Devotions from April 19 to 25, 2021
«The secret of happiness is to live from moment to moment and to thank the Lord for everything that, in his goodness, he sends us day by day.» This week, let us allow ourselves to be accompanied by these words of Saint Gianna Beretta Molla.
«The world seeks joy but does not find it because it is far from God. Once we understood that joy comes from Jesus, with Jesus in our hearts we bring joy. He will be the strength that helps us» (Saint Gianna Beretta Molla). Here, then, is the secret of the happiness we all aspire to. Our joy comes from Jesus; only he can give it to us. Let us bring this joy to everyone we meet, living this week full of light!
MONDAY, APRIL 19
Start of the novena to Saint Gianna Beretta Molla
«To love God with all one's heart means loving God inwardly. The world is lavish with smiles, flattery, and compliments. How many Christians adopt the world's ways in their relationship with God. They continually have the name of Christ on their lips, go to church, but all this is nothing more than fashion, habit, and opportunism. Jesus lashed out at these false worshippers, saying: “It is not enough to honor God with one's lips, it is not enough to cry out ‘Lord, Lord,’ but one must do the will of my Father.” To love God with all one's heart therefore means completely submitting our will to his, wanting everything that he wants.» These are the words of Saint Gianna Beretta Molla, a saint who discovered that the secret of happiness is wholeheartedly embracing God's will. Let us learn more about this extraordinary and radiant figure and pray with confidence that she may intercede for us.
For further study:
• Saint Gianna Beretta Molla. All the colors of life. Woman, wife, mother… Saint
MONDAY, APRIL 19
Start of the novena to Saint Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort
Saint Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort is known in the Church above all for his Marian spirituality. He said: «The Blessed Virgin is the means our Lord used to come to us, and she is also the means we must use to go to him… If, therefore, we establish a solid devotion to the Blessed Virgin, it is only to provide an easy and sure means of finding Jesus Christ.» During these nine days, let us get to know this saint's life ever better, delve into his writings, and invoke his intercession.
For further study:
• Saint Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort. His life, writings, and veneration
• A thought each day with Montfort
THURSDAY, APRIL 22
Start of the novena to Saint Joseph the Worker
“A model of the humble whom Christianity raises to great destinies”: this is how Saint Paul VI described Saint Joseph. He also said that Saint Joseph “is proof that to be good and authentic followers of Christ, ‘great things’ are not required, but only ordinary, human, simple, yet true and authentic virtues.” The feast of Saint Joseph the Worker gives us the opportunity to reflect on the reality of work, an important aspect of human life. Believers should sanctify themselves through their work, and to do this they need to live a spirituality that helps them in this regard. And Saint Joseph is the model to imitate. Pope Francis, during the general audience of 1 May 2013, said: “Work... ‘anoints’ us with dignity, fills us with dignity; it makes us like God, who has worked and works, always acting (cf. Jn 5:17).”
Let us pray these days for all workers. May no one lack work, and may everyone enjoy the dignity of work.
For further study:
• Prayers to Saint Joseph
SUNDAY, 25 APRIL
Saint Mark the Evangelist
Like the other evangelists, Mark wanted to pass on to us the preaching of the apostles to invite us to follow Jesus. He did not intend to transmit a simple doctrine, as philosophers did; by speaking about Jesus, he wished to help us begin a journey of faith so that we might personally encounter the Lord in the ecclesial community. He belonged to a Hellenized family in Jerusalem that made its home available to the first Christians. It is possible that this house was open to Christ and his apostles and that the Last Supper took place there. Mark accompanied Paul on his first missionary journey. He then followed Peter to Rome and served him during the apostles’ imprisonment, and finally made himself available to Paul again during Paul’s imprisonment. Mark presents Jesus to us through the very experience of his disciples and apostles. Faced with the question of who Jesus truly is, in his Gospel we find the answer through the centurion’s profession of faith: “Truly this man was the Son of God!” (Mk 15:39).
For further study:
• The Gospel of Mark
“If there is something that characterizes the saints, it is that they are truly happy. They have discovered the secret of authentic happiness, which dwells deep within the soul and has its source in the love of God” (Pope Francis). May the Lord also grant us the grace to feel that happiness truly resides in the love of God. Let us therefore not lose ourselves in futile things, losing sight of the deeper meaning of our lives.
Have a good journey!
