Mark answers –

The Gospel of Mark…it’s time, context, importance and relevance for today. Who was Mark? Who were the people he was addressing? What makes it unique?

Mark Hart is an author[powerpress], speaker, director and teacher, Mark’s work both written and spoken, is known across the country and world. While he serves as the Vice President of LIFE TEEN, he is known to tens of thousands simply as the “Bible Geek ®” Mark passionately echoes the gospel to all he encounters. He is as deep as he is funny, and his love for his wife and daughters is second only to his immense love for Jesus Christ.

Visit Mark at www.lifeteen.com

Mark breaks open The TEN COMMANDMENTS–

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The Seventh Commandment:

Mark Hart is an author, speaker, director and teacher, Mark’s work both written and spoken, is known across the country and world. While he serves as the Vice President of LIFE TEEN, he is known to tens of thousands simply as the “Bible Geek ®” Mark passionately echoes the gospel to all he encounters. He is as deep as he is funny, and his love for his wife and daughters is second only to his immense love for Jesus Christ.

Visit Mark at www.lifeteen.com

Bruce and I had the opportunity to have a conversation with Fr. Thomas Acklin, a Benedictine monk and priest, who is a professor of theology and psychology at St. Vincent College and Seminary in Latrobe, Pennsylvania.  He is author of a tremendous work entitled “The Passion of the Lamb”.  In this book, he challenges us to become lambs like Christ, the little children He calls us to be so that we may be able to follow him in Word and Deed.  Fr. Acklin is a master spiritual director, who helps us to hear the voice of the Lord in our hearts and encourages us to respond, in trust, to the will of the Father.  An important not to be missed gift.

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You can find the book here

From the book description:

Many today fear that we hover on the brink of global collapse. War, terrorism, poverty and disease provoke a sense of despair. Yet in our midst stands Jesus Christ, undaunted by the brutal realities of a world that rejects him. And as he looks at each of us, he asks directly and personally, Will you have faith in me?

In this powerful book Fr. Acklin reveals the passionate love of God for every person, love that will not be denied or defeated. God is for us in spite of our indifference. God has not been eclipsed by the world s agenda. God willnever abandon us. God will always seek out the wounded and lost. We have his guarantee that this is so because the suffering and death the passion of Jesus clinched the deal confirming God s commitment to his creation.

The Passion of the Lamb helps us answer the only question that ultimately matters: Will we have faith in Jesus?

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Msgr. Esseff reflects on the readings for the 5th Sunday of Lent.  He discusses the mercy of God and our need to seek out forgiveness for our sins and the healing of our brokenness   What is key is that we must trust in the love of the Father and unite ourselves with the heart of Jesus Christ.

From the NAB

Gospel   JN 8:1-11

Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.
But early in the morning he arrived again in the temple area,
and all the people started coming to him,
and he sat down and taught them.
Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman
who had been caught in adultery
and made her stand in the middle.
They said to him,
“Teacher, this woman was caught
in the very act of committing adultery.
Now in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women.
So what do you say?”
They said this to test him,
so that they could have some charge to bring against him.
Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger.
But when they continued asking him,
he straightened up and said to them,
“Let the one among you who is without sin
be the first to throw a stone at her.”
Again he bent down and wrote on the ground.
And in response, they went away one by one,
beginning with the elders.
So he was left alone with the woman before him.
Then Jesus straightened up and said to her,
“Woman, where are they?
Has no one condemned you?”
She replied, “No one, sir.”
Then Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you.
Go, and from now on do not sin any more.”

Msgr. John A. Esseff is a Roman Catholic priest in the Diocese of Scranton.  He was ordained on May 30th 1953, by the late Bishop William J. Hafey, D.D. at St. Peter’s Cathedral in Scranton, PA.  Msgr. Esseff served a retreat director and confessor to Blessed Mother Teresa.    He continues to offer direction and retreats for the sisters of the missionaries of charity around the world.  Msgr. Esseff encountered St.  Padre Pio,  who would become a spiritual father to him.  He has lived in areas around the world,  serving  in the Pontifical missions, a Catholic organization established by Bl. Pope John Paul II to bring the Good News to the world especially to the poor.  Msgr. Esseff assisted the founders of the Institute for Priestly Formation and continues to serve as a spiritual director for the Institute.  He continues to  serve as a retreat leader and director to bishops, priests and sisters and seminarians and other religious leaders around the world.   

