Family Occasions, Speaking Heart to Heart

August 29, 2023 Renewal of our Divine Sonship St. Josemaria Institute Hi!  How is each and every one? In this post today, Feast of St. Augustine, let us find inspiration in his words “You made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.” St. Josemaria on the fact that you and I are children of God, has all the following to say about our divine filiation.   From Furrow:   No. 368:   “It is true that we, the children of God, ought not to serve the Lord in order to be noticed.   But we should not mind being seen; much less should we cease to fulfill our duty because we are seen!” No. 417:   “A calm and balanced character, an inflexible will, deep faith, and an ardent piety:   these are the indispensable characteristics of a son of God.” No. 451 :   “Prayer is not the prerogative of monks; it is a Christian undertaking of men and women of the world who know themselves to be children of God.” No. 686: ...

  August 22, 2023 Adobe Stock Hi!  How is each and every one? Exactly a week ago the Church celebrated the Assumption of Our Lady ‘God has taken Mary, body and soul, to heaven; and the angels rejoice!’   Today she celebrates the Queenship of Mary:   You are all fair, and without blemish.   You are a garden enclosed, my sister, my Bride, an enclosed garden, a sealed fountain.   Veni: coronaberis: Come: you shall be crowned” ( Song of Songs 4:7, 12 and 8 ) .   The feast is a logical follow-up to the Assumption and is now celebrated on the octave day of that feast.   In his encyclical To the Queen of Heaven , Pope Pius XII points out that Mary deserves the title because she is Mother of God, because she is closely associated as the New Eve with Jesus’ redemptive work, because of her preeminent perfection and because of her intercessory power (Roman Missal). Following are two excerpts on big sinners repent and Mary’s glory in heaven (From Jose...

Opus Dei Hi!  Indeed providential, the Church celebrates today the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary !   “Let us all rejoice in the Lord, as we celebrate the feast day in honor of the Virgin Mary, at whose Assumption the Angles rejoice and praise the Son of God.” “All generations will call me blessed, for He who is mighty has done great things for me.” Together let us join in invoking Our Lady “Cor Mariae Dulcissimum, iter para tutum; Cor Mariae Dulcissimum, iter serva tutum.”   Most Sweet Heart of Mary, prepare a safe way; Most Sweet Heart of Mary keep the way safe.” Following is the next excerpt on Appealing to Our Lady as Bride and provoking her name (From Joseph Tissot, How to profit from your faults, Pp 126-128).   We have done it above. Let us make it a point to do it more often during the day.  The effort in the end will do yourself and myself a lot of good in our daily life, keeping Our Lady, our mother always present in every...

    Hi!  How is each and every one? We are four days away from the end of our seminar.  The Prelate, Msgr Fernando Ocariz has left the region of the Philippines heading on to Australia.  We continue accompanying him during his stay there as he requested in his recent letter to us, https://opusdei.org/en/article/letter-from-the-prelate-7-august-2023 .  And as I mentioned in the previous post, we will be continue enjoying the blessings, graces, and the fruits of his ten day stay plus two days in Indonesia. We are always assured of the presence of Our Lady.  Let us continue turning to her even in this post for today (From Joseph Tissot, How to profit from your faults, pp. 124-125).   St. Anselm goes further.   He has no hesitation in saying that very often one’s prayers are more speedily answered if one invokes the name of Mary than by invoking the name of Jesus.   “It is not,” he adds “that the Mother is more powerful than the Son, si...

  Our Lady Stella Orientis Hi! How is each and every one? Guess where I am editing this post for today?  I am in my annual workshop seminar in Tagaytay Conference Center.  We started last Tuesday, July 25 and will end on Saturday, August 12, 2023.  On the same day that we started, the Father Prelate of Opus Dei, Msgr Fernando Ocariz, was on flight to the country to stay with us for 10 days, July 25 to August 5, 2023. He landed around 4:00 in the afternoon.  From the first day of our seminar to July 30, we have been anticipating and preparing for his coming over to Tagaytay Conference Center to get together with all of us in the course.  Following him in every get together in Quezon City and Pasig through shared videos in social media with small groups of persons and families, and with a bigger group of the young people, we would see how he is and how the people are welcoming him with great joy and excitement.  We would see how tired he is and how he ...