Monday, May 6 : Saint John Henry Newman
Christ went to raise Lazarus, and the fame of that miracle was the immediate cause of His seizure and crucifixion (Jn 11,46)… He felt that Lazarus was wakening to life at His own sacrifice; that He was descending into the grave which Lazarus left. He felt that Lazarus was to live and He to die; […]
Monday, May 6 : Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 11,1-16.
Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, ‘Lord, he whom you love is ill.’ But […]
Sunday, May 5 : Saint John-Paul II
More than ever before we need to hear these words of the Risen Christ: “Fear not!” (Mt 28:10). For people today, who never cease being afraid in their inmost selves and not without reason, it is a necessity… It is an equal necessity for all peoples and nations throughout the world. In the conscience of […]
Sunday, May 5 : Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 24,36-48.
While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’ They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. He said to them, ‘Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet; […]
Friday, May 3 : Vatican Council II
Christ is always present in His Church, especially in her liturgical celebrations. He is present in the sacrifice of the Mass, not only in the person of His minister, “the same now offering, through the ministry of priests, who formerly offered himself on the cross” (Council of Trent), but present especially under the Eucharistic species. […]
Saturday, May 4 : Saint Ambrose
The apostle Paul says that creation waits for the revealing of the sons of God (Rm 8,19). This creation is now subjected to futility not by its own will but in hope, because it takes hope in Christ… Because creation will be liberated from the slavery of corruption to be taken up into the liberty of […]
Saturday, May 4 : Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 17,24-27.
When they reached Capernaum, the collectors of the temple tax came to Peter and said, ‘Does your teacher not pay the temple tax?’ He said, ‘Yes, he does.’ And when he came home, Jesus spoke of it first, asking, ‘What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or tribute? […]
Friday, May 3 : Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 18,18-22.
Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two […]
Thursday, May 2 : Saint Paul VI
In this Holy Year, we have invited you to make, either materially or in spirit and intention, a pilgrimage to Rome, that is, to the heart of the Catholic Church. But obviously Rome does not constitute the goal of our pilgrimage in time. No holy city here below constitutes this goal. This goal is hidden […]
Thursday, May 2 : Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 16,11-20.
How could you fail to perceive that I was not speaking about bread? Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees!’ Then they understood that he had not told them to beware of the yeast of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees. Now when Jesus came into the district of […]
Wednesday, May 1 : Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 16,21-28.
From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, ‘God forbid it, […]
Tuesday, April 30 : Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 10,32-41.
They were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them; they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them what was to happen to him, saying, ‘See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man […]
Monday, April 29 : Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 22,28-34.
‘You are those who have stood by me in my trials; and I confer on you, just as my Father has conferred on me, a kingdom, so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. ‘Simon, Simon, listen! Satan […]
Sunday, April 28 : Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 21,15-19.
When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’ A second time he said to him, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ […]
Saturday, April 27 : Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 6,12-19.
Now during those days he went out to the mountain to pray; and he spent the night in prayer to God. And when day came, he called his disciples and chose twelve of them, whom he also named apostles: Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew, and James, and John, and Philip, and […]
Friday, April 26 : Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 6,22-27.
The next day the crowd that had stayed on the other side of the lake saw that there had been only one boat there. They also saw that Jesus had not got into the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. Then some boats from Tiberias came near the place […]
Thursday, April 25 : Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 10,1-7.
After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. He said to them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest. Go […]
Wednesday, April 24 : Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 6,1-15.
After this Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, also called the Sea of Tiberias. A large crowd kept following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing for the sick. Jesus went up the mountain and sat down there with his disciples. Now the Passover, the festival of […]
Tuesday, April 23 : Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 8,22-25.
One day he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, ‘Let us go across to the other side of the lake.’ So they put out, and while they were sailing he fell asleep. A gale swept down on the lake, and the boat was filling with water, and they were […]
Monday, April 22 : Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 5,1-11.
Once while Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the […]
Sunday, April 21 : Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 21,1-14.
After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias; and he showed himself in this way. Gathered there together were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples. Simon Peter said to them, ‘I am going […]
Saturday, April 20 : Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 6,60-71.
When many of his disciples heard it, they said, ‘This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?’ But Jesus, being aware that his disciples were complaining about it, said to them, ‘Does this offend you? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the […]
Friday, April 19 : Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 6,48-59.
I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live for ever; […]
Thursday, April 18 : Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 6,41-47.
