Meditations – fatherfladerblog

For Easter Sunday 2005, Pope Francis wrote a beautiful homily to be read in the morning Mass in St Peter’s Square by the celebrant, Cardinal Angelo Comastri. Less than 24 hours later, God called Pope Francis to eternal life with him. In this meditation, we use the text of that homily to consider how: Mary […]

Jesus teaches us so much in  his suffering and death on the Cross. In this meditation we use the events from his prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, through his death on Mount Calvary, to his Resurrection on Easter Sunday to consider some of these lessons: Our weakness, like that of Peter, in denying Christ […]

Lent is an annual opportunity to accompany Jesus in his forty days of prayer and fasting in the desert and in his suffering and death on Mount Calvary to his resurrection on Easter Sunday. In this meditation we use texts of Scripture and of Pope Francis’ Message for Lent 2025 to consider how: Lent symbolises […]

Everyone has issues in life which give rise to uncertainty about the future, to doubts and even anxiety. In this meditation we pray about the virtue which gives reassurance in these situations, the important virtue of hope. We use Pope Francis’ document  for the Jubilee Year 2025, Spes non confundit, a beautiful commentary on hope, […]

  Everyone wants to be a better person. But what do we mean by this? Who is the standard, the model? It is obviously Christ himself, perfect man as well as perfect God.  In this meditation we use texts from Scripture to consider the humanity of Christ and some of the many virtues we can […]

In this season of Advent we can learn much about how to focus our spiritual life from Our Lady, as she makes her way to Bethlehem with St Joseph. Among the lessons Mary teaches us are: Docility to the will of God Self-giving to others Bearing hardships without complaining Purifying our soul through penance Life […]

As we know from children’s catechisms, the reason why we exist is to know, love and serve God on earth in order to be happy with him forever in heaven.  We know it but we tend to forget it in the busyness and distractions of everyday life. In this meditation, we consider how we can […]

One of the most consoling truths of our faith is the reality of the Communion of Saints – the Church triumphant in heaven, the Church suffering in purgatory, and the Church militant on earth, all helping one another. In this meditation we use texts from Scripture, the Catechism, St Bernard, St Therese of Lisieux and […]

One of the most fundamental virtues is humility. Many of the saints, among them St Augustine and St John Vianney, stress how important it is. In this meditation, we use texts of  Sacred Scripture, St Augustine, St John Vianney and St Josemaria to consider how: Humility is the foundation of the other virtues Our Lady […]

Athletes go through a rigorous training regime in order to achieve their goal of winning a medal in the Olympic games. Our goal is much higher: eternal life with God in heaven. We too need a training regime. In this meditation we use texts of Scripture, especially of St Paul, and of saints like Augustine, […]

The Scriptures invite us to love God above all things. But in an affluent society, where goods abound, it is easy to put our heart more in goods than in God. In this meditation we draw on texts of Scripture, Popes Paul VI and Francis, and Fathers of the Church, to consider how: We must […]

The Holy Spirit is love and, as St Paul writes, love has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. Since God has loved us first, we should love God with our whole heart, and love one another. In this meditation we use the Scriptures and a letter […]

When the women went at dawn to anoint the body of Christ on Easter Sunday, they didn’t know how they would remove the huge stone that closed the tomb. To their surprise, they found the stone already removed. In this meditation we use the homily of Pope Francis in the Easter Vigil in St Peter’s […]

The resurrection of Christ brings light into a world in darkness. That darkness may be of unbelief, of sin, of lack of hope. In all cases, Christ is the light who can dispel the darkness with the light of his Resurrection. In this meditation we consider how we can respond to this light of  Christ […]

Holy Week should be holy not only in its name and in the events we commemorate, but in the way we live it. In this meditation we consider the numerous lessons we can learn from this week and how we can put them into practice. We will consider: Palm Sunday – praising God by our […]

In Lent we prepare for the celebration of our redemption by Christ’s death and resurrection. In this meditation we consider how: We can accompany Our Lord in his forty days of fasting and prayer in the desert by our own greater effort in prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Lent is a time for conversion, of starting […]

The prophet Isaiah announced the coming of one who would be called Prince of Peace.  When Christ was born in Bethlehem,  the angels announced peace on earth, and Christ later told the apostles that he came to bring peace such as the world cannot give. But when we look around us, we see a great […]

