THE LORD YOUR GOD YOU SHALL ADORE
"Let us adore God,
when he is being thrown from the lives of men
--even from His churches--
as if he were an intruder.
Adore God One and Triune,
amid this desert that is starting to fill with false gods
built by the hands of men--
by their pride, their avarice, their lust.
"Take very good care of the acts of worship,
especially the priests.
Whoever does not give importance
to a simple reverence of the head,
not only as a minimum sign of respect,
but as a sign of love,
would not deserve the name 'Christian'."
(St Josemaria, Letter March 1973, 7)
THE WORLD IS IN HIS HANDS
"For you love all things that are
and loathe nothing that you have made;
for what you hated, you would not have fashioned.
And how could a thing remain,
unless you willed it;
or be preserved, had it not been called forth by you?
But you spare all things,
because they are yours,
O Lord and lover of souls,
for your imperishable spirit is in all things."
(Wis 11:24-26)
CREATION SPEAKS OF ITS CREATOR
"But ask the beasts, and they will teach you;
the birds of the air, and they will tell you;
or the plants of the earth, * and they will teach you;
and the fish of the sea will declare to you.
Who among all these does not know
that the hand of the LORD has done this?
In his hand is the life of every living thing
and the breath of all mankind."
(Job 12:7-10)
YOU ARE MY MAKER!
"Thy hands fashioned and made me ...
Remember that thou hast made me of clay ...
Thou didst clothe me with skin and flesh,
and knit me together with bones and sinews. ...
Thou hast granted me life and steadfast love;
and thy care has preserved my spirit."
(Job 10:8,9,11,12)
CALL HIM 'DAD'!
"Draw strength from your divine filiation.
God is a Father--your Father!--full of warmth
and infinite love.
Call Him Father frequently
and tell Him, when you are alone,
that you love Him,
that you love Him very much,
and that you feel proud and strong
because you are His son."
(St Josemaria, The Forge 331)
THE BREADTH AND DEPTH OF GOD'S LOVE
"What is man that you should be mindful of him,
or the son of man that you should care for him?
You have made him little less than the angels,
and drowned him with glory and honour.
You have given him rule over the works of your hands,
putting all things under his feet:
all sheep and oxen,
yes, and the beasts of the field,
the birds of the air,
the fishes of the sea,
and whatever swims the paths of the seas.
O Lord, our Lord, how glorious is your name over all the earth!"
(Ps 8:5-10)
LIKE A TREE BY THE WATER
"Blessed be the man that trusts in the Lord
and the Lord shall be his confidence.
And he shall be as a tree
that is planted by the waters,
that spreads out its roots towards moisture:
and it shall not fear when the heat comes.
And the leaf thereof shall be green,
and in the time of drought it shall not be solicitous,
neither shall it cease at any time to bring forth fruit.
(Her 17:7-8)
RESPONSIBLE SONS
"Sincere devotion--true love of God--
leads us to work hard,
to fulfill the duty of each day,
even though it is far from easy."
(St Josemaria, The Forge 733)
NOTHING USELESS
"Semper scientes quod labor vester non est inanis in Domino."
(I Cor 15:58)
THE MESSAGE COMES THROUGH THE CROSS
"During moments which were humanly difficult,
in which, nevertheless, I had the assurance of obtaining the impossible ...
I felt the action of the Lord
who made this tender invocation spring forth in my heart,
with the force of something that was imperiously necessary:
Abba! Pater!
(St Josemaria, Letter 9 January 1959. Cf Bernal, Profile of Msgr Escriva, p 249)
BECOMING SONS, BECOMING CHRISTS
"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus,
the origin and crown of all faith,
who, to win his prize of blessedness,
endured the cross
and made light of its shame,
Jesus, who now sits on the right hand of God's throne.
Take your standard from him,
from his endurance,
from the enmity the wicked bore him,
and you will not grow faint,
you will not find your souls unmanned. ...
For the time being, all correction is painful rather than pleasant;
but afterwards, when it has done its work of discipline,
it yields a harvest of good dispositions,
to our great peace.
Come then,
stiffen the sinews of drooping hand and flagging knee,
and plant your footprints in a straight track,
so that the man who goes lame
may not stumble out of the path,
but regain strength instead.
(Heb 12:2-3,11-12)
ECCE, MATER TUA!
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
you were also given to me as Mother.
Make me remember where I came from
and where I am supposed to go.
Let your motherly affection and tenderness
be a constant and gentle reminder
that I belong to God.