THE WEEKLY DIGEST
OF REGNUM CHRISTI
DAILY MEDITATIONS
Week of May 25 - June 1, 2025
Sunday, May 25, 2025 –Peace in Our Time
Monday, May 26, 2025 – I Beg Your Pardon…
Tuesday, May 27, 2025 – Where Are You Going?
Wednesday, May 28, 2025 – You CAN Handle the Truth!
Thursday, May 29, 2025 – Witnesses to Hope
Friday, May 30, 2025 – Joy Without End
Saturday, May 31, 2025 – Receiving God’s Visitation with Open Hearts
May 25, 2025 – Peace in Our Time
Sixth Sunday of Easter
John 14:23-29
Jesus said to his disciples: “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; yet the word you hear is not mine but that of the Father who sent me. I have told you this while I am with you. The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid. You heard me tell you, ‘I am going away and I will come back to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father; for the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you this before it happens, so that when it happens you may believe.”
Opening Prayer: Lord, thank you for these consoling verses of Scripture. Penetrate my mind and heart as I read and meditate on these words today.
Encountering Christ:
- We Will Dwell with You: The way of a Christian can be difficult—full of doubt, questions, sacrifice, and persecution. But our struggle to keep the word of God is never fought alone. Jesus, the Father, and the Holy Spirit dwell in a soul that keeps the Father’s commandments. This indwelling of the Trinity brings with it unique and beautiful gifts: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord. It’s a spiritual reality that is not as perceptible as human accompaniment, but it is infinitely more powerful. St. Teresa of Avila offers this encouragement: “I only beg you to test it (by interior recollection), even at the cost of a little trouble. I assure you…you will find him within you.”
- The Peace of Christ: Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Our Lord promises us peace, but not the world’s version. This heavenly peace can calm a soul in the midst of suffering or grief, not necessarily by taking away the emotional pain but by bringing an awareness to the suffering soul that Christ is present. To feel his closeness, his love and affection for us, his compassion for our sorrow and pain, is a balm no human remedy can match. Our Lord, in his parting words, could have offered any number of blessings, but he showered his disciples with peace and urged them, “Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.” When we are worried or anxious, the peace of Christ is available to us for the asking as beloved sons and daughters of the Father.
- Please Believe: These lines of Scripture contain some of the most beautiful promises Our Lord made to his disciples (and to us). He tells us the Trinity dwells in obedient souls. Christ wants to leave his peace with us. The Holy Spirit has come as an advocate, teacher, and reminder of all Christ has taught. Jesus chose this moment to share so much about the coming of the Holy Spirit with the disciples for one reason: so that they would believe. Jesus became incarnate, lived anonymously in Nazareth, preached for three years, suffered, died, and rose from the dead for our redemption—he wants that much for us to believe in him. Lord, increase my faith!
Conversing with Christ: Lord, it is the Easter season and we are a resurrection people! Help me to live very deeply the peace you showered on your disciples. I believe that the Trinity dwells within me and by your power and might, I can live life to the fullest. “Man fully alive is the glory of God” (St. Irenaeus).
Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will confidently ask for your peace every time my emotions get the best of me.
For Further Reflection: “In the biblical tradition, peace is a very rich concept. It implies much more than simply an absence of war and strife. It implies more than simply a passing feeling of contentment, relaxation, and order. It implies the fullness of joy and life that can only be attained and experienced in a climate of justice, order, truth, respect, and goodwill. Saying ‘peace’ in biblical language is akin to what we moderns might imply by the phrase “peace and prosperity.” By wishing this for those around us [during Mass], and asking Jesus to give it to us, we are invoking our hope and faith in God who is the source and sustainer of all good things, material and spiritual” (from What Does It Mean To Exchange The Peace Of Christ At Mass?).
Maribeth Harper celebrated paying the last tuition bill for her kids’ college by writing a book for parents who have college-aged young adults; A Spiritual Toolbox: Tips for Parenting through the First Year of College. She is a wife of thirty-five years, mother of four, and grandmother of 12 and counting.
