Today's Holy Rosary

Friends of the Rosary,

Our spiritual life is based — or it should be based — in one single premise: “Believe in the One sent by God the Father.”

The risen Jesus gives us through his disciples another critical advice—as we read today (Jn 6:22-29)

“Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.”

This way, when we start the third week of Easter, we are invited to seek what’s above, avoiding to think from an earthly perspective.

Christ suffered for us, leaving you an example that you should follow his steps,” St. Peter says in one of his epistles.

Jesus didn’t deserve to suffer for did no sin, and nevertheless was subject to persecution and injustice.

We pray today's Joyful Mysteries from San Diego, CA.

Ave Maria!
Jesus, I Trust In You!

To Jesus through Mary!

Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will!

+ Mikel Amigot | RosaryNetwork.com, New York

Friends of the Rosary,

Today, on the Third Sunday of Easter, while we celebrate the risen Jesus we pray hard for peace in the Middle East. Yesterday, Iran fired hundreds of exploding drones and missiles in its first direct attack on Israel after years of a shadow war.

We invoke Our Lady of Peace, the Blessed Mother, so people open their minds to Jesus and understand the necessity of peace in the world.

Jesus, the Prince of Life and Peace, is more alive than ever and is on our side.

"Peace be with you," told the apostles when he stood in their midst, as we read in the Gospel today (Lk 24:35-48).

Christ walked with his first followers when they had lost all hope and restored their faith and joy.

Today, when war tensions escalate, we must humbly open ourselves to the Holy Spirit, allowing ourselves to be helped.

Ave Maria!
Jesus, I Trust In You!

To Jesus through Mary!

Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will!

+ Mikel Amigot | RosaryNetwork.com, New York

Friends of the Rosary,

Christ Jesus, who demonstrates his authority over nature, comes to save us, encouraging us not to be afraid.

As we read today (Jn 6:16-21), Jesus walks on the stirred sea heading into the boat with the terrified disciples, and says to them: "It is I. Do not be afraid." 

In the Scriptures, the sea was something to be feared. Water was a symbol of danger and chaos.

The boat, with Peter and the other followers, is evocative of the Church, which moves through all types of storms across history.

So Jesus walking on water symbolizes God's control over the elements, including the chaotic sea and the powers of darkness and disorder. The Spirit of the Lord hovers over the surface of the waters. 

The faithful should not fear the chaotic elements of nature or life. Instead, we should place our complete trust in our Holy God.

Ave Maria!
Jesus, I Trust In You!

To Jesus through Mary!

Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will!

+ Mikel Amigot | RosaryNetwork.com, New York

Friends of the Rosary,

Jesus' multiplication of bread and fish, feeding a crowd of 5,000, is the only one of the miracles included in all four of the Gospel accounts.

This miracle greatly influenced the understanding of the first Christians of the Lord's identity and mission.

This passage — we read about it today in the Gospel — was followed by Christ's Bread of Life discourse, in which He explained his teaching on the Eucharist to the crowd.

He drew the connection between the miraculous feeding and the institution of the sacrament of the Eucharist at the Last Supper.

Then and today Christ Jesus is giving us the Bread of Life. The Eucharist is the place where heaven and earth meet, with the Lord’s sacred Body offered up and his precious Blood poured out.

The Sorrowful Mysteries that we pray today are the re-presentation of the sacrifice of the Cross.

Ave Maria!
Jesus, I Trust In You!

To Jesus through Mary!

Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will!

+ Mikel Amigot | RosaryNetwork.com, New York

Friends of the Rosary,

St. Paul wrote that God's love for us is an excess since it exceeds and surpasses what reason can comprehend and desire.

He also calls the love of God "foolishness". This foolishness is reparation for that other foolishness which is sin.

In today's Gospel reading, we learn:

Friends of the Rosary,

God came into us purely out of love, out of his desire we flourish.

The entire universe is moving restlessly toward the unity of the souls with God. And Christ Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s salvific intent.

"Creation is nothing but the overflow from the intensity of Trinitarian love," wrote Bishop Barron. "All things flow from and are marked by the Spiritus Sanctus (Holy Spirit). He is their ground, their secret origin, their principle."

Christ revealed to us the divine goal: the sharing of the love between the Father, who has given his only Son to the world, and the Son, who has offered himself back to the Father.

Friends of the Rosary,

We celebrated yesterday the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord.

Today, we possess the knowledge Mary didn’t have at the time of the Annunciation — the knowledge about the plans of her Son, the Incarnate Word, would unfold on earth.

We are fortified by Mary’s trust in God at the Annunciation and encouraged to trust the Divine Mercy and the Divine Will to be open to God’s redirection of our lives.

