Author Archives: John McKenna

Dearly beloved, the last verse of the Gospel reading, which is still ringing in your ears, is intended for the instruction of believers. It tells how, when they had entered the house in which the blessed Virgin Mother was staying … Continue reading →

Pondering the Hidden Life of Christ We see Jesus grow up and when we want to find out what he did in those long eighteen years in Nazareth, we finally see that he prayed, he obeyed, and he worked; and … Continue reading →

God achieves everything, acts in all circumstances, and brings about all our interior transformations. But he does it when we wait for him in recollection and silence. In silence, not in the turmoil and noise. God enters into the innermost … Continue reading →

Pope Benedict XV1. Following a beautiful and firmly rooted tradition, many families set up their crib immediately after the feast of the Immaculate Conception, as if to relive with Mary those days full of trepidation that preceded the Birth of … Continue reading →

In the first Gospel of Advent, Christ reminds us to “stand ready”. The impervious, unprepared people in “Noah’s day” were distracted by their eating and “drinking”, oblivious to the imminent flood. In what, then, does this Advent preparation consist? Putting … Continue reading →