One of the great revelations that Jesus gives us, especially in the Sermon on the Mount, is that God is not just the Supreme Being, the creator of the universe, but truly our loving Father. In this meditation we use texts of Scripture to consider what God’s Fatherhood means for us: Our Father God has […]

Christmas is a time for giving gifts. The wise men brought gifts to the baby Jesus, but the first Christmas gift was Jesus himself, a gift from the Father to all of mankind. In this meditation we use texts of Scripture to consider how we can live Advent like Our Lady and St Joseph, the […]

The Church dedicates the month of November to praying for the holy souls in Purgatory. This should be a constant devotion for us, since through the Communion of Saints we can help these souls and they can intercede for us. In this meditation we use texts of Scripture, the Catechism of the Catholic Church and […]

As we love our mothers, so we should naturally love our holy mother the Church. But it can sometimes be difficult to do so, especially when we see the human failings of members of the Church and the many difficulties she faces at the present time. In this meditation we use texts of Scripture, Fathers […]

In his Gospel St Luke relates how the friends of a paralytic went to great lengths to take him to Christ, going onto the roof of the house and lowering him down through the opening they had made. We too should do all we can to bring our friends and relatives to Christ. In this […]

Our Lord’s Transfiguration on Mount Tabor can teach us many lessons. In this meditation, we use passages from Scripture to consider some of them: The climbing of the mountain calls to mind the difficulties in our own life in climbing the mountain of holiness Seeing Christ transfigured in his divinity is a reminder that we […]

We tend to think that only priests and religious have a vocation. But we all have a calling from God, a vocation, to carry out a particular mission in life. In this meditation we use texts from Scripture, Pope Francis, St John Henry Newman and St Josemaria Escriva to consider how: God has created every […]

The Holy Spirit, whom St Josemaria called “The Great Unknown”, dwells in our soul as its “sweet guest”. Yet we seldom think of him, and could hardly call him our friend. In this meditation we strive to grow in devotion to the Holy Spirit, considering three of his principal roles in our life. The Holy […]

Before he died on the Cross, Jesus said to St John and to all of us: “Behold your Mother.” Mary is truly the mother of everyone. In this meditation we use texts of Scripture, St Bernard and St Josemaria to consider how: In conceiving Jesus in her womb, and later giving birth to him in […]

Jesus’ passion and death teach us many lessons.  In this meditation we use texts from Scripture and St Thomas Aquinas to consider some of the many virtues Christ teaches us from the Cross: Charity Humility Patience Obedience Fortitude Perseverance Joy

Lent is a time when we follow Christ more closely, accompanying him along the way of the Cross over Mount Calvary to the Resurrection. In this meditation we consider how: Christ spent forty days praying and fasting in the desert to prepare for his public life. We accompany him in Lent by intensifying our own […]

Pope Gregory XVI, who was Pope from 1831 to 1846, instituted the custom of dedicating the seven Sundays preceding the feast of St Joseph on March 19 to that great saint, and of meditating especially on his seven sorrows and joys. In this meditation we use the Gospels of Matthew and Luke to consider these […]

When Christ was born in Bethlehem the angels announced peace on earth, and Christ himself came to bring peace such as the world cannot give. But when we look around us, we see a great lack of peace. In this meditation we use texts of Scripture, St Josemaria, Blessed Alvaro del Portillo and St John […]

The Nativity of our Lord The life of Mary and Joseph, from their betrothal to the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, has much in common with our own. In this meditation, we use the Gospels of Matthew and Luke to consider the various moments in their journey, with the joys and sorrows, the good times […]

In Advent, we prepare for the coming of Christ in history, which we celebrate at Christmas, and for his coming in glory at the end of time. We can also prepare for his coming daily into our hearts and for his coming at the end of our life to call us to our eternal home. […]

November is the month in which the Church traditionally intensifies her prayers for the souls in Purgatory. But every day should be for us a day of prayer for the holy souls. There are many souls there now suffering greatly but at the same time exceedingly happy. In this meditation we use texts from Scripture, […]

Through Baptism we become members of the Mystical Body of Christ. We become one with him. He lives in us and we live in him. In this meditation we use texts of Scripture,  St John Eudes, St Josemaria Escriva and St John Paul II to consider how: We can ask Jesus to let us see […]

