From “Meditations on Death: Preparing for Eternity” by Thomas à Kempis:
Reflect, too, upon the humanity of Christ, our Savior. For our sake, He descended from His native realm of unapproachable light to assume the wretchedness of our mortal condition, to become one poor, persecuted, and despised, a “Man of sorrows and acquainted with suffering” (Isaiah 53:3). But now that He is throned at the right hand of the Father and crowned with ineffable glory, His holy humanity remains, but it is now exalted and made divine. And this humanity which the glorified Christ possesses and has made immortal, glorious, and pure is one and the same as the humanity which is your very own nature too, O Reader! And by Christ’s mysterious union with human nature, your own nature shall be united with that of God.
An excerpt from “The God Who Loves You” by Dr. Peter Kreeft:
The Incarnation was already a stupendous feat of intimacy. God did not just love us as an other but became one of us. Yet even this was not enough for Him, not enough intimacy. Jesus told His disciples that it would be better for them if He went away so that He could send His Spirit (see John 16:7). Why is that better? Wouldn’t we all prefer to have Jesus still with us physically? Wouldn’t He draw a crowd of millions if it could be advertised that Jesus would appear in the flesh?
It might draw millions to stadiums, but it would not draw them far enough inside. He Himself says it is better to have the Spirit. Why? Look at the difference the Spirit makes. Before the Spirit came at Pentecost, the disciples were still huddled in fear behind locked doors in the upper room. After the Spirit came, they went out to preach with incredible boldness and fearlessness and joy. They literally turned the world upside down. They had experienced the life-changing power of the Spirit.
Look at it this way. The Father is God outside you. The Son is God beside you. The Spirit is God inside you. Once God is inside you, you are spiritual dynamite.
What is that dynamite? What turned the world upside down at Pentecost? What made saints saints? What makes the cynical, skeptical world turn its head at a Mother Teresa? What made the hard-nosed Roman Empire convert to the religion of a crucified Jewish carpenter? The world did not say: “See how they explain one another!” but “See how they love one another!” The most effective argument for Christianity is Christians who are saints, lovers. The saints are the Spirit’s salesmen. You cannot argue with a saint. He would just kiss you, as Jesus did to Judas and as He did to the Grand Inquisitor in Dostoevsky’s parable in The Brothers Karamazov. How do you fight love? You don’t. You lose. That is, you win.
“Today, on this day of grace, in a special way I am calling you not to live a life striving for earthly goals and not to seek peace and joy in earthly things, because in this way darkness takes over your life and you do not see the meaning of your life. Little children, open the doors of your hearts to Jesus, permit Him to take over your entire life so that you may begin to live in God’s love and mercy. My children, only with Jesus in your hearts will you come to know the true goal of your life and long for eternal salvation. I am blessing you with my motherly blessing.” -Our Lady of Medjugorje, in private revelation given to Jakov Colo on December 25, 2024
From “The Private Prayers of Pope John Paul II: A Life in Prayer”:
(A Prayer for Peace, on February 2, 1991)
God of our Fathers,
mighty and merciful,
Lord of peace and life,
Father of all.
You have plans for peace, not violence,
You condemn war
and overthrow the pride of the aggressor.
You sent Your Son Jesus
to declare peace near and far,
to unite men of every race and every creed
in a single family.
Hear the unanimous cry of Your children,
the heartfelt petition of all humanity:
no more war, an adventure without return,
no more war, a spiral of grief and violence;
stop this war in the Persian Gulf,
this threat to Your creatures
in the sky, on earth, and in the sea.
In communion with Mary, the Mother of Jesus,
again we entreat You:
speak to the hearts of those responsible for the fate of peoples,
stop the logic of reprisal and revenge,
through Your Spirit suggest new solutions,
generous and honorable gestures,
space for dialogue and patient waiting:
more fruitful than the frenzied descent into war.
Grant in our time
days of peace.
No more war.
Amen.