In choosing to follow God, we trust in Jesus. We surrender to Him to be molded and “changed into his likeness,” as it is necessary for one’s growth in holiness (2 Cor 3:18).

Trusting God, as Mary did at the Annunciation, ultimately opens the gates of Heaven for us. God only desires the good of our souls.

Learning to trust Him in all the situations of our lives is the answer to bringing the true peace and hope we long for.

Ave Maria!
Jesus, I Trust In You!

To Jesus through Mary!

Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will!

+ Mikel Amigot | RosaryNetwork.com, New York

Friends of the Rosary,

Today is the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord, the first Joyful Mystery.

The Holy Spirit comes through the Archangel Gabriel to Mary and imparts to her the gift of all gifts, a divine Son.

In humble acceptance, the Virgin Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be [done] to me according to your word" (Lk 1:38).

Having been conceived immaculately, Mary's body became the Living Tabernacle of the Lord.

Accordingly, she answered in nearly the same words her Divine Son used on many occasions — thy will be done.

The Annunciation can be thought of as a precursor to Pentecost.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us!

Ave Maria!
Jesus, I Trust In You!

To Jesus through Mary!

Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will!

+ Mikel Amigot | RosaryNetwork.com, New York

Friends of the Rosary,

Today is the Sunday of Divine Mercy, the Octave Day of Easter, and we confidently say: Jesus, I trust in You, have mercy upon us and the whole world.

The Divine Mercy Sunday origin is from a revelation to the Polish nun Saint Faustina Maria Kowalska, the mystic of the twentieth century who initiated the Divine Mercy devotion.

Between 1930 and 1938 Jesus requested to her numerous times a Feast of Divine Mercy. On May 5, 2000, five days after the canonization of Saint Faustina, the Vatican decreed that the Second Sunday of Easter would be Divine Mercy Sunday.

God the Father revealed his nature of pure love through the Scriptures and the life, Passion, death, and Resurrection of his Son.

It’s the mystery of God’s divine mercy, a gift of humanity, described by Pope Saint John Paul II as “the greatest of the attributes and perfections of God” (Dives in misericordia, 13).

The risen Jesus offers His love that pardons, reconciles, and gives peace.

----------
Jesus to St. Maria Faustina Kowalska

—Excerpted from Diary of Sr. M. Faustina Kowalska

On one occasion, I heard these words: "My daughter, tell the whole world about My inconceivable mercy. I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners. On that day the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of My mercy.

The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. On that day all the divine floodgates through which graces flow are opened. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet. My mercy is so great that no mind, be it of man or of angel, will be able to fathom it throughout all eternity. Everything that exists has come forth from the very depths of My most tender mercy. Every soul in its relation to Me will contemplate My love and mercy throughout eternity. The Feast of Mercy emerged from My very depths of tenderness. It is My desire that it be solemnly celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter. Mankind will not have peace until it turns to the Fount of My Mercy.

"[Let] the greatest sinners place their trust in My mercy. They have the right before others to trust in the abyss of My mercy. My daughter, write about My mercy towards tormented souls. Souls that make an appeal to My mercy delight Me. To such souls I grant even more graces than they ask. I cannot punish even the greatest sinner if he makes an appeal to My compassion, but on the contrary, I justify him in My unfathomable and inscrutable mercy. Write: before I come as a just Judge, I first open wide the door of My mercy. He who refuses to pass through the door of My mercy must pass through the door of My justice.

"From all My wounds, like from streams, mercy flows for souls, but the wound in My Heart is the fountain of unfathomable mercy. From this fountain spring all graces for souls. The flames of compassion burn Me. I desire greatly to pour them out upon souls. Speak to the whole world about My mercy."

Ave Maria!
Jesus, I Trust In You!

To Jesus through Mary!

Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will!

+ Mikel Amigot | RosaryNetwork.com, New York

Friends of the Rosary,

On this Sunday of Divine Mercy, we will reflect upon the revelation of God's mercy. Christ didn't come to condemn but to forgive, to show mercy. 
We intend to be filled with the Holy Spirit, trying to learn from the early Church when the first Christians dedicated themselves to the good of the other, as we read this Easter in the Act of the Apostle.
They were selfless and generous. They lived with the faith that conquers the world. 
And we recall the words of Saint Augustine, "Mercy is heartfelt sympathy for another's distress, impelling us to succor him if we can."
Let's ask for the intercession of Mary Mother of Mercy. 

Ave Maria!
Jesus, I Trust In You!

To Jesus through Mary!

Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will!

