Lectio Divina

Both readings are personal favourites and every time I hear them and ponder them these texts speak to me in new and powerful ways.

“God never permits anything to happen unless it is for our maturity”. (Luigi Giussani)
The gospel reading assigned to today’s feast of the birth of John the Baptist concludes with an often overlooked fact.: through his toddler and teenage years John the Baptist grew and his spirit matured.

Most of my recent weekends have been spent with groups of people on weekend retreats and the most recent of these was last weekend at the Trappistine Abbey of Our Lady of Mount Matutum near General Santos in the southern part of the Philippines. 

“Here is the man: a desire for life, for love, for happiness”.

The title says it all and nothing is more adequate than “all” for any person including the thousands who overflowed the magnificent Cathedral of Milan for Wednesday’s funeral of Sergio Berlusconi, a man who dominated the Italian political scene for three decades.