MEDITATIO

Two things Christ requires of us: to condemn ourselves for our sins, and to forgive others; and the former for the sake of the latter, that this may become more easy (for he who considers his own sins is more indulgent to his fellow-servant); and not merely to forgive with the lips, but from the heart. Let us not then thrust the sword into ourselves by being revengeful. For what grief has he who has grieved you to inflict upon you comparable to the one you will work in yourself by keeping your anger in mind (…) ? See then how much you gain by bearing meekly the spiteful acts of your enemies. First and greatest, deliverance from sins; secondly, fortitude and patience; thirdly, mildness and benevolence; for whoever does not know how to be angry with those who grieve him will much more readily be willing to serve those who love him. Fourthly, to be free from anger continually, to which nothing can be equal. For of him that is free from anger, it is quite clear that he is delivered also from the despondency arising from it, and will not spend his life on vain labors and sorrows. For he that knows not how to hate, neither does he know how to grieve, but will enjoy pleasure, and ten thousand blessings. Indeed, we punish ourselves by hating others, even as we benefit ourselves by loving them. And besides all these things, you will be an object of veneration even to your very enemies, though they be devils; or rather, you will not so much as have an enemy while you are of such a disposition.
Roman Catholic Ordinary Calendar – rosary,team

At first glance a mustard seed appears small, ordinary and unimportant ; it has no taste, gives off no smell, gives no cause for presuming any sweetness. But when it is crushed then it spreads abroad its odor and reveals its strength, it has a taste like flame and burns with such strength that we are astonished to find so great a fire in so little a seed. (…) Christian faith, in the same way, seems at first sight to be small, ordinary and weak; it does not show its power nor display its influence. But when crushed by various trials, it demonstrates its vigor, makes its energy burst forth, breathes out the flames of its faith in the Lord. The divine fire makes it quiver with such ardor that, even as it is burning, it warms those who share it, as Cleophas and his companion said in the holy Gospel while the Lord was conversing with them after his passion: “Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the way and opened the scriptures to us ?” (Lk 24:32). (…) We might compare Saint Lawrence to a mustard seed: crushed with numerous tortures he merited the grace of an outstanding martyr in the sight of all the world. While he was yet dwelling in his body he was humble, ignored, ordinary; after he had been tortured, torn apart and burned, he shed on all the faithful throughout the world the good odor of his nobility of soul (…) Seen from without, this martyr was burning in the flames of a cruel tyrant, but a greater flame, that of the love of Christ, was consuming him from within. An impious king may well have piled on the wood and lit even larger fires but Saint Lawrence, in the fervor of his love, no longer felt those flames (…). No earthly suffering had mastery over him any longer: his soul already dwelt in heaven.
Roman Catholic Ordinary Calendar – rosary,team

The love of Christ was the fire that inflamed the life of St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. Long before she realized it, she was caught by this fire. At the beginning she devoted herself to freedom. For a long time Edith Stein was a seeker. Her mind never tired of searching and her heart always yearned for hope. She traveled the arduous path of philosophy with passionate enthusiasm. Eventually she was rewarded: she seized the truth. Or better: she was seized by it. Then she discovered that truth had a name: Jesus Christ. From that moment on, the incarnate Word was her One and All. Looking back as a Carmelite on this period of her life, she wrote to a Benedictine nun: “Whoever seeks the truth is seeking God, whether consciously or unconsciously”. Although Edith Stein had been brought up religiously by her Jewish mother, at the age of 14 she “had consciously and deliberately stopped praying”. She wanted to rely exclusively on herself and was concerned to assert her freedom in making decisions about her life. At the end of a long journey, she came to the surprising realization: only those who commit themselves to the love of Christ become truly free. This woman had to face the challenges of such a radically changing century as our own. Her experience is an example to us. The modern world boasts of the enticing door which says: everything is permitted. It ignores the narrow gate of discernment and renunciation. I am speaking especially to you, young Christians, (…) : Pay attention! Your life is not an endless series of open doors! Listen to your heart! Do not stay on the surface but go to the heart of things! And when the time is right, have the courage to decide! The Lord is waiting for you to put your freedom in his good hands.
Roman Catholic Ordinary Calendar – rosary,team