May 26, 2025 – I Beg Your Pardon…
Memorial of Saint Philip Neri, Priest
John 15:26 – 16:4a
Jesus said to his disciples: “When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, he will testify to me. And you also testify, because you have been with me from the beginning. I have told you this so that you may not fall away. They will expel you from the synagogues; in fact, the hour is coming when everyone who kills you will think he is offering worship to God. They will do this because they have not known either the Father or me. I have told you this so that when their hour comes you may remember that I told you.”
Opening Prayer: Good and Loving God, I am here before you in faith. Please strengthen my faith. I come before you in hope; please increase my hope. I come before you in love; please deepen my love.
Encountering Christ:
- Truth, Beauty, and Goodness: In this internet age, we are often pummeled by misinformation or simply too much information. This overstimulation can hurt our capacity to discern truth. When we shift our time and attention to reading the Scriptures and other quality books, seeking out beauty in nature and art, and watching resources like Formed.org, we are much more likely to sharpen our discernment and find truth we can live by. Jesus tells us that the Advocate is the Spirit of Truth, and testifies to the Father. It is the Spirit that helps us to seek and find Jesus, the Way, the Truth and the Life. May we invite the Holy Spirit into all of our efforts to seek truth.
- They Will Expel You from the Synagogues: In every epoch, people have felt that they lived in the worst time in history. Fr. John Bartunek, LC said recently that the history of the Church is the history of crisis! He also pointed out, however, that great saints emerged in each era of trial and hardship. Today’s reflection is a call to mission for each of us. We are called to be the saints of this era. We are called to a sanctity that begins in relationship with God through our Advocate, the Holy Spirit. We will grow in holiness through our personal prayers and our liturgical prayer.
- “I Never Promised You a Rose Garden”: Christ knew how difficult certain periods of history would be for Christian believers. For how many centuries have we read, “They will do this because they have not known either the Father or me. I have told you this so that when their hour comes you may remember that I told you” (John 16:3-4). And many of our brothers and sisters have courageously said, “Amen,” to suffering for the Gospel. Some of us have really just started understanding that we live in a post-Christian culture. This reality, however, should cause us no fear, for we do not journey alone. By the power of the Holy Spirit, we are ready to do whatever Our Lord requires to spread the Gospel in our day. Lord, excite our hearts for this mission!
Conversing with Christ: Lord, in this Easter season, send me your Easter joy. I want to live that Easter joy even when the culture resists. Help me to connect to you in a special way today as I meditate on your victory over death so that I am empowered by your grace to do your will in all things.
Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will spend extra time with you by avoiding news and politics and replacing it with silence or beautiful music.
Bob Cohn is an electrical engineer with a manufacturing firm, and he loves to share his faith through speaking and writing.
May 27, 2025 – Where Are You Going?
Tuesday of the Sixth Week of Easter
John 16:5-11
Jesus said to his disciples: “Now I am going to the one who sent me, and not one of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ But because I told you this, grief has filled your hearts. But I tell you the truth, it is better for you that I go. For if I do not go, the Advocate will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes he will convict the world in regard to sin and righteousness and condemnation: sin, because they do not believe in me; righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will no longer see me; condemnation, because the ruler of this world has been condemned.”
Opening Prayer: God my Father, I believe in you; help me grow that faith. Jesus, I hope in you; help me grow in that trust. Holy Spirit, I love you; stir in me the desire to love you more.
- Where Are You Going?: No one asked this question. They had seen Jesus leave once and it was pretty painful. Perhaps they thought, “If I don’t ask, maybe it won’t happen.” Grief filled their hearts. Christ recognizes that, at times, “grief fills our hearts” too. Desolation can creep in when we feel like Christ has “gone away.” Fr. Timothy Gallagher, OMV, in his book The Discernment of Spirits, breaks down St. Ignatius’s fourteen rules for discernment in an easily accessible way so that we can identify desolations or consolations and act accordingly. Understanding these principles can help us better comprehend God’s actions in our lives.
