Harpa Dei

Today we have reached the eleventh day of our Lenten itinerary, which prepares us throughout these forty days for the great Feast of the Resurrection of the Lord. Today we will continue to develop the theme of the fight against vices. But before we get into the subject, a brief reminder of the stages we […]

Yesterday we reflected on the passage of the purification of the Temple, and then applied it to our “inner temple,” which also requires purification. At the beginning of our “Lenten itinerary” I quoted the prayer of St. Nicholas of Flüe, the first part of which said, “My Lord and my God, detach me from everything

Having heard in yesterday’s reading how the “wrath of the Lord” because of the wickedness of the City of Nineveh was appeased by the penitence of its inhabitants, so that the punishment did not fall on them, it is fitting that today we meditate on the passage of the purification of the Temple (Mt 21:12-13),

In both the Traditional Rite and the Novus Ordo today’s reading proclaims this passage from the Prophet Isaiah about the Word of God: “As the rain and the snow come down from the sky and do not return before having watered the earth, fertilising it and making it germinate to provide seed for the sower

The reading read today at the Traditional Mass (Ez 34:11-16) is preceded by the Lord’s accusation against the shepherds of Israel: “For lack of a shepherd they have been scattered, to become the prey of all the wild animals; they have been scattered” (v. 5). There were no shepherds left to tend the flock. Those

Among the various adversities and attacks that we face on our journey, it is fitting that, on this holy itinerary, we should specifically take into consideration the lurking of the devil. Today’s Gospel describes them in the temptations of Jesus in the desert (Mt 4:1-11). He proceeds systematically in seducing man. He uses his God-given

Marked with the cross of ashes, we advance on this holy Lenten journey towards deeper conversion. With fasting we provide good wood for the fire of love and in everything we keep our gaze fixed on God, without seeking the praise of men. Like the disciples, we are on a journey with the Lord, and

The Gospel presented to us today in the lectionary of the Traditional Mass offers us important warnings for our holy journey towards the Feast of the Resurrection. Having set out, marked with the cross of ashes, determined to deepen our conversion and to