Spiritual direction: who is the director and why do I need one?

Each person is a different world with his or her own stories and life experiences. And God has a specific plan for each person and spiritual direction or spiritual accompaniment, contributes to the growth process of each Christian in his or her condition of son or daughter of God the Father in Christ through the Holy Spirit; helping to discover with joy the figure and love of Christ and what his following calls for.

What is Catholic spiritual direction?

"On the path of the spiritual life do not rely on yourselves, but with simplicity and docility, ask advice and accept the help of those who, with wise moderation, can guide your soul, point out dangers, suggest suitable remedies, and in all internal and external difficulties can direct you aright and direct you...", Pope Pius XII, Apostolic Exhortation Menti nostrae, 27.

Spiritual direction or spiritual accompaniment seeks the orientation of the interior life and the exercise of the devout virtues so that each Christian may know how to carry out his daily tasks as a service to God and to his neighbor.  Without conditioning the secular and free nature of these same tasks, for which only the person concerned is fully responsible, like any other citizen. Its purpose is exclusively spiritual.

The objective of the spiritual direction consists primarily in helping you to discern the signs of God's will with the help of the advice of someone more experienced in the spiritual life: the spiritual director.

The figure of the spiritual director is very ancient in the life of the Church. In a broad and generic sense, it can be traced back to Jesus Christ himself and to the apostolic era, although throughout the history of the Church it has been enriched.

It should be kept in mind that spiritual direction is complementary to other activities of Catholic formation and catechesis of a more collective nature.

Why do I need a spiritual director?

"It would not occur to you to build a good house to live in on earth without consulting an architect. How do you want to build without a spiritual director the fortress of your sanctification so that you can live eternally in heaven?

It is very difficult for anyone to guide himself in the spiritual life. So many times the lack of objectivity with which we see ourselves, self-love, the tendency to let ourselves be carried away by what we like the most, or what is easier for us, blur the path that leads to God.

In the spiritual director, we see that person, who knows God's way well. To whom we open our souls and to whom we exercise as master of the things that refer to God.

In Opus Dei, in particular, the importance of spiritual direction has been stressed from the beginning as a decisive means of personal formation and as a help offered to all those who approach its apostolates. The genuinely secular spirit of this personal prelature of the Catholic Church means that in the exercise of spiritual direction, the freedom and personal responsibility of each person in his or her professional, social and political spheres, as well as in his or her personal life, is particularly emphasized. family.

Characteristics of the spiritual director

"The role of the master spiritual consists in supporting the work of the Holy Spirit in the soul and giving peace, in view of the gift of self and apostolic fruitfulness," St. Josemaría Escrivá.

There are three fundamental qualities for the spiritual director as defined by St. Francis de Sales:

And St. Josemaría Escrivá adds ".the counsels of spiritual direction serve to enlighten the intelligence, strengthen freedom. At times, this transmission of the truth will be done with fortitude. True refinement and true charity require getting to the marrow, even if it costs: always with delicacy and respecting the rhythms that are proper to each person".

It should be characterized by always being positive and motivating. Motivation is the seed of perseverance; it is in it that perseverance is really gestated. Motivation leads to love, and love is the foundation of life, of availability and generosity..."

Demand and motivation go hand in hand. Whoever wants to demand, must know how to motivate, and never demand without having motivated, otherwise the spiritual direction will fall on deaf ears".

direccion-espiritual-catolica-acompañamiento

"Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find". St. Matthew 7:7-12.

To find a spiritual director to help us with spiritual accompaniment you can go to parishes or Catholic movements. Start by going to confession to some of their priests and ask their advice progressively.

How to make a good spiritual direction?

"The task of spiritual direction must be guided not by dedicating oneself to the production of creatures who lack their own judgment and who limit themselves to carrying out materially what someone else tells them; on the contrary, spiritual direction must tend to form persons of judgment. And the criterion supposes maturity, firmness of convictions, sufficient knowledge of the doctrine, delicacy of spirit, education of the will".

If we want our spiritual direction to be enriching and not be reduced to a simple relief, isolated advice or the formal fulfillment of a commitment, it must have a series of characteristics:

What to talk about with your spiritual director?

""Faith and vocation as Christians affect our whole existence, and not just a part of it."Therefore, it is related to family life, work, rest, social life, politics, etc.

Although spiritual direction does not deal immediately with these areas, it should offer light and advice so that each person, with freedom and responsibility, secure in the Catholic faith and morals, can make informed decisions and allow the light of God to illuminate his or her whole life.

From this perspective spiritual direction is aimed at promoting unity of life which leads us to seek and love God in everything, and to live our whole life with an awareness of the mission that the Christian vocation implies," St. Josemaría Escrivá.

In spiritual direction, St. Josemaría advises us to always address three points necessary for true spiritual progress:

  1. Faith: which refers to the apostolic doctrine
  2. Purity: Receiving the Eucharist frequently helps us to have a clean look. Communion, a transcendental moment of all our lives. parts of the Mass.
  3. Vocation: is linked to the prayerThe response to the Word of God that calls is essential to be faithful to one's vocation.

This trilogy can be related to what the Acts of the Apostles tells us, describing the life and perseverance of the first Christians "in the apostles' teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread and in prayers".