- But If I Go…: We inevitably feel a loss when Christ does not seem near. St. Teresa of Calcutta said she lived through years of spiritual desolation, feeling separated from the Lord. The path to God in one sense can be easy: repent and believe. But in daily life, many times we struggle to be in relationship with Christ and it takes real effort to persevere in prayer. It’s important to remember that, even though Jesus can feel far away at times, he never leaves us. Our spiritual desolation has a purpose, as Christ reveals in these verses. He goes away for a time so that our encounters with him can become more intimate. When we feel desolation, St. Ignatius tells us, “it is very advantageous to change ourselves intensely against the desolation itself, as by insisting more upon prayer, meditation, upon much examination, and upon extending ourselves in some suitable way of doing penance.” When we follow this advice, we can be assured that we will stay on the narrow path (cf. Mt 7:13-14) that leads us to Christ!
- Sin, Righteousness, and Condemnation: If you just saw these three words, how easy it would be to conclude: I am a sinner, Christ is righteous, and I deserve condemnation. But let’s look again at what Jesus said the Holy Spirit would accomplish. He will convict Christians who reject Christ. He will help believers to see sin for the evil that it is. The Spirit will strike us with awe and appreciation for Jesus who sits at the right hand of the Father. Who is being condemned here? The ruler of this world—Satan—and all who follow him! Truly, as Jesus said, “It’s better that I go,” because he blesses us abundantly with the Holy Spirit. Come Holy Spirit!
Conversation with Christ: Lord, open the eyes of my heart. Help me trust that you are truly with me even when I can’t see you. Help me to fully embrace Easter joy through a new and profound faith, hope, and love for the Holy Spirit.
Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will make a good confession and celebrate Mass with a new intentionality, trusting that receiving Christ—Body, Blood, soul, and divinity—can have life- changing effects for me and those I am praying for.
For Further Reflection: “‘No one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.’ Now God’s Spirit, who reveals God, makes known to us Christ, his Word, his living Utterance, but the Spirit does not speak of himself. The Spirit who ‘has spoken through the prophets’ makes us hear the Father’s Word, but we do not hear the Spirit himself. We know him only in the movement by which he reveals the Word to us and disposes us to welcome him in faith. The Spirit of truth who ‘unveils’ Christ to us ‘will not speak on his own.’ Such properly divine self-effacement explains why ‘the world cannot receive [him], because it neither sees him nor knows him,’ while those who believe in Christ know the Spirit because he dwells with them” (CCC 687).
Bob Cohn is an electrical engineer with a manufacturing firm, and he loves to share his faith through speaking and writing.
May 28, 2025 – You CAN Handle the Truth!
Wednesday of the Sixth Week of Easter
John 16:12-15
Jesus said to his disciples: “I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth. He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming. He will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you. Everything that the Father has is mine; for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine and declare it to you.”
Opening Prayer: Lord, I come before you humbly and open. I know that I am in your presence. I trust that my well-being matters to you. I love you and worship you in this time of prayer and intimacy with you.
Encountering Christ:
- I Have Much to Tell You: In hindsight, we Easter people know exactly what Christ was alluding to here. How beautiful it was for Jesus to reveal the painful truth of his Passion gradually, sharing as much as they could handle at the moment. He does the same with us. According to the Law of Gradualness, people most often grow in virtue step by step, not all at once. We absorb the truth of the Gospel at God’s pace, not ours. He knows what is best for us at any given moment, and we can trust that we are as holy and perfect as he desires for us to be, providing we avoid sin, don’t cling to attachments, and are faithful to prayer and the sacraments. Are there obstacles within us that keep us from loving Christ? May we, by his grace, detach from whatever holds us back.
