MEDITATIO

Blessed Jesus, my hope, my expectation and my love, I have something to speak to you about, something concerning you, a subject full of sorrow and wretchedness. You who are the only Word, created by the uncreated Father, become flesh for my sake; Word who has emanated from the Father’s heart, Word whom God has uttered once for all (cf Heb 9,26), Word through whom your heavenly Father has spoken to me in these last days (Heb 1,2): graciously hear, O Word of God, the words that the fullness of my desire causes to spring from my heart. Hear and see: my soul is sad and altogether troubled when people say to me each day: “Where is your God?” (Ps 42 [41],4). I have nothing to say in return; I fear you are not there; I do not feel your presence. My heart is burning; I long to see my Lord. Where now are my patience and resolution? It is you, O Lord my God, and what shall I do? I seek you and find you not; I long for you and do not see you; I pursue and do not catch hold of you. What strength have I with which to stand firm? How much can I bear? What could be more sorrowful, more wretched than my soul? What more afflicted? Do you think, my love, my sorrow will be turned to joy when I see you? (Jn 16,20)… “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening,” (1Sm 3,9). O that I might hear what you are speaking within me, Lord my God. Say to my soul: “I am your salvation!” (Ps 35 [34],3). Say even more, Lord, and speak in such a way that I may hearken: “My son, you are here with me always; everything I have is yours,” (Lk 15,31). Ah! Word of God the Father, it is this that I wanted to hear.
Roman Catholic Ordinary Calendar – rosary,team

The nearer we would draw to God, the more deeply we must anchor ourselves in humility. St. Augustine shows us this very clearly in a familiar comparison. ” The end, ” he says, ” that we pursue is very great ; for it is God Whomwe seek, to Whom we would attain, for in Him alone is to be found our eternal beatitude. Now we can only come to this lofty end through humility. Dost thou wish to raise thyself? Begin by abasing thyself. Thou dost dream of building an edifice that will tower towards the skies ? Take care first of all to lay the foundation by humility ” And the higher the building is to be, adds the holy Doctor, the deeper must the foundations be dug: the more so in that the soil of our poor nature is singularly shifting and unstable. Now to what height dost thou aspire to raise this spiritual edifice ? As high as the vision of God” See then, ” he exclaims, ” to what a sublime height this edifice must be raised what a thing it is to see God ; but it is not reached by self- elevation, but by humility ”

Roman Catholic Ordinary Calendar – rosary,team

« Jesus said : I am the bread of life ; whoever comes to me will never hunger and whoever believes in me will never thirst »… In this way he describes twice over the eternal repletion when nothing will be lacking any more. However, Wisdom says : « He who eats of me will hunger still, he who drinks of me will thirst for more » (Sir 24,20). Christ, who is the Wisdom of God, is not eaten to satisfy our desire in the present moment but to make us long for that satisfaction. And the more we taste his sweetness, the more our desire for it is stimulated. That is why those who eat it hunger still until the satisfaction comes. But when their desire has been filled they will no longer have either hunger or thirst. « Those who eat of me will hunger still. » This saying can also be understood of the world to come since in the eternal satisfaction there is as sort of hunger that comes, not from need but from happiness. There, satisfaction knows no satiety, desire knows no groaning. Christ, who is always wonderful in his beauty, is also always desirable: “he whom angels long to see” (1Pt 1,12). And so, even when possessing him, we desire him; even when holding him, we seek him, as it is written: “Earnestly seek his face” (Ps 104[105],4). Indeed, he is always sought who is loved in order to be possessed for ever.
Roman Catholic Ordinary Calendar – rosary,team