We tend to think that only priests and religious have a vocation. But we all have a calling from God, a vocation, to carry out a particular mission in life. In this meditation we use texts from Scripture, Pope Francis, St John Henry Newman and St Josemaria Escriva to consider how: God has created every […]

You too have a vocation

The Holy Spirit, whom St Josemaria called “The Great Unknown”, dwells in our soul as its “sweet guest”. Yet we seldom think of him, and could hardly call him our friend. In this meditation we strive to grow in devotion to the Holy Spirit, considering three of his principal roles in our life. The Holy […]

Devotion to the Holy Spirit

Before he died on the Cross, Jesus said to St John and to all of us: “Behold your Mother.” Mary is truly the mother of everyone. In this meditation we use texts of Scripture, St Bernard and St Josemaria to consider how: In conceiving Jesus in her womb, and later giving birth to him in […]

Love for Mary, our Mother

Jesus’ passion and death teach us many lessons.  In this meditation we use texts from Scripture and St Thomas Aquinas to consider some of the many virtues Christ teaches us from the Cross: Charity Humility Patience Obedience Fortitude Perseverance Joy

Lessons from the Cross

Lent is a time when we follow Christ more closely, accompanying him along the way of the Cross over Mount Calvary to the Resurrection. In this meditation we consider how: Christ spent forty days praying and fasting in the desert to prepare for his public life. We accompany him in Lent by intensifying our own […]

Generosity in Lent

Pope Gregory XVI, who was Pope from 1831 to 1846, instituted the custom of dedicating the seven Sundays preceding the feast of St Joseph on March 19 to that great saint, and of meditating especially on his seven sorrows and joys. In this meditation we use the Gospels of Matthew and Luke to consider these […]

The sorrows and joys of St Joseph

When Christ was born in Bethlehem the angels announced peace on earth, and Christ himself came to bring peace such as the world cannot give. But when we look around us, we see a great lack of peace. In this meditation we use texts of Scripture, St Josemaria, Blessed Alvaro del Portillo and St John […]

Sowers of peace

The Nativity of our Lord The life of Mary and Joseph, from their betrothal to the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, has much in common with our own. In this meditation, we use the Gospels of Matthew and Luke to consider the various moments in their journey, with the joys and sorrows, the good times […]

Journey to Bethlehem

In Advent, we prepare for the coming of Christ in history, which we celebrate at Christmas, and for his coming in glory at the end of time. We can also prepare for his coming daily into our hearts and for his coming at the end of our life to call us to our eternal home. […]

The spirit of Advent

November is the month in which the Church traditionally intensifies her prayers for the souls in Purgatory. But every day should be for us a day of prayer for the holy souls. There are many souls there now suffering greatly but at the same time exceedingly happy. In this meditation we use texts from Scripture, […]

Prayer for the holy souls

Meditations and mutterings from a Catholic priest

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We all have situations in which we wish something were different but we are not in a position to change it by ourselves: our job, finances, health, relationships, etc. In these circumstances we can sometimes become discouraged. It is then that we need to grow in hope, to trust more in God. In this meditation […]

Growing in hope

It has often been said that the quality of our interior life is the quality of our prayer. In this meditation we use especially the Catechism of the Catholic Church and St Josemaria’s book The Way to consider how we can improve our personal conversation with God in mental prayer through such means […]

Mental prayer

Anyone who wants to achieve an important goal has a  plan of daily activities to reach it: the athlete, the student, the business person. Our goal is the most important of all: eternal salvation, heaven. Our happiness here and hereafter depends on it.  In this meditation we consider how: We are called to love […]

A daily plan of spiritual life

We all sin, but how much true sorrow do we have? In this meditation we use texts of St Augustine, the Roman Catechism, St John Vianney and St Josemaria Escriva to consider three aspects of penance: the virtue of penance, or sorrow for our sins, the sacrament of penance and the acts of […]

Sorrow for our sins

Everyone loves Christmas, when we celebrate the birth of Christ in Bethlehem. In this meditation we use the Catechism of the Catholic Church and texts of St Josemaria to pray about why God became man and the consequences this has for us. According to the Catechism, God became man for four reasons: to save […]

The meaning of Christmas

We pray to the one God and we sometimes relate to each of the divine Persons individually but how often do we consider the great mystery of the three Persons in one God, the Blessed Trinity? In this meditation we consider: An argument of Fray Luis of Granada on how God communicates his infinite goodness […]

Love for the Blessed Trinity

Pope Francis called the Communion of Saints one of the most consoling truths of our faith. Indeed it is. In this meditation we use texts of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, St Bernard, St Therese of Lisieux, St Josemaria, Pope Francis and Kimberly Hahn to pray about this union of the saints in heaven, […]

The Communion of Saints

Many people receive Holy Communion regularly but it is easy to fall into routine in doing so. If we remember Who it is that we are receiving we can receive it better, with the “purity, humility and devotion” with which Our Lady received it, in the words of the Spiritual Communion taught by St Josemaria. […]

Receive Him well

Christ sent the apostles out to the whole world to teach all nations. They went out and in just over three hundred years, amidst bitter persecution of Christians, the Roman Empire declared itself officially Christian. Christendom, a Europe with Christian laws and customs, would last for over a thousand years, and from Europe the faith […]

Rechristianising society

God is calling all of us to “go out and bear fruit”, to bring the truth and love of Christ into the world. In a word, to change the world for the better. But it is not easy. It is hard enough to change ourselves. For this reason we need the virtue of fortitude, which […]

Growing in fortitude

In the afternoon of the Resurrection, two discouraged disciples of Jesus left Jerusalem for the nearby town of Emmaus. Christ met them on the way and engaged them in conversation, showing them from the Scriptures how the Messiah was meant to suffer and die. When they reached Emmaus the discipes begged Jesus to stay with […]

On the road to Emmaus

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