- He Will Guide You: Pontius Pilate once asked Jesus, “What is truth?” (Jn 18:38). Regardless of what we see or hear around us—for example, boy is girl or murder is healthcare—truth is not democratic; we don’t get to vote on it. And we don’t get to avoid inconvenient truths because we don’t like them. How do we conform our hearts and minds to the truth of the Gospel when it doesn’t seem to jive with what the world says or, perhaps, even with what our own heart wants to hear? This is where we need to cultivate the virtue of trust. God, who is all goodness, really knows what’s best for us. We are called to live in the Spirit, trusting in the Lord with all our heart (cf. Prov 3:5). The proverb continues, “In all your ways be mindful of him, and he will make straight your paths” (Prov 3:6). In whom do we trust?
- What Is His Is Ours: The Holy Spirit has “everything the Father has,” and everything the Spirit has is ours as children of God. The “things that are coming” include the powerful gifts of the Holy Spirit, which are at work in our lives to this day. Furthermore, “things that are coming” include our own death and resurrection to eternal life (God willing), about which we still know very little except what St. Paul told us, “What eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and what has not entered the human heart, what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Cor 2:9). How blessed are we to receive truth and gifts of all kinds from the Father, through the Son, in the power of the Holy Spirit who is present in our lives!
Conversing with Christ: Lord, you have searched me and you do know me. You know that I seek your truth, but that I am weak. Please continue to bless me with your healing and forgiveness. Help me to trust in your mercy, you love, and your Resurrection power.
Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will intentionally consider what I may be holding onto that prevents my drawing closer to you, and I will make a firm intention to seek the sacrament of Confession or raise this with a trusted counselor or spiritual director.
Bob Cohn is an electrical engineer with a manufacturing firm, and he loves to share his faith through speaking and writing.
May 29, 2025 – Witnesses to Hope
Thursday of the Sixth Week of Easter
John 16:16-20
Jesus said to his disciples: “A little while and you will no longer see me, and again a little while later and you will see me.” So some of his disciples said to one another, “What does this mean that he is saying to us, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me,’ and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?” So they said, “What is this ‘little while’ of which he speaks? We do not know what he means.” Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Are you discussing with one another what I said, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me’? Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices; you will grieve, but your grief will become joy.”
Opening Prayer: My Jesus, help me to silence the clamor of my thoughts, worries, and preoccupations as I enter into my heart to encounter you. May your words find fertile soil in my heart where they might germinate and grow, bringing forth fruits of an ever-increasing faith, hope, and love. Even when your words find resistance in the brokenness of my mind and heart, I want to offer you my humble desire to be transformed by you.
Encountering Christ:
- A Little While and You Will No Longer See Me: Jesus addressed these words to his Apostles in immediate reference to his impending death and Resurrection. They were about to experience the greatest sorrow of their lives: the loss of their teacher, friend, and master; the one they had come to believe was the Savior of the world. They were to question everything that they had come to hold as true. All of their hopes and beliefs were to be shaken to the core under the shadow of the cross. For a short time, they were to be capable only of utter desolation, disillusion, and anger with themselves and those who had perpetrated Jesus’ crucifixion. Perhaps they were even angry with Jesus himself, who apparently had let them down, betraying them and betraying the hope they had placed in him. How often in our own lives have we felt that Jesus is hidden from sight, dashing our hope in him and in his promises?
- Again a Little While Later and You Will See Me: Time and again, Jesus announced to his Apostles that his suffering and death would not be the end. He would be taken from them for a short time, but afterward he would rise and be restored to them in glory. Death would not have the final word. Yet in the face of tremendous suffering, human nature can become blinded. Our eyes see only darkness, which seems to swallow up every present and future possibility of light. The truth of the darkness that envelops us takes on absolute proportions, acquiring greater weight even than God’s promises. During these times, we would be wise to do as Psalm 46:11 recommends: “Be still and know that I am God!”
- In Light of the Ascension: This coming Sunday, we celebrate the liturgical feast of the Ascension, when, forty days after his Resurrection, Jesus was once again taken from the Apostles’ sight. In the light of the Resurrection, their faith had been strengthened, and as they stood looking up to Heaven, they knew that they would, in fact, be united with him once again. They were still in need of the strength of the Holy Spirit, however, to fortify their faith and sustain them in every trial. We have been privileged to be sealed by the grace of the Holy Spirit from the time of our Baptism. While we walk in the darkness of faith, unable to enjoy Jesus’ physical presence on earth, we rest in the knowledge of the Resurrection, having received the living presence of the Holy Spirit. Jesus has promised that in a little while more, we will see him again, glorious in Heaven and awaiting the arrival of those who persevere in hope. In the meantime, we are called to be witnesses of hope to those whose suffering blinds them to the greater picture of the victory he has won for us.
