Father Marino's Meditations

  WORKOUT WEDNESDAY A Midweek Spiritual Workout with Fr. Marino H. Msigala, OFM Capuchin THE CRUCIFIX: THE BOOK OF LIFE   If you want to love God, look at the Crucifix!   If you hope for eternal happiness, look at the Crucifix! If you wonder how much God loves you, look at the Crucifix! If you wonder how much God wants you in heaven, look at the Crucifix! If you wonder how God tries to save you from damnation, look at the Crucifix! If you wonder how much God wants to save your immortal soul, look at the Crucifix! If you wonder how much you should forgive others, look at the Crucifix! If you wonder how much your faith demands of you, look at the Crucifix! If you want to know what unselfishness and generosity are, look at the Crucifix! If you wonder how you can bring others to Christ, look at the Crucifix! If you want to understand the need for self-denial and mortification, look at the Crucifix! If you wish to live well, look at the Crucifix! If  I   If you wis

  WORKOUT WEDNESDAY A. Midweek Spiritual Workout with Fr. Marino H. Msigala,  OFM Capuchin PRAYER OF ST. AUGUSTINE  OF HIPPO Late Have I Loved You, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new. Late have I loved You!   You were within me, but I was outside myself,  and there I sought You! In my weakness, I ran after the beauty of the things You made. You were with, me, but I was not with You. The things You made kept me from You – Those things which would have no being unless they existed in You! You called. You shouted, and You pierced my deafness. You radiated forth. You flared, blazed, and banished my blindness. You sent forth Your fragrance. I breathed it in, and I long for You. I have tasted You, and now I hunger and thirst for You. You touched me, and I burn for Your peace.    ~ Confessions of St. Augustine, X, 27, 38, St. Augustine of Hippo (354 – 430) On this Spiritual Workout Wednesday , let’s enjoy the things we own without allowing the things we own

WORKOUT WEDNESDAY A Midweek Spiritual Workout with Fr. Marino H. Msigala, OFM Capuchin CHRIST HAS NO BODY BUT YOURS Christ has no body but yours, No hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes with which He looks Compassionately upon this world. Yours are the feet with which He walks to do good, Yours are the hands, with which He blesses all the world. Yours are the hands, yours are the feet, Yours are the eyes, you are His body. Christ has no body now but yours, No hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes with which he looks compassionately upon this world. Christ has no body now on earth but yours. On this Spiritual Workout Wednesday , let us continue our Lenten journey together inspired and motivated by these words attributed to St. Teresa Avila.

  WORKOUT WEDNESDAY A Midweek Spiritual Workout with Fr. Marino H. Msigala, OFM Capuchin BE A PELICAN Consider the pelican, a noble bird who returns exhausted to its nest from a long and fruitless search for food and sees its chicks crowding around to swallow the fish it will disgorge. The pelican sees their gaping mouths and hears their frantic gabbling. For a moment the pelican stands as though listening to some secret inner command. Then, suddenly it raises its beak above the young and arches its neck backward prepared for the strike. It is not the babies that it would harm, but itself.  The pelican punctures its own breast, ripping open its flesh until at last, it stands astride the nest offering its own flesh as food before it dies.   The pelican symbolizes Christ, our Redeemer, who was called the Pious Pelican in the hymn of St. Thomas Aquinas, "Adoro Te Devote." Christ suffered and died for our sins. And today He continues to feed us with His own Body and Blood in the

  WORKOUT WEDNESDAY A  Midweek Spiritual Workout with  Fr. Marino H. Msigala,  OFM Capuchin   YET HE WENT ON…   When I get depressed, when I have a hard time continuing to do good, when I feel alone, and nobody else seems to be on my side, I reflect on this… Jesus, from his childhood, had the deadliest of enemies. Yet, He went on. Jesus was ignored and passed over for thirty years. Yet, He went on. Jesus had the very worst interpretations put on His kindliest actions. Yet, He went on. Jesus had all His words warped, twisted, falsely reported, magnified, minimized, and made to mean the very opposite by men set expressly to catch Him. Yet, He went on. Jesus had no support from those in authority, only suspicion, heckling, and condemnation. Yet, He went on. Jesus received very little gratitude. Yet, He went on. Jesus had none to share His burden, none with whom he could talk. Yet, He went on. Jesus was slighted, even laughed to scorn when He gave His very best. Yet, He went on. Jesus had