fatherfladerblog

There are many aspects of life in which we know we are not “in control”: our health, job, financial security, relationships, etc. In these and other areas, often things do not work out as we had planned, and...

From the manger in Bethlehem, the infant Jesus has much to teach us. In this meditation we use texts of Scripture to consider seven of his lessons, which are all important for our spiritual life:

The call to holiness is lived out in all circumstances of life, one of the most important of which is marriage and family. When they see their marriage as a path to holiness, couples grow in holiness themselves and they...

        One of the great revelations that Jesus gives us, especially in the Sermon on the Mount, is that God is not just the Supreme Being, the creator of the universe, but truly our loving Father...

  God has known and loved each one of us from all eternity. Then, in the fulness of time for us, he created us out of love and invited us to enter into a loving relationship with him. In this meditation we use...

  We tend to take our faith in God for granted when we find it easy to believe in God, but we should not forget that faith is a great gift that can be lost. In this meditation we use texts of the Catechism of the...

We are all aware of the commandment to love God with our whole heart, soul, mind and strength. But what exactly does this mean? Is it having feelings of love, telling God we love him, having many devotions? In this...

Our Lord has loved us to the end, 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, Pope Francis’ encyclical Dilexit nos, St Margaret...

In the Annunciation, Our Lady receives a message from the angel Gabriel announcing that she is to have a son through the Holy Spirit. She immediately accepts. We learn from her to be docile to the promptings of the Holy...

For Easter Sunday 2005, Pope Francis wrote a beautiful homily to be read in the morning Mass in St Peter’s Square by the celebrant, Cardinal Angelo Comastri. Less than 24 hours later, God called Pope Francis to...

Jesus teaches us so much in his suffering and death on the Cross. In this meditation we use the events from his prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, through his death on Mount Calvary, to his Resurrection on Easter...

Lent is an annual opportunity to accompany Jesus in his forty days of prayer and fasting in the desert and in his suffering and death on Mount Calvary to his resurrection on Easter Sunday. In this meditation we use...

Everyone has issues in life which give rise to uncertainty about the future, to doubts and even anxiety. In this meditation we pray about the virtue which gives reassurance in these situations, the important virtue of...

  Everyone wants to be a better person. But what do we mean by this? Who is the standard, the model? It is obviously Christ himself, perfect man as well as perfect God. In this meditation we use texts from...

In this season of Advent we can learn much about how to focus our spiritual life from Our Lady, as she makes her way to Bethlehem with St Joseph. Among the lessons Mary teaches us are: Docility to the will of God...