Attitude for good Catholic spiritual direction

"You are well aware of the obligations of your Christian journey, which will lead you slowly and calmly to holiness; you are also well aware of the difficulties, practically all of them, because they can be glimpsed from the very beginning of the journey. Now I insist that you allow yourselves to be helped and guided by a director of souls, to whom you entrust all your holy illusions and the daily problems that affect your interior life, the setbacks you suffer and the victories.

In this spiritual direction, always show yourselves to be very sincere: do not grant yourselves anything without saying so, open your soul completely, without fear or shame. Be aware that, if you do not, this path, so flat and winding, becomes entangled, and what at first was nothing, ends up becoming a knot that suffocates...."

director espiritual acompañamiento espiritual católico

Spiritual direction requires, in the persons who receive it, the desire to progress in the following of Christ. The one who is spiritually accompanied must have an attitude of openness to help.

In seeking spiritual direction, in order to second the action of the Holy Spirit and to grow spiritually and identify ourselves with Christ, we must cultivate the virtues of sincerity and docility, which summarize the attitude of the believing soul before the Paraclete.

This is how St. Josemaría described this recommendation, addressing all the faithful, whether they belong to the Work or not.

"The function of the spiritual director is to open horizons, to help in the formation of criteria, to point out the obstacles, to indicate the adequate means to overcome them, to correct the deformations or deviations of the march, to always encourage: without ever losing the supernatural point of view, which is an optimistic affirmation, because every Christian can say that he can do everything with divine help..."

How often do you talk to your spiritual director?

God conquers and transforms us little by little. We have already mentioned the importance of constancy. An isolated work can perhaps give a little push, but it does not leave a deep mark. For this reason It is essential to follow spiritual direction periodically in order to shape with patience and perseverance the path God has laid out for our life.

Pray for your spiritual director

You can pray for the priests who lead so many souls in spiritual direction. Pray personally for the one who directs your soul, who advises you in different situations, for the gift of wisdom is found in him. You can also pray for priestly vocations so that someday, with the help of the Lord, you may be able to find a vocation to the priesthood. Holy Spirit are also spiritual directors.

May God favor you in this desire to grow spiritually and mature in faith. May the Lord provide you with a spiritual director so that you may truly commit to a process of spiritual growth and maturity.

Bibliography:

Social Doctrine of the Church.
OpusDei.org
Pastoral letter of October 2, 2011 in which Bishop Javier Echevarría.
"Spiritual direction". Dictionary of St. Josemaría Escrivá.

June 29, Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul

St. Peter and St. Paul, experienced the love of Christ "who healed them and set them free and, because of this, they became apostles and ministers of liberation for others." Pope Francis, 2021.

The Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul commemorates the martyrdom of Simon Peter and Paul of Tarsus, two of the apostles who accompanied Jesus Christ in his evangelizing mission.

Peter, chosen by Christ to be the rock of the Church: "You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church". (Mt 16:16). He humbly accepted his mission until his death as a martyr. His tomb in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican is a goal of pilgrimage for thousands of Christians who visit from all over the world.

Paul, a persecutor of Christians who became an apostle, is a model of a fervent evangelizer for all Catholics. After meeting Jesus, he gave himself unreservedly to the cause of the Gospel.

In his 2012 homily for the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, Benedict XVI called these two apostles "the principal patrons of the Church of Rome. "Christian tradition has always considered St. Peter and St. Paul inseparable: together, in fact, they represent the whole Gospel of Christ," he specified.

Francesco DeVito representando a san Pedro en una escena de la película La Pasión de Cristo.
St. Peter supported observes the trial of Jesus in the movie The Passion of the Christ.

After the Resurrection and Ascension of Christ, Peter humbly assumed the headship of the Church, led the apostles and took charge of keeping the true faith alive.

Paul, after his encounter with Christ, continued on to Damascus where he was baptized and regained his sight. He is recognized as the apostle of the Gentiles and spent the rest of his life preaching the Gospel tirelessly to the nations of the Mediterranean Sea.

Who was St. Peter and what was entrusted to him?

St. Peter was one of Jesus' twelve apostles. He was a fisherman and Jesus called him to be a fisher of men, to make known the love of God and his message of salvation. Peter accepted and followed Jesus.

His name was Simon; Jesus called him Cephas, "stone" and told him that he would be the stone on which he would build his Church. That is why we know him as Peter.

The apostle Peter lived very important moments with Jesus:

After receiving the gifts of the Holy Spirit, he moved from Jerusalem to Antioch and founded his Christian community. Later, he traveled to Rome where he continued his work. He humbly accepted his mission until his death as a martyr. Peter asked to be crucified upside down, because he did not feel worthy to die like Jesus. He was buried on the Vatican Hill, near the place of his martyrdom. St. Peter's Basilica, the center of Christianity, was built there. In the Acts of the Apostles, several feats and public miracles of St. Peter as the first head of the Church are narrated.

La Silla de san Pedro, reliquia de madera conservada en el Vaticano, símbolo de la autoridad papal.
Ancient chair of St. Peter, symbol of the magisterium and unity of the Church.

The Institution of the Papacy

Peter was the first Pope of the Catholic Church. Jesus gave him the keys of the Kingdom and charged him with caring for his Church, caring for his flock. The Pope's mission is, above all, the work of a father who watches over his children. The Pope is Christ's representative in the world and is the visible head of the Church. He is the shepherd of the Church, he leads it and holds it together.