To obtain a copy of Msgr. Esseff’s book by visiting here

Be sure to visit Msgr. Esseff’s website “Building a Kingdom of  Love”

Mark breaks open The TEN COMMANDMENTS–

[powerpress]

The Sixth Commandment:

Mark Hart is an author, speaker, director and teacher, Mark’s work both written and spoken, is known across the country and world. While he serves as the Vice President of LIFE TEEN, he is known to tens of thousands simply as the “Bible Geek ®” Mark passionately echoes the gospel to all he encounters. He is as deep as he is funny, and his love for his wife and daughters is second only to his immense love for Jesus Christ.

Visit Mark at www.lifeteen.com

Mark breaks open The TEN COMMANDMENTS–

The Fifth Commandment:

[powerpress]

Mark Hart is an author, speaker, director and teacher, Mark’s work both written and spoken, is known across the country and world. While he serves as the Vice President of LIFE TEEN, he is known to tens of thousands simply as the “Bible Geek ®” Mark passionately echoes the gospel to all he encounters. He is as deep as he is funny, and his love for his wife and daughters is second only to his immense love for Jesus Christ.

Visit Mark at www.lifeteen.com

Vatican City, (VIS) –

“How do we speak to God in our times? How can we communicate the Gospel to open the way to its salvific truth?” The Holy Father offered an answer to these questions in his catechesis during today’s general audience, held in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall.

“In Jesus of Nazareth”, the Pope said, “we encounter the face of God, descended from Heaven to immerse Himself in the world of mankind and to teach ‘the art of living’, the road to happiness; to free us from sin and to make us true children of God”.

He continued, “speaking about God means, first and foremost, being clear about what we must bring to the men and women of our time. God has spoken to us, … not an abstract or hypothetical God, but a real God, a God Who exists, Who entered history and remains present in history: the God of Jesus Christ … as a response to the fundamental question of why and how to live. Therefore, speaking about God requires a continual growth in faith, familiarity with Jesus and His Gospel, a profound knowledge of God and strong passion for His plan for salvation, without giving in to the temptations of success. … We must not fear the humility of taking small steps, trusting in the leaven that makes the dough rise slowly and mysteriously. In speaking about God, in the work of evangelisation under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we must return to the simplicity and essential nature of proclamation: the concrete Good News of God Who cares about us, the love of God which Jesus Christ brought close to us, even unto the Cross, and which in the Resurrection opens us to life without end, to eternal life”.
The Pope explained that for St. Paul, communicating the faith did not mean “showing himself, but rather saying openly and publicly what he had seen and heard in his encounter with Christ, and how much his life had been transformed by that encounter. … The Apostle was not satisfied with merely proclaiming the words, but committed his entire existence to the great work of faith. … To speak about God, we must make space for Him, confident that He acts upon our weakness. We must make space for Him without fear, with simplicity and joy, in the profound conviction that the more we place Him – and not ourselves – at the centre of our lives, the more fruitful our communication will be. … This also holds true for Christian communities. They are called to communicate the transforming action of God’s grace, overcoming individualism, closure, selfishness and indifference, bringing the love of God to daily relationships. We must must act to ensure … we always announce Christ, not ourselves”.
“At this point”, the Holy Father continued, we must ask ourselves “how Jesus Christ Himself communicated. Jesus … spoke about His Father (Whom He called ‘Abba’) and about the Kingdom of God, looking with compassion on the discomforts and difficulties of human existence. … From the Gospel we see how Jesus was interested in every human situation He encountered, He immersed Himself in the lives of the men and women of His time, with complete trust in the help of the Father. … In Him, proclamation and life were entwined: Jesus acted and taught, always taking as a starting point His intimate relationship with God the Father. This approach gives fundamental indications to Christians: living in faith and charity is a way of speaking about God in our times, because it demonstrates the credibility of what we say in words through a life lived in Christ. We must take care to grasp the signs of our times, and thereby to identify the potential, the desires and the obstacles we encounter in contemporary culture, in particular the desire for authenticity, the yearning for transcendence, the sensibility for protecting creation. And we must communicate without fear the answer offered by faith in God”.

