Devotions from August 16 to 22, 2021
Jesus had asked the Twelve: «Do you want to leave too?». Today, too, standing before Jesus, we are called to take a stand, choosing freely and personally.
Taking our example from the saints we remember this week, let us give Jesus our firm answer: «Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life».
Father Ermes Ronchi emphasizes: «Jesus does not suggest answers, nor does he issue orders or lessons: “Here is what you must or must not do,” but he leads you to look within yourself, to seek the truth of your heart: what do you truly want? What desire moves you? These are the questions of the heart, the only ones that truly heal. An appeal to the ultimate freedom of every disciple: you are free, go or stay; I compel no one; but now is the time to make a decision».
TUESDAY, AUGUST 17
Saint Clare of Montefalco
«The life of the soul is the love of God. Through love, the soul is united with God and becomes one with him, and so great is God's friendship with the soul and the soul's friendship with God that what God wants, the soul also wants, and what such a soul wants, God himself wants». These are the words of Saint Clare of Montefalco, who was a point of reference for the society and the Church of her time. She received great mystical gifts, such as the ability to read people's hearts.
Clare (1268-1308) was born into a well-to-do family. From a young age, she became accustomed to fasting and penance, showing great devotion to the Passion of Christ. At the age of six, she entered the hermitage where her sister Giovanna lived, and in 1291 she was elected superior, an office she held for the rest of her life. She lived her life in an exemplary manner. She strongly urged her fellow sisters to have a spirit of sacrifice and to make a personal commitment to building a solid spiritual life. The Lord favored her with the gift of infused knowledge: although she had no formal education, distinguished theologians and cardinals consulted her on matters of faith. In her final years, she repeatedly stated that the Lord's cross was imprinted on her heart. After her death, her fellow sisters wanted to verify the meaning of her words, so they removed her heart and found the signs of the Passion imprinted on it.
In the Spiritual Testament of Saint Clare to her Augustinian nuns, we read: «At the death of our Lord Jesus Christ, I offer my soul and I offer all of you. May you be blessed by God and by me. And I beg you, my daughters, to conduct yourselves well and to preserve as blessed all the work that God has enabled me to do for you. Be humble, be patient, be obedient, be united in the peace and love of God; be such women that God may always be praised because of you».
Let us imitate her radiant example and confidently invoke her intercession.
For further reflection:
• With the cross in her heart
FRIDAY, AUGUST 20
Saint Maria De Mattias
Maria De Mattias, born near Frosinone on February 4, 1805, was radiant, impulsive, full of life... and a little vain. One day, however, she suddenly no longer liked herself and paused before the picture of Our Lady in her room, praying: “Most Holy Mary, give me light.” She began a journey of conversion, at the end of which she understood that she had to devote herself to bringing Jesus to everyone. She became a missionary among the shepherds of her homeland, teaching them to read and write, but above all to love Jesus. She traveled by mule from one village to another and, where she could not reach, she sent letters. She founded the Congregation of the Adorers of the Blood of Christ, dreaming of making Jesus known to everyone, “so that He may be loved by all.”
Maria De Mattias is the foundress of the Congregation of the Adorers of the Blood of Christ.
For further reflection:
• In the blood of Christ, our freedom. Meditating on and contemplating the paschal mystery
SUNDAY, AUGUST 22
Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen
Today’s memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen, of devotional origin, was instituted in 1955 by Pius XII. It is celebrated a few days after the solemnity of the Assumption. Mary, sharing in Christ’s glorious universal kingship, is presented as a model and sign of hope for Christians who, already clothed in the Lord’s royal dignity through Baptism, are called to reign eternally with him.
Pope Francis reminded us that “Mary is not a distant queen seated on a throne, but the Mother who embraces her child and, with him, all of us her children. She is a true Mother, with a weathered face, a Mother who suffers because she truly takes the problems of our lives to heart.”
Let us invoke her motherly intercession and entrust to her what we carry in our hearts: desires, hopes, worries, and our deepest aspirations. Her loving care will not fail to bring us comfort and light.
For further reflection:
• Pray, pray, pray
• “On Your Word” devotional booklet, July-August 2021
“May the Virgin Mary help us always ‘go’ to Jesus to experience the freedom He offers us, which enables us to cleanse our choices of worldly accretions and fears” (Pope Francis). May she help us give Jesus our conscious response: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”
Have a good journey!