Then the Jews began to complain about him because he said, ‘I am the bread that came down from heaven.’ They were saying, ‘Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, “I have come down from heaven”?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Do not complain among […]
Wednesday, April 17 : Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 6,34-40.
They said to him, ‘Sir, give us this bread always.’ Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. Everything that the […]
Tuesday, April 16 : Catechism of the Catholic Church
“The Lord, having loved those who were his own, loved them to the end. Knowing that the hour had come to leave this world and return to the Father,” in the course of a meal he washed their feet and gave them the commandment of love (Jn 13,1). In order to leave them a pledge […]
Tuesday, April 16 : Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 6,28-34.
Then they said to him, ‘What must we do to perform the works of God?’ Jesus answered them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.’ So they said to him, ‘What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe […]
Monday, April 15 : Melito of Sardis
The paschal mystery is fulfilled in the Lord’s body. But he had already foretold his own sufferings in the patriarchs, prophets and all his people; he had confirmed them with his seal in the Law and the prophets. This unheard of and magnificent future had been prepared long before; long prefigured, the Lord’s mystery has […]
Monday, April 15 : Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 24,44-49.
Then he said to them, ‘These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.’ Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, ‘Thus it is […]
Sunday, April 14 : Saint John-Paul II
When the disciples on the way to Emmaus asked Jesus to stay “with” them, he responded by giving them a much greater gift: through the Sacrament of the Eucharist he found a way to stay “in” them. Receiving the Eucharist means entering into a profound communion with Jesus. “Abide in me, and I in you” […]
Sunday, April 14 : Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 24,13-35.
Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And […]
Saturday, April 13 : Saint Gertrude of Helfta
Who is like you, my Lord Jesus Christ, my dulcet love, exalted and measureless, you who look upon the humble? Who is like you in strength, Lord, you who choose the weak of this world? Who is like you who founded heaven and earth…, you who will your delight to be with the children of […]
Saturday, April 13 : Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 22,41-46.
While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them this question: ‘What do you think of the Messiah? Whose son is he?’ They said to him, ‘The son of David.’ He said to them, ‘How is it then that David by the Spirit calls him Lord, saying, “The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at […]
Friday, April 12 : Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 2,13-25.
The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and the money-changers seated at their tables. Making a whip of cords, he drove all of them out of the temple, both the sheep and the cattle. He also poured out […]
Thursday, April 11 : Saint John-Mary Vianney
My children, the Word of God is no small thing! Our Lord’s first words to his Apostles were these: “Go and teach” so that we might understand that teaching comes before everything else. What enabled us to know our religion? The teachings we heard. What gave us fear of sin, caused us to perceive the […]
Thursday, April 11 : Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 28,16-20.
The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in […]
Wednesday, April 10 : Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 28,11-15.
While they were going, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests everything that had happened. After the priests had assembled with the elders, they devised a plan to give a large sum of money to the soldiers, telling them, ‘You must say, “His disciples came by night and stole […]
Tuesday, April 9 : Saint Bernard
Only the hearing that catches the word possesses the truth…”Do not touch me,” says the Lord. He meant: depend no longer on this fallible sense; put your trust in the word, get used to faith. Faith cannot be deceived. With the power to understand invisible truths, faith does not know the poverty of the senses; […]
Tuesday, April 9 : Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 20,11-18.
Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. They said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping?’ She said to […]
Monday, April 8 : Saint Gregory the Great
At this point we must stop and reflect upon the ardent love in the heart of this woman who would not leave the Lord’s grave even after his own disciples had gone away. She continued seeking him whom she could not find; in tears she kept searching; and, afire with love, she yearned for him […]
Monday, April 8 : Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 20,1-10.
Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, ‘They have taken the […]
Sunday, April 7 : Saint John Henry Newman
We must not suppose that St. Thomas differed greatly from the other apostles. They all, more or less, mistrusted Christ’s promises when they saw him led away to be crucified. When he was buried, their hopes were buried with him; and when the news was brought them, that he was risen again, they all disbelieved […]
Sunday, April 7 : Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 20,26-31.
A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. […]
Saturday, April 6 : Saint Ephrem
The apostles were sitting there in the Cenacle, the Upper Room, waiting for the Holy Spirit’s coming. Like torches they were present there, ready and waiting to be set alight by the Holy Spirit so as to illumine the whole creation with their teaching… They were there like farm hands carrying seed in their coat […]
Saturday, April 6 : Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 20,19-25.
