precarious and uncertain! Remember the Tsunami, and Sept 11, 2001 with the twin towers, also, sudden earthquakes. One note in common for all: it all happened unexpectedly! Not to be apocalyptic but realistic—in imitation of the saints—we should live each day as if it were our last. So let us live this “Year of Faith” as if it were the last year of our life, after which the Lord will judge us for all eternity! Remember the poetic expression of the Psalmist: “Our life on earth is like the flower of the field that rises in the morning and withers and dies in the evening.” We are the flower of the field, called to blossom flourish and exude the beautiful fragrance of holiness. Paul reminds us that we are called to be the fragrance of Christ.
prayer is an act of faith. The nature of faith is believing in a God that we do not see. Prayer is praying to a God that we do not see, but we believe He hears our prayers, is attentive to our supplications and loves us intensely. Therefore, giving up prayer, like a lamp unplugged, the spiritual electric current of faith dies! In sum, may this year of faith be characterized by a year of more fervent, faithful, intense, and confident prayer!
to our relationship with God. Not knowing God serves as a major obstacle in loving Him. Knowledge and love intersect and interconnect. Once Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was and the Lord responded immediately, quoting the great “Shema” of the Old Testament: “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” (Lk. 10:27). What should we study? In his Apostolic Letter, “Porta Fidei”, “The door of faith”, in which the Holy Father explains the purpose, the thrust and the objective of this year of faith, he clearly points to revisiting the Documents of the Second Vatican Council (Vatican II), but most specifically he encourages us to revisit, to read, study, and learn the basics of our faith as presented by the Catechism of the Catholic Church. (Numbers 11, 12 Porta Fidei). In his wisdom and insight, the Holy Father is commencing the year of faith simultaneous with the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Vatican II Council, as well as the 20th anniversary of the publication of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, that Pope John Paul II offered as a wonderful “Gift” to the modern world, groping in darkness, ignorance and widespread confusion! Therefore, if you do not have the Catechism of the Catholic Church, purchase it. If you have it, return to this spiritual gold-mind. Pray over it, read it meditate upon it, form group-discussions, learn it and live it!!!!
very clearly that meditating on the Humanity of Christ is one of the most sure and efficacious means to plumb the depths of prayer and arrive at union with God. Therefore, let us accept the invitation of the Pope and— through our study and meditation of the Catechism
of the Catholic Church— arrive at an ever deeper “Friendship” with Jesus. Even our best of friends occasionally fail us! Not so with Jesus! He is the ever faithful “Friend” in time and He will be forever in eternity. At the Last Supper Jesus, from the depths of
His loving and Sacred Heart, described His relationship to His Apostles (and to us): “I do not call you servants because the servant does not know what His Master is about, but I call you FRIENDS!
May Mary, who pondered the Word of God in her Immaculate Heart and moved in haste to share the Word of God to others—her cousin Elizabeth, Zacharias and John the Baptist— attain for each and every one of us an open heart this Year of faith, a well-disposed will, and limitless trust in God’s grace and mercy. Through her powerful prayers this year of faith, will be a year of grace and a year of extraordinary blessings!