Riccardi

Chiara Lubich shared the light she experienced during a period of illness. “Over the last few days I have understood a great many things ... That tears are part of the Gospel too: ‘Blessed are those who mourn’ (Mt 5:4). I’ve understood that health is a gift we are not aware of and for which we are infinitely grateful to God when we lose it. We really thank God for all the time we have enjoyed good health, not realising it was a gift from God.   I’ve understood that suffering which leads to exasperation is a new countenance of Jesus forsaken; that at a certain level of suffering you no longer talk to people, but it becomes an almost continuous conversation with God, distilled from the suffering like a fine liqueur. I’ve understood that when you call upon Jesus with faith - and I have very often had the grace of a full faith - he never fails to help us... perhaps for a little while... but that is already

This writing is noteworthy for its simplicity.  Living Mary helps us understand God who is Love. If the Lord gave her to us as our mother, how can we not believe in his love? A mother never ceases to love her wayward son; she never ceases to await his return when he has gone afar. She desires nothing but to see him again, to forgive him, to embrace him again: because a mother’s love fills everything with the scent of mercy. A mother’s love is something that is always above any painful or difficult situation in which her son finds himself. Hers is a love that never fades in the face of moral, ideological or any other kind of turmoil that may overwhelm her son. Her love, because it rises above all things, wants to cover over everything, to hide his mistakes. If a mother sees her son in danger she does not hesitate to risk everything, to throw herself onto the train tracks if her son is about to be

Rocca di Papa, 3rd March 1983 An invitation to live better the Holy Year of Mercy, with a mother’s heart and without measure. “Let among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her” (Jn 8:7). Jesus said this to those who wanted to stone the adulteress. The central idea in Jesus’ commands is always love. This is why he doesn’t want us Christians to condemn anyone. In fact he says, “Do not judge,” and proclaims, “Blessed are the merciful.” Jesus wants mercy. Nevertheless, from what he says one could conclude that there is someone who could throw the first stone: whoever is without sin. This is certainly not one of us, we are all sinners. But there is a person who is without sin. And we know who she is: the Mother of God. Could Mary, then, “throw a stone” at someone who erred? Did she ever do such a thing when she was on earth? We know our Mother. We know what Scripture says