When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. […]
Friday, April 5 : Saint Paul VI
Let us give our attention to the unexpected greeting, repeated three times by the risen Jesus when he appeared to his disciples, gathered together and locked in the upper room “for fear of the Jews” (Jn 20,19). At that time this greeting must have been customary but, under the circumstances in which it was spoken, […]
Friday, April 5 : Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 24,36-45.
While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’ They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. He said to them, ‘Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet; […]
Thursday, April 4 : Vatican Council II
The laity, by their very vocation, seek the kingdom of God by engaging in temporal affairs and by ordering them according to the plan of God. They live in the world, that is, in each and in all of the secular professions and occupations. They live in the ordinary circumstances of family and social life, […]
Thursday, April 4 : Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 16,15-18.
‘Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation. The one who believes and is baptized will be saved; but the one who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: by using my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in […]
Wednesday, April 3 : Saint John XXIII
Peter’s successor knows that in his person and in all that he does there is the grace and the law of love, which sustains, inspires and adorns everything; and in the eyes of the whole world it is this mutual love between Jesus and himself, Simon or Peter, the son of John, that is the […]
Wednesday, April 3 : Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 21,15-25.
When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’ A second time he said to him, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ […]
Tuesday, April 2 : Saint Gregory the Great
What does the sea indicate but the present age, which is disturbed by the uproar of circumstances and the commotion of this perishable life? What does the solidity of the shore signify but the uninterrupted continuance of eternal peace? Therefore since the disciples were still held in the waves of this mortal life, they were […]
Tuesday, April 2 : Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 21,1-14.
After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias; and he showed himself in this way. Gathered there together were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples. Simon Peter said to them, ‘I am going […]
Monday, April 1 : Saint Romanos Melodios
«I say to my saints, once for all: Go out to the whole world and make disciples of nations and kingdoms. For all things have been handed over to me by the One who begot me (Mt 28, 18-19), the world above as well as the world beneath, whose Lord I was before ever I […]
Monday, April 1 : Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 16,9-14.
After he rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons. She went out and told those who had been with him, while they were mourning and weeping. But when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by […]
Sunday, March 31 : Saint Gregory of Nyssa
This is the first day of another creation. Today God creates “a new heaven and a new earth” (Is 65,17; Rv 21,1)… Today is created the real man, the one who is “in the image and likeness of God” (Gn 1,26). See what sort of world is begun today, this “day that the Lord has […]
Sunday, March 31 : Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 16,1-8.
When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. They had been saying to one another, ‘Who will roll […]
Saturday, March 30 : Saint Maximus of Turin
In his Passion the Lord took upon himself all the misdeeds of humankind that afterwards there might be nothing to bring us harm. The cross is therefore a great mystery, and if we try to understand it, the whole world is saved. When sailors go to sea they first of all set up the pole […]
Saturday, March 30 : Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 27,62-66.
The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said, ‘Sir, we remember what that impostor said while he was still alive, “After three days I will rise again.” Therefore command that the tomb be made secure until the third day; otherwise his disciples […]
Friday, March 29 : Severian of Gabala
In the centre of Paradise there was a tree. It was used by the serpent to deceive our first parents. Take note of this surprising fact: that to deceive man the serpent resorted to a feeling inherent in his nature. When he formed man, besides a general understanding of the world, the Lord had actually […]
Friday, March 29 : Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 19,31-37.
Since it was the day of Preparation, the Jews did not want the bodies left on the cross during the sabbath, especially because that sabbath was a day of great solemnity. So they asked Pilate to have the legs of the crucified men broken and the bodies removed. Then the soldiers came and broke the […]
Thursday, March 28 : Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross [Edith Stein]
The Gospels tell us that Christ prayed the way a devout Jew faithful to the law prayed…. From his last supper with his disciples, we know that Jesus said the old blessings over bread, wine, and the fruits of the earth, as they are prayed to this day.~ So he fulfilled one of the most […]
Thursday, March 28 : Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 22,1-23.
The festival of Unleavened Bread, which is called the Passover, was near. The chief priests and the scribes were looking for a way to put Jesus to death, for they were afraid of the people. Then Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot, who was one of the twelve; he went away and conferred with the […]
Wednesday, March 27 : Saint Cyril of Alexandria
It is written that: “We, though many, are one body in Christ and individually parts of one another” (Rom 12,5), for Christ gathers us into a unity by bonds of love: “He made both one and broke down the dividing wall of enmity… abolishing the law with its commandments and legal claims that he might […]
Wednesday, March 27 : Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 11,47-54.