+ Mikel Amigot | RosaryNetwork.com, New York

Friends of the Rosary,

For a third time, the Risen Jesus revealed himself to a large group of Apostles after being raised from the dead (Jn 21:1-14).

The passage occurred in the Sea of Tiberias (Sea of Galilee). It was before the arrival of the Holy Spirit in Pentecost.

There were Simon Peter, Thomas called Didymus, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, Zebedee’s sons (James and John), and two others of his disciples.

The Apostles had returned to their old fishing job.

Having fished all night and caught nothing, they returned to shore early in the morning.

Jesus was standing on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.
Jesus said to them, "Children, have you caught anything to eat?"

When they disappointedly replied, “No,” He told them, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some”.

Without further comment, they threw their net out and caught 153 large fish, collectively far too many and too heavy a catch for them to haul onboard the boat.

John, intuitively recalling Jesus’ previous miraculous catch of fish, recognized that it was Jesus standing on the shore and he said to Simon Peter, “It is the Lord”.

When Jesus said, “Bring some of the fish you have just now caught,” Simon Peter went and dragged the remainder of the untorn net out of the water and retrieved some fish from it.

Jesus then said, “Come have breakfast” and he “took the bread and gave it to them and did the same with the fish”.

Ave Maria!
Jesus, I Trust In You!

To Jesus through Mary!

Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will!

+ Mikel Amigot | RosaryNetwork.com, New York

Friends of the Rosary,

Friends of the Rosary,

Friends of the Rosary,

In the Gospel today (Jn 20:11-18), Mary Magdalene stays outside the tomb weeping. She is asked first by the angels and then by the Lord himself by she is weeping. 

Jesus calls Mary Magdalene by her name, and she recognizes Him. Her pessimism disappears. She goes from fear to joy!

We all are consoled by the truth that Jesus is seeing, knowing, and loving us, even when we feel troubled, discouraged, and far away from Him.

Also, Jesus said to her, “Stop holding on to me,
for I have not yet ascended to the Father.
But go to my brothers and tell them,
‘I am going to my Father and your Father,
to my God and your God.”

Christ’s commands to “stop holding on” means He desires greater intimacy than merely standing externally. He wants us to receive the Holy who will transform us into other Christ.

Jesus is Risen! Is risen indeed!

Ave Maria!
Jesus, I Trust In You!

To Jesus through Mary!

Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will!

+ Mikel Amigot | RosaryNetwork.com, New York

Friends of the Rosary,

Friends of the Rosary,

Today is Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord, the foundation upon which our faith rests. It’s the Solemnity of Solemnities and the climax of the Church year because all of the mysteries we have commemorated from Advent until now have pointed toward Easter.

On this day, Christ Jesus conquered death and unlocked for us the path to the glory of eternity.

The sadness of the Passion and Crucifixion of the Holy Week is vanished. Through a deep prayer of thanksgiving, we praise and glorify Our Lord, expressing the joy of the Resurrection.

The true Lamb who took away the sins of the world by His Death destroyed our death and by His Resurrection restored our life.

Easter means the Redemption obtained — sin destroyed, death overcome, divine life brought back to us.

The resurrection of Christ is a pledge of the resurrection of our own body and our entrance into immortality.

It guarantees our redemption and God's assurance that our sins are forgiven, we are called to eternal life, and His merciful love endures forever.

Jesus is Risen! Is risen indeed!

Ave Maria!
Jesus, I Trust In You!

To Jesus through Mary!

Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will!

+ Mikel Amigot | RosaryNetwork.com, New York

Friends of the Rosary,

Today, on Holy Saturday (from Sabbatum Sanctum, its official liturgical name), also known as Saturday of the Glory, the Church remembers and mourns Christ in the tomb. We pray and meditate on his Passion and Death and his Descent to the Dead to announce liberation from the shadow of darkness.

It is not Easter yet, and the day is usually spent working on the final preparations for the biggest feast of the Church year.

The entire body of the Church is represented in Mary, as she awaits, in faith, the victorious triumph of her Son over death and the celebration of his resurrection.

Christ rests in peace, after the great battle against sin and evil. We see the mortal wounds and the scars of intense suffering upon Him. Jesus' enemies are still furious, attempting to obliterate the memory of the Lord by lies and slander.

The Church abstains from the Sacrifice of the Mass, with the sacred table left bare, until after the solemn Vigil, the anticipation by night of the Resurrection.

Ave Maria!
Jesus, I Trust In You!

To Jesus through Mary!

Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will!

