to ensure unity of purpose, and long enough, to envelop a reality extended to 134 countries. The “miracle” occurs: in the minute and a half assigned to each referent, it emerges that the topic has been adequately mulled over, both individually and by the 150 participants, and above all that each returns with a rich baggage to share in their respective Groups. Read More Italy – SF Spirituality Days 2022: “Do not be afraid of interiority because it brings children closer to God” (ANS – Turin) – “Every community is Cana of Galilee,” said the Rector Major, Fr Ángel Fernández Artime, in his homily at the conclusion of the 40th edition of the Spirituality Days of the Salesian Family. Starting from the commentary on the Gospel which commemorates what happened between Mary and her son, with the disciples also present at the wedding banquet, he remarked that “God is always at work where men and women spend their time, and this... read more
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FRIENDS and SERVANTS of the WORD Monday 17 January 2022 Ordinary Time 2 WORD of the DAY But Samuel said: “Does the LORD so delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obedience to the command of the LORD? Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission than the fat of rams.(1 Samuel 15:22) How shall I live this Word? Holocausts and sacrifices were acts of worship of that period; today the acts of worship are different but does the Lord want only these acts? If at home when I have to pray, a person rings the bell to ask me for help and I send him away so as not to be distracted from prayer, am I docile to the commandment “love your neighbor as yourself”? If while I go to church for a religious service, I meet a person in difficulty and go straight on my way, am I not acting like the priest in the parable of the Good Samaritan? (Lk 10:31). If we live the acts of worship (Mass, Liturgy of the hours, Rosary, personal prayer etc.) in a formal way, we can feel a false security because we have respected the rules. But if we live them with the heart, they lead us to obedience, to be docile to the Lord’s teachings, and we will imitate Mary who “is above all a model of that prayer which consists in making one’s life an offering to God.” (Marialis cultus at number 21, Pope Paul VI). Lord Jesus, help me to make my prayer, Your will be done and not just formal acts. The Voice of Blessed Anthony Rosmini Perfect charity... read more
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FRIENDS and SERVANTS of the WORD Sunday 16 January 2022 Ordinary Time 2 WORD of the DAY But one and the same Spirit produces all of these, distributing them individually to each person as he wishes. (1 Corinthians 12:7) How shall I live this Word? That person is each of us, you and me; no one is excluded. In each one the Spirit is like a fire that wishes to warms the people around us in ways that are in harmony with our history, culture, character, etc. It is the interior beauty that is manifested in our being, in the most diverse ways. If through fear, laziness, and other reasons, we remain jealously closed in our small circle, the world will continue in its logic and we will specialize in banalities, gossip, pessimism, etc. If we lessen the virus of egoism, much worse than that of Covid, and use these gifts for the common good, we will become the salt of the earth (Mt. 5:13) and will certainly collaborate with the Lord so that His Kingdom will come and thus build the Church. The Voice of Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini It is not easy to speak of the Holy Spirit. He is invisible and is everywhere, pervading each thing and beyond everything. All that is positive and beautiful coming into the world is His work. But in order to speak of Him, the easiest thing is to let Him speak, to listen to His story. E-mail: srmterzo@gmail.com Website: www.sanbiagio.org info@sanbiagio.org Blog: livingscripture.wordpress.com Comment by Claudio Del... read more
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FRIENDS and SERVANTS of the WORD Saturday 15 January 2022 Ordinary Time 1 WORD of the DAY Some scribes who were Pharisees saw that Jesus was eating with sinners and tax collectors and said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” Jesus heard this and said to them, “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.” (Mark 2: 16-17) How shall I live this Word? The most significant events and the most enlightening words were done by Jesus at table. In this passage we find two closely related scenes, the call of Levi and the meal with sinners. The first teaches that our sin does not prevent Jesus’ call. The meal with sinners shows the patience that Jesus has towards those who follow Him, but who have not yet completely broken with evil. Eating and drinking with these men, Jesus addresses His word of salvation to everyone and does not exclude anyone from His company. For Him, there is no separation between ‘saints’ and ‘sinners’. The Eucharist, of which the meal is the image, is not only food for the perfect and deserving, but it is above all medicine for the weak and support for the disheartened. This is why we enter into communion with Him by saying, “Lord, I am not worthy”. The scribes and Pharisees, who wanted to be teachers of the true religion, were not even disciples of it. They pretended to be just because they observed all the laws of God, except the most important... read more
Accompaniment, Ad maiorem Dei gloriam and the salvation of souls!, Fraternal Love, Missions, World Meeting of Families
