SAINTS PETER AND PAUL THROUGH DIFFERENT ROUTES, THEY ARRIVED AT THE SAME DESTINATION Download version With a phrase well known to us—“They were of one heart and soul”—Luke summarizes the full agreement existing in the primitive community (Acts 4:32). Yet, in the Church’s history, tensions and contrasts as strong as those in the early decades […]
BIRTH OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST A COURAGEOUS WITNESS OF THE LIGHT Download version The cult of the Virgin Mary began to rise and develop in Jerusalem in the V century. A century earlier, in the IV century, the cult of John the Baptist was so widespread as to be considered universal. The people paid
SAINT ANTHONY PREACHER OF GOD’S WORD AND FRIEND OF THE POOR For some, being devoted to a saint means invoking him in preference to others when they need some grace. From this point of view, St. Anthony is unrivaled. A brother composed a famous hymn a year after the saint’s death. It is still recited
ANNUNCIATION OF THE LORD GOD HAD GIVEN MANY PROOFS OF LOVE,BUT HE HELD IN RESERVE THE MOST UNHEARD-OF WONDERS Download version This ancient festival is connected with the spring equinox. It was celebrated in Palestine possibly as early as the fourth century and introduced in the West in the seventh century. Initially, it was not
SAINT JOSEPH He discovered and realized the dreams of God Dreams, more or less tranquil, accompany our sleep. They allow us to free up our subconscious from negative experiences or to satisfy hidden desires. Frames of our past occur in them. We also dream with open eyes, and then we project ourselves into the future:
PRESENTATION OF THE LORD ALL WERE WAITING FOR HIM—ONLY ANNA AND SIMEON RECOGNIZED HIM Download version Forty days have passed since Christmas and—perhaps with a bit of nostalgia—we remember the emotions aroused in us by that feast and, even more, the good news that the baby brought us, a star coming from heaven to illuminate
CONVERSION OF ST PAUL January 25 Download version Whoever enters Damascus from the eastern gate comes to Straight Street. The ancient decuman (inancient Rome—the main entrance of a military camp, facing away from the enemy and near which the tenthcohort of the legion was usually stationed) crosses the entire city from east to west. It
EASTER SUNDAY WITNESS IS ONE WHO ‘SAW’ THE LORD Download version Introduction The words with which John begins his letter are moving: “What we have heard and what we have seen with our own eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, I mean the Word who is Life … we proclaim
GOOD FRIDAY WE CONTEMPLATED A LOVE STRONGER THAN DEATH Download version Introduction The dramatic agony on the cross has often led the preachers of the past to dwell excessively on the gory aspects of Jesus’ passion. From this preaching, images, popular representations, and devotions that aggravate the violence of the blows, the scourging, the falling
HOLY THURSDAY JESUS: BROKEN BREAD, OFFERED AS NOURISHMENT Download version Introduction Among the many names by which the Eucharist was called, the one that best expresses the meaning and richness of the sacrament is the breaking of the bread. The disciples of Emmaus recognized the Lord “in the breaking of the bread” (Lk 24:35); the
