fatherfladerblog

    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 […]

  Our Lord loved us “to the end” and he gives us the New Commandment to love one another as he has loved us. In this meditation we consider how: The saints, including St Josemaria, truly poured out love because they themselves were in love with God If we are going to love our neighbour […]

When he was about to die on the Cross Jesus gave Our Lady to St John as his mother. The tradition of the Church has always seen in St John the whole Church, and indeed all mankind. In this meditation we consider: How Mary is truly our mother How Our Lady’s suffering at the Cross […]

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 […]

Jesus’ passion and death give us many lessons.  In this meditation we use texts from St Thomas Aquinas and St Josemaria Escriva to consider some of the many virtues Christ teaches us from the Cross: Charity and patience Humility and obedience Detachment and fortitude Joy    

Fasting is one of the three focuses of Lent, along with prayer and almsgiving. But how much fasting should we do? The Church asks very little: only to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. In this meditation we pray about this important topic, considering: How much Our Lord suffered for us and how we […]

      To prepare for his public life, Our Lord spent forty days in prayer and fasting. This is the origin of the forty days of Lent in preparation for Easter, to be spent in prayer, fasting and almsgiving. In this meditation we consider how: After forty days in the desert Christ rejected the […]

      The Second Vatican Council, using some words of St Josemaria Escriva, called the Mass the centre and root of the interior life. If we make the Mass our centre and root, we will attend it better and we will unite all our acitivities with it. In this meditation we consider how: The […]

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 […]

Our Lord’s first miracle at the wedding feast of Cana has much to teach us. In this meditation we use texts of St Josemaria, Tertullian and St John Vianney to consider some of these lessons: The beauty of Christian marriage The importance of inviting Jesus to our wedding Our Lady’s motherly concern at Cana and […]