sussidio 6 March 2019

   “IN HIM IS OUR HOLINESS”

From the WORD of GOD

4 Remain in me, as I in you. As a branch cannot bear fruit all by itself, unless it remains part of the vine, neither can you unless you remain in me. 5 I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me, with me in him, bears fruit in plenty; for cut off from me you can do nothing. 6 Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a branch- and withers; these branches are collected and thrown on the fire and are burnt. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for whatever you please and you will get it. 8 It is to the glory of my Father that you should bear much fruit and be my disciples. 9 I have loved you just as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love.10 If you keep my commandments you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.11 I have told you this so that my own joy may be in you and your joy be complete.
(Jn 15:4-11)
Filled with joy by the Holy Spirit, Jesus said, ‘I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and of earth, for hiding these things from the learned and the clever and revealing them to little children. Yes, Father, for that is what it has pleased you to do. 22 Everything has been entrusted to me by my Father; and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.’ (Lk 10:21-22)

From the DOCUMENTS of the CHURCH
As Saint Augustine taught, God commands you to do what you can and to ask for what you cannot, and indeed to pray to him humbly: “Grant what you command, and command what you will”(49). The lack of a heartfelt and prayerful acknowledgment of our limitations prevents grace from working more effectively within us, for no room is left for bringing about the potential good that is part of a sincere and genuine journey of growth. Grace, precisely because it builds on nature, does not make us superhuman all at once. That kind of thinking would show too much confidence in our own abilities. Grace acts in history; ordinarily it takes hold of us and transforms us progressively. If we reject this historical and progressive reality, we can actually refuse and block grace, even as we extol it by our words (50). In order to be blameless, as he would have us, we need to live humbly in his presence, cloaked in his glory; we need to walk in union with him, recognizing his constant love in our lives. We need to lose our fear before that presence which can only be for our good. So often we say that God dwells in us, but it is better to say that we dwell in him, that he enables us to dwell in his light and love. In him is our holiness (51). we should remember that holiness consists in a habitual openness to the transcendent, expressed in prayer and adoration. The saints are distinguished by a spirit of prayer and a need for communion with God. They find an exclusive concern with this world to be narrow and stifling, and, amid their own concerns and commitments, they long for God, losing themselves in praise and contemplation of the Lord. I do not believe in holiness without prayer (147). Some moments spent alone with God are also necessary. I would insist that this is true not only for a privileged few, but for all of us, for “we all have need of this silence, filled with the presence of him who is adored”. Trust-filled prayer is a response of a heart open to encountering God face to face, where all is peaceful and the quiet voice of the Lord can be heard in the midst of silence(149). In that silence, we can discern, in the light of the Spirit, the paths of holiness to which the Lord is calling us. For each disciple, it is essential to spend time with the Master, to listen to his words, and to learn from him always (150).
(Gaudete et Exultate, Apostolic Exhortation of the Holy Father Francis)

From the WRITINGS of Blessed A. ROSMINI

The grace of Christ is Christ himself, developing in the Christian every supernatural good that the Christian does, but not apart from the Christian. Man can, of course, resist grace; he can desire evil. But when the Christian does some good, then it is Christ, the grace of Christ, which is at work in him and with him. This doctrine indicates a certain physical union between the Christian and the Word Incarnate. The connexion is indicated by Christ himself (Jn 15:17).The vine is the source of life in the branch; without this life, the branch could not exist. Hence it is Christ who carries out the functions of supernatural life in the Christian and with the Christian- the vine with the branch. “Not I, but the grace of God which is in me.”
(Introduzione al Vangelo secondo Giovanni)
The just man who possesses grace knows that he has in himself a source of infinite bliss and contentment. He possesses God; he has God in himself. (Antropologia soprannaturale)
The theological virtue of Christian hope requires that we should greatly trust in the grace of Jesus Christ: that we can overcome all our defects – but only as and when this is the will of God. In the meantime we have to pray and make every effort, and wait in peace of mind for the moment when the grace we need will surely come to us, once we are fully humbled and have shown patience.
(To Don Emilio Belisy at Prior Park , Domodossola 30 July 1838;
A.L. Vol. III, let. 60, p.87)

LET US PRAY

One thing I ask of Yahweh,
one thing I seek:
to dwell in Yahweh’s house
all the days of my life,
to enjoy the sweetness of Yahweh,
to seek out his temple.
Of you my heart has said, ‘Seek his face!’
Your face, Yahweh, I seek. (Ps 27)

PASTORAL YEAR 2018 – 2019
ON-GOING FORMATION
INSTITUTE OF CHARITY
ROSMINIAN SISTERS OF PROVIDENCE

37843_bug.jpg