“Speaking about God, therefore, means enabling others to understand through words and acts that God is not a competitor in our existence but rather its true guarantor, the guarantor of the greatness of the human person. Thus we return to the beginning: speaking about God means communicating, with power and simplicity, through words and the life we lead, that which is essential: the God of Jesus Christ, the God Who showed us a love so great that He took on human flesh, died and rose again for us; the God Who asks us to follow Him and to allow ourselves to be transformed by His immense love in order to renew our lives and our relationships; the God Who gave us the Church, to allow us to journey together and, through the Word and the Sacraments, to renew the entire City of Man so that it might become the City of God”, concluded the Pope.

The Novena to St. Teresa of Avila, Day 3,
composed by  by St. Alphonsus of Liguori.

Join in on Day 3[powerpress = “devotionals-prayers”]

O most loving Lord Jesus Christ! we thank Thee for the great gift of love which Thou didst grant to Thy beloved Teresa; we pray Thee, by Thy merits, and by those of Thy most loving spouse, to give us the great, the crowning gift of Thy perfect love.
Say one Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory be.

V. St. Teresa, pray for us:

R. That we may become worthy of the promises of Jesus Christ.

Let us pray: Graciously hear us, O God of our salvation! that as we rejoice in the commemoration of the blessed virgin Teresa, so we may be nourished by her heavenly doctrine, and draw from thence the fervour of a tender devotion; through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever. Amen.

Visit the Discerning Hearts “Teresa of Avila” page for the complete novena and text of the prayers

Mark breaks open The TEN COMMANDMENTS–

The First Commandment:

I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them or serve them.

[powerpress]

Mark Hart is an author, speaker, director and teacher, Mark’s work both written and spoken, is known across the country and world. While he serves as the Vice President of LIFE TEEN, he is known to tens of thousands simply as the “Bible Geek ®” Mark passionately echoes the gospel to all he encounters. He is as deep as he is funny, and his love for his wife and daughters is second only to his immense love for Jesus Christ.

Visit Mark at www.lifeteen.com

“Exposed: Inexcusable Me… Irreplaceable Him” by Shannon Dietz is a compelling book which chronicles her experiences growing up in her devout Catholic home, dealing with realities of brokenness that  results from the assaults that come from the world, from the enemy and from our own negative choices, and the healing that comes from surrendering completely to the love of Jesus Christ.  Shannon shares her story of being raped, not once but twice, and the devastating effect it had on her life and self-image.  She would run from God and her Catholic faith for a time, which only led her to experience a greater period of isolation and despair.  Eventually she turned to Him and found the peace and strength she had been aching for in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  That moment would provide a powerful encounter of grace and mercy and would set her once again on the path home to the loving embrace of the God the Father.  Her story is one that speaks to the hearts of several generation of women.  A powerful story and witness that there is indeed a beautiful “light at the end of the tunnel”. Shannon is the founder of “Hopeful Hearts Ministry“…be sure to visit the website!

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You can find the book here

Patrice Fagnant–Macarthur, Sr. Editor of Catholic Lane, Author of “Letters to Mary from a Young Mother”
“It took great courage for Shannon to share her story. It is an important one for young people who are struggling with addiction or abuse and those who question whether God still cares for them.”

C.A. Webb, President of Conversations Book Club, Host of Conversations Live!
“A powerful book that helps us to live a life that is open to receive all that is meant for us.”

“Shannon’s candid sharing will prove to be a blessing to victims and those that care about them.”
Fr. Gavin Vaverek, Maria Goretti Network

[powerpress]Msgr. Esseff reflects on the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and it’s meaning for our lives and destiny.  He brings forth from the liturgy of the day the Sacred Scripture a teaching which begins with fall of man, but the redemption brought about by Jesus Christ.  And because of His Resurrection, death has no power over us.  He explains this by sharing the death of his own sister and the prayer of his mother.  Msgr. Esseff explains Mary sinlessness as the Immaculate Conception and the purpose of the Assumption.  He discusses Chap. 12 of the Book of Revelation, as well as Our Lady of Guadalupe and Fatima and the message for us today.  Msgr. Esseff talks about our struggles with death, not only our own, but also those of our loved ones.  How we hold on sometimes to tightly to those we should let go to the Father, because of our own fears and desires…and possibly our selfishness.  We need to remember  the joys of Eternal Life and the role of Mary, our Mother, who helps us with the transition.  Be not afraid!