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, as I approach the feast of your Ascension, help me to dwell not so much in your physical departure as in the promise of the life that you have prepared for me. I have been privileged to be a witness to your Resurrection, and my life is called to bear its mark. Enable me to live the moments when you seem to disappear from view in the certainty of faith in your victory, and may I be able to be a witness to hope for my fellow pilgrims here on earth as we look forward to the fulfillment of all of your promises in Heaven.
Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will reach out to someone in my life who is struggling with significant suffering, striving, even without words, to be a witness to hope.
Teresa Williams grew up in the Detroit, Michigan, area. She felt God’s call to consecrate her life to him at a young age and has been living out her vocation as a consecrated member of Regnum Christi since 2002. She has earned degrees in education and religious sciences and worked with young people in Ireland and several cities in Mexico. Currently, she is living and working in Monterrey, Mexico.
May 30, 2025 – Joy Without End
Friday of the Sixth Week of Easter
John 16:20-23
Jesus said to his disciples: “Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices; you will grieve, but your grief will become joy. When a woman is in labor, she is in anguish because her hour has arrived; but when she has given birth to a child, she no longer remembers the pain because of her joy that a child has been born into the world. So you also are now in anguish. But I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you. On that day you will not question me about anything. Amen, amen, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.”
Opening Prayer: Lord Jesus, I come to this time of prayer seeking you above all else. I do not seek promises of an easy life, free from the cross, but rather to find in you, yet again, the strength to persevere in the struggle of faith, hoping in the promise of what is not yet visible. Gently guide my gaze to you, Lord Jesus. In your gaze, I find the answer to all of my questions and the fulfillment of my deepest desires.
Encountering Christ:
- You Will Weep and Mourn, While the World Rejoices: In the hours leading up to his Passion and death, Jesus was clear with his Apostles. His death was not to be a passing moment to be erased from the Christian memory and replaced by happier memories of the Resurrection. He declared that his cross would continue to mark the lives of his followers for centuries to come. His Kingdom, as he later proclaimed to Pilate, was not of this world, and thus, those who chose to be citizens of this Kingdom could be sure of encountering suffering and contradiction along their earthly pilgrimage. Those who committed to following him were sure to endure a daily struggle to reject the world’s empty promises and renew their choice to take up their cross and follow him.
- Your Grief Will Become Joy: It might seem strange to reflect on sorrow within the context of the Easter season. Yet, the truth is that in the Christian worldview, sorrow, as well as every other human experience, can in fact only be discussed in the context of our Easter joy. As we have often heard before, we are an Easter people. Our faith and our entire lives have been irrevocably touched by the truth of Jesus’ Resurrection. We are living in the age of the Resurrection, and no human or spiritual experience can or should be lived outside of the life-changing truth that Jesus has risen. In the light of the Resurrection, all suffering takes on meaning. The insatiable thirst of our hearts is not a cruel, tormenting taunt, but a promise. Our hearts suffer precisely because they are made for all that is good and true.
- No One Will Take Your Joy Away: So great is the joy that Jesus promises to us that absolutely nothing will be able to take it away! Jesus tells us that when our joy finally culminates, we will no longer question him about anything. There will no longer be room for doubt. Our hearts will be so overflowing with his joy that we will lack for nothing. The ache of our thirst will be quenched. The longing of our hearts will be filled. The unfulfilled desires that so often leave us wondering if we have been condemned to incompleteness will be satisfied. While still making our pilgrim way on earth, we walk by faith and not by sight (cf. 2 Cor 5:7). We are a people who live on promises. But the trustworthiness of these promises has been guaranteed by the One who has overcome the grave and risen from the dead. The inheritance that he has won is to be our inheritance.
