PODCAST · religion
fatherfladerblog
by Father John Flader
Meditations - Father John Flader
Episodes
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Making our whole day a Mass
The Mass is the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross made present on the altar. Christ instituted it during the Last Supper, giving the daily Old Testament sacrifices in the Temple their fulfilment and definitive meaning in the Mass. In this meditation we use texts of Scripture and of St Josemaria...
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Sowing with Christ
Christ is the sower of divine seeds in souls, and he sows on everyone, because he wants all to be saved. He sows even on the rocky ground of the hard hearted, the atheist, the big sinner, so that they too might one day be converted, as so many have throughout history. Today […]
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Mary, Ark of the Covenant
In the Litany of Loreto we call Our Lady “Ark of the Covenant”. In this meditation we use texts from Scripture to see how Mary truly deserves this title and how we can learn much from it for our own spiritual life. We consider how: In the book of Revelation Mary, after a long and […]
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The Treasure of time
We are all familiar with the parable of the wise and foolish virgins, in which the foolish ones did not take extra oil and were refused entry into the wedding feast. In this meditation we use this parable and texts of Scripture and St Josemaria Escriva to consider how: God has given us our whole […]
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Rejoice in the Lord
St Paul tells the Philippians to “Rejoice in the Lord always”. To be sure, we find our greatest joy, our happiness, when we are closest to God. But we should also communicate our joy to others through our good humour and cheerfulness. In this meditation we use texts of Scripture, St Josemaria…
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God our Father
One of the most endearing truths of our faith is that God is not only almighty, creator of heaven and earth, but our Father. In this meditation, we use texts from Scripture, the Catechism and saints, especially St Josemaria Escriva, to consider how: Jesus’ revelation that God is truly our Father…
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On the road to Emmaus
In the afternoon of the Resurrection, two discouraged disciples of Jesus left Jerusalem for the nearby town of Emmaus. Christ met them on the way without revealing who he was. He showed them from the Scriptures how he was meant to suffer and die. When they reached Emmaus the disciples begged…
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The springtime of Lent
The word “Lent” comes from the Anglo-Saxon word “Lencten”, meaning springtime. If we live Lent well, we have a true springtime in our spiritual life. In this meditation, we situate our Lenten discipline in the context of three events in Our Lord’s life, each of which teaches us something about...
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Abandonment and trust in God
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 we can become worried and sad. In this meditation we consider ways in which we can deal […]
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Lessons from the Manger
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: Love Spiritual childhood Contemplation Humility Detachment from comforts Zeal for souls Peace and joy
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Marriage, a path to holiness
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 help their children and other families to discover the beauty of their own...
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Children of a loving Father
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. In this meditation we use texts of Scripture and of St Josemaria Escriva to consider what […]
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Vocation to love
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 texts of Scripture, St John Paul II and St Josemaria to […]
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The gift of faith
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 Catholic Church and of Scripture to consider how: We should […]
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Love for God
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 meditation we use texts from Scripture, St John Paul II, St Josemaria, St…
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Love for the Sacred Heart
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 Mary Alacoque and St Josemaria Escriva to consider how: Christ’s Sacred Heart is a […]
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Mary and the Gifts of the Holy Spirit
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 Spirit, who acts in us through his seven gifts. In this meditation we…
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Easter with Pope Francis
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 eternal life with him. In this meditation, we use the text of that homily to consider...
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Lessons from the Passion
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 Sunday to consider some of these lessons: Our weakness, like that of Peter, in...
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The Journey to 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 texts of Scripture and of Pope Francis’ Message for Lent 2025 to consider how…
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Hope in the Lord
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 hope. We use Pope Francis’ document for the Jubilee Year 2025, Spes non...
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Learning from the humanity of Christ
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 Scripture to consider the humanity of Christ and some of the many virtues we can […]
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Journey to Bethlehem
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 Self-giving to others Bearing hardships without complaining Purifying our soul…
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The hope of Heaven
As we know from children’s catechisms, the reason why we exist is to know, love and serve God on earth in order to be happy with him forever in heaven. We know it but we tend to forget it in the busyness and distractions of everyday life. In this meditation, we consider how we can […]
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One in the Communion of Saints
One of the most consoling truths of our faith is the reality of the Communion of Saints – the Church triumphant in heaven, the Church suffering in purgatory, and the Church militant on earth, all helping one another. In this meditation we use texts from Scripture, the Catechism, St Bernard, St...
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Humility
One of the most fundamental virtues is humility. Many of the saints, among them St Augustine and St John Vianney, stress how important it is. In this meditation, we use texts of Sacred Scripture, St Augustine, St John Vianney and St Josemaria to consider how: Humility is the foundation of the…
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The spiritual Olympics
Athletes go through a rigorous training regime in order to achieve their goal of winning a medal in the Olympic games. Our goal is much higher: eternal life with God in heaven. We too need a training regime. In this meditation we use texts of Scripture, especially of St Paul, and of saints like...
