The friends of a paralytic went so far as to lower the man through the roof of a house where Jesus was speaking, because they could not bring him through the door. Jesus then forgave his sins and healed his paralysis. We too should make every effort to bring our friends and relatives to Christ, especially those who are most distant. We can do this by speaking with them, praying for them, giving them something to read, inviting them to a talk...

Bringing Friends To Christ

At Christmas we are accustomed to giving gifts. After all, the wise men brought gifts to the infant Jesus. But the first Christmas gift was Christ himself, a gift from the Father. In this meditation we consider how we can respond to this great gift in Advent as Mary and Joseph, the shepherds and the wise men did, through our life of prayer, self-denial and charity.

The First Christmas Gift

One of the most consoling truths of our faith is the reality of the Communion of Saints - the Church triumphant in heaven, the Church suffering in purgatory, and the Church militant on earth, all helping one another. In this meditation we use texts from Scripture, the Catechism, St Bernard, St Therese of Lisieux and St Josemaria to consider how:

- The saints in heaven "fix the Church more firmly in holiness" by their example and prayer for us
- We should have as the goal of our life to be with them for all eternity
- The souls in purgatory suffer greatly and are exceedingly happy, relying on our prayer for them and interceding for us before God
- In the Church militant, we are helped by the prayers of all in this Communion and we should feel responsible to help the others by our struggle for holiness and our prayers and works.

One in the Communion of Saints

One of the most fundamental virtues is humility. Many of the saints, among them St Augustine and St John Vianney, stress how important it is. In this meditation, we use texts of  Sacred Scripture, St Augustine, St John Vianney and St Josemaria to consider how:

- Humility is the foundation of the other virtues
- Our Lady is a great example of humility
- Humility centres our attention on God and others, not on ourselves
- God loves a humble person and rejects the proud
- We all have pride, in different ways
- By praying about it, we are helped to identify our particular manifestations of pride so that we can struggle against them

Humility

The Scriptures invite us to love God above all things. But in an affluent society, where goods abound, it is easy to put our heart more in goods than in God. In this meditation we draw on texts of Scripture, Popes Paul VI and Francis, and Fathers of the Church, to consider how:

- We must strive to love God with our whole hearts and to keep our minds o- - We should adjust our priorities so that we are detached from the goods we possess and we do not buy things we do not need
- We can endeavour to live a more simple lifestyle, appreciating the little things of life
- We should be generous with our wealth in helping those who are less fortunate

Prayer with Father Flader