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, how often my heart aches in its longing for the realization of its deepest desires. I long to see them already fulfilled and I suffer the pain of waiting in faith and trust. Grant me the grace to persevere amid the darkness of faith with my eyes set firmly on your promises. Strengthen me in my struggle to renounce the allure of easy substitutes and teach me to find my joy only in you and the hope of what you promise.
Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will briefly recall your promise of joy when I am reminded of the imperfection and suffering in this world.
Teresa Williams grew up in the Detroit, Michigan, area. She felt God’s call to consecrate her life to him at a young age and has been living out her vocation as a consecrated member of Regnum Christi since 2002. She has earned degrees in education and religious sciences and worked with young people in Ireland and several cities in Mexico. Currently, she is living and working in Monterrey, Mexico.
May 31, 2025 – Receiving God’s Visitation with Open Hearts
Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Luke 1:39-56
Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.” And Mary said: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant. From this day all generations will call me blessed: the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his Name. He has mercy on those who fear him in every generation. He has shown the strength of his arm, he has scattered the proud in their conceit. He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, and has lifted up the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. He has come to the help of his servant Israel for he has remembered his promise of mercy, the promise he made to our fathers, to Abraham and his children for ever.” Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home.
Opening Prayer: Mary my Mother, as I begin this time of prayer, I ask you to help me be open to God’s visitation in my life, in imitation of you and of St. John the Baptist in his mother’s womb. Teach me to have a child’s heart to wonder at God’s work and not grow accustomed to the powerful truth of his indwelling.
Encountering Christ:
- Mary Traveled in Haste: In clear witness to the Holy Spirit’s action in her, Mary’s immediate response to the angel’s visit was service. Having experienced God’s overflowing love and grace in her life, she was immediately moved to offer herself as an instrument of that grace for others. Mary was aware from the start that God’s grace in her life was not a trophy or an accomplishment. She has been blessed, but the blessing she has received was not only for her, but for the whole human race. Having received the gift of God’s visitation, she opened her heart to be transformed into a gift for others in her own visitation to her cousin Elizabeth.
- The Infant Leaped: From the mouths of babes God has brought forth praise (Psalm 8:2). The poor and the humble, the weak and the outcast—often these are the first to recognize God’s action in this world. Their hearts are not tainted by the lure of passing earthly riches. They are not grasping and calculating but open and receptive, both to receiving and to giving selfless love. Their hearts are open to God’s visitation, and they have a special sensitivity to the wonder of God’s action in this world. The child carried in Elizabeth’s womb was the first to detect God’s presence in Mary’s virginal womb and the first to do him homage. His silent testimony is an invitation to us to take the time to pause and receive God’s saving presence as it manifests itself each and every day in our lives.
- My Soul Proclaims the Greatness of the Lord: What a privilege it is to look through this window into the soul of our Blessed Mother! Her heart was brimming with thanksgiving to God, such that anything and everything became an occasion for praise. Upon receiving Elizabeth’s words of admiration, her thoughts went directly to the greatness of God who had looked upon her with favor. She had no need to deflect the compliment, for her attention did not rest on herself for even an instant. Her heart’s gaze was so purely set on God that her hymn of praise sprang forth without even the slightest taint of pretension. She was overwhelmed with awe at the Father’s gratuitous love. The purity and simplicity of her absolute trust in him as the source of all blessing radiated from her in an invitation to all to place their trust in God alone rather than in human strength and striving.
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, your Mother was so prompt to recognize your presence and action. She knew that you are the source of every blessing. Her open, docile heart allowed you to shower your blessing upon her and upon all of us through her. Grant me the grace to have a heart that is willing to risk letting go of control, to surrender to your love in trust. In learning to recognize your blessing in my own life, may I also become a source of blessing for others.
Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will take a moment at the end of the day to raise my heart in praise for your action in my life, pausing to thank you for your hidden presence in specific moments that I call to mind.
For Further Reflection: How to Pray: Daily Examen.
