GOD SPEAKS TO
US IN PERSON
“In many
various ways,
God spoke of old
to our Fathers
by the Prophets;
but in these last days
he has spoken to us
by a Son,
whom he appointed the heir of all things,
through whom also he created the world.” (Heb
1:1-2)
GOD PERSONALLY
SEEKS US OUT
“In Jesus
Christ, God not only speaks to us,
but also seeks us out,
moved by his Fatherly heart.”
(John Paul II, in Peace: A Gift of Enduring Love, 42)
CENTRED ON
CHRIST
John Paul II,
from Redemptor Hominis to Novo Millenio Ineunte
to Rosarium Virginis Mariae …
“Per Ipsum, et cum Ipso, et in Ipso.”
THE HUMAN AND
THE DIVINE IN ONE
“So real was
this union that
all of his acts and
words,
all of his agonies
and tears,
all of his thoughts
and reasonings,
resolves and
emotions,
while being
properly human,
were at the same
time
the acts and words,
agonies and tears,
thoughts and
reasonings,
resolves and
emotions
of the eternal Son
of God.”
(F Sheen, Life
of Christ)
ALWAYS CLOSE
(AND OPEN, NOT CLOSED) TO CHRIST
“Follow our
Lord closely [so] that
we hear his
footsteps,
we hear his very
breathing,
we detect his most intimate confidences
with those whom
he has chosen.”
(St Josemaría, as quoted in Echevarría, Memoria del Beato
Josemaría Escrivá, 250)
GOSPELS
“Read the
Gospel,
live the Gospel,
love the Gospel,
draw points for meditation from the Gospel
and the New
Testament;
and strive to pour out the wealth of those
books
into the lives of
the persons who come close
to seek
direction or dealing with you:
so that, through your knowledge of God’s
life,
one can say truly
that you deal
with Jesus Christ,
that you know
Jesus Christ,
that you love
Jesus Christ,
that you imitate
Jesus Christ.”
(St Josemaría, as quoted in Echevarría, Memoria del Beato
Josemaría Escrivá, 251)
HUNGER TO KNOW
THE MASTER
“When you love
somebody very much,
you want to know everything about him. …
Do you feel a
hunger to know Christ?”
(St Josemaría,
The Forge, 37)
HE HAS A NAME
“Lose the fear of calling the Lord by his name—Jesus—
and of
telling him that you love him.”
“Pierde el miedo a llamar al
Señor por su nombre – Jesús –
y a decirle que le
quieres.”
(St Josemaría)
JESUS IMPARTS MEANING
“The true light that enlightens every man
was
coming into the world,
and
the world was made through him,
yet the world knew him not.
He came to his own home,
and
his own received him not.”
(Jn 1:9-11)
HE TELLS US ABOUT OURSELVES
“The mystery of the Incarnation
has
given a tremendous impetus
to
humanity’s thought and artistic genius.
Precisely by reflecting upon the union of two natures,
human
and divine,
in the
Person of the Incarnate Word,
Christian thinkers have come to explain
the
concept of person
as the
unique and unrepeatable center
of
freedom and responsibility,
whose
inalienable dignity must be realized.
Faith in Christ, the Incarnate Word,
leads
us to see humanity in a new light.
It enables us to believe in humanity,
created
in the image and likeness of God.”
(John Paul II, Go in Peace: A Gift of Enduring Love, 39-40)
THE ANSWER TO VEXING QUESTIONS
“Where might human beings seek the answer
to
dramatic questions such as
pain,
the suffering of the innocent, and death,
if not from the mystery of Christ’s passion,
death, and resurrection?”
(John Paul II, Go in Peace: A Gift of Enduring Love, 41)
JESUS THE ANSWER TO ALL RELIGIOUS QUEST
“The Incarnate Word is thus
the
fulfillment of the yearning present in all religions of humanity.
This fulfillment is brought about by God himself
and
transcends all human expectations.”
(John Paul II, Go in Peace: A Gift of Enduring Love, 42)
Iesu, Rex admirabilis
et triumphator nobilis
dulcedo ineffabilis
totus desiderabilis.
Iesu, dulcedo cordium
fons vivus, lumen mentium
excedens omne gaudium
et omne desiderium.
(Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina)
GETTING INTO THE WOUNDS
“Metámonos con intimidad
en las llagas de
Nuestro Señor Jesucristo,
y concretamente en la llaga de su Corazón amante,
infinitamente
misericordioso,
para decirle, como nuestro Padre:
‘Señor,
que yo vea con tus
ojos,
que yo hable con
tus palabras,
que yo escuche con
tus oídos,
que yo trabaje con
tus manos,
que yo quiera con
tu voluntad,
que yo ame con tu
corazón.”
(Bishop J Echevarría, 1994)
THE SECRET TO ALWAYS SAYING ‘YES’
“No man can look God in the face everyday
and say
‘No’ to him,
and no man who has not a deliberate intention
of saying ‘No’ to God
need
be afraid to look him in the face.”
(E Boylan, Spiritual Life of the Priest, 38)
AN OFFERING
“Lord Jesus Christ,
take
all my freedom.
Take my memory,
my
understanding,
and my
will.
All that I have and cherish you have given me.
I surrender it all to be guided by your will.
Your grace and your love
are
wealth enough for me.
Give me these, Lord Jesus,
and I
ask for nothing more.”
ANIMA CHRISTI
“Soul of Christ, sanctify me.
Body of Christ, heal me.
Blood of Christ, drench me.
Water from the side of Christ, wash me.
Passion of Christ, strengthen me.
Good Jesus, hear me.
In your wounds, shelter me.
From turning away keep me.
From the evil one protect me.
At the hour of my death call me.
Into your presence lead me,
to
praise you wit all your saints
forever
and ever. Amen.”
C:\Documents and Settings\user\My Documents\RETREAT\crt_08JesusChrist.rtf
Revised 25 March 2005