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Msgr John Esseff offers the following prayers.  Be sure to visit his website:  www.msgrjohnesseff.net

EXAMINATION OF CONSCIENCE

FORGIVENESS PRAYER

The following prayer covers most of the significant areas of forgiveness. Often, such a prayer will bring to mind other areas that need forgiveness. Let the Holy Spirit move freely and guide your mind to persons or groups that you need to forgive. This is especially useful before confession.

Lord Jesus Christ, I ask today to forgive everyone in my life. I know that You will give me the strength to forgive and I thank You that You love me more than I love myself and want my happiness more than I desire it for myself.

Father, I forgive Your for the times death has come into my family, hard times, financial difficulties, or that I thought were punishments sent by You and people said “It’s God;s will,” and I became bitter and resentful toward You. Purify my heart and mind today.

Lord, I forgive MYSELF for my sins, faults and failings, for all that is bad in myself or that I think is bad, I forgive myself. For any delvings in superstition, using ouija boards, horoscopes, going to seances, using fortune telling or wearing lucky charms, I reject all that superstition and choose You alone as my Lord and Savior. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit.

I further forgive myself for taking Your name in vain, not worshipping You by attending church, for hurting my parents, getting drunk, for sins against purity, bad books, bad movies, fornication, adultery, homosexuality. You have forgiven me, today I forgive myself.

Also for abortion, stealing, lying, defrauding, hurting people’s reputation, I forgive myself.

I truly forgive my MOTHER, I forgive her for all the times she hurt me, she resented me, she was angry with me and for all the times she prefered my brothers and sisters to me. I forgive her for the times she told me I was dumb, ugly, stupid, the worst of the children or that I cost the family a lot of money. For the times she told me I was unwanted, an accident, a mistake or not what she expected, I forgive her.

I forgive my FATHER. I forgive him for any non-support, any lack of love, affection or attention. I forgive him for any lack of time, for not giving me his companionship, for his drinking, arguing and fighting with my mother or the other children. For his severe punishments, for desertion, for being away from home, for divorcing my mother or for any running around, I do forgive him. (more…)

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DAY NINE

O adorable Savior, Jesus Christ, I believe what your holy Word teaches. I believe that you were made a priest forever by the solemn oath of your eternal Father and that you offer sacrifices forever. I believe that you offer the most sublime, holy and pure sacrifice most pleasing to God in the fire of your love, your Heart, your infinite merits, even your entire self. I believe that the most profound compassion of your priestly Heart impels you to carry on the function of your priesthood forever and ever in order to reconcile your Father with us and to offer him adoration, praise and thanksgiving for us as well to entreat him and grant us every needed grace.

Inspired by this faith I come to you, O loving Jesus. I place all my needs with great confidence in your priestly Heart and upon the altar of your Heart. The eternal Father cannot refuse anything to such a priest and his sacrifice. Remember me then in all the Masses in which you offer yourself today throughout the world. Let your petition ascend from your Sacred Heart that the eternal Father may decide, through your merits, to forgive me all my sins which I detest from the bottom of my heart and in his fatherly love to grant me the grace for which I have so ardently pleaded during this novena (mention your request). O Sacred Heart, if the heavenly Father grants this request for your sake it will redound to your own glory because it will be a testimony to your Father’s love for you. Procure this honor for yourself and from the sanctuary of heaven bring to me this desired grace so that my faith in you may be strengthened and my love of you may be more enkindled, O loving and priestly Heart of Jesus. Amen.
———————
O Divine Jesus who has said, “Ask and you shall receive; seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened to you,” behold me prostrate at your feet. Animated with a lively faith and confidence in the promises dictated by your Sacred Heart and pronounced by your adorable lips. I come to ask your aid. (mention your request)

From whom shall I ask, O sweet Jesus, if not from you whose heart is an inexhaustible source of all graces and merits? Where shall I seek if not from the treasure which contains all the riches of your clemency and bounty? Where shall I knock if it be not at the door of your Sacred Heart through which God himself comes to us and through which we go to God?

