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Men in storybooks have undertaken long journeys to prove their love for a princess. Christ has undertaken the longest journey of all, to prove His love for Mankind. He descended from the heights of glory in Heaven, not just to Earth, but to the bottom of the dungeon in which He huddled, bleeding and deserted, during His Passion.
Christ was paraded by His captors before jeering crowds; yet He accepted without hatred or impatience the humiliating treatment he received because of His words. He let nothing stop Him from His mission to show out His Divine nature and to rescue us from our sins. We cannot repay Him for all He suffered to bring truth and salvation to the world; but we give joy to Him when, in gratitude, we show love towards Him and our neighbour.
Christ was paraded by His captors before jeering crowds; yet He accepted without hatred or impatience the humiliating treatment he received because of His words. He let nothing stop Him from His mission to show out His Divine nature and to rescue us from our sins. We cannot repay Him for all He suffered to bring truth and salvation to the world; but we give joy to Him when, in gratitude, we show love towards Him and our neighbour.
When a priest commits grave sin, and does not repent, it is as if he dirties everything he touches, as he goes about his duties; but nothing can sully the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass or Christ the pure and Holy Saviour, Son of God, Whose once-for-all Sacrifice each priest offers from the altar.
Christ spoke to me about the devout remembrance of His Passion which has been made by so many of His followers during the past two thousand years. He said, about the 'Stations of the Cross' which I had just prayed, "You comfort my heart by your devotion". From the Cross, He could see and hear His friends of future ages comforting Him, including ourselves today.
Through prayer, especially through the cycle of the Church's Liturgical prayer, we can enter the Mysteries of Christ's earthly life. At each of the feasts of His life we can address Him in that event, and benefit from the graces He won for us, in it. Simple people who pray to the 'infant Jesus' have an instinctive knowledge of this truth.
Through prayer, especially through the cycle of the Church's Liturgical prayer, we can enter the Mysteries of Christ's earthly life. At each of the feasts of His life we can address Him in that event, and benefit from the graces He won for us, in it. Simple people who pray to the 'infant Jesus' have an instinctive knowledge of this truth.
A person who rarely prays, or who prays but does not open her heart completely to Christ cannot develop an intimate friendship with Him. It is as if she declares that He is a good friend but, not trusting Him, keeps the door of her soul on the chain.
Can we imagine that the Blessed Virgin Mary did not know when her son had risen from the dead? She knew, at the moment of His rising, as she experienced in her own heart His bliss and glory. She cried out in joy - and later on was overwhelmed with joy when He visited her before anyone else.
In every age, there are new ways of spreading the Gospel. If it is true that last century, it was possible for a poster of a well-known revolutionary to appear on the bedroom walls of thousands of people throughout the world, it is even more certain that, through the internet, pictures of Christ can reach an even wider audience.
Christ said that life can be like a family outing, in which some people trust the driver, even if they don't recognise certain points of the route, and others are very disturbed by not knowing exactly where they are. Christ wants us to look upon Him as our driver, and to trust in His wisdom and guidance.
Christ wants us to respect priests who are 'other Christs' amongst us. But when a priest publicly speaks against the teaching of the Church on faith or morals we are not wrong to warn others about the danger of listening to his advice - though we must not speak with scorn or malice. And we should pray for him.
We should trust that God sees our efforts to love Him. If we worry about our little failings, when we are exhausted from having done great work for Him amidst opposition and spiritual assaults, we are like a soldier who has travelled hundreds of miles in dangerous mountains to save the lives of his comrades, and who now lies wounded, but who apologises for not having cleaned his teeth or done up his top shirt button.
People who fulfil their everyday tasks in union with Christ, in the home or the workplace - or in the Priesthood - grow in holiness. Their communion with Him drives them to do everything for love of Him and of the Father, Who is the Source of all holiness. They are becoming ready to live one day as Saints, with the Father in Heaven.
Those repentant Catholics who serve Christ in the home, at work and in the priesthood, for example, live deep in the heart of Christ. They are growing in holiness, ready to live one day as Saints, with the Father in Heaven.
In our everyday lives, people who fulfil their everyday tasks out of love for Christ, are held in His care, close to Him, helped to grow in holiness by their Communion with Him.They are becoming ready to live one day as Saints, with the Father in Heaven.
In our everyday lives, people who fulfil their everyday tasks out of love for Christ, are held in His care, close to Him, helped to grow in holiness by their Communion with Him.They are becoming ready to live one day as Saints, with the Father in Heaven.
Through Christ, at every Mass, we share in His praise of the Father, and are brought into the presence of the whole company of Heaven. It is tragic if we show little gratitude or devotion.
The Lord wants us all to know that when we pray through and with Christ in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass we pray to the Father, in the Spirit, amidst the Saints, the Angels and the Holy Souls, who are united with us in our praise and thanksgiving.
As we gather in church for Mass, we can be sure that Christ Himself will be with us, offering worthy praise to the Father from our sanctuary, in the presence of all the Saints and Angels. And we unite our prayers with His.
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