fatherfladerblog

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 John Paul II, Pope St Paul VI, St Josemaria Escriva and St Bernard to consider how: Mary gave birth to […]

In his account of the Last Supper, St John tells us that Christ loved his disciples “to the end”. After washing the apostles’ feet, Our Lord gave them the new commandment to “love one another as I have loved you.” In this meditation we use texts of Scripture, St Josemaria Escriva and Mother Teresa of […]

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 […]

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 […]

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gave us the eight Beatitudes, eight attitudes or dispositions that should characterise every follower of Christ, of whom they are a portrait. In this meditation we consider how: The Beatitudes should characterise every Christian They contrast notably with the ways of the world If we live them well […]

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, […]

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 […]

Purgatory is a reality but because we cannot see the souls being purified there we tend to forget them. In this meditation we pray about the importance of having great devotion to the holy souls. Using texts of Scripture, the Catechism, Pope Benedict XVI, St Thomas More, St Josemaria, St Augustine and others, we consider […]

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, […]

Angels are real. They appear throughout the Bible, from the book of Genesis to the book of Revelation. Because we can’t see them, we can easily forget them. In this meditation we pray about how to increase our devotion to the angels, using texts of Scripture, St Josemaria Escriva and St John Vianney, to consider: […]

As we go through life we often find ourselves tossed on the stormy seas and we can become discouraged, sad, and even depressed. The Covid pandemic adds to those troubles. In a situation like this, we need an attitude not of pessimism and sadness but of optimism and happiness. In this meditation we consider how: […]

Our Lord invited us, if we would be his disciples, to take up our cross and follow him. A few days later he manifested his divinity to three of his apostles in the Transfiguration, as we will see him in his glory in heaven.  In this meditation, using texts from Scripture, St Josemaria and St […]

Christ gives us the parable of the sower, who sows seed on different types of soil, yielding different results. In this meditation we consider how we can all be, at times, each of the different types of soil: The path, when we turn a deaf ear to Christ’s promptings The rocky ground, when we begin […]

The Second Vatican Council called Our Lady “model of the virtues” and we can learn so much from her. In this meditation we go to her 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 […]

The Resurrection of Christ on Easter Sunday fills us with faith and joy. In this meditation we consider: The sadness and sorrow of Christ’s disciples after his death on the Cross The various accounts in the Gospels of Christ’s appearances after his Resurrection The faith and joy of the holy women and the apostles when […]

Jesus Christ loved us so much that he suffered and died on the Cross to redeem us, to reconcile us with the Father after the original sin of Adam and Eve. In this meditation we follow the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary to see how Christ has loved us “to the end” and how we […]

St Teresa of Avila called St Joseph “a master who teaches [us] how to pray. In this meditation we consider how: St Joseph prayed in all moments and events of his life We can learn from him how to find God in our work, family life, travel, recreation, etc. We will benefit from having regular […]

St Josemaria Escriva calls St  Joseph “our father and lord”. We can learn much from this great saint and entrust all our needs to him. In this meditation we consider how: St Joseph was chosen by God from all eternity to be the spiritual father of Jesus and the guardian of the Holy Family God […]

In the Nicene Creed we profess our belief that the Church is one, holy, catholic and apostolic. In this meditation we pray about the first of these four “marks of the Church”, its unity. We consider that: Christ founded only one Church He prayed in the Last Supper for the unity of the Church The […]

One of St Joseph’s remarkable qualities was his docility to the will of God. In this meditation we consider: How St Joseph responded to God’s will in various moments Comments of Pope Francis, St Josemaria Escriva and St John Chrysostom on St Joseph’s docility How we come to know the will of God in our […]

  We all face difficulties in life: sickness and pain, the loss of loved ones, problems in work and in relationships, financial worries, temptations to sin, etc. Our tendency is to complain about them and thus lose their great value. In this meditation we consider how:  St Joseph faced many difficulties St Josemaria Escriva dealt […]

In the lead-up to Christmas, the liturgy reminds us repeatedly of the important role of St John the Baptist, the precursor of Jesus in preparing the people to receive him. In this meditation we consider: The similarities between the annunciations by the archangel Gabriel to Zechariah and Mary  of the birth of a child The […]

  We all love the parable of the Good Samaritan, but how well do we live out its message? In this meditation we use Pope Francis’ commentary on the parable in his encyclical Fratelli tutti to see the many lessons it contains and to suggest practical ways of putting these lessons into practice.

  With God and Christian values being pushed more and more out of our laws, culture and lives, people agree that the world is not in a good place. But what can be done to change this? In this meditation we use texts of the Second Vatican Council, St John Paul II, St Josemaria and […]

One of the most powerful and most loved devotions is the Rosary. In this meditation we use St John Paul II’s Apostolic Letter “Rosarium Virginis Mariae”, by which he introduced the Luminous Mysteries in 2002, to come to a deeper understanding of the Rosary so that we can say it better. We consider how: The […]