God “predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will” (Ephesians 1:5). When writing to the Christians in Ephesus, the Apostle Paul is lifting the veil on the loving purpose of God, inviting us to contemplate how the eternal counsel of the Father is at […]
The Crucified King and the Promise of Paradise
The Gospel of St. Luke 23:35–43 brings us to Golgotha, the place where the salvation of the world was accomplished through a sacrifice offered in silence, humility, and immeasurable love. The Cross is not viewed as the end of Christ’s mission, but rather as His throne and His victory. The icon of the Crucifixion never […]
Treasures That Neither Fade nor Fail
(St. Luke 12:32-34) In today’s reading of the Holy Gospel According to Saint Luke we are given a consolation that has encouraged the faithful in every age. Christ speaks with a fatherly tenderness that dispels anxiety, assuring His disciples that they are not abandoned wanderers in a hostile world, but a “little flock” held securely […]
A Eucharistic Encounter on the Road to Emmaus
The account of the disciples on the road to Emmaus, as read in Saint Luke 24:13–35, is not only a consoling resurrection story; it is a luminous catechesis on how the risen Christ continues to be present in His Church. Saint Luke’s narrative shows a movement from sorrow to joy, from confusion to understanding, from […]
The Indwelling of the Holy Spirit
The Apostle’s language in 1 Corinthians 3:9–11, 16–17 is both bracing and consoling. He speaks of us as “God’s building” and “God’s temple,” thus uniting identity and vocation. The phrase should not be thought of as a compliment for our vanity, but rather as a charge to live in a manner befitting the presence we […]
A Prayer for Saturday
O my most holy Mother, I behold the graces which thou hast obtained for me, and the ingratitude which I have shown toward thee. The thankless soul is no longer worthy of blessings; but not even on this account will I lose confidence in thy mercy. O my mighty Advocate, have pity on me. Thou […]
A Prayer for Friday
O Mary, thou art the noblest, the most exalted, the purest, the fairest, the holiest of all things created! O that all men knew thee, dearest Lady, and loved thee as thou deservest! But I am consoled by the thought that so many holy Souls in Heaven and so many just men upon the earth […]
A Prayer for Thursday
O Queen of Heaven, thou who sittest enthroned above all the choirs of Angels, nearest to God Himself, from this vale of tears, I a wretched sinner, salute thee and implore thee to turn thine eyes of mercy toward me. See, O Mary, the great dangers which encompass me now and in the future, so […]
A Prayer for Wednesday
O Mother of God, Mary most holy, how many times by my sins have I merited the pains of Hell! Even now the sentence might have been passed, perhaps on the occasion of my very first sin, hadst thou not in thy tender pity restrained the hand of Divine Justice: and then overcoming my hardness […]
The Lord’s Table and Our Excuses
(St. Luke 14:15-24) This parable of the Great Supper has kept me company many times. I picture a table already laid, a host waiting with hope, and a door that stands open. The words, “Now all things are ready,” rest the heart. They remind me that our Lord begins before we begin. He is not […]