News - November 2016

If we are to love God fully in heaven we must first of all love him fully on earth.

“The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother and say to him, 'We have found the Messiah' - which means the Christ - and he took Simon to Jesus." John 1:41-42

Saint Andrew was one of the first disciples of Jesus. We can be sure that Andrew would never have guessed that the person he was bringing to Jesus would become our first Pope. Through the example of Saint Andrew, we should learn how to bring our family and friends to Jesus. May we never disregard any of our acquaintances and try to bring them to Jesus through our silent prayers and our good example.

If there is any good in me and if God wills others to know of it, it will be known by itself.

“So by our baptism into His death we were buried with Him, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the Father’s glorious power, we too should begin living a new life.” Romans 6:4

Christianity is a belief in the greatest events ever to have taken place in the history of the world: God became man, He died, was buried and rose again from the dead. When a person is baptised in the Name of Jesus, he or she is mysteriously united with His death, burial and resurrection. But without total faith in these events, baptism is rendered powerless, and we still live as slaves of sin.

A thousand years of enjoying human glory is not worth even an hour spent in sweetly communing with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.

“But the souls of the upright are in the hands of God, and no torment can touch them.” Wisdom 3:1

“But the souls of the upright are in the hands of God, and no torment can touch them.” Ws 3:1 Torments are of two kinds - one is the brief torment of the body, and the other is the eternal torment of the soul. The moment a soul receives Christ, it is clothed in uprightness since all stain of sin is washed away by His Blood. From that moment, the soul looks forward exultantly in the hope of sharing God's glory. While opportunity presents itself, let us do all we can to win the prize of God's Heavenly call in Christ Jesus.

Lord, You will illuminate others through me. Place on my lips Your greatest praise, illuminating others around me.

“Now be patient, brothers, until the Lord's coming. Think of a farmer: how patiently he waits for the precious fruit of the ground until it has had the autumn rains and the spring rains!” James 5:7

We all need patience if we are to bear the fruit of the Spirit. The farmer waits patiently for the fruit of the earth because he knows that the fruit needs the autumn and spring rains which will come at their appointed times. In the same way, God blesses the seed of the Spirit which has been sown in us with showers of grace which appear in due course in our lives - let us wait for these showers with patience!

We must never forget that only when love between human beings is put to the test can its true value be seen.

“An idler is like a stone covered in filth, everyone whistles at his disgrace.” Sirach 22:1-2

Spiritual idleness is a greater evil than physical idleness. Being physically idle brings material poverty, being spiritually idle brings about spiritual poverty, or lack of grace. Attaining Divine Love is the only means to cast out an idle spirit. Looking at the Cross, let us make a fresh resolution never to idle away the great gift of time, but to make it fruitful in works abounding in love!

I have given everything to my Master: He will take care of me. The best thing for us is not what we consider best, but what the Lord wants of us!

“For Your faithful love towers to heaven, and Your constancy to the clouds.” Psalm 108:4

God's love for us is faithful, which means He has set His heart on loving us forever, whatever the cost. God is the best person we can ever love, so let us try to know Him more and more. The more we know Him, the more we will find out that He is the only Love, and an inexhaustible source of joy.

Wisdom enters through love, silence, and mortification. It is great wisdom to know how to be silent and to look at neither the remarks, nor the deeds, nor the lives of others.

“And may He so confirm your hearts in holiness that you may be blameless in the sight of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all His holy ones.” 1 Thessalonians 3:13

Holiness of heart helps us to walk in the ways of God, turning neither to right or left, keeping our foot clear from evil. The secret of holiness is Divine Love. Divine Love makes us blameless and irreproachable in God's sight, and we become good friends of God and His saints.

God speaks in the silence of the heart, and we listen. And then we speak to God from the fullness of our heart, and God listens. And this listening and this speaking is what prayer is meant to be.

“But You delight in sincerity of heart, and in secret You teach me wisdom.” Psalm 51:6

The saints teach us that two kinds of knowledge are necessary for persevering in God's grace - the one is knowledge of God, and the other, the knowledge of oneself. The virtue mentioned in today's Scripture is concerned with knowledge of ourselves. The knowledge of our littleness, weakness and sinful nature impart sincerity of heart towards God. Without this knowledge, we can become vain, blind, short-sighted and puffed up in thinking.

God who alone is good, knows perfectly what is good for man, and by virtue of his very love proposes this good to man in the commandments.

“Make music for the Lord, all you who are faithful to Him, praise His unforgettable holiness.” Psalm 30:4

Our soul can be compared to a powerful stringed instrument, whose sound echoes throughout the very universe. The Scripture commands us to pluck the strings within our soul skilfully with love. The moment we lose our love, our strings immediately go out of tune. Our being willing to love and forgive brings back to us the Love of God like a powerful rain. Let us pray, “Come, Creator Spirit! With your help we will sing the joyful and eternal song of the redeemed, praising God’s unforgettable love and holiness.

“No, I hold myself in quiet and silence, like a little child in its mother's arms, like a little child, so I keep myself.” Psalm 131:2

The soul of the Blessed Virgin filled God with the greatest possible consolation. When He looked at her, He forgot the sadness that human beings gave Him by their indifference and disobedience. She alone, of all human beings, consoled God most perfectly by her faithful love, her deepest humility and boundless generosity. On this the day of her presentation, let us rejoice at God’s masterpiece of creation, Mary!

Confession heals, confession justifies, confession grants pardon of sin, all hope consists in confession; in confession there is a chance for mercy.