O Come Root of Jesse

O ROOT OF JESSE, who stands for an ensign of the people, before whom kings shall keep silence and unto whom the Gentiles shall make supplication: Come to deliver us, and tarry not.

O Come Lord of Might!

O LORD AND RULER of the House of Israel, who appeared to Moses in the flame of the burning bush and gave him the law on Sinai: Come, and redeem us with outstretched arm.

O Come Thou Wisdom

O WISDOM, who came from the mouth of the Most High, reaching from end to end and ordering all things mightily and sweetly: Come, and teach us the way of prudence.

Beautiful Love

In the different forms of life inspired by the Spirit throughout history, consecrated persons discover that the more they stand at the foot of the Cross of Christ, the more immediately and profoundly they experience the truth of God who is love. It is precisely on the Cross that the One who in death appears to human eyes as disfigured and without beauty, so much so that the bystanders cover their faces (cf. Is 53:2-3), fully reveals the beauty and power of God's love.

Saint Augustine says: "Beautiful is God, the Word with God ... He is beautiful in heaven, beautiful on earth; beautiful in the womb, beautiful in his parents' arms, beautiful in his miracles, beautiful in his sufferings; beautiful in inviting to life, beautiful in not worrying about death, beautiful in giving up his life and beautiful in taking it up again; he is beautiful on the Cross, beautiful in the tomb, beautiful in heaven. Listen to the song with understanding, and let not the weakness of the flesh distract your eyes from the splendor of his beauty."

The consecrated life reflects the splendor of this love because, by its fidelity to the mystery of the Cross, it confesses that it believes and lives by the love of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In this way it helps the Church to remain aware that the Cross is the superabundance of God's love poured out upon this world, and that it is the great sign of Christ's saving presence, especially in the midst of difficulties and trials.

(John Paul II, Vita Consecrata, 24)

I Am With You...

Then Jesus approached and said to them, "All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit,teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age." (Mt. 28:18-20)

Courage that Comes from Communion

To have courage for whatever comes in life - everything lies in that.
~St. Teresa of Avila

The Beautiful Face of the Institute

Realize that you do not represent only yourselves. From the moment a person has made a commitment in an Institute, she is a part of an “all.” Your actions are not only yours but your Institute’s. The person passes by and the face disappears; a veil and a gown remain. They are the veil and the gown of the Apostolic Oblate.
(Bishop Giaquinta, Suscipe Hanc Oblationem)

Rich in Mercy

What else, then, does the cross of Christ say to us, the cross that in a sense is the final word of His messianic message and mission? And yet this is not yet the word of the God of the covenant: that will be pronounced at the dawn when first the women and then the Apostles come to the tomb of the crucified Christ, see the tomb empty and for the first time hear the message: "He is risen." They will repeat this message to the others and will be witnesses to the risen Christ. Yet, even in this glorification of the Son of God, the cross remains, that cross which-through all the messianic testimony of the Man the Son, who suffered death upon it - speaks and never ceases to speak of God the Father, who is absolutely faithful to His eternal love for man, since He "so loved the world" - therefore man in the world-that "he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." Believing in the crucified Son means "seeing the Father," means believing that love is present in the world and that this love is more powerful than any kind of evil in which individuals, humanity, or the world are involved. Believing in this love means believing in mercy. For mercy is an indispensable dimension of love; it is as it were love's second name and, at the same time, the specific manner in which love is revealed and effected vis-a-vis the reality of the evil that is in the world, affecting and besieging man, insinuating itself even into his heart and capable of causing him to "perish in Gehenna." (John Paul II, Dives in misericordia, 7)

The Glory of God!

Both the Letter to the Hebrews and the Book of Wisdom have tried to present us this image, this Icon that is Jesus. Hebrews defines Jesus: “This Son is the reflection of the Father’s glory, the exact representation of the Father’s being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word...” (Heb 1:13). The face of the Father is resplendent and full of glory, resplendent as the sun – we cannot stare at the sun without going blind; we can look at its life-giving rays, though. In the same way Jesus is the radiance of the glory of God, the radiance of His face. (Bishop Giaquinta, Face of the Father)

Power of Cross

For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. (I Cor. 1:18)