+ Mikel Amigot | RosaryNetwork.com, New York

Friends of the Rosary,

Today, the whole Church commemorates the commemorate the Passion and crucifixion of Jesus Christ when He died for the sins of the world. It's a solemn day of mourning and also a legal holiday around much of the world. It's a day of sadness, spent in fasting, abstinence, and prayer. Practicing some mortifications today, such as eating less or standing up is appropriate.

We find ways to slow down and have more quiet to contemplate this day, avoiding loud conversations and restricting ourselves from distractions, entertainment, and social media.

We can pray for different devotions like the Rosary, Stations of the Cross, the Divine Mercy devotions, and do meditative readings of the passion of Christ.

The title for this day varies in different parts of the world: "Holy Friday" for Latin nations, in Germany, it is "Friday of Mourning," in Norway, it is "Long Friday." Some view the term "Good Friday" (used in English and Dutch) as a corruption of the term "God's Friday."

Liturgically, around three o'clock in the afternoon, we participate in the "Celebration of the Lord's Passion." The service — not a mass — is divided into three parts: the Liturgy of the Word, the Veneration of the Cross — when we joyfully venerate and kiss the wooden cross "on which hung the Savior of the world —, and Holy Communion.

In the Liturgy of the Word, we hear the passages from Isaiah of famous of the Suffering Servant (52:13-53:12). Psalm 30 is the Responsorial Psalm "Father, I put my life in your hands." The Second Reading is from the letter to the Hebrews, 4:14-16; 5:7-9. The Gospel Reading is the Passion of St. John.

The ten intercessions cover these areas:

• For the Church
• For the Pope
• For the clergy and laity of the Church
• For those preparing for baptism
• For the unity of Christians
• For the Jewish people
• For those who do not believe in Christ
• For those who do not believe in God
• For all in public office
• For those in special need

The Father sent his Son to bring divine light to the darkest place. Christ Jesus offered his body in sacrifice to take away the sin of the world. St. Anselm said that the death of the Son reestablished the right relationship between divinity and humanity.

Ave Maria!
Jesus, I Trust In You!

To Jesus through Mary!

Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will!

+ Mikel Amigot | RosaryNetwork.com, New York

Friends of the Rosary,

Today is Holy Thursday, also known as Maundy Thursday, and the first day of the Sacred Triduum. The word “triduum” comes from the Latin words tris (“three”) and dies (“day”).

The Triduum begins with the evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper this Holy Thursday and ends after evening prayers at sunset on Easter Sunday.

The three of the Triduum are:

• Holy Thursday
• Good Friday
• Holy Saturday

Ave Maria!
Jesus, I Trust In You!

To Jesus through Mary!

Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will!

+ Mikel Amigot | RosaryNetwork.com, New York

Friends of the Rosary,

Friends of the Rosary,

Friends of the Rosary,

Yesterday, speaking in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Francis invited the crowd to follow in Jesus’ footsteps as He entered Jerusalem "so that being made by his grace partakers of the cross, we may have a share also in his resurrection and his life."

At the end of Palm Sunday Mass, the Pope said: "And now we turn in prayer to the Virgin Mary. Let us learn from her to stay close to Jesus during the days of Holy Week, to arrive at the joy of the Resurrection."

With the whole Church of Christ we herald the celebration of the Holy Week of our Lord’s paschal mystery, that is, his passion and resurrection.

We pray with confidence, never getting discouraged by looking for results. We trust in the Lord; He never fails. He is like that.

God will answer your prayers!

Ave Maria!
Jesus, I Trust In You!

To Jesus through Mary!
Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will!

+ Mikel Amigot | RosaryNetwork.com, New York

Friends of the Rosary:

Today, March 24th, is Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion and the beginning of Holy Week. It’s the completion of the Paschal Mystery of the Passion and Resurrection.

For five weeks of Lent, we have been preparing to celebrate our Lord’s paschal mystery by prayer, works of charity, and self-sacrifice.

Today we commemorate this solemn celebration in union with the whole Catholic Church. Christ entered in triumph into his own city of Jerusalem to complete his work as our Messiah: to suffer, to die, and to rise again.

As the faithful, we remember and dramatize Christ’s triumphal entrance into Jerusalem on a donkey. A huge crowd assembled, put their cloaks or branches on the ground, and waved palm branches, acclaiming Christ as the King of Israel, the Son of David.

We now joyfully acclaim by holding branches of palm trees Jesus our Messiah and King and sing as the priest enters the church. We cry, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord.”

Jesus the Messiah was, and is, the sign of contradiction, acclaimed by some and reviled by others. He was sent by the Father into this world to wrest us from sin and the power of darkness.