Promoted by the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, the #IamChurch initiative consists in five videos demonstrating the daily struggles of persons with disabilities who, far from feeling burdensome or “set aside”, provide their own specific contribution within their ecclesial communities. “‘We’ not ‘they’ – disability in the life of the Church” is the title of the fourth video. By Vatican News staff reporter The fourth video in the #IamChurch series is a reflection by Australian Jesuit priest, Fr. Justin Glyn S.J., who – starting from his condition of disability – addresses the issue of limits, which belongs to every human being. Fr. Glyn – who has dealt with similar topics in an issue of Civiltà Cattolica and in numerous other essays – refutes the idea, still too widespread, that disability is a fault. Rather, he affirms: “Our limitations are not misfortunes or punishments, but are part of the secret of our condition as human beings who, in their own way, share the image of God and together build the Body of Christ.” It is in this perspective that, when speaking of disability in the life of the Church, it is possible to say – finally – “We” and not “They.” Active Catholics, not passive recipients Fr. Glyn’s words show the importance of the reflection of Christians who live this condition themselves, in order to open up a different approach to disability, both on a theological and pastoral level. Moreover, they help others not to consider those who experience a disability only as passive recipients of the Church’s attention, but to discover a vocation common to every baptized believer. “We are... read more
Accompaniment, Pope Francis
Pope Francis sends a brief letter to Rome-based journalist Javier Martínez Brocal who recently photographed the Pope leaving a record store, and encourages reporters to fulfill their journalistic vocation even if it makes others uncomfortable. By Salvatore Cernuzio “What I miss most in this Diocese is not being able to ‘wander the streets,’ as I did in Buenos Aires, walking from one parish to another.” Pope Francis made this remark in a letter to Spanish journalist Javier Martínez Brocal, the director of the Rome-based news website Rome Reports. On 11 January, the reporter was passing through Rome’s Pantheon area and saw the Pope leaving “Stereosound,” a record store whose owners he has known since his days as the Archbishop of Buenos Aires. The black and white photo of the Pope exiting the “disc-store of the Pantheon” – as local Romans call the locale – carrying a classical music record given to him by the owner of the store, Letizia Giostra, and her daughter Tiziana, went viral on social networks within minutes. Pope pays surprise visit to Rome record shop ‘Bad timing’ The Pope himself saw the photo and thanked Brocal for this “noble” post. At the same time, he wrote, “one cannot deny that it was a ‘terrible fate’ (a misfortune, ed.) that, after taking all precautions, there was a journalist waiting for someone at the cab stop.” The Pope immediately clarified in his letter that this remark was a light-hearted joke: “We must not lose our sense of humor.” He also encouraged reporters to “fulfill their vocation” as journalists, “even if it means embarrassing (‘mettere in difficoltà’) the... read more
Accompaniment, Ad maiorem Dei gloriam and the salvation of souls!, Devotion to Mary, Family MInistry, Fatherhood, St. Joseph, The Holy Family
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Accompaniment, Ad maiorem Dei gloriam and the salvation of souls!, Devotion to Mary
MICHAEL O’NEILL Staring his own mortality in the face and struggling beneath the weight of a terminal diagnosis of tuberculosis on the upper lobe of his right lung, Patrick Peyton sat up on his deathbed, feeling his faith ablaze like a pile of hay sprinkled with gasoline and ignited with a match. The words he had just received from one of his professors, Fr. Cornelius Hagerty, C.S.C., while visiting his hospital room, were the most powerful he had ever heard in his life, and they changed everything: If you believe twenty-five percent, that’s what you will receive. Fifty — that’s what you’ll get. But if you believe one hundred percent and you give it all to Mary to give to her son, Jesus, to be healed, that is what you’ll receive. Patrick, who at the time was in formation to become a Holy Cross priest, mentally and physically had been at his worst. He was depressed and had even thought that he had lost his faith. But with those words, he invited his family and friends and anybody he could think of, to pray for healing through the intercession of Mary. Patrick did what his former mentor suggested and prayed to the Virgin Mary for a healing, and on October 31, 1939, he believed to have felt that the cure had taken place. Eventually, the doctors examined the x-rays and told him that he was going to live, but they could not explain how it had happened. Patrick knew that it was Mary who had saved him: When I needed her and her power and her friendship, she didn’t... read more
a current event, Accompaniment, Ad maiorem Dei gloriam and the salvation of souls!, Ethics, Justice, Moral Responsibility, Pope Francis, Social Commitment
Pope Francis on Friday received in audience a group of French entrepreneurs. He spoke to them about how to implement the Gospel values in their businesses. By Robin Gomes Pope Francis “finds it very beautiful and courageous that, in today’s world often marked by individualism, indifference and even marginalization of the most vulnerable people, some entrepreneurs and business leaders have at heart the service of all, not just the interests of individuals or restricted circles”. He made the remark to a delegation of some 90 French business men and women who are in Rome for a pilgrimage on the theme of the common good. To help them in the challenge of the common good, he spoke to them about two pairs of concepts based on the Gospel values: ideal and reality, and authority and service. These concepts seem always to be in tension, but the Christian, with the help of grace, can unify them in his or her life. The ideal and reality He pointed out that a Christian often experiences a ‘collision’ between the ideal he or she dreams of and the reality he or she encounters. Just like the Virgin Mary, who had to give birth to the Son of God in the poverty of a stable, the Pope said “there is a painful clash between expectations and reality”. “The search for the common good is a matter of concern for you, an ideal, in the context of your professional responsibilities,” the Pope told the group. It must come to terms with the obligations imposed by the economic and financial systems currently in place, which often... read more
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