«God can make flowers bloom among the rocks»: each of our lives can miraculously begin again if we find the courage to live it according to what the Gospel teaches us. This is the certainty that must accompany us even when everything seems to have taken a wrong turn. In his apostolic letter “Patris corde,” dedicated to Saint Joseph, Pope Francis writes: «Sometimes it is precisely difficulties that bring out resources in each of us that we did not even think we had. Far be it from us… to think that believing means finding easy, consoling solutions. The faith that Christ taught us is instead the faith we see in Saint Joseph, who does not seek shortcuts but faces “with his eyes open” what is happening to him, assuming personal responsibility for it».
This week, let us commit ourselves to imitating the virtues of Saint Joseph and to living “with our eyes open” as well!
WEDNESDAY MARCH 10
Beginning of the novena to Saint Joseph
Today we begin the novena to Saint Joseph in preparation for the solemnity of March 19. Let us invoke him with confidence and take him as a model to inspire us in our daily lives. May his prompt obedience and his “yes” to the work of redemption also inspire us to respond promptly to God. «May Saint Joseph become for everyone an exceptional teacher in serving Christ’s saving mission, a task that in the Church belongs to each and every one: to spouses and parents, to those who live by the work of their hands or by any other work, to those called to the contemplative life as well as to those called to the apostolate» (Redemptoris custos, 32).
To learn more:
• Prayers to Saint Joseph
• In honor of Saint Joseph. Novena, Sacred Mantle, Sorrows and Joys
• Saint Joseph. Religious fact and theology
• Patris corde
• Redemptoris Custos
FRIDAY, MARCH 12
Saint Luigi Orione
Don Luigi Orione is “a strategist of charity”; his heart is “without boundaries, because it has been expanded by the charity of Christ.” This humble son of a paver proclaims that “only charity will save the world.”
He lived his extraordinary adventure as a Christian and a priest by traveling the roads of the world, in direct and engaging contact with people without distinction of race, nationality, religion, or political belief. His inner fire, his overflowing strength of charity, his cry, and his work in defense of the weak, the poor, and the marginalized have left a positive mark on history. A priest after God’s own heart, he writes: “Preserve me, my God, from the disastrous illusion, the diabolical deception that, as a priest, I should concern myself only with those who come to church and receive the sacraments, with the faithful souls and devout women. Certainly, my ministry would be easier and more pleasant, but I would not live in that spirit of apostolic charity toward the lost sheep that shines throughout the Gospel. Only when I am exhausted and three times dead from running after sinners, only then may I seek a little rest among the righteous. May I never forget that the ministry entrusted to me is a ministry of mercy, and may I show my sinful brothers a little of that tireless charity that you have shown so many times toward my soul, O great God.”
Let us learn more about the life of this extraordinary priest and confidently invoke his intercession.
To learn more:
• Don Orione. Giving his life while singing of love
Pope Francis reminds us that “Lent is a humble descent within ourselves and toward others. It means understanding that salvation is not a climb toward glory, but a lowering of ourselves out of love. It means making ourselves small. On this journey, so that we do not lose our way, let us place ourselves before the cross of Jesus: it is God’s silent teaching chair.” Let us continue walking through this Lenten season with our eyes fixed on the Crucified One, in anticipation of the light of the Risen One.
Have a good journey!
