In this meditation we go to Mary as “teacher of prayer” to learn how to pray better. Using texts from Scripture and St Josemaria Escriva we consider how:

In the Annunciation Mary listens to what God is asking of her through the angel, asks about what she does not understand, and then immediately accepts God’s will for her.
In her Magnificat, Mary praises God for his loving-kindness to her.
On two occasions Our Lady ponders in her heart God’s providence in the events of her life.
At Cana Mary asks Jesus with great faith to do a miracle.
In all her activities, Mary lived in the presence of God.

Mary, Teacher Of Prayer

From the moment she conceived Jesus in her womb, Mary became the mother of his Mystical Body, the Church, and of all of us. In this meditation we use texts from Sacred Scripture, Pope St Paul VI, St Josemaria Escriva and St Bernard to consider how:

- Mary gave birth to Jesus and to the Church in Bethlehem
- From the Cross at Calvary, Jesus gave Mary to St John, and to each one of us, as our mother
- Because of the pain she suffered when Christ’s body was pierced with a lance and the Church flowed from his side on Calvary, Mary has a special love for all her children
- Mary exercises her motherly role in many moments related in the Scriptures
- We can show our gratitude to Our Lady and honour her through such practices as the Rosary, the Angelus, Marian aspirations and pilgrimages

Mary, Our Loving Mother

The Rosary, which developed out of Christian piety over the centuries, has shown itself to be a very powerful prayer. In this meditation we consider how:
The Rosary gradually developed over the centuries
St Dominic used the Rosary to win over the heretics of his day
The Rosary has been credited with winning military battles, including that of Lepanto
Following Our Lady’s apparitions at Fatima, the Rosaries said for the conversion of Russia helped bring down the Communist regimes in Eastern Europe
The Rosary is powerful in uniting families
The  Rosary helps those who say it to grow in holiness

The Rosary, A Powerful Prayer

We have all received many talents from God, and at the end of our life we will render an account on how we have used them. We will be judged, not on whether we did better or worse than someone else, but on whether we used well the talents God gave each of us. We should not give in to the temptation to bury, or not use well, certain talents because it would be “too hard”.

Using Our Talents

The first Christmas gift was Jesus Christ himself: “So much did God love the world that he sent his only-begotten Son.” In this meditation we use Mary’s visitation to her kinswoman Elizabeth and other texts of Scripture to consider how we can respond to that gift by:

Giving ourselves to God through our life of prayer, penance and charity
Growing in joy by knowing God close to us
Bringing the joy of Christ to others, as Mary did, by our generous, cheerful self-giving to them

Self-giving at Christmas

The birth of Christ in the stable of Bethlehem has much to teach us. In this meditation we consider seven lessons Christ teaches us from the manger:

Love
Spiritual childhood
Contemplation
Humility
Detachment from comforts
Zeal for souls
Peace and joy

Lessons From The Manger

At the beginning of another year, we use texts of Scripture and St Josemaria Escriva to pray about what our goals and resolutions might be, especially that most important goal of growing in holiness so as to deserve eternal life with God in heaven. We consider:

- The very reason for our existence is to know, love and serve God on earth in order to be happy with him forever in heaven
- We should make good use of every moment of the day since we don't know how long God has given us on this earth
- Many souls depend on the life of each of us
- Holiness is a struggle, a battle, against the world, the flesh and the devil
- We should have the determination of athletes, who discipline themselves and train hard to win a crown that fades, whereas ours is imperishable: eternal life.

Beginning Another Year

Christ spent forty days praying and fasting in the desert before beginning his public ministry and he prayed intensely in Gethsemane on beginning his Passion. In this meditation we use these examples of Our Lord and texts of St Josemaria Escriva to consider:
- How and why we should be souls of prayer
- The different forms our prayer can take
- The need to have regular times set aside each day for prayer
- How to pay attention and fight distractions in our prayer
- The need to persevere in our habit of prayer throughout our life

Souls Of Prayer

In this meditation we accompany Christ in his forty days in the desert and in his Passion, considering how much he loves us and how we can follow him along the way of the Cross to the Resurrection by living Lent well.

With Christ In Lent

We all experience temptations. They are a consequence of original sin and of our being subject to the world, the flesh and the devil. But in addition to being sources of sin, temptations can also be sources of sanctity. In this meditation we consider:
- Christ’s temptations in the desert, which are very similar to our own
- Christ’s example in overcoming the temptations
- How we can use temptations to grow in sanctity and human virtues
- What we can do to overcome temptations

The value of temptations

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gave us the eight Beatitudes, which are attitudes or dispositions that should characterise every follower of Christ, and of whom they are a portrait. In this meditation, we consider how the Beatitudes contrast notably with the ways of the world, and how we can live each of them in practical ways.