So the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the council, and said, ‘What are we to do? This man is performing many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and destroy both our holy place and our nation.’ But one […]
Tuesday, March 26 : The Roman Missal
Father, your Son bequeathed to your Church this memorial of his love; as we call to mind his death and resurrection we offer you the gift that you yourself have made, the sacrifice that restores us to your grace. Receive us also, together with your well-beloved Son; give us in this meal your Holy Spirit: […]
Tuesday, March 26 : Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 13,22-30.
Jesus went through one town and village after another, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem. Someone asked him, ‘Lord, will only a few be saved?’ He said to them, ‘Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able. When once the […]
Monday, March 25 : Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 1,26-38.
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, ‘Greetings, favoured one! The Lord is with you.’ But […]
Sunday, March 24 : Blessed Guerric of Igny
Today’s feast presents us with two very different aspects of the one my soul is yearning for (Is 26:9), “the most handsome of men” (Ps 44:3). He attracts us in both ways: in one form as in the other we are attracted by him and we love him, for in both of them he is […]
Sunday, March 24 : Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 12,12-22.
The next day the great crowd that had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, shouting, ‘Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord the King of Israel!’ Jesus found a young donkey […]
Saturday, March 23 : Saint Ambrose
Let them weep who lack all hope of resurrection; it is not the will of God that takes it away from them but the inflexibility of what they believe. There has to be a difference between the servants of Christ and the pagans. This is what it is: they mourn for those close to them […]
Saturday, March 23 : Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 11,55-57.12,1-11.
Now the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover to purify themselves. They were looking for Jesus and were asking one another as they stood in the temple, ‘What do you think? Surely he will not come to the festival, will he?’ Now the […]
Friday, March 22 : Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger [Pope Benedict XVI]
When he went into the desert, Jesus inserted himself into his people’s history of salvation, that of the chosen people. This history begins after the exodus from Egypt, with the people’s wandering in the desert for forty years. At the center of those forty years were the days of face to face encounter with God: […]
Friday, March 22 : Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 4,1-13.
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. The devil said to him, ‘If you are the Son […]
Wednesday, March 20 : Saint Teresa of Calcutta
We shouldn’t be satisfied by giving money. Money isn’t enough because it can always be found. It’s our hands the poor need if they are to be helped; it’s our hearts they need to be loved. Christ’s religion is a religion of love, contagious love. People who propose a comfortable life for themselves undoubtedly have […]
Thursday, March 21 : Saint Augustine
“It is vain for you to rise early.” (Ps 127:2 – LXX Ps 126:2) What does that mean? … Christ, our Day, has risen. It is good for you to rise after Christ and not before him. Who are those who rise before Christ? … Those who want to be raised up here below, where […]
Thursday, March 21 : Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 18,31-34.
Jesus took the twelve aside and said to them, ‘See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. For he will be handed over to the Gentiles; and he will be mocked and insulted and spat upon. After they have flogged […]
Wednesday, March 20 : Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 11,37-48.
While he was speaking, a Pharisee invited him to dine with him; so he went in and took his place at the table. The Pharisee was amazed to see that he did not first wash before dinner. Then the Lord said to him, ‘Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and of the […]
Tuesday, March 19 : Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 1,8-25.
and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah, and […]
Monday, March 18 : Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 7,32-36.
The Pharisees heard the crowd muttering such things about Jesus, and the chief priests and Pharisees sent temple police to arrest him. Jesus then said, ‘I will be with you a little while longer, and then I am going to him who sent me. You will search for me, but you will not find me; […]
Saturday, March 16 : Saint Lawrence of Brindisi
Just as the divine law says that when God created the world “he saw all that he had made and it was very good,” (Gn 1,31) so the gospel speaking of our redemption and re-creation, affirms: “He has done all things well” (Mk 7,37)… As fire can give out nothing but heat and is incapable […]
Sunday, March 17 : Saint Gertrude of Helfta
My heart and my flesh have exulted in you, my living God, and my soul has been gladdened by you, my true salvation… Oh when will my eyes see you, my God, God of gods? God of my heart, of when will you gladden me with the sight of your mellifluous face? Oh when will […]
Sunday, March 17 : Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 10,46-52.
They came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the roadside. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’ Many sternly ordered […]
Saturday, March 16 : Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 7,31-37.