By the reading today in mass of the Passion at the Gospel, we remain united with him in his suffering on the cross, may we share his resurrection and new life.

May we reach the happiness of the new and everlasting Jerusalem one day.

Ave Maria!
Jesus, I Trust In You!

To Jesus through Mary!
Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will!

+ Mikel Amigot | RosaryNetwork.com, New York

Friends of the Rosary:

The Virgin Mary's role is to bring us face to face with the love in the Heart of Jesus crucified, wrote Mother Teresa.
"Be careful of all that can block that personal contact with the living Jesus. The Devil may try to use the hurts of life, and sometimes our own mistakes — to make you feel it is impossible that Jesus really loves you," wrote the saint.
It's not only that Jesus loves us. He longs for us. Even when we don't feel worthy. 
"How can we last even one day without hearing Jesus say I love you — impossible. Our soul needs that as much as the body needs to breathe the air," Mother Teresa wrote in 1989. 

Ave Maria!
Jesus, I Trust In You!

To Jesus through Mary!
Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will!

+ Mikel Amigot | RosaryNetwork.com, New York

Friends of the Rosary:

Today, one week before Good Friday, we see in the Gospel (Jn 10:31-42) how hatred against Christ escalated in those final days of the Redeemer of the World.

Fridays of Lent have a penitential quality. The Stations of the Cross, prayed in many parishes today, allow us to love and treasure the Holy Cross of Jesus.

We have to be one in spirit with Him. In our crucifixion with Christ, we find salvation.

For Christ and with Christ, we suffer freely and willingly the unpleasant things that occur to us.

Fleeing from the Cross instead of holding it dear shouldn’t be our answer. We welcome the Cross as Our Savior did.

Ave Maria!
Jesus, I Trust In You!

To Jesus through Mary!
Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will!

If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

+ Mikel Amigot | RosaryNetwork.com, New York

Friends of the Rosary:

Friends of the Rosary:

Today the Church celebrates the Solemnity of St. Joseph, the spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the foster father of Jesus. He is the patron and protector of the Universal Church.

He is also invoked as the patron of the dying because Jesus and Mary were at his death-bed and the patron of fathers, among many other causes. And that’s why today is Father’s Day.

St. Joseph was an ordinary manual laborer although descended from the royal house of David. In the designs of Providence, he was destined to become the spouse of the Mother of God. He faithfully fulfilled God’s high trust in protecting and guarding the greatest earthly treasures, Jesus and Mary.

Joseph was the trustworthy witness of the Messiah’s virgin birth. After this, he modestly retires into the background of holy Scripture.

His important mission in God’s plan of salvation was “to legally insert Jesus Christ into the line of David from whom, according to the prophets, the Messiah would be born, and to act as his father and guardian”, according to the Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy.

Most of our information about St. Joseph comes from the opening two chapters of St. Matthew’s Gospel. No words of his are recorded in the Gospels; he was the “silent” man.

St. Joseph was probably born in Bethlehem and probably passed away in Nazareth, probably before the beginning of Christ’s public life.

Today is the only Solemnity celebrated in the 2024 Lenten season since Easter is so early this year and the Solemnity of the Annunciation is transferred to the Second Week of Easter.

Ave Maria!
Jesus, I Trust In You!
St. Joseph, Pray for Us!

To Jesus through Mary!
Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will!

+ Mikel Amigot | RosaryNetwork.com, New York

Friends of the Rosary:

This Monday, March 18th we begin the fifth and final full week of Lent. Day after day, the liturgical readings tell of the lowering storm clouds that will break open next week.

And today’s main reading in the Gospel (John 8:1-11) features the woman caught in adultery. The scribes and Pharisees accuse and bring her to Jesus.

Our Lord responds: "Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her."

And tells the woman: "Go, and from now on do not sin anymore."

In this biblical passage, we see divine mercy in action.

It’s the fruit of forgiveness offered and accepted. God loves sinners and rejects sin — because sin destroys and poisons our eternal souls.

Every sin is adultery to God — and is pardonable by Christ.

Ave Maria!
Jesus, I Trust In You!
St. Patrick, Pray for Us!

To Jesus through Mary!
Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will!

+ Mikel Amigot | RosaryNetwork.com, New York

Friends of the Rosary:

After she died, St. Teresa of Avila appeared to one of her nuns and said:

"There should be no difference, as far as purity and love are concerned, between the blessed in Heaven and the faithful on earth, though we are perfectly happy and you are suffering. What the Divine Essence is to us in Heaven, the Blessed Sacrament should be to you on earth."

St. Alphonsus Liguori explained:

"Here, then, is our Heaven on earth—the Most Blessed Sacrament."