He is assisted by the Holy Spirit, who acts directly upon him, sanctifies him and helps him with his gifts to guide and strengthen the Church by his example and word. The Pope has the mission to teach, sanctify and govern the Church and we, as Christians, must love him for who he is and what he represents.

What does the life of St. Peter the Apostle teach us?

St. Peter teaches us to surrender weakness to God. Cause, despite human weakness, God loves us and calls us to holiness. Every Christian should work and ask God to help him to reach his holiness.

To be a good Christian we must strive to be holy every day. St. Peter specifically tells us: "Be holy in your conduct as he who called you is holy". (I Peter, 1:15). It also teaches us that the Holy Spirit can work wonders in an ordinary man. It can make him capable of overcoming the greatest obstacles.

Representación artística de la conversión de san Pablo, caído del caballo al recibir la luz divina.
St. Paul's conversion on the road to Damascus, the moment when Christ calls him to follow him.

Who was St. Paul and what was entrusted to him?

A Jew by race, a Greek by education and a Roman citizen. He was born in the city of Tarsus. And he studied in the best schools of Jerusalem. His Hebrew name was Saul and he was an enemy of the Christian religion. He was committed to his Jewish faith. That is why he dedicated himself to persecute the Christians of Damascus.

On the road to Damascus, there appeared to him Jesus, In the midst of a great radiance, he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him: "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? With this phrase, Paul understood that in persecuting Christians he was persecuting Christ himself.

Then Saul got up from the ground and could see nothing. They took him to Damascus and there Ananias, obeying Jesus, caused Saul to regain his sight, get up and be baptized. It was then that Saul changed his name to Paul and began to preach the word of Jesus. He traveled to Jerusalem to place himself under the orders of St. Peter.

He carried the Gospel throughout the Mediterranean world. His work was not easy. He made four great apostolic journeys to bring the message of salvation to all people, creating new Christian communities wherever he went and teaching and supporting existing communities.

Paul's conversion was total. He understood very well the meaning of being an apostle and of apostolating the Christian message. He was faithful to the call that Jesus made to him on the road to Damascus.

Subsequently, he was martyred in Rome. His head was cut off with a sword because, as he was a Roman citizen, he could not be condemned to die on a cross, since it was a death reserved for slaves. St. Paul was beheaded in 67. He is buried in Rome, in the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls.

What does the life of St. Paul the Apostle teach us?

St. Paul teaches us to have a heart without barriers. His life teaches us the importance of the apostolic work of Christians. All Christians must proclaim Christ by communicating his message by word and example.Each one in the place where he or she lives, and in different ways, to surrender weakness to God.

By turning away from sin and living a life dedicated to holiness and apostolate, St. Paul also teaches us the value of conversion and obedience. He accepts the gifts Christ offers him and lives his love by spreading and communicating his faith, by word and example. He dedicates himself to bringing the great gift he had received to others.

Bibliography:

Intercession of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary

We go to Jesus and return to him through Mary. The insistent prayer to the Immaculate Heart of the Virgin Mary, Mother of God, is based on the confidence that her maternal intercession can do everything before the Sacred Heart of the Son. She is omnipotent by grace.

Some time ago Pope Saint John Paul IIin Redemptoris Mater wrote about Our Lady's intercession and pointed out that she "freely cooperated in the work of the salvation of humanity, in profound and constant harmony with her divine Son".

Omnes cum Petro ad Iesum per Mariam!
All, with Peter, to Jesus through Mary!St. Josemaría Escrivá.

From this cooperation "derives the gift of universal spiritual motherhood: associated with Christ in the work of Redemption, which includes the spiritual regeneration of humanity, she becomes the Mother of men reborn to a new life".

It is the Virgin Mary who "guides the Church's faith towards an ever deeper acceptance of the Word of God, sustaining its hope, encouraging charity and fraternal communion, and fostering apostolic dynamism.

God wanted to unite "to the priestly intercession of the Redeemer the maternal intercession of the Virgin Mary. It is a function that she exercises for the benefit of those who are in danger and in need of temporal favors and, above all, of eternal salvation".

Litanies that go directly to the Immaculate Heart of the Virgin Mary 

The titles with which we Christians address Our Lady when we recite the litanies that accompany the prayer of the Holy Rosary, "help us to better understand the nature of her intervention in the life of the Church and of each of the faithful". St. John Paul II.

As Advocate, she defends her children and protects them from harm caused by their own faults. Christians invoke our Mother as Helper, recognizing her maternal love that sees the needs of her children and is ready to intervene to help them, especially when eternal salvation is at stake.

She receives the title of Help because she is close to those who suffer or find themselves in situations of grave danger. And as a maternal Mediatrix, she presents to Christ our desires, our petitions and transmits to us the divine gifts, interceding continually on our behalf.

"Mother! -call her loudly, loudly. -She hears you, sees you in danger perhaps, and offers you, your Holy Mother Mary, with the Grace of her Son, the consolation of her lap, the tenderness of her caresses: and you will find yourself comforted for the new struggle." St. Josemaría Escrivá, The Way, No. 516.

consagración al inmaculado corazón de la virgen maría
Act of Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary of Pope Francis (March 25, 2022).

