Today’s Reflection

Three streams flow ceaselessly from Jesus’ divine heart. The first is a stream of mercy for sinners, giving them a spirit of contrition and repentance. The second is a stream of charity, which brings help to all in need, especially to those who seek perfection and need help overcoming difficulties. The third is a stream…

For me, there is no greater image than the Holy Face of Jesus because it embodies the physical and spiritual suffering of Christ, the Redeemer. In the Holy Face, the sick person sees how suffering can and should be accepted. By imploring the Lord to sanctify his suffering and make it similar to Jesus’, it…

We make a quiet act of faith; we believe in God, we believe in God’s interest in us, and we believe that he sees and hears us. We accept his will in all its details, especially in the dereliction which we experience. We put our whole reliance on the prayer of Christ of whom we…

In Scripture, death is called the “day of calamity” (Dt. 32:35). This is because, on the day we die, we shall lose all our earthly possessions – honors, riches, pleasures. Saint Ambrose says that we cannot take them into eternity. But our acts of virtue, the good things which we have done during life, will…

There is no holiness, Lord, if you withdraw you hand. No wisdom is of any use if you no longer guide it. No strength can avail if you do not preserve it. No purity is safe if you do not protect it. No watchfulness on our part can affect anything unless your holy vigilance is…

To be enlightened is to know that heaven is not “coming to me.’” Heaven is here. We have simply not been able to realize that yet because, like King Arthur and his search for the Holy Grail, we look in all the wrong places, worship all the wrong idols, get fixated on all the wrong…

The best preparation I can make for death is to live the reality of the Paschal mystery as fully and as deeply as possible in union with Christ, because Christ will re-live that mystery in me at the hour of my death. If I am following the spirituality of the Paschal mystery, I expect to…

Don’t ever allow yourself to become upset by your misfortunes. In the face of your misery, should you find yourself in this situation by the will of God, remain humble and lowly before God, and be at great peace. Respond to all misfortune, whatever it may be, with gentleness, peace, tenderness, and interior moderation before…

I am the vine and you are the branches . . . and everyone that beareth fruit, he will purge it that it may bring forth much fruit (John 15:1-2). This purging or pruning action of the Father is what disconcerts us. We see an orchard in full bloom, and what has a more delicate…

Dear Lord, free me from my dark past, into which I often find myself falling as if into a deep cistern. . . . Keep showing me your light, and give me the strength to rise and follow you without ever looking back. – Henri J. M. Nouwen