The encounter of Jesus with the Samaritan woman at the well teaches us many lessons. In this meditation we use the passage related by St John to consider how: Jesus in his Providence arranged for the meeting to take place so that he could reveal himself to the Samaritan woman Jesus begins his conversation not […]

The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph spent thirty years doing ordinary tasks in the home of Nazareth to teach us the sanctifying value of ordinary things. In this meditation we pray about how we too can find God in our day-to-day activities. We use texts of St Josemaria Escriva, the Second Vatican Council […]

Our Lady’s Assumption into heaven teaches us many lessons. In this meditation we use a text from the book of Revelation to consider some of these lessons: Mary sanctified herself in her ordinary life in the home, as we do She is the new Ark of the Covenant, bringing the very Word of God into […]

The parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector praying in the temple has much to tell us. In this meditation we use texts of Scripture, St Augustine, St John Chrysostom and St Josemaria to reflect on how: We too should endeavour to pray before the Blessed Sacrament whenever possible The Pharisee’s pride and self-righteousness […]

Our Lord has loved us to the last drop of his blood and water, and he invites us to love him in return. In this meditation we use texts of Scripture, St Margaret Mary Alacoque and St Josemaria Escriva to consider how: St John writes in his Gospel that Jesus has loved us “to the […]

The prophet Isaiah introduces us to the gifts of the Holy Spirit, which are very important helps in living our spiritual life to the full. In this meditation we use texts of Sacred Scripture to consider: The nature and role of the gifts How they differ from the virtues How each one of the seven […]

From the moment she conceived Jesus in her womb, Mary became the mother of his Mystical Body, the Church, and of all of us. In this meditation we use texts from Sacred Scripture, Pope St John Paul II, Pope St Paul VI, St Josemaria Escriva and St Bernard to consider how: Mary gave birth to […]

In his account of the Last Supper, St John tells us that Christ loved his disciples “to the end”. After washing the apostles’ feet, Our Lord gave them the new commandment to “love one another as I have loved you.” In this meditation we use texts of Scripture, St Josemaria Escriva and Mother Teresa of […]

Our Lord invites us, if we would be his disciples, to deny ourselves, take up our cross daily and follow him. We do this especially in Lent but we should do it throughout the year. In this meditation we use texts of Scripture and of St Josemaria Escriva to consider how: Jesus Christ, out of […]

Christ spent forty days praying and fasting in the desert before beginning his public ministry and he prayed intensely in Gethsemane on beginning his Passion. In this meditation we use these examples of Our Lord and texts of St Josemaria Escriva to consider: How and why we should be souls of prayer The different forms […]

We all experience temptations. They are a consequence of original sin and of our being subject to the world, the flesh and the devil. But in addition to being sources of sin, temptations can also be sources of sanctity. In this meditation we consider: Christ’s temptations in the desert, which are very similar to our […]

Lent presents a splendid opportunity to grow closer to God spiritually, to accompany Our Lord through the Cross to the Resurrection. In this meditation we consider how: Lent symbolises our life on earth with its trials and tribulations  and Easter symbolises the joy of our life with God in heaven  In Lent we quicken the […]

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gave us the eight Beatitudes, eight attitudes or dispositions that should characterise every follower of Christ, of whom they are a portrait. In this meditation we consider how: The Beatitudes should characterise every Christian They contrast notably with the ways of the world If we live them well […]

At the beginning of another year, we use texts of Scripture and St Josemaria Escriva to pray about what our goals and resolutions might be, especially that most important goal of growing in holiness so as to deserve eternal life with God in heaven. We consider: The very reason for our existence is to know, […]

The birth of Christ in the stable of Bethlehem has much to teach us. In this meditation we use texts of Scripture to consider seven lessons which the infant Jesus teaches us from the manger: Love Spiritual childhood Contemplation Humility Detachment from comforts Zeal for souls Peace and joy

The first Christmas gift was Jesus Christ himself: “So much did God love the world that he sent his only-begotten Son.” In this meditation we use Mary’s visitation to her kinswoman Elizabeth and other texts of Scripture to consider how we can respond to that gift by: Giving ourselves to God through our life of […]

In Advent, we prepare for the coming of Christ in history, which we celebrate at Christmas, and for his coming in glory at the end of time. We can also prepare for his coming daily into our hearts and for his coming at the end of our life to call us to our eternal home. […]