On this Good Friday of the year 2025 – the Jubilee Year of Hope, I invite you to meditate, with Mother Mary, on the Last Word of Jesus, our crucified Lord. We read in the Gospel of St. Luke (Read Lk 23:44-46). It is the 7th and last Word from the cross.What is the meaning of the Last Word of Jesus?
Jewish tradition tells of a rabbi who gathered his students together very early in the morning while it was still dark, and asked them this question: ‘How can you tell when the night has ended, and the day has begun?’ One student answered: ‘Maybe it’s when you see an animal and you can distinguish if it’s a sheep or a dog.’ ‘No,’ the rabbi said. A second student answered: ‘Maybe it’s when you are looking at a tree in the distance and you can tell whether it’s a fig tree or a peach tree.’ ‘No,’ said the rabbi. After a few more guesses the students demanded the answer. The rabbi replied: ‘It’s when you look on the face of any woman or man and see that she is your sister, and he is your brother. If you cannot do this, no matter what time it is, it is still night.’
The whole Old Testament—its teachings, figures, and prophecies—finds its plenitude and completion in the person, life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He is the Son of God, incarnated by the power of the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary.
A grand celebration marked the seventeenth anniversary of the ‘Great Home of Christ Family’ in Buenos Aires, an institution founded when Jorge Mario Bergoglio was Archbishop of the city. This happened in 2008, at a time when the presence of priests in the poorest neighborhoods of Buenos Aires, the so-called Villas Miseria, had already been spreading for some time. Known as curas villeros, these clergymen actively participate in the lives of the poorest, caring first-hand for the great needs they face and sharing this commitment with others, thus becoming the center of communities that were born and multiplied.
Hello Fr L.,
We all generally prefer to see ourselves as smart, generous, kind, patient, and forgiving people most of the time. But the truth is that we aren’t. Life isn’t ideal. We aren’t perfect. We simply cannot be nice and ‘good’ 100% of the time. If we’re honest with ourselves, we actually have some pretty scary and embarrassing flaws that we prefer to avoid at all costs.
In the Communicantes of the First Eucharistic Prayer (Roman Canon), the names of some popes are mentioned: Linus, Cletus, Clement, Sixtus and Cornelius. Linus, Cletus and Clement are the immediate successors of Saint Peter and were ordained bishops by Peter himself. Some scholars suggest that ‘Sixtus’ refers to Sixtus II (257-258) and Cornelius was pope from 251 to 253.
Sin is moral evil, a bad human act, a failure in human self-realization, undue attachment to things and consequent detachment from God. Sins may rule our life and make us like slaves (Rom 3:9; 7:14). Indeed, “Everyone who commits a sin is a slave of sin” (Jn 8:34). Sin, grave sin is bad use of freedom. St. Augustine tells us in his Confessions that when he was in sin – when as a young man lived a loose life – , he had “the freedom of a run-away slave.” Sin is a betrayal of love that disrupts our relationship with God, with ourselves, with others and with nature (Vatican II, GS 13). From the sin of Adam and Eve, sin presents itself as promise, but it is no more than an illusion and a lie (A. Peteiro).
Twenty-five years ago, the “third secret” was released on the sanctuary of Fátima and reached the whole world. The first and second parts were already known: the dreadful vision of hell, the devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, the foreshadowing of the Second World War and the immense damage that Communist Russia would do to humanity. At the time, in 1917, no one could imagine all this, nor did the three little shepherds of Fátima understand the details of the message.
This Sunday’s Gospel presents us with the story of the repentant adulterous woman. In view of the gravity of this sin, according to Jewish law this woman should be stoned. However, according to the Roman laws in force in the Israelite colony, only the Empire, through its local representative, had the authority to condemn someone to death. This prevented the Jews from applying the law of Moses. Knowing this, the Pharisees try to put Jesus at a crossroads: when questioned, if Jesus said they could stone her, the Romans would condemn Him; if He said that they should not stone her, He would contravene religious law.
St. Joseph’s solemn feast is today! It’s a day of exuberant and Lent-defying celebration for the whole Church. And it’s a special joy for men everywhere who have the distinct privilege of being fathers—yes!—but also of being guardians of God’s beloved daughters.