Ave Maria!
Jesus, I Trust In You!

To Jesus through Mary!
Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will!

+ Mikel Amigot | RosaryNetwork.com, New York

Friends of the Rosary:

Friends of the Rosary:

In today’s Gospel (Jn 7:1-2, 10, 25-30), we see how the Jews were trying to kill Our Lord as He moved in Galilee nearing the end of His public life.

"But no one laid a hand upon him, because his hour had not yet come."

So Christ Jesus continued to teach to large crowds who were coming to hear Him. The admiration of the people intensified the hatred of the priests, openly seeking the death of the Messiah. Our Lord was spending His days in teaching and His nights in prayer.
Does our conduct resemble that of Christ?

In difficult circumstances, when we are unjustly accused criticized, or condemned, let’s calmly continue our work and recourse to God in prayer. Let’s leave our reputation in the hands of Christ.

Ave Maria!
Jesus, I Trust In You!

To Jesus through Mary!
Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will!

+ Mikel Amigot | RosaryNetwork.com, New York

Friends of the Rosary:

The mercy of God is infinite, beyond our comprehension.

However, stating that everyone, no matter their deeds, will enter the glory of Heaven seems contrary to the words of Jesus.

Yesterday, in the Gospel’s main reading (Jn 5:17-30), the Son of God said:

"Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes in the one who sent me has eternal life and will not come to condemnation, but has passed from death to life."

The message seems to be clear: Those "who have done good deeds" will go to the "resurrection of life" and those "who have done wicked deeds" to the "resurrection of condemnation."

Ave Maria!
Jesus, I Trust In You!

To Jesus through Mary!
Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will!

+ Mikel Amigot | RosaryNetwork.com, New York

Friends of the Rosary:

God wants every believer to be transformed into the image and character of Jesus Christ.

And on this season of Lent, we learn all the virtues necessary that, in St. Paul's words, "Christ may be formed in us" (Gal. 4:19).

And as we prepare ourselves to participate in the Resurrection of the Lord, we conform our lives in imitation of the suffering and patient servant of Christ. 
He is the portrait of the loving crucified Savior.

Padre Pio, one of the saints who understood Christ’s suffering the most, recommended attending Mass often.

And he said: "If you want to assist at Mass with devotion and with fruit, think of the sorrowful Mother at the foot of Calvary.”

“In your mind’s eye, transport yourself to Calvary," he added.

Ave Maria!
Jesus, I Trust In You!

To Jesus through Mary!
Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will!

+ Mikel Amigot | RosaryNetwork.com, New York

Friends of the Rosary:

Friends of the Rosary:

The faithful, who see their lives increasingly perfected by the grace of God, find it incomprehensible why many among us, especially friends and family members, prefer to stay attached to sin and darkness.

The Holy Spirit explained yesterday’s Gospel reading (John 3:14-21).”

“And this is the verdict,
that the light came into the world, 
but people preferred darkness to light,
because their works were evil.
For everyone who does wicked things hates the light 
and does not come toward the light, 
so that his works might not be exposed.
But whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God.”

Our sinful nature, stemming from the original sin of our ancestors Adam and Eve, blinds us. Our fallen world seeks to keep us in darkness. The Lord knows this—He knows our souls—and because of His great love for us, He sends us light in abundance.

God, who is rich in mercy, saves us by the grace of His faith, which is a gift from Him. As we live in Christ, we belong to the Light.

We never engage with darkness. We only pray for those who, doing wicked things, hate the light.

Ave Maria!
Jesus, I Trust In You!

To Jesus through Mary!
Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will!

+ Mikel Amigot | RosaryNetwork.com, New York

Friends of the Rosary:

The Fourth Sunday of Lent is traditionally called Laetare Sunday. Laetare is a Latin word that means "rejoice."

Today's Gospel (John 3:14-21) describes the reason for our joy: God's great love for us has been revealed in Jesus. Through his Passion, Death, and Resurrection, Christ has reconciled us with God and one another.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, 
so that everyone who believes in him might not perish 
but might have eternal life.

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, 
but that the world might be saved through him.

Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, 
but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, 
because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

And this is the verdict,
that the light came into the world, 
but people preferred darkness to light,
because their works were evil.

For everyone who does wicked things hates the light
and does not come toward the light, 
so that his works might not be exposed.

But whoever lives the truth comes to the light, 
so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God."

Ave Maria!
Jesus, I Trust In You!

To Jesus through Mary!
Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will!

+ Mikel Amigot | RosaryNetwork.com, New York

Friends of the Rosary:

"I have come not to abolish the law but to fulfill it," Jesus said to the Pharisees, as we read this Wednesday (Matthew 5:17–19).

