“My heart is moved with pity for the crowd, because they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat. If I send them away hungry to their homes, they will collapse on the way, and some of them have come a great distance.” (Mk 8: 2-3)

Our Lord takes care of so many things in our lives: not only when we are sick, or alone, or abandoned, but also when we are “on the way” or when “some of us have come a great distance.” At that time it was bread and fish, but now it is He Himself with His word. His word is an answer for all our needs. Let Him come to our hearts and make miracles.

“One does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.” (Gospel Acclamation)

“That all may see and know, observe and understand, That the hand of the LORD has done this, the Holy One of Israel has created it.” (Is 41: 20)

God is not an anonymous benefactor of humanity. He speaks to us and He would like everyone to “know, observe and understand” how much we are loved. He is not giving just very subtle, individual and hidden graces but comes with strength; He is a powerful God with a strong arm: “It is I who say to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you’” in everyday situations.

“You, O Lord, are close, and all your ways are truth. From of old I have known of your decrees, for you are eternal.” (Entrance Antiphon)

“On that day the deaf shall hear the words of a book.” (Is 29: 18)

“The deaf shall hear the words of a book” because every person created by God has the right to hear about unconditional love we are loved by Him. With every word He brings us love: understanding, healing, compassion and forgiveness. No one is excluded: “on that day” the deaf, the blind, the poor and the lowly will “rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.”

“We await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will change our mortal bodies, to conform with his glorified body.” (Communion Antiphon)

“Let us love one another. For this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, as you heard from the beginning, in which you should walk.”

Sometimes we forget that the commandments are not to forbid us or to take something from us, but are for love. “Love one another” is the shortest summary of The Old and New Testament.

St. John Paul II reminds us that in Jesus Christ, God the Father loves us humanly. We prayed in the Collect: “clothe us, Lord God, with the virtues of the Heart of your Son and set us aflame with his love.” This is the only reason Our Lord was sent to us, to assure us that we are loved. Whoever experiences rejection, violence, lack of tenderness and loneliness should come to His Heart. And whoever has done anything wrong, has hurt anybody or has done something that they still feel ashamed of should come to His Heart. Bl. Pope Paul VI again reminds us: “for when He came, not to judge, but to save the world, was He not bitterly severe toward sin, but patient and abounding in mercy toward sinners? Husbands and wives, therefore, when deeply distressed by reason of the difficulties of their life, must find stamped in the heart and voice of their priest the likeness of the voice and the love of our Redeemer.” (HV, 29) Our Lord will never leave us alone in our need: He will send us consolation; maybe we will receive a phone call from a friend, or the daily reading will bring us comfort.

“Thus says the Lord: Let whoever is thirsty come to me and drink. Streams of living water will flow from within the one who believes in me.” (Communion Antiphon)

“In just the same way, I tell you, there will be rejoicing among the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (Lk 15: 10)

Heaven is the place of great rejoicing. In every moment the Angels of God rejoice because one of us repents. Some people say that heaven is boring because saints only pray; they forget about the joyful part of being there. Thanks to those who repent every day and in every moment.

“You will show me the path of life, the fullness of joy in your presence, O Lord.” (Communion Antiphon)

“For we know that if our earthly dwelling, a tent, should be destroyed, we have a building from God, a dwelling not made with hands, eternal in heaven.” (2 Cor 5: 1)

Today we celebrate All Souls Day (All the Faithful Departed). Every priest has the privilege of celebrating three Masses, and every Mass has its own readings. Every reading is focused on the same subject—we are beloved children of God, invited to be with Him in heaven. He gave us His Son to redeem us from our sins and sanctified us by the Holy Spirit to bring us Home. “We have a building from God, eternal in heaven,” so never homeless, always expected, always loved and important.

“This is the will of my Father, says the Lord, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life.” (Gospel Acclamation)

“I will render you exceedingly fertile” (GN 17:6).

We understand these words in a very special way. You as a parents, You as a FertilityCare Practitioners, doctors, teachers… And in a very special way – you who suffer from infertility or suffer from the loss of a child.

He is the most merciful Father and all parenthood comes from Him. There is no parenthood without God. And we are called to be servants to His love and His creation. And when we suffer – He suffers with us. And with Him there is always the happy ending (see the post in our blog) – even if we do not know how and when. When we listen to His voice, when we read the Gospel, we get to know Him better and understand His will better.

He knows how to change your life into “exceedingly fertile”.

“If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts” (Verse before the Gospel).

“Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died” (J 11:21)

Both Lazarus’ sisters, Martha and Mary, greet Jesus with the same words. If You had been here.

If You had been here, we wouldn’t have lost man, our trust, our good name. If You had been here, there would be no reason for tears now. If You had been here, we’d follow the old ways, the happy ways. If You had been here, we wouldn’t have learned that we love in vain, because we can always lose a “brother”.

But Jesus is also weeping after the loss of a friend. He, God, who wouldn’t need to be attached to anyone – in order never to feel the loss. And yet He himself loves us always, and loses us all the time – whenever we don’t believe Him. And He never stops loving. Abandonned, batrayed, alone. He is waiting.

And even in the worst secanrio, He says: I was here. I am now. Everything makes sense. The good which is to reveal itself here – has not shown yet, but it will. Now it’s the pain, but hope already precedes the joy of what is yet to come: “Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe” (J 11:15).

Only some can do it and their presence can’t be overestimated. When all fails, they’re already looking forward to some greater good coming. “In the end, everything is going to be all right. If it’s not all right, it is not the end.”

Margaret

“Jesus said to them, “Did you never read in the Scriptures: the stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; by the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes?” (Mt 21:42).

The rejected stone. How often does it happen in our life. Rejected by the others, and even rejected by ourselves:“it’s not for me,” “I shouldn’t even try,” “I’ve done really nothing,” “there is nothing to talk about,”  and many others. Maybe my parents failed to tell me how wonderful I am, because their parents had failed to tell it to them, because their parents…

God recognizes in us our dignity, talents, potential and the beautiful things He can build with us as stones. In His eyes  I can always find the truth about me. Only He can look at me not through my limitations, but through my origin – I am His child.

“God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son; so that everyone who believes in him might have eternal life.” (Verse before the Gospel)

“As for Mary, she treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart.” (Lk 2:19)

We are starting the New Year. At its beginning we entrust all this coming year to the care of the Mother of God. We believe that She will take care of us, as She took care of Her Son. If God trusted Her this much, how could we not follow in His footsteps?

Today, we would like to place, in a very special way, each day of the time ahead of us in the Heart of Our Lady, Mother of God.

If we do it, we will get every day back not from “life”, circumstances, cruel and  heartless people, bad moods, complicated situations, but from … Her. And She, as a the best Mother in the world, will look after us.

Please remember that in every moment of your life, God is always waiting for you first – and not difficulties or troubles. God is always there in your life, BEFORE any situation you have to face. “…you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir, by God’s own act.” (Gal 4:7).