The Intercession of the Immaculate Heart of the Virgin Mary: Mediation in Christ

Mary did not want to draw attention to herself. She lived on earth with her gaze fixed on Jesus and the Heavenly Father. Her most intense desire is to make everyone's gaze converge in the same direction from the Immaculate Heart of the Virgin Mary to the Sacred Heart of her son Jesus. He wants to promote a look of faith and hope in the Savior sent to us by the Father. With this gaze of faith and hope, he urges the Church and believers to always fulfill the will of the Father, which Christ has manifested to us.

From the Homily on our Lady delivered by St. Josemaría Escrivá on October 11, 1964, and included in the book Friends of God. "Now, instead, in the scandal of the Sacrifice of the Cross, Holy Mary was present, listening with sadness to Those who passed by blasphemed, shaking their heads and crying out, "You who tear down the temple of God and in three days rebuild it, save yourself; if you are the Son of God, come down from the Cross.Our Lady listened to the words of her Son, joining in his pain: My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?.

What could she do? Fuse herself with the redeeming love of her Son, offer to the Father the immense pain - like a sharp sword - that pierced his pure Heart.

Once again Jesus is comforted by the discreet and loving presence of his Mother. Mary does not cry out, she does not run from one side to the other. StabatShe is standing next to the Son. It is then that Jesus looks at her, and then looks at John. And he exclaims: Woman, behold your son. Then he says to the disciple: there you have your Mother.. In John, Christ entrusts to his Mother all men and especially his disciples: those who were to believe in him.

Felix guilt"Happy fault, sings the Church, happy fault, because she has achieved to have such a great Redeemer. Happy fault, we can also add, that we have merited to receive Holy Mary as our Mother. We are already sure, nothing should worry us anymore: because Our Lady, crowned Queen of heaven and earth, is the omnipotence supplicant before God. Jesus can deny nothing to Mary, nor can He deny anything to us, children of His own Mother (Friends of God, 288).

Mary was intimately united to her sacrifice, a sacrifice that involved continuing to keep things in her heart. The 7 Sorrows of the VirginThe moments in the life of the Virgin Mary where she was united to Jesus in a particular and unique way. This allowed her to share the depth of her Son's sorrow and the love of his sacrifice.

And accompanies Jesus step by step

"Do whatever He tells you." John 2:5. It is John who recounts the scene at Cana. He is the only evangelist who has recorded this trait of maternal solicitude. St. John wants to remind us that the Virgin was present at the beginning of the Lord's public life.

This shows us that he knew how to deepen the importance of the presence of the Immaculate Heart of the Virgin Mary, which is always present. Jesus knew to whom he entrusted his Mother: to a disciple who had loved her, who had learned to love her as his own mother and was able to understand her.

Among creatures, no one knows Jesus better than Our Lady, no one like his Mother can introduce us to a profound knowledge of his mystery.

Leo XIII, in an Encyclical on the Rosary, says: "By the express will of God, no good is granted to us except through Mary; and as no one can come to the Father except through the Son, so generally no one can come to Jesus except through Mary".

Mary is the mother of all Christians

"She cooperated with her charity so that the faithful might be born in the Church, members of that head, of which she is indeed mother according to the body," St. Augustine, De sancta virginitate, 6.

St. Luke, the evangelist who narrated the infancy of Jesus at the greatest length. It seems as if he wanted us to understand that, just as Mary played a leading role in the Incarnation of the Word, in an analogous way she was also present at the origins of the Church, which is the Body of Christ.

From the first moment of the Church's life, all Christians who have sought God's love, that love which is revealed to us and made flesh in Jesus Christ, have encountered Our Lady, and have experienced her maternal solicitude in many different ways.

inmaculado corazón de la virgen maría intercesión

Bishop Alvaro del Portillo, Prelate of Opus Dei, in 1987, in Toshi.

Approaching the Immaculate Heart of the Virgin Mary

"Jesus is a way that is passable, open to all. The Virgin Mary today shows us, shows us the way: Let us follow her! And you, Holy Mother of God, accompany us with your protection, Amen", Benedict XVI, Homily of 01/02/2012.

As prelate of Opus Dei, Bishop Alvaro del Portillo in 1987 spoke about the intercessory power of the Blessed Virgin Mary when he traveled to the island of Toshi, off the coast of Toba in Japan.

"You see the power of our Mother's intercession. When she asks, her Son God cannot say no, he says yes. She is the good little Mother of God and God says yes to his good little Mother. And this good little Mother of God is also a good little Mother, who always listens to us, who hears us and listens to us. And that is why, when we are in trouble, when we are in pain, when we are in sorrow, it is convenient to turn to the Blessed Virgin so that she, who can do everything, may intercede with her Son".

As good children we must love our Heavenly Mother every day; we know that She is a gift from Jesus, and God gives us the Immaculate Heart of Mary for our salvation, to bring us closer to Him.

And to ask for the intercession of the Virgin Mary, from the earliest times of the Church, it was already prayed: "Under your protection we take refuge, Holy Mother of God: do not despise the supplications that we address to you in our needs, but deliver us always from all dangers, glorious and blessed Virgin".