The Son of God Jesus denounced the hypocrisy of the instructional religion of that time, but He didn’t call for its dismantling.

"What He effected was a transfiguration of the best of that classical Israelite religion—temple, law, priesthood, sacrifice, covenant—into the institutions, sacraments, practices, and structures of his Mystical Body, the Church," explained Bishop Barron.

Many evangelicals want Jesus without the Universal Church. Also, followers of the New Age spirituality reject any religion.

The Catholic Church is holy and sinner at the same time. However, this universal institution with its lights and shadows is the continuation of the preaching and faithful love of Christ.

Ave Maria!
Jesus, I Trust In You!

To Jesus through Mary!
Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will!

+ Mikel Amigot | RosaryNetwork.com, New York

Friends of the Rosary:
Lent is a time for a new conversion. By the sacrifice of penance, the Lord sends us abundant grace to purify us. 
Benedict XVI said that Lent disciplines us, so we can be centered on the Paschal Mystery and change our daily lives. It’s a new beginning.
Benedict focused on three practical solutions. First, he mentions faith in a Creator God, and then "the renewal of the faith in the reality of Jesus Christ given to us in the Blessed Sacrament."
"And flowing from this, we must ask him to teach us all anew to understand the greatness of his suffering, his sacrifice."
Lord, I love you.

Ave Maria!
Jesus, I Trust In You!

To Jesus through Mary!
Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will!

+ Mikel Amigot | RosaryNetwork.com, New York

Friends of the Rosary:

Man's pride exceeds all bounds.

We all too frequently boast of our spiritual and material accomplishments as if no one had ever equaled us, even seeking to place himself on a level with, and at times even above, Our Lord.

Yet Christ, Who was true God, "emptied Himself, taking the nature of a slave and being made like unto men, and appearing in the form of man, He humbled Himself, becoming obedient to death, even to the death of the Cross." (Phil. 2:7).

Every Crucifix tells us this: "Learn of Me, for I am meek and humble of heart. I have been obedient unto death. I am full of love and patience."

The Son of God approached us in His deepest humiliation, summoning us to contemplate Him as the Man of Sorrows, asking we grow in humility and patience by studying His own resignation to the Will of His Heavenly Father.
Ave Maria!
Jesus, I Trust In You!

To Jesus through Mary!
Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will!

+ Mikel Amigot | RosaryNetwork.com, New York

Friends of the Rosary:

Building a culture that protects human and Christian vocations is critical.

But this is at risk, due to the danger of gender ideology, said Pope Francis.

"Today the ugliest danger is gender ideology, which seeks to blur differences between men and women through movements such as transgenderism," explained the Pope during an audience in Rome this month.

"Erasing differences is erasing humanity. Man and woman, however, are in a fruitful tension. The life of the human being is a vocation. Man and woman are created by God and are the image of the Creator."

We participate in a universal call "to embrace a specific and personal mission with joy and responsibility."

Ave Maria!
Jesus, I Trust In You!

To Jesus through Mary!
Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will!

+ Mikel Amigot | RosaryNetwork.com, New York

Friends of the Rosary:

At that time, the crowd was asking Jesus for a sign from Heaven to believe, despite the countless miracles He performed — as we recently read in the Gospel (Lk 11:29-32).

The Son of God Jesus said to them: "This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it, except the sign of Jonah."

The sign of Jonah was the victory of his death and Resurrection.

The monumental, timeless demonstration was His Resurrection, the central mystery in our lives.

The crucified Jesus, who had died and been buried, was risen from the dead and would appear alive again to his disciples before ascending into Heaven.

Ave Maria!
Jesus, I Trust In You!

To Jesus through Mary!
Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will!

+ Mikel Amigot | RosaryNetwork.com, New York

Friends of the Rosary:
In his first letter to the Corinthians, which we read yesterday (1 Cor 1:22-25), St. Paul explains how Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom. “But we proclaim Christ crucified.”
For the Jews, Greeks, and Gentiles, Christ did not fit their preconceived ideas of the Messiah. They all looked to philosophy or human wisdom for the solution of man’s problems.
Our Lord’s message of faithfulness and merciful love was too radical for them. The crucified and the resurrected Jesus was a stumbling block to their foolishness, as St. Paul described.
And St. Paul concluded: "For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength."

Ave Maria!
Jesus, I Trust In You!

To Jesus through Mary!
Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will!

+ Mikel Amigot | RosaryNetwork.com, New York

Friends of the Rosary:

The Catholic Church begins today the second phase of the Forty Days of Lent with the Gospel passage of the long dialogue of Jesus and the Samaritan woman from He asks for a drink of water (Jn 4:13-16).

