What a dark turn of events! In the sequel of last Sunday’s gospel, Jesus’ countrymen were “speaking highly” of Jesus and “amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth.” However, after a better understanding of His message, they arrived at the point of “being filled with fury” and “drove Him to the brow of the hill to hurl him down headlong” (Luke 4:21-30). What caused such a drastic change of attitude?
Born in Porto, Nunes Barreto completed his studies in Salamanca and served as parish priest in the archdiocese of Braga. In 1545 he entered the Society of Jesus in Coimbra.
The classics of Christian spirituality are very important texts for spiritual reading, which is an aid to spiritual growth. Any person interested in spirituality and wishing to grow in his/her interior life, has read or will read the classics.
Music is the way we speak to God and the way He speaks to us. We should not waste this privileged way of getting in touch with Him. Sacred music becomes incessant prayer that borders, in the most fortunate cases, with mysticism, with the deepest form of elevation to God. It may happen that while listening to a motet by Victoria you feel plunged into something in which you seem to get lost. This is because, going back to Augustine again, to fill ourselves with what we are empty of, we must empty ourselves of what we are full of.
The Lord does not force us to follow him and so we too must proclaim His Word, without expecting everyone to respond to it, but on our part to fulfill our duty as much as possible.
Saint Irenaeus of Lyons, whose feast we celebrate on the 28th of June, just before Saints Peter and Paul, was recently declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Francis.
What must have been the gaze of Christ?
In the liturgy, on the other hand, the symbols, rites and precepts are precisely established by the Church as they become the intermediary of great mysteries and effectively transmit the grace that saves us. Just as the liturgical proclamation of the Word of God is closely linked to Sacred Scripture and does not admit any deviation from what the inspired Word is, so in sacred rites and prayers there must be fidelity to the symbols and texts established by the Church. Without this observance, the liturgy undergoes falsifications, reductions, omissions or additions that do not conform to faith and prayer which are proper to the Church.
The Seattle Jesuit school for poorest kids was not just a dream come true but that dream reached as far as outer space recently.
The development of Christian spirituality is grounded on the sources of Revelation, that is, Sacred Scriptures and Christian Tradition. Christian spirituality has developed exuberantly through the centuries from the teachings of the Sacred Scriptures, through the Fathers of the Church, theologians, mystics, and saints, and the evolving magisterium of the Church.
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