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Heart in God, not in goods
The Scriptures invite us to love God above all things. But in an affluent society, where goods abound, it is easy to put our heart more in goods than in God. In this meditation we draw on texts of Scripture, Popes Paul VI and Francis, and Fathers of the Church, to consider how: We must […]
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Loving with the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is love and, as St Paul writes, love has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. Since God has loved us first, we should love God with our whole heart, and love one another. In this meditation we use the Scriptures and a letter […]
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Hope in the Resurrection
When the women went at dawn to anoint the body of Christ on Easter Sunday, they didn’t know how they would remove the huge stone that closed the tomb. To their surprise, they found the stone already removed. In this meditation we use the homily of Pope Francis in the Easter Vigil in St Peter’s […]
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The Light of Easter
The resurrection of Christ brings light into a world in darkness. That darkness may be of unbelief, of sin, of lack of hope. In all cases, Christ is the light who can dispel the darkness with the light of his Resurrection. In this meditation we consider how we can respond to this light of Christ […]
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Lessons from Holy Week
Holy Week should be holy not only in its name and in the events we commemorate, but in the way we live it. In this meditation we consider the numerous lessons we can learn from this week and how we can put them into practice. We will consider: Palm Sunday – praising God by our […]
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The spirit of Lent
In Lent we prepare for the celebration of our redemption by Christ’s death and resurrection. In this meditation we consider how: We can accompany Our Lord in his forty days of fasting and prayer in the desert by our own greater effort in prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Lent is a time for...
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Sowers of peace
The prophet Isaiah announced the coming of one who would be called Prince of Peace. When Christ was born in Bethlehem, the angels announced peace on earth, and Christ later told the apostles that he came to bring peace such as the world cannot give. But when we look around us, we see a great […]
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The first Christmas gift
Christmas is a time for giving gifts. The wise men brought gifts to the baby Jesus, but the first Christmas gift was Jesus himself, a gift from the Father to all of mankind. In this meditation we use texts of Scripture to consider how we can live Advent like Our Lady and St Joseph, the […]
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Devotion to the Holy Souls
The Church dedicates the month of November to praying for the holy souls in Purgatory. This should be a constant devotion for us, since through the Communion of Saints we can help these souls and they can intercede for us. In this meditation we use texts of Scripture, the Catechism of the…
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Love for the Church
As we love our mothers, so we should naturally love our holy mother the Church. But it can sometimes be difficult to do so, especially when we see the human failings of members of the Church and the many difficulties she faces at the present time. In this meditation we use texts of Scripture,...
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Bringing our friends to Christ
In his Gospel St Luke relates how the friends of a paralytic went to great lengths to take him to Christ, going onto the roof of the house and lowering him down through the opening they had made. We too should do all we can to bring our friends and relatives to Christ. In this […]
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Lessons from the Transfiguration
Our Lord’s Transfiguration on Mount Tabor can teach us many lessons. In this meditation, we use passages from Scripture to consider some of them: The climbing of the mountain calls to mind the difficulties in our own life in climbing the mountain of holiness Seeing Christ transfigured in his...
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You too have a vocation
We tend to think that only priests and religious have a vocation. But we all have a calling from God, a vocation, to carry out a particular mission in life. In this meditation we use texts from Scripture, Pope Francis, St John Henry Newman and St Josemaria Escriva to consider how: God has created...
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Love for Mary, our Mother
Before he died on the Cross, Jesus said to St John and to all of us: “Behold your Mother.” Mary is truly the mother of everyone. In this meditation we use texts of Scripture, St Bernard and St Josemaria to consider how: In conceiving Jesus in her womb, and later giving birth to him in […]
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Lessons from the Cross
Jesus’ passion and death teach us many lessons. In this meditation we use texts from Scripture and St Thomas Aquinas to consider some of the many virtues Christ teaches us from the Cross: Charity Humility Patience Obedience Fortitude Perseverance Joy
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The sorrows and joys of St Joseph
Pope Gregory XVI, who was Pope from 1831 to 1846, instituted the custom of dedicating the seven Sundays preceding the feast of St Joseph on March 19 to that great saint, and of meditating especially on his seven sorrows and joys. In this meditation we use the Gospels of Matthew and Luke to…
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Prayer for the holy souls
November is the month in which the Church traditionally intensifies her prayers for the souls in Purgatory. But every day should be for us a day of prayer for the holy souls. There are many souls there now suffering greatly but at the same time exceedingly happy. In this meditation we use texts...
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One with Christ
Through Baptism we become members of the Mystical Body of Christ. We become one with him. He lives in us and we live in him. In this meditation we use texts of Scripture, St John Eudes, St Josemaria Escriva and St John Paul II to consider how: We can ask Jesus to let us see […]
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Jesus and the Samaritan woman
The encounter of Jesus with the Samaritan woman at the well teaches us many lessons. In this meditation we use the passage related by St John to consider how: Jesus in his Providence arranged for the meeting to take place so that he could reveal himself to the Samaritan woman Jesus begins his...
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Sanctifying ordinary life
The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph spent thirty years doing ordinary tasks in the home of Nazareth to teach us the sanctifying value of ordinary things. In this meditation we pray about how we too can find God in our day-to-day activities. We use texts of St Josemaria Escriva, the Second...
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Lesssons of the Assumption of Mary
Our Lady’s Assumption into heaven teaches us many lessons. In this meditation we use a text from the book of Revelation to consider some of these lessons: Mary sanctified herself in her ordinary life in the home, as we do She is the new Ark of the Covenant, bringing the very Word of God into […]
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The Pharisee and the Tax Collector
The parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector praying in the temple has much to tell us. In this meditation we use texts of Scripture, St Augustine, St John Chrysostom and St Josemaria to reflect on how: We too should endeavour to pray before the Blessed Sacrament whenever possible The...
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Loving God in the Heart of Jesus
Our Lord has loved us 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, St Margaret Mary Alacoque and St Josemaria Escriva to consider how: St John writes in his Gospel that Jesus has loved us “to the […]
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Meditations - Father John Flader
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