Pope Benedict's prayer to the Virgin Mary

On May 12, 2010, during his pilgrimage to the Shrine of Fátima, the Pope Benedict XVI He said a prayer before the image of the Virgin Mary in the Church of the Most Holy Trinity, with which he consecrated the priests to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

"Immaculate Mother, in this place of grace, summoned by the love of your Son Jesus, High and Eternal Priest, we, sons in the Son and his priests, consecrate ourselves to your maternal Heart, to faithfully fulfill the will of the Father.

We are aware that, without Jesus, we can do nothing (cf. Jn 15:5) and that, only through Him, with Him and in Him, will we be instruments of salvation for the world.

Bride of the Holy Spirit, obtain for us the priceless gift of transformation into Christ. By the same power of the Spirit who, spreading his shadow over you, made you the Mother of the Savior, help us so that Christ, your Son, may also be born in us. And in this way may the Church be renewed by holy priests, transfigured by the grace of Him who makes all things new.

inmaculado corazón de maría virgen de fátima

Mother of Mercy, it was your Son Jesus who called us to be like Him: light of the world and salt of the earth (cf. Mt 5:13-14). Help us, through your powerful intercession, not to undervalue this sublime vocation, not to give in to our selfishness, nor to the flatteries of the world, nor to the temptations of the Evil One.

Preserve us with your purity, protect us with your humility and surround us with your maternal love, which is reflected in so many souls consecrated to you and who are for us authentic spiritual mothers.

Mother of the Church, we priests want to be shepherds who do not feed themselves, but who give themselves to God for their brothers and sisters, finding happiness in this. We want to repeat humbly every day, not only in word but also in life, our "here I am".

Guided by you, we want to be Apostles of Divine Mercy, filled with the joy of being able to celebrate daily the Holy Sacrifice of the Altar and to offer to all who ask us the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

Advocate and Mediatrix of grace, you who are united to the one universal mediation of Christ, ask God for us a completely renewed heart that loves God with all its strength and serves humanity as you did. Repeat to the Lord that efficacious word of yours: "they have no wine left" (Jn 2:3), so that the Father and the Son may pour out upon us, as a new effusion, the Holy Spirit.

Filled with admiration and gratitude for your constant presence among us, in the name of all priests, I too would like to exclaim: "Who am I that the Mother of my Lord should visit me? (Lk 1:43) Our Mother for ever, do not tire of "visiting" us, consoling us, sustaining us. Come to our aid and deliver us from all the dangers that beset us.

With this act of offering and consecration, we want to welcome you in a deeper and more radical way, forever and totally, in our human and priestly existence. May your presence make the desert of our solitude green and the sun shine in our darkness, may it make the calm return after the storm, so that every man may see the salvation of the Lord, who has the name and the face of Jesus, reflected in our hearts, united forever to yours. So be it.

Bibliography:

The Eucharist, the Sacred Heart of Jesus

 A man had lost the "memory of the heart". That is, "he had lost the whole chain of feelings and thoughts he had treasured up in the encounter with the human pain". Why did this happen and what were the consequences? "Such a disappearance of the memory of love had been offered to him as a release from the burden of the past.

But it soon became clear that the man had thereby changed: the encounter with pain no longer awakened in him memories of goodness. With the loss of memory the source of goodness within him had also disappeared. He had become cold and emanated coldness around him".

This story comes in handy in connection with Pope Francis' preaching on the Solemnity of Corpus Christi (June 14, 2020).

Eucharist: memorial and feelings

Memory is something important for all people. The Pope observes in his homily on this feast: "If we do not remember (...), we become strangers to ourselves, 'transients' of existence. Without memory we are uprooted from the ground that sustains us and we are carried away like leaves in the wind. On the other hand, to remember is to knot ourselves with stronger ties, to feel part of a history, to breathe with a people".

And that is why Sacred Scripture insists that educating young people in this memory or remembrance of the traditions and history of the people of Israel, especially of the commands and gifts of the Lord (cf. Ps 77 12; Dt 6:20-22).

Problems arise if - as is now happening with the transmission of the Christian faith - it is interrupted or if what it hears about has not been experienced, the memory of individuals and peoples is put at risk.

The Lord left us a "memorial". Not just something to remember, to bring to mind. Not just some words or some symbols. He gave us a food that is continually efficacious, the living Bread that is Himself: the Eucharist. And he gave it to us as a fact, because he commissioned us to make it, celebrate it as a people and as a family: "Do this in remembrance of me" (1 Cor 11:24). The Eucharist, Francis points out, is the memorial of God.

Indeed, the Eucharist is memory, a living memory or memorial that renews (or actualizes without repeating it) the Lord's Passover, his death and resurrection, among us. It is the memory of our faith, of our hope, of our love.

The Eucharist is a memorial of all that we are, a memorial, one might also say, of the heart, giving this last term its biblical meaning: the totality of the person. A man is worth what his heart is worth and this includes - as in the story told by Cardinal Ratzinger - the capacity for goodness and compassion, which in the Christian are becoming identified with the sentiments of Christ himself.

The Eucharist, memorial of the heart, heals, preserves and strengthens the whole person of the Christian. For this reason, as the Church says, the Eucharist is the source and summit of Christian life and of the Church's mission (cf. Sacramentum caritatis, 2007).