To you then, O Heart of Jesus, I have recourse. In you I find consolation when afflicted, protection when persecuted, strength when overwhelmed with trials and light in doubt and darkness. I firmly believe you can bestow on me the grace I implore even though it should require a miracle. You have only to will it and my prayer will be granted. I know I am most unworthy of your favors, O Jesus, but this is not a reason for me to be discouraged. You are the God of mercies and you will not refuse a contrite and humble heart. Cast upon me a look of pity, I conjure you, and your compassionate Heart will find in my miseries and weakness a pressing motive for granting my petition.

But, O Sacred Heart, whatever may be your decision with regard to my request I will never cease to adore, love, praise and serve you. Deign, O Jesus, to accept my act of perfect submission to the decrees of your adorable Heart which I sincerely desire may be fulfilled in and by me and all your creatures forever and ever. Amen.

Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Most sweet Jesus, redeemer of the human race look down upon us humbly prostrate before your altar. We are yours and yours we wish to be but to be more surely united with you behold each one of us freely consecrates himself today to your most Sacred Heart. Many indeed have never known you, many too, despising your precepts have rejected you. Have mercy on them all, most merciful Jesus, and draw them to your Sacred Heart.

Be you king, O Lord, not only of the faithful who have never forsaken you but also of the prodigal children who have abandoned you. Grant that they may quickly return to their Father’s house lest they die of wretchedness and hunger.

Be you King of those who are deceived by erroneous opinions or whom discord keeps aloof and call them back to the harbor of truth and the unity of faith so that soon there may be but one flock and one shepherd.

Grant O Lord, to your Church assurance of freedom and immunity from harm. Give peace and order to all nations and make the earth resound from pole to pole with one cry: Praise to the Divine Heart that wrought our salvation; to it be glory and honor forever. Amen.

Completion of the novena requires recitation of: Litany of the Sacred Heart; Act of Reparation; Petition to the Sacred Heart; Prayer for the Souls in Purgatory.

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DAY EIGHT
My God and my Savior, Jesus Christ, I believe it to be an undeniable truth. I believe it firmly, O Jesus, that you are my good shepherd. Even if you had not said it, I would believe it because I know that you have in my behalf always manifested the heart of a good shepherd. Would that I, during my entire life, had permitted the goodness and solicitude of your Heart to lead me; would that I had never departed from your side, for then I would not have suffered so much misery and tribulation. But alas, I was untrue to you so often that in consequence I fell into the abyss of sin and was mortally wounded. Now, however, your straying lamb calls to you from the depths of its misery.

O my good Shepherd, have mercy on me; give me proof again of your compassionate Heart. After all that you have thus far done for me I cannot believe that your Heart will reject me. Consequently, I beseech this Heart, I embrace it with confidence; and conjure you by all your merits that you obtain for me from your heavenly Father the forgiveness of my sins and the grace for a complete conversion. And then I also pray for the grace of (mention your request) which I am so much in need and which I hope to receive as the fruit of this novena. O Heart of the good Shepherd, have mercy on me. Amen
———————
O Divine Jesus who has said, “Ask and you shall receive; seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened to you,” behold me prostrate at your feet. Animated with a lively faith and confidence in the promises dictated by your Sacred Heart and pronounced by your adorable lips. I come to ask your aid. (mention your request)

From whom shall I ask, O sweet Jesus, if not from you whose heart is an inexhaustible source of all graces and merits? Where shall I seek if not from the treasure which contains all the riches of your clemency and bounty? Where shall I knock if it be not at the door of your Sacred Heart through which God himself comes to us and through which we go to God?