Teresa Williams grew up in the Detroit, Michigan, area. She felt God’s call to consecrate her life to him at a young age and has been living out her vocation as a consecrated member of Regnum Christi since 2002. She has earned degrees in education and religious sciences and worked with young people in Ireland and several cities in Mexico. Currently, she is living and working in Monterrey, Mexico.
June 1, 2025 – Promises Fulfilled
The Ascension of the Lord
Luke 24:46-53
Jesus said to his disciples: “Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold I am sending the promise of my Father upon you; but stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” Then he led them out as far as Bethany, raised his hands, and blessed them. As he blessed them he parted from them and was taken up to Heaven. They did him homage and then returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and they were continually in the temple praising God.
Opening Prayer: Lord Jesus, as you ascend into Heaven, I cannot help experiencing a lingering sense of being left orphaned. Lead me to a deeper experience of this final mystery of your earthly life and help me to discover in it the joy of your promise—a promise that is already being fulfilled in my life.
Encountering Christ:
- The Promise of My Father: To the Apostles it may not have seemed so, but by ascending to his Father, Jesus was opening himself to even greater intimacy with them. No longer would their relationship be limited by physical space and time. Through the Holy Spirit, they were to be transformed into dwelling places for the Blessed Trinity, tabernacles of God’s presence here on earth. They were to receive the fullness of the Father’s promise: the promise of divine intimacy that the chosen people had longed for throughout all of salvation history. Jesus came to earth to show us the face of the Father—a Father who is faithful to his promises. There is no falsehood or even potential falsehood in God. His words bring about the very reality they announce. As soon as he has spoken a promise, that promise is fulfilled, even if it might not be evident to us in our limited human perspective which is bound by time. Scripture is full of divine promises— promises that by faith we can know beyond doubt are already accomplished. To what extent have we taken to heart the Father’s promises?
- As He Blessed Them, He Departed: Jesus’ last gesture before ascending to Heaven was to bless his companions. Luke’s narrative, in fact, places him in the very act of blessing them as he was taken up. Perhaps, as previously mentioned, it could even be said that the very fact of his parting was paradoxically a blessing in itself. He would not have left them if this were not true. Jesus had told them that it was better for them that he was to go (cf. Jn 16:8). The blessing they were to receive was the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in their souls. It is only natural that we might envy the Apostles for their firsthand experiences of Jesus during his time on earth, but how much do we value the unfathomable gift of the indwelling of the Holy Trinity in our souls? How aware are we of this great gift?
- They Returned to Jerusalem with Great Joy: Only weeks before, when Jesus had been taken from them, the Apostles had been distraught and afraid. Now, confronted with a new physical separation from their Teacher and Lord, Luke’s Gospel tells us that they came away rejoicing. What had changed? What enabled them to find joy even in the very moment they were being physically separated from Jesus? The Apostles had been transformed by the power of God’s promise and his blessing. Jesus promised them a new kind of intimacy—they were to be “clothed with power from on high.” And Jesus had blessed them as he departed, strengthening them with the power of his love as they awaited the coming of the Holy Spirit. They now knew that, although Jesus was no longer physically among them, his presence could never be taken from them. To what extent do we rejoice in our relationship with the risen Lord? When God seems far away, are we able, in the depths of our heart, to joyfully trust in his unfailing presence?
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, though my limited humanity cannot always see, I believe that your promises are already being fulfilled in my life. Teach me to live in communion with the Holy Trinity dwelling in my soul by grace. Help me to open my eyes to the great gift that is mine, that all that I do might be with you and in you.
Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will set an alarm to remind me to pause at two different moments to remember that you dwell in my soul. I will offer you a brief act of faith, hope, and love.
Teresa Williams grew up in the Detroit, Michigan, area. She felt God’s call to consecrate her life to him at a young age and has been living out her vocation as a consecrated member of Regnum Christi since 2002. She has earned degrees in education and religious sciences and worked with young people in Ireland and several cities in Mexico. Currently, she is living and working in Monterrey, Mexico.
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