On the solemnity of the Corpus ChristiFrancis has been unraveling the healing power of this "memorial" that is the Eucharist. And with it he shows us the importance of the Eucharist for the configuration of our feelings towards God and others.

On this also depends what we could call affective education - which never ends in each person - and the affective connection with God and with others: knowing how to situate ourselves before others - our relatives and friends, our colleagues and co-workers, the people we meet every day.

Eucaristía memorial de Jesús

The interior "taking charge" of what happens to them, in order to know how to communicate and express our feelings appropriately, integrating them into our decisions and activities, as an important part of the attractiveness that is inherent to the Christian life. The Eucharist thus occupies a central place with regard to the discernmentWe are committed to the spiritual and ecclesial aspects of all our actions.

Healing power of the Eucharist on memory

The Eucharist heals the orphaned memory and heals its wounds. That is, "the memory wounded by the lack of affection and the bitter disappointments received from the one who should have given love but instead left the heart desolate". The Eucharist infuses us with a greater love, the love of God Himself.. So says the Pope:

"The Eucharist brings us the faithful love of the Father, who heals our orphanhood. It gives us the love of Jesus, who transformed a tomb from a point of arrival into a point of departure, and who in the same way can change our lives. It communicates to us the love of the Holy Spirit, who consoles, because he never leaves anyone alone, and heals wounds".

Secondly, the Eucharist heals our negative memory. That "memory" that "always brings to the surface the things that are wrong and leaves us with the sad idea that we are good for nothing, that we only make mistakes, that we are wrong". And it always puts our problems, our falls, our broken dreams in front of us.

Jesus comes to tell us that this is not so. That we are valuable to himwho always sees the good and the beautiful in us, who desires our company and our love. "The Lord knows that evil and sins are not our identity; they are illnesses, infections. And - with good examples in this time of pandemic, the Pope explains how the Eucharist heals - he comes to cure them with the Eucharist, which contains the antibodies for our sick memory of negativity.

With Jesus we can immunize ourselves from sadness. For this reason, the power of the Eucharist - when we try to receive it with the best dispositions, so that it may bear all its fruits in us - transforms us into bearers of God, which is the same as saying: bearers of joy.

Third, the Eucharist heals our closed memory. Life often leaves us wounded. It makes us fearful and suspicious, cynical or indifferent, arrogant... and selfish. All this, observes Peter's successor, "is a deception, for only love heals fear at its roots and frees us from the obstinacy that imprisons us". Jesus comes to free us from these armors, interior blockages and paralysis of the heart.

"The Lord, who offers himself to us in the simplicity of bread, also invites us not to waste our lives seeking a thousand useless things that create dependence and leave our interior empty. The Eucharist removes in us the hunger for things and kindles in us the desire to serve". It helps us to stand up to help others who are hungry for food, dignity and work. It invites us to establish authentic chains of solidarity.

The Eucharist heals our orphaned and wounded memory, our negative memory and our closed memory. To this Francis adds, in his Angelus address on the same day, June 14, the explanation of the two effects of the Eucharist: the mystical effect and the communitarian effect.

Mystical effect and community effect

The mystical effect (mystical in relation to the profound mystery that takes place there) refers to that healing of our "wounded memory" of which he spoke in his homily. The Eucharist heals us and transforms us interiorly through our intimacy with Jesus; for what we take, under the appearance of bread or wine, is nothing less than the body and blood of Christ (cf. 1 Cor 10:16-17).

Jesus - the Pope explains once again - is present in the sacrament of the Eucharist to be our nourishment, to be assimilated and to become in us that renewing force that gives us back our energy and gives us back the desire to get back on track after every pause or after every fall".

At the same time, it points out how our dispositions must be in order for all this to be possible; above all, "our willingness to let ourselves be transformed, our way of thinking and acting".

This is so, and this will is manifested in approaching the Eucharist with a conscience free of grave sin (having previously attended the sacrament of Penance if necessary), in allowing ourselves to be helped by those who can help us to form our conscience, to rectify our desires, to orient our activities in the right direction according to our circumstances, so that our life may have a true sense of love and service.

For all these reasons, Francis points out, the Mass is not simply a social or respectful act, but empty of content. It is "Jesus present who comes to feed us".

All of this is linked to the communitarian effect of the Eucharist, which is its ultimate purpose, as expressed in the following words: "The Eucharist is the Eucharist of God. St. PaulFor though we are many, we are one bread and one body" (Ibid., v. 17). That is, to make of his disciples a community, a family that overcomes rivalries and envy, prejudices and divisions. By giving us the gift of brotherly love we can achieve what he also asked of us: "Abide in my love" (Jn 15:9).

In this way," Francis concludes, "not only does the Church "make" the Eucharist, but also and finally the Eucharist makes the Church, as a "mystery of communion" for her mission. A mission that begins precisely by producing and increasing our unity. Thus it is, and thus the Church can be the seed of unity, peace and transformation of the whole world.

Mr. Ramiro Pellitero IglesiasProfessor of Pastoral Theology at the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarra. Published in Iglesia y nueva evangelización.

June 26, the feast of St. Josemaría

Every June 26, the Catholic Church celebrates the feast of St. Josemaría Escrivá, founder of Opus Dei. Hundreds of thousands of people today remember "the saint of ordinary life," as St. John Paul II called him. On this special day, many gather at Holy Mass to honor his memory.

