Thought for the Day – 19 January – Meditations with Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)
Meditations for Christmastide
“The Holy Infancy”
From “The Devout Year”
By Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)
“The Arrival in Egypt”
+1. At length they reached the spot which God designed for their sojourn in a land full of idols and idolaters. What uncongenial surroundings for the Holy Family, alone in the midst of those who worshipped a false god!
So many a Catholic has to dwell in a most uncongenial atmosphere – perhaps among heretics, or bad Catholics, or those whose words and looks and actions continually jar and cause pain. Patience! Jesus and Mary know, by experience, what such have to suffer!
+2. When the Holy Family arrived in Egypt, in the Town where they came to dwell, all the idols in the temples fell prostrate to the ground and were shattered into pieces. Thus, when Christ comes to dwell within the soul, all that opposes itself to God is destroyed by His Sacred Presence. If Jesus dwells with us , we shall no longer allow pride, envy, bitterness, self-will, discontent, to reign in our hearts.
+3. The presence of the Holy Family in Egypt hallowed the spot where they sojourned. In early Christian times it was covered with the cells of the Monks and Hermits. Thus Jesus always leaves a blessing behind Him.
When He comes to me in Holy Communion, if only I put no obstacle in the way my soul will flourish with virtues and good works, as the effect of His Presence.
AnaStpaul 