Grace: An intimate knowledge of our Lord, Who has become man for me, that I may love Him more and follow Him more closely. Text for Prayer: Lk. 2: 40-50 Reflection: An 18-year-old boy, Paul, enters Notre Dame Cathedral on Christmas Day 1886: he is a bright non-believer. Hearing Vespers and taking in the architectural… Read more »
Monthly Archives: March 2011
The Flight Into Egypt: The Holy Family in Exile
| XVII.Grace: To have an intimate knowledge of the Lord, to love Him more devotedly, and to follow Him more whole-heartedly. Text for Prayer: Mt. 2:13-23 Reflection: Exile is a terrible thing, for it means that one cannot live among one’s own people. It entails alienation and the experience of being an outsider, an Other. It… Read more »
The Presentation in the Temple: Oblation of the Divine King
| XVI.Grace: I ask for intimate knowledge of the Lord Jesus who for me lived as an infant under the faithful and tender care of Mary and Joseph. Text: Luke 2:22-38 Reflection: After Jesus is born and circumcised Mary and Joseph take their newly first-born son to Jerusalem. This is in order to live in accordance… Read more »
The Nativity: A Most Adorable King
| XV.Grace: To know the divine King who has become incarnate for me and to adore Him in the manger. Text for Prayer: Lk. 2:1-20 Reflection: Infants are often described as adorable, but the infant who is the subject of this meditation is adorable in a rather more exalted sense. The newborn Jesus is worthy of… Read more »
Following Christ in the World
This week, we began to move into what is called the “Second Week” of the Spiritual Exercises. Here, to pray over the Life of Christ, using both scenes from the gospels and supplementary prayers by St. Ignatius. One of the steps that Ignatius provides for us as we prepare to contemplate is what is called… Read more »
The Incarnation: The Coming of the Divine King
| XIV.Grace: For an intimate knowledge of our Lord, who has become human for me that I may love Him more intensely and follow him more closely. Text: Luke 1:26-38 Reflection: Today we have the opportunity to step back momentarily from our world and all its demands and focus on the Trinity. Take deep breaths and… Read more »
The Call of Christ the King
| XIII.Grace: Not to be deaf to the Lord’s call, but prompt and diligent to accomplish His most holy will. Text: Spiritual Exercises 91-98 Reflection: Today Ignatius calls us to ponder the call of an earthly king. Imagine his stirring speech as he inspires his citizens join him on a noble campaign for a just cause. He… Read more »
Prodigal Son: “Going It Alone” and the Road Back to God
| XII.Grace: To know the mercy of the Father and His unconditional love for me — even in the midst of my sinfulness. Text for Prayer: Lk. 15:11-32 Reflection: The Prodigal Son story is one of the most familiar parables in the New Testament that one can return to time and again. We recall the basic… Read more »
The Triple Colloquy: The Grace of Conversion
| XI.Grace: A growing intense sorrow and, if God so wishes, even tears for my sins. Text for Prayer: the Third Exercise of the First Week, Spiritual Exercises no. 62-63 Reflection: In the Gospel of St. Luke, Our Lord tells the story of the persistent widow who won consideration from the judge because of her perseverance. Here… Read more »
Hell: Missing Forever the End
| X.Grace: To feel the pain of those who are eternally separated from God, so that if I should forget God’s love for me, the fear of eternal separation from Him would keep me from sinning. Reflection: Just as we have meditated upon the moment of death and its inevitability for us, now we turn to… Read more »