Then he returned from the region of Tyre, and went by way of Sidon towards the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. They brought to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they begged him to lay his hand on him. He took him aside in private, […]
Friday, March 15 : Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger [Pope Benedict XVI]
The moment that the Bible calls “the beginning” points us to the One who had the power to create what is and to say: “Let there be…!” and it was (Gen 1,1-3)… That phrase “Let there be..!” did not bring mindless chaos into existence. The more we get to understand the universe, the more we […]
Friday, March 15 : Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 4,31-44.
He went down to Capernaum, a city in Galilee, and was teaching them on the sabbath. They were astounded at his teaching, because he spoke with authority. In the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, ‘Let us alone! What have […]
Thursday, March 14 : Saint Augustine
With the Lord’s grace, I am going to talk to you about today’s gospel. With God’s help, I also want to encourage you not to let faith sleep in your hearts in the midst of the storms and swells of this world. Without any doubt, the Lord Jesus Christ exercised his power over sleep no […]
Thursday, March 14 : Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 4,33-41.
With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; he did not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples. On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, ‘Let us go across to the other side.’ And […]
Wednesday, March 13 : Saint Ambrose
Even if the signs of death have removed all hope of life, even if the bodies of the dead lie beside the tomb, yet, at the voice of God, the corpses of those ready to decompose will rise and recover speech. The son is restored to his mother, he is called back from the tomb, […]
Wednesday, March 13 : Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 7,11-17.
Soon afterwards he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went with him. As he approached the gate of the town, a man who had died was being carried out. He was his mother’s only son, and she was a widow; and with her was a large crowd from […]
Tuesday, March 12 : Saint Teresa of Avila
O true God and my Lord! It is a great consolation for the soul wearied by the loneliness of being separated from you to see that you are everywhere. But when the vehemence of love and the great impulses of this pain increase, there’s no remedy, my God. For the intellect is disturbed and the […]
Tuesday, March 12 : Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 6,47-56.
When evening came, the boat was out on the lake, and he was alone on the land. When he saw that they were straining at the oars against an adverse wind, he came towards them early in the morning, walking on the lake. He intended to pass them by. But when they saw him walking […]
Monday, March 11 : Saint Teresa of Calcutta
We have been called to love the world. And God loved the world so much that he gave Jesus to it (Jn 3,16). Today, he loves the world so much that he gives you and me to the world to be his love, his compassion and his presence through our lives of prayer, sacrifice and […]
Monday, March 11 : Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 5,1-20.
They came to the other side of the lake, to the country of the Gerasenes. And when he had stepped out of the boat, immediately a man out of the tombs with an unclean spirit met him. He lived among the tombs; and no one could restrain him any more, even with a chain; for […]
Sunday, March 10 : John of Karpathos
Why are you downcast? See. Someone’s hands are fishy; a little oil makes them clean. How much more can God’s compassion purify you. For just as you have no difficulty in washing your garment, in the same way – and even more – it is not difficult for the Lord to wash you clean from […]
Sunday, March 10 : Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 2,1-12.
When Jesus returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. So many gathered around that there was no longer room for them, not even in front of the door; and he was speaking the word to them. Then some people came, bringing to him a paralysed man, carried by […]
Saturday, March 9 : Saint Gertrude of Helfta
At the hour of Terce you will place yourself in presence of the divine peace and of love…: O peace of God, you pass all understanding (Phil 4,7), you are unutterably sweet and fair and full of charms. Wherever you penetrate reigns untroubled security. You alone can stay the wrath of the sovereign king; you […]
Saturday, March 9 : Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 3,1-12.
Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there who had a withered hand. They watched him to see whether he would cure him on the sabbath, so that they might accuse him. And he said to the man who had the withered hand, ‘Come forward.’ Then he said to them, ‘Is it lawful […]
Friday, March 8 : Symeon the New Theologian
Master, O Christ!, Master who saves souls, God, Lord of all Powers both visible and invisible, because you are the Creator of all in heaven and under the heavens, of what is under the earth but also of what is on earth…: you hold all things in your hand because it is your hand, O […]
Friday, March 8 : Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 9,27-35.
As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, crying loudly, ‘Have mercy on us, Son of David!’ When he entered the house, the blind men came to him; and Jesus said to them, ‘Do you believe that I am able to do this?’ They said to him, ‘Yes, Lord.’ Then he touched […]