Jesus said to her,

"Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."

The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water, so that I may not be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water."

Later in John 7: 37-39 Jesus once again speaks of living water, saying, "Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them."

By this, he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive.

Also, today Sunday, we honor St Katharine Drexel.

Ave Maria!
Jesus, I Trust In You!

To Jesus through Mary!
Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will!

+ Mikel Amigot | RosaryNetwork.com, New York

Friends of the Rosary:

We see a portrait of our Holy God in today's Gospel of Luke and the well-known parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:1–3, 11-32).

This is the story:

A son asks his father for his inheritance, then squanders it recklessly, as he lives a life of indulgence. With nothing left, he is forced to work as a hired hand for a pig farmer. He is so destitute that he longs to eat the food of the pigs. Realizing that his father’s servants have better working conditions, he resolves to return to his father, beg forgiveness, and ask to be his servant.

Upon arriving at his father’s house, he is welcomed with loving arms. His father is overwhelmed with joy at his son’s return and holds a feast in his honor.

The prodigal son’s older brother, who has remained serving in his father’s house, does not share his father’s joy. Instead, he is jealous that his father has not honored him. His father urges him not to resent his brother, but to instead be happy for him.

The story of the Prodigal Son is the history of our own desertion. But we are given an urgent call to repentance and conversion. "Father, I have sinned." Our Father welcomes us with mercy. He receives us again as His children.

Friends, the Father's nature is to give. God simply is love. And we, sinners, tend to misunderstand how to access the divine love.

Ave Maria!
Jesus, I Trust In You!

To Jesus through Mary!
Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will!

+ Mikel Amigot | RosaryNetwork.com, New York

Friends of the Rosary:
The Forty Days of Lent is also a period of education and formation for adults who have not yet been baptized. They are being prepared to receive Baptism, Confirmation, and the Holy Eucharist, the three sacraments of Christian initiation, at the Easter Vigil. But the baptismal character of Lent is not only for catechumens. All of the faithful are reminded that Baptism is for the forgiveness of sins.
All the baptized require liberation from sin: from the bad habits that enslave us and impede our friendship with Christ.
The Church is always in need of conversion.
During Lent, all the baptized undergo a “second baptism,” to meet once again the mysteries of God’s mercy and love.

Ave Maria!
Jesus, I Trust In You!

To Jesus through Mary!
Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will!

+ Mikel Amigot | RosaryNetwork.com, New York

Friends of the Rosary:
In today’s reading (Mt 20:17-28), Christ Jesus anticipates to the Twelve disciples His Sorrowful Passion:
"Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem,
and the Son of Man will be handed over to
the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death, and hand him over to the Gentiles
to be mocked and scourged and
crucified, and he will be raised on the
third day."
He also explains the meaning of His earthly dwelling:
"Whoever wishes to be great among you
shall be your servant;
whoever wishes to be first among you
shall be your slave.
Just so, the Son of Man did not come
to be served but to serve
and to give his life as a ransom for many."
Still today, these words are shocking us: The Holy One serving the humanity that rejected Him and even giving His life in reparation of our sins.

Ave Maria!
Jesus, I Trust In You!

To Jesus through Mary!
Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will!

+ Mikel Amigot | RosaryNetwork.com, New York

Friends of the Rosary:

As we read in the Gospel today (Mt 23:1-12), Jesus said to his disciples and the crowd:

"The greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, but whoever humbles himself will be exalted."

The Son of God was talking about the spiritual pride shown by the scribes and Pharisees:

"Do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you, but do not follow their example. For they preach but they do not practice."

Being themselves the authors of many precepts, the Pharisees believed themselves to be equally the authors of their own sanctity.

In other words, they rejected the merciful love of Christ, putting themselves away from Him and His Salvation.

Ave Maria!
Jesus, I Trust In You!

To Jesus through Mary!
Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will!

+ Mikel Amigot | RosaryNetwork.com, New York

Friends of the Rosary:

Christ Jesus asked us to stop judging, and be forgiving and merciful — as we read today in the Gospel of Luke (Lk 6:36-38).

"For the measure with which you measure
will in return be measured out to you."

For this behavior, we need to ask God's grace.

"I say to you, love your enemies,
and pray for those who persecute you,
that you may be children of your heavenly Father,
for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good,
and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust." (Mt 5:43-48)

"So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect."

Ave Maria!
Jesus, I Trust In You!

To Jesus through Mary!
Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will!

+ Mikel Amigot | RosaryNetwork.com, New York