"Following in his footsteps," the Pope said in his homily on the occasion of his canonization of St. Josemaría, "spread in society, without distinction of race, class, culture or age, the awareness that we are all called to holiness.

The figure of St. Josemaría continues to inspire many on their path to holiness. If you would like to pray before his remains, you can go to the church at Santa Maria della Pace (in Rome).

St. Josemaría and priests

St. Josemaría's identity as founder has left an indelible mark on today's world. He had the art of knowing how to express great realities in brief and simple words. This happens, for example, when he speaks on the theme of priestly identity, which is questioned and problematized by some, and he resolved it with resounding clarity: "The priest, whoever he may be, is always another Christ..

Another Christ, Ipse ChristusThe priest can consecrate the Body and Blood of Christ, offer to God the Holy Sacrifice, forgive sins in sacramental confession and exercise the ministry of indoctrinating people. The priest can consecrate the Body and Blood of Christ, offer to God the Holy Sacrifice, forgive sins in sacramental confession and exercise the ministry of indoctrinating people". (The Way, 6).

He always looked upon the diocesan priests as his brothers.He used to say to them: "My brother priests," he used to say when addressing them. I felt a brotherly affection for them and to the priests of the Prelature of Opus Dei he invited them to feel like diocesan priests in all the dioceses of the world.

Lived and promoted an authentic love for priests and always gave proof of it. He was an example of zeal for priestly formation.He demonstrated this in the solicitude with which he guided the activity of the Priestly Society of the Holy Cross, which enables priests from all the dioceses of the world to share their spirituality.

26 junio fiesta san Josemaría sacerdote
St. Peter's Square at the canonization ceremony of St. Josemaría, 2002.

The CARF Foundation follows this example of the founder of the Work, as he affectionately called it, by supporting the priestly formation. For this reason the Foundation acts to provide, with the help of benefactors, study aids for poor diocesan priests and seminarians from dioceses around the world.The students of the University of Navarra, Spain, will receive a solid theological, human and spiritual preparation at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome and at the Ecclesiastical Faculties of the University of Navarra in Pamplona, Spain.

In addition, promoted the importance of prayer in the life of the presbyter. "Do not cease to pray for them, that they may always be faithful priests, pious, learned, dedicated, joyful! Entrust them especially to Holy Mary, who will be especially solicitous as a Mother for those who are committed for life to serve her Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, Eternal Priest".

Saint Josemaría's teachings for priests

Bishop Javier Echevarría explains that throughout his long pastoral experience, the founder of Opus Dei continuously experienced the need for a strong priestly identityis not true that Christians want to see in the priest The Christian people want the priest to be a priest.

In the words of St. Josemaría, "let the priest's priestly character be clearly emphasized: they expect him to pray, not to refuse to administer the sacraments, to be ready to welcome everyone without becoming the leader or militant of human factions, of whatever kind.

Moreover, that he put love and devotion into the celebration of the Holy Mass, that he sit in the confessional, that he console the sick and the afflicted; that he indoctrinate children and adults with catechesis, that he preach the Word of God and not any kind of human science that - even if he knew perfectly well - would not be the science that saves and leads to eternal life; that he have counsel and charity for the needy. In a word: the priest is asked to learn not to hinder the presence of Christ in him". Homily Priest for eternity, April 13, 1973.

Javier Echevarría, can perhaps sum up the challenge that today's world throws down to sacred ministers. To men and women of all times, the priest must make God presentAnd for this, he must learn to lend Christ his voice, his hands, his soul and his body: all that is his.

This happens mainly when he administers the sacraments or in preaching, but not only in those moments. The dynamics proper to the sacrament of Holy Orders, whose center and culmination is the Eucharist, lead to to give himself entirely, body and soul, to Christ.

Saint Josemaría's words about priests

Short texts about the life and vocation of priests that we remember on the occasion of his feast day.

Bibliography

Camino.
It is Christ who passes.
Homily Priest for eternity.
Forge.
Homily Pope St. John Paul II at the Mass of canonization, 2002.
Homily Pope St. John Paul II at the Mass of beatification, 1992.
Homily Javier Echevarría on the priesthood, 2009.

26J saint Josemaría: the saint of ordinary life

St. Josemaría was born on January 9, 1902 in Barbastro (Huesca), into a deeply Christian family. He was the second of six children. His father, José, was a merchant; his mother, Dolores, was a pious woman who passed on to her children a living and simple faith. When Josemaría was thirteen years old, the family moved to Logroño due to the bankruptcy of the family business. This change of city would mark a key moment in his spiritual life.

One winter day, during a snowfall, he saw in the street the footprints in the snow left by a barefoot Carmelite. This made a deep impression on him: he perceived that God wanted something from him. Years later, he would remember that moment as the beginning of an interior intuition, of a diffuse call, a spiritual restlessness that grew.

Although he did not know exactly what the Lord was asking of him, he decided to become a priest as a way of being more available to fulfill the divine will. He entered the seminary of Saragossa, where he began his ecclesiastical studies, which he later combined with law studies. He was ordained a priest on March 28, 1925.

After a brief period as curate in a rural parish in Perdiguera, he moved to Madrid to continue his academic formation. There he worked as a chaplain and ministered to the sick, students and people in need.

