Be Silent

As we look on, apparently helpless, as terrible wars take place in the Ukraine and in Israel, the Feast of All Saints reminds that, in the words of St Josemaria, "these world crises are crises of saints".

The life and ministry of St John Paul II was immensely fruitful because he was steeped in the mystery of Christ the Redeemer of man. We can thank God for the great gift of St John Paul and we can imitate his immersion in Christ our Saviour. This meditation is by Fr Donncha O hAodha in memory of St John Paul II, whose memorial would normally be celebrated on 22 October. This year it falls on Mission Sunday.

The Rosary enables us to join the Apostles in the Upper Room with Mary the Mother of Jesus and experience the mysteries of his life. A meditation by Fr Pat Gorevan for the feast of the Holy Rosary, 7 October.

On the 2nd October 1928 God showed St Josemaria Escriva that ordinary laymen and women had to "launch out into the deep" - to seek the heights of holiness in their everyday lives, and not to be content to stay in the shallows where there are no difficulties, no dangers, and no fish.

Today we commemorate the Archangels Saints Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, spiritual messengers and servants of God. Let’s invoke their intercession in our prayer before Christ our Lord, who is the Centre of the angelic world and who at the same time is so close to us precisely  through his angels. A meditation by Fr James Hurley, Parish Priest of Our Lady Queen of Peace, Merrion Road, Dublin.

The vocation of St Matthew can inspire us to give ourselves completely to God, here and now, and to savour the gift of our vocation

The feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross reminds us of the source of our salvation and how we may participate in it by our own awareness of our closeness to Christ when we carry his Cross.

Humility is a virtue that liberates us from the vice that most inhibits us and causes us to suffer needlessly: pride. In this meditation we learn how to pray for this liberation. A meditation by Fr Gavan Jennings.

What can we learn from the example of Nathanael, in whom there was no deceit. A meditation on passing on the good news we have discovered to others. Given by Fr Tom Dowd.

In this month we have celebrated several feasts which emphasise Our Lady’s heavenly queenship. This glory of Mary in no way distances her from is. On the contrary. Her closeness to us is a model for those virtues which are particularly important in friendship and apostolate at this time. A meditation from Fr Donncha O hAodha