Franciscan Media

It is useless to talk when things speak for themselves in such an eloquent manner. There is a clear and precise way of finding God, and we have so much need of him. There are moments in everyone’s life when the need becomes acute; it is when our pride is overcome by suffering and humiliation that we finally look for God. Where can we find him? The way is clear: Where there is charity, there is love; where there is love, there is God. 

We as human persons are made with infinite desires that only God can fulfill. But because we’re fallen, we tend to live at the level of our superficial desires—desires for comfort, fun, fame, wealth, pleasure, success. These desires are not bad, but the rosary helps us be more aware of the soul’s deepest desires, which are for God. As Saint Catherine of Siena taught, the greatest gift we can give to God in prayer is not the finite work of saying the words but our “infinitely desirous love” for God that is expressed in those words and that is being drawn out of our souls in prayer.

A woman on a much-needed retreat sought to know more about God and herself. She prayed, “Who are you and who am I?” For three days she prayed this refrain over a hundred times but no answer came. As she was leaving the retreat grounds she tried a last time: “Who are you and who am I?” An answer came, a revelation: “I am God and you are not!” In that answer lies the meaning of prayer. God is our loving, creating, sanctifying God—we are creatures who are not lords of this world or of our own lives. God is our Maker, our Sustainer, and our End.

The care of a mother embraces her child totally. Mary’s motherhood has its beginning in her motherly care for Christ. In Christ, at the foot of the cross, she accepted John, and in John she accepted all of us totally. Mary embraces us all with special solicitude in the Holy Spirit. For as we profess in our Creed, he is “the giver of life.” It is he who gives the fullness of life, open towards eternity. 

Our bodies express our own individual souls. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that human beings are a unity of body and soul—not just souls temporarily trapped in flesh and bone.

Even though our bodies will separate from our souls at death, through the power of Christ’s resurrection, the bodies of the faithful will one day be raised and glorified, reunited with our souls, incorruptible for all eternity. Our bodies will be without spot or blemish, powerful, and perfect. 

Good physical workouts should strengthen the heart. Spiritual workouts should do that too. The Bible talks about “the heart” over a thousand times! But Scripture isn’t talking about the physical organ that pumps blood in our chest. It is referring to our hidden center, the dwelling place where we live. One great way to strengthen our hearts are prayers of thanksgiving and praise.