To you then, O Heart of Jesus, I have recourse. In you I find consolation when afflicted, protection when persecuted, strength when overwhelmed with trials and light in doubt and darkness. I firmly believe you can bestow on me the grace I implore even though it should require a miracle. You have only to will it and my prayer will be granted. I know I am most unworthy of your favors, O Jesus, but this is not a reason for me to be discouraged. You are the God of mercies and you will not refuse a contrite and humble heart. Cast upon me a look of pity, I conjure you, and your compassionate Heart will find in my miseries and weakness a pressing motive for granting my petition.

But, O Sacred Heart, whatever may be your decision with regard to my request I will never cease to adore, love, praise and serve you. Deign, O Jesus, to accept my act of perfect submission to the decrees of your adorable Heart which I sincerely desire may be fulfilled in and by me and all your creatures forever and ever. Amen.

Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Most sweet Jesus, redeemer of the human race look down upon us humbly prostrate before your altar. We are yours and yours we wish to be but to be more surely united with you behold each one of us freely consecrates himself today to your most Sacred Heart. Many indeed have never known you, many too, despising your precepts have rejected you. Have mercy on them all, most merciful Jesus, and draw them to your Sacred Heart.

Be you king, O Lord, not only of the faithful who have never forsaken you but also of the prodigal children who have abandoned you. Grant that they may quickly return to their Father’s house lest they die of wretchedness and hunger.

Be you King of those who are deceived by erroneous opinions or whom discord keeps aloof and call them back to the harbor of truth and the unity of faith so that soon there may be but one flock and one shepherd.

Grant O Lord, to your Church assurance of freedom and immunity from harm. Give peace and order to all nations and make the earth resound from pole to pole with one cry: Praise to the Divine Heart that wrought our salvation; to it be glory and honor forever. Amen.

Vatican City, 2 May 2012 (VIS) –

The prayer of St. Stephen, the first Christian martyr, was the theme of the Holy Father’s catechesis during his general audience this morning.

Addressing more than 20,000 faithful filling St. Peter’s Square, the Pope explained how, according to the narrative of the Acts of the Apostles, Stephen was taken before the Sanhedrin accused of having declared that Jesus would destroy the Temple and change the customs handed down by Moses. In his address before the council Stephen explained that, in saying these things, Jesus had been referring to His body, which was the new temple. In this way, Christ “inaugurated the new worship and, with the offer of Himself on the cross, replaced the ancient sacrifices”, Benedict XVI said.

Stephen wished to show that the accusation of subverting the Law of Moses was unfounded, to which end he outlined his view of the history of salvation, of the covenant between God and man. “Thus”, the Holy Father explained, “he reread the entire biblical narrative to show that it led to the ‘place’ of God’s definitive presence, which is Jesus Christ and in particular His passion, death and resurrection. Stephen interpreted his status as a disciple of Jesus in the same light, … following Him to martyrdom. Thus, meditation upon Sacred Scripture helped him to understand … the present”.

“In his meditation upon God’s action in the history of salvation” the proto-martyr “highlighted the perennial temptation to reject God and His acts, and affirmed that Jesus is the Just One announced by the prophets. In Him, God made Himself definitively and uniquely present: Jesus is the ‘place’ of true worship”.

Stephen’s explanations and his life were interrupted by his stoning, yet “martyrdom was the culmination of his life and message, because he became one with Christ. Thus his meditation upon the action of God in history, on the divine Word which was entirely fulfilled in Jesus, became a form of participation in Christ’s prayer on the cross”.

The moment of Stephen’s martyrdom “again revealed the fruitful relationship between the Word of God and prayer”, the Pope said. Yet “where did this first Christian martyr find the strength to face his persecutors and to make the ultimate gift of self? The answer is simple: in his relationship with God, in his communion with Christ, in meditating upon the history of salvation, in witnessing the action of God which reached its apex in Jesus Christ”.

St. Stephen believed that Jesus was “the Temple, ‘not made by human hands’, in which the presence of God the Father came so close as to enter our human flesh, bringing us to God and opening the doors of heaven for us. Our prayer must, then, be contemplation of Jesus sitting at the right hand of God, of Jesus as Lord of our daily life. In Him, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we too can address God … with the trust and abandonment of children who turn to a Father Who loves them with an infinite love”.