Roman Catholic Ordinary Calendar

Let all flesh draw near today to the Word made flesh, there to unlearn what is of the flesh and learn to pass, little by little from the flesh to the Spirit. Therefore let us draw near today for a new sun is shining brighter than before. Enclosed hitherto at Bethlehem in the narrowness of a manger and known only to a tiny group of people, he comes today to Jerusalem, to the Temple of the Lord and is presented before more than one person. You, O Bethlehem, until now rejoicing alone in the light given for all ; proud of a privilege of unheard of newness : you were able to rival the East itself for light. Even better, unbelievable as it is, there was a greater light with you in a crib than this world’s sun can radiate as it rises… Today the Sun itself breaks forth to bathe the world in light. Today the Lord of the Temple is offered in the Temple at Jerusalem. How blessed are those who offer themselves to God as Christ does, like a dove, in the solitude of a peaceful heart ! Such as these are mature enough to celebrate the mystery of the purification with Mary… For is was not the Mother of God, who had never consented to sin, who was purified on that day. It is man, sullied by sin, who is purified today by her childbearing and willing offering… Ours is the purification that has been obtained through Mary… If we embrace the fruit of her womb with faith, if we offer ourselves with him in the Temple, the mystery we celebrate will purify us.
Roman Catholic Ordinary Calendar – rosary,team

“I believe that I will see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living” (Ps 26:13), David said. What other goods could this king seek; what could this man lack, whose power was such that the wealth he amassed satisfied his son Solomon, whose opulence no one has surpassed in the entire universe? In the land of the living, he sought those goods “which eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has the idea entered into the heart of man, but which God has prepared for those who love him” (1Co 2:9). “Blessed are the meek: they will obtain the earth!” (Mt 5:5) says the Gospel. (…) David, too, said in another psalm: “Remember, Lord, David, and all his meekness” (Ps 131,1), and elsewhere: “The Lord welcomes the meek” (Ps 146,6). And we read in the Gospel: “Learn from me that I am meek and humble in heart” (Mt 11:29). And Moses was also a figure of Christ, he whom Scripture presents to us as the meekest among men (cf. Num 12:3). Yes, the land of the living is where the goods of the Lord are prepared for the saints and for the meek. Before the coming of our Lord and Savior in the flesh, these goods were inaccessible even to Abraham (…) The land of the living, the land of the riches and goods of God, the first Adam had lost and the second found it or rather the first had lost it and the second gave it back.

Roman Catholic Ordinary Calendar – rosary,team

I should have spoken to you about the retreat preceding my Profession, dear Mother…; it was far from bringing me any consolations since the most absolute aridity and almost total abandonment were my lot. Jesus was sleeping as usual in my little boat; ah! I see very well how rarely souls allow him to sleep peacefully within them. Jesus is so fatigued with always having to take the initiative and to attend to others that he hastens to take advantage of the repose I offer to him. He will undoubtedly awaken before my great eternal retreat, but instead of being troubled about it this only gives me extreme pleasure. Really, I am far from being a saint, and what I have just said is proof of this; instead of rejoicing, for example, at my aridity, I should attribute it to my little fervor and lack of fidelity; I should be desolate for having slept (for seven years) during my hours of prayer and my thanksgivings after Holy Communion; well, I am not desolate. I remember that little children are as pleasing to their parents when they are asleep as well as when they are wide awake; I remember, too, that when they perform operations, doctors put their patients to sleep. Finally, I remember that: “The Lord knows our weakness,» that «he is mindful that we are but dust» (Ps 103[102],14). Just as all those that followed it, my Profession retreat was one of great aridity. God showed me clearly, however, without my perceiving it, the way to please him and to practice the most sublime virtues. I have frequently noticed that Jesus doesn’t want me to lay up provisions; he nourishes me at each moment with a totally new food; I find it within me without my knowing how it is there. I believe it is Jesus himself hidden in the depths of my poor little heart: he is giving me the grace of acting within me, making me think of all he desires me to do at the present moment.
Roman Catholic Ordinary Calendar – rosary,team