Living The Beatitudes

The prophet Isaiah introduces us to the gifts of the Holy Spirit, which are very important helps in living our spiritual life to the full. In this meditation we use texts of Sacred Scripture to consider:

- The nature and role of the gifts
- How they differ from the virtues
- How each one of the seven gifts helps us in a particular way

[audio mp3="https://fatherfladerblog.files.wordpress.com/2022/05/the-gifts-of-the-holy-spirit.mp3"][/audio]

The Gifts Of The Holy Spirit

The parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector praying in the temple has much to tell us. In this meditation we reflect on some of these lessons: prayer, pride, humility, avoiding judging others, sorrow for sins, awareness that we are all sinners, penance and confession.

The Pharisee And The Tax Collector

Our Lord has loved us to the last drop of his blood and water, and he invites us to love him in return. In this meditation we use texts of Scripture, St Margaret Mary Alacoque and St Josemaria Escriva to consider how:

- St John writes in his Gospel that Jesus has loved us "to the end" and in his first Letter that "God is love".
- Our Lord asked St Margaret Mary for the feast of the Sacred Heart, in order to increase love for him throughout the world.
- St Margaret Mary writes in a letter about the three streams that pour out from the heart of Christ.
- We can grow in love for God and our neighbour in practical ways.

Loving God in the Sacred Heart Of Jesus

Our Lady's Assumption into heaven teaches us many lessons. In this meditation we use a text from the book of Revelation to consider some of these lessons:

Mary sanctified herself in her ordinary life in the home, as we do
She is the new Ark of the Covenant, bringing the very Word of God into the world
Mary is rewarded for her humility and docility to God
Mary's Assumption fills us with hope for our own resurrection to eternal life
Mary had many crosses on the way, as we will
The woman in the book of Revelation overcomes the attacks of the devil, as we must
Mary's intercession for us is all-powerful

Lessons Of The Assumption Of Mary

November is the month in which the Church traditionally intensifies her prayers for the souls in Purgatory. But every day should be for us a day of prayer for the holy souls. There are many souls there now suffering greatly but at the same time exceedingly happy. In this meditation we use texts from Scripture, the Catechism and saints to consider how:
- The holy souls suffer from the pains of sense, likened to fire, and of loss, of being deprived of union with God
- The souls in Purgatory are happier than we are on earth, because they are assured of heaven and they love God more than we do
- We can help the souls in Purgatory by offering our prayers, works and sufferings for them
- The souls in Purgatory are powerful intercessors for us and we can entrust our intentions to them
- The holy souls should be able to consider us their "good friends"

[audio mp3="https://fatherfladerblog.files.wordpress.com/2022/11/prayer-for-the-holy-souls.mp3"][/audio]

Prayer For The Holy Souls

In Advent, we prepare for the coming of Christ in history, which we celebrate at Christmas, and for his coming in glory at the end of time. We can also prepare for his coming daily into our hearts and for his coming at the end of our life to call us to our eternal home. To live Advent well, It is good to consider it like a "little Lent". In this meditation we use texts of Scripture, St Cyril of Jerusalem and St Bernard of Clairvaux to consider how we can do this:
- Learning from Mary and Joseph on their journey to Bethlehem
- Improving our life of prayer
- Living a generous spirit of penance
- Showing more love to those around us

The Spirit Of Advent

In these days in which the family is so much under attack, Christian families can turn to the Holy Family of Nazareth to find inspiration and strength to fulfil their vital role.

The Holy Family, model of the family

The Second Vatican Council called Our Lady "model of the virtues". In this meditation we use texts from the New Testament to consider how Mary teaches us various aspects of the virtue of charity. In the Annunciation, her love for God moves her to say yes and to bring the God who is Love into the world. In the Visitation to Elizabeth, Mary forgets herself and spends three months helping her aging relative prepare for the birth of John the Baptist. In Bethlehem, she gives birth to Christ and contemplates Love in human form. At Cana, she is sensitive to the wedding couple and asks Jesus to help them. At Calvary, she sacrifices herself to accompany Jesus on the Cross. In the Upper Room, she prays with and for the apostles as they await the coming of the Holy Spirit.

Mary, Model Of Charity

One of St Joseph's remarkable qualities was his docility in carrying out the will of God. In this meditation we consider how St Joseph responded to God's will in various moments, how we come to know  the will of God in our own life, and how our docility should be prompt, complete, responsible, free and loving.

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Prayer with Father Flader

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