What we are

In a world that despises and attacks us, just feel proud of who and what you are: God´s child and member, by God´s grace, of the Catholic Church.
This video, as the author of the second video author says, "helps you realize what being Catholic.... is   all about".

Following the steps of Jesus

In the path of Hope, I follow each of your steps.
Your wandering steps to the manger in Bethlehem.
Your restless steps in the way to Egypt.
Your fast steps to the house in Nazaret.
Your joyful steps when you go to the Temple with your parents.
Your weary steps during the thirty years of work.
Your obliging steps during the three years announcing the Gospel.
Your painful steps when you went into Jerusalem.
Your lonely steps before the Pretorium.
Your heavy steps under the weight of the cross, in your way to the Calvary.
Your failed steps , dead and buried in a tomb that is not even yours,
stripped of everything,
with no robe, no friend,
abandoned even by the Father,
but always yielding to Him.

Lord, knelt before the tabernacle, I understand:
I couldn´t choose any other way, although there may be others more successful, in appearance.
But You, everlasting friend, the only friend in my life, are not in them.
In You are all heaven with the Trinity, the whole world, all the humankind.


These is part of a prayer written by Cardinal Nguyen Van Thuan, who was a bishop in Vietnam when the country fell to the Communists in 1975. He spent the next 13 years in prison, and during that time he was able to write prayers on scraps of paper.
During all those terrible years, alone, taken apart from his congregation, his church, he found comfort in Christ, putting his whole life in His hands.
Let´s learn from him, when we find ourselves in times of trouble, to put our lives in That who is the Allmighty. Let´s follow His steps, they will drive us to the His presence in our last day.


Links suggested:
Only love wins
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The pencil of God

Cardinal Francis Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan Foundation

Ninety nine balloons

Among the enormous information that we can find in the internet, flashes of God´s grace, that acts among us,  are more frequently found than we expect.
This is the case of the video  that I want to share with you today.
A defense of life, a homage paid for a father to his son, the indelible testimony that the right way leads us to happiness, though we can´t reach it  completely in this world.
The story told in this video has not finished yet. It will end sooner or later and that day it will be perfect happiness for its main characters.
A therapeutic abortion would have ended all this. Nothing of what you are going to watch would have happened. Nor the future hope will exist. Abortion seems the easier way, but it does not bring happiness, that lasts forever.
Life can be hard, but that does not authorize us to do what it is not correct. 
And we always have God´s grace help.

Links suggested:
Only love wins
Ask and you will receive
The reward

Arrows in the quiver (VII): Forgiveness and Gratitude

Write the faults that others commmit  against you in the sand.

Write the favours that others do to you in stone.

So the faults will be erase by the wind of forgiveness and  you will always remember the good deeds that you have received.


Links suggested:
You duped me, o Lord
Stand firm in faith

Arrows in the quiver (VI): Without Your mercy ,we are nothing

Lord I am insolent.
I have looked for you many times and others I have looked for excuses to take delight  in my sin.
When the sunset of my life is near I recognize my "nothingness", I have done few things in spite of having trying, I don´t  consider myself a winner, I haven´t lived the life of a saint, but I remember the words you told to the good thief : "Amen I say to you, you will be today with me in Paradise". 
I would  say that these are the sweetest words of Jesus. He told them to one who was not one of  His disciples, he didn´t even know His name, he probably deserved that punishment more than anybody, but Jesus was good to him, even in those terrible moments in the cross, because he was good to Jesus, in the style our Master wants us: with his repentance.

Jesus remember me  when You come into your kingdom

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The beautiful paths of God

JMJ 2011 Mass - Madrid (Videos)

Here you have some links to the videos corresponding to the music that was performed during the opening and closing  WYD masses. 


The liturgical music was composed by Pedro Alfaro, Carlos Criado and Iñigo Guerrero.


Enjoy these spiritual moments.

Non nobis, Domine (Patrick Doyle)

Kyrie

Gloria

Sanctus

Agnus Dei

Communion chant: Iesu

WYD Hymn Madrid-2011

Enlaces relacionados:

...to the end of the world

Only love wins

Stand firm in faith

The picture of the soul

A few days ago I was watching the old version of the film "The picture of Dorian Grey".
Many of you could think that this has little or nothing to do with faith or religion, but it takes me to a curious reflexion that I would like to share with you all.
The main character of the picture Dorian Grey sold his soul to the devil so he could always be so handsome and young as he appeared in the protrait that a famous painter had made of him. As time went by it was his portrait the one who got older, it showed the signs of old age, but at the same time it also showed the signs of moral degradation, because in the "sale" Dorian´s soul was transferred to the picture.
This turned so disgusting due to his disolute and immoral way of life that he could hardly stood the vision of it.
He even tried to change his life to see if this had any effect on the protrait, but he got nothing because he didn´t want to do what was neccesary to do.
As I was watching the film I wondered, what if everyone of us could have a portrait of our souls where we could see the degradation produced in it by our sins? What if we can phisically see the effects of sins in our soul?
I think that many of us would want to change our lives, we wanted to be better. Make things different so our soul was as pure and clean as it was the day of our baptism, when we were cleaned of the original sin.
Most of us don´t like to see the ugliness that lies within us, that that only God can see.
But we have the best instrument that anyboudy could wish to fullfil this mission: the sacrament of confession.
Let´s go to it, ask sincerely for pardon to God, so He can see us  pure and  impeccable, to His own Image as He created us.


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Doing things together
What does love look like?