It was in this urban environment, in contact with people from all walks of life, that his life took a definitive turn. On October 2, 1928, during a spiritual retreat, he received with inner clarity the mission that God entrusted to him: to found Opus Dei. He understood that he had to open a path within the Church to help discover that all men and women, regardless of their status, profession or social condition, are called to seek holiness in their ordinary lives through each other's work.

Dibujo animado de San Josemaría Escrivá con símbolos asociados: una cruz, un rosario, una rosa roja y el libro "Camino".
Representation of St. Josemaría Escrivá and some key elements of his life and message.

Who was St. Josemaría and why is it celebrated on June 26?

The initial inspiration showed him that any honest task - from an operating room to an office, a kitchen, a factory, the countryside or a classroom - could be a place of encounter with God. It was not a matter of doing extraordinary things, but of doing the ordinary with love, with perfection, with a Christian sense. Work, lived with this attitude, became a means of personal sanctification and service to others. This vision broke the mold at a time when holiness was associated almost exclusively with religious or priestly life. Josemaría insisted time and again to everyone that God does not call only some, but all.

In the early years, Opus Dei began in a very humble way: just a handful of young people in Madrid who listened to that priest speak to them about a Christian life that was coherent, joyful, demanding and committed to the world. In 1930, he also understood that this call was for women, and in 1943 he founded the Priestly Society of the Holy Cross, as part of the structure of Opus Dei. Opus Deito also integrate diocesan priests.

Expansion was slow at first, marked by the social and political difficulties of the Spain of the time. During the Civil War, the founder had to go into hiding because he was a priest. At the end of the conflict, he resumed his work with renewed impetus.

But in 1946 he moved to Rome, from where he promoted the international development of the Work. In 1950, the Holy See granted definitive approval to Opus Dei, recognizing the validity of this new path within the Church. The expansion was progressive: they reached countries in Europe, America, Asia and Africa.

From the beginning of his ordination, St. Josemaría developed an intense pastoral and formative activity. He preached retreats, wrote books on spirituality - among them the best known, Caminopublished for the first time in 1939 - and accompanied many people spiritually.

In all her writings and meetings she insisted on the value of the little things, on the importance of doing them well and with God's love. "God waits for us in the little things," he used to say. His spirituality was neither complicated nor inaccessible, but deeply incarnated in daily life with a marked confidence in being a child of God: divine filiation fills the whole life of the person.

He died in Rome on June 26, 1975, unexpectedly, having just arrived at his residence at the headquarters of Opus Dei, Villa Tevere, after seeing and spending time with his daughters at the Roman College of Santa Maria.

This is how Blessed Alvaro del Portillo relates it in an interview about the Founder. "At eleven fifty-seven we entered the garage of Villa Tevere. A member of the Work was waiting for us at the door. Father quickly got out of the car, with a cheerful face; he moved with agility, so much so, that he turned to personally close the door. He thanked his son who had helped him and entered the house.

He greeted the Lord in the oratory of the Holy Trinity and, as he used to do, he made a slow, devout genuflection, accompanied by an act of love. Then we went upstairs to my office, the room where he usually worked, and a few seconds after passing the door, he called out: Javi!

Javier Echevarría had stayed behind to close the elevator door, and our Founder repeated more forcefully: "Javi! and then, in a weaker voice: "I am not feeling well. Immediately Father collapsed on the floor. We used all possible means, spiritual and medical. As soon as I realized the gravity of the situation, I gave him absolution and the Anointing of the Sick, as he ardently desired: he was still breathing. He had begged us many times to not deprive him of this treasure.

Possibly, after greeting the picture of the Virgin Mary of Guadalupe with an ejaculatory prayer, as he always used to do when entering any room of the house, with that last small act of love he collapsed. That same day the fame of his sanctity began to spread among the faithful.

In 1992 he was beatified by St. John Paul II, and in 2002 he was canonized, The Pope himself said during his homily: "With supernatural intuition, St. Josemaría untiringly preached the universal call to holiness and apostolate. Christ calls everyone to Christian perfection: workers and peasants, intellectuals and artists, people of all professions, social conditions and cultures".

A path of holiness in the midst of the world

Today, St. Josemaría's message continues to inspire thousands of people around the world. Opus Dei is present in 68 countries and offers spiritual and human formation to Christians from all walks of life. His legacy is not limited to the creation of an institution, but lies, above all, in having opened a new way to live the Gospel in the heart of the world.

Celebrating St. Josemaría's feast day on June 26 is to remember God's call to live fully in the midst of the ordinary. It is an invitation to everyone - laity, priests, married people, singles - to seek holiness in daily life, at work, in the family, at rest, in professional duties and in human relationships. He himself said: "There where your aspirations, your work, your loves are, there is the place of your daily encounter with Christ".

In short, St. Josemaría was an instrument in God's hands to remind us of something profoundly evangelical: that there are no second- or first-division Christians, that all of us-you and I-are called to the fullness of love, without the need to change our life, but only by changing the heart with which we live it.

Praying through the intercession of St. Josemaría

Christians have always turned to the intercession of the saints to bring their prayer into the presence of God. You can download the prayer in more than 30 languages.

Estampa de san Josemaría Escrivá con una oración por su intercesión.

Bibliography: