Tag: John Paul II
Psalm 142(141): “I cry with my voice to the Lord!”
On the evening of 3 October 1226, St Francis of Assisi lay dying: his last prayer was, precisely, the recitation of Psalm 142[141] that we have just heard. St Bonaventure recalls that Francis “burst out with the exclamation of the Psalm: “I cry with my voice to the Lord, with my voice I make supplication to… Read More ›
Psalm 51(50): Where sin abounded, grace was more abundant!
1. Every week, in the Liturgy of Lauds for Friday, we pray Psalm 50, the Miserere, the pentitential Psalm, that is so much beloved, sung and meditated upon. It is a hymn raised to the merciful God by the repentant sinner. We have already had the chance in a previous catechesis to give a general overview of this great… Read More ›
Psalm 51(50): Take not your Holy Spirit from me
1. Every week the Liturgy of Lauds repeats Psalm 50[51], the famous Miserere. We have already reflected on sections of it on other occasions. Now also, we will reflect in a particular way on a section of this grandiose plea for forgiveness: verses 12-16. First of all, it is important to note that in the original Hebrew the word… Read More ›
The Fatima Secret: The Persecution of the Church
Recently we have all been stunned by the increasing persecutions of the Church throughout the world: thousands of Christians either killed or made homeless, the legalistic attacks on Judeo-Christian beliefs including marriage, and the appalling revelations about Planned Parenthood. One of the subjects I spent a great deal of time studying over the years has… Read More ›
Psalm 141(140): “Prayer in danger”
1. In previous catecheses, we gave an overall look at the structure and value of the Liturgy of Vespers, the great ecclesiastical prayer of the evening. We now journey into its interior. It will be like making a pilgrimage to that “holy land” made up of the Psalms and Canticles. One by one we will reflect on each… Read More ›
The Gospel of life is at the heart of Jesus’ message
1. The Gospel of life is at the heart of Jesus’ message. Lovingly received day after day by the Church, it is to be preached with dauntless fidelity as “good news” to the people of every age and culture. . . . 63. . . . the use of human embryos or fetuses as an… Read More ›
Psalm 63(62): My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord
Psalm of mystical love, which celebrates total adherence to God based on an almost physical yearning and reaching its fullness in a close and everlasting embrace. Prayer becomes longing, thirst and hunger, because it involves the soul and the body. As St Teresa of Avila wrote: “Thirst, I think, means the desire for something very necessary… Read More ›
Psalm 62(61): In God alone be at rest!
1. The gentle words of Psalm 62[61] have just resounded; it is a hymn of trust that opens with what appears to be an antiphon, repeated halfway through the text. It is like a peaceful and strong ejaculatory prayer, an invocation that also becomes a programme of life: “In God alone is my soul at… Read More ›
Psalm 51(50): Against you alone have I sinned
1. We have just heard the Miserere, one of the most famous prayers of the Psalter, the most intense and commonly used penitential psalm, the hymn of sin and pardon, a profound meditation on guilt and grace. The Liturgy of the Hours makes us pray it at Lauds every Friday. For centuries the prayer has risen to heaven… Read More ›
Feast of the Baptism of the Lord
1. “Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near” (Is 55,6). These words from the second part of the Book of Isaiah ring out on this Sunday that ends the Christmas season. They are an invitation to go more deeply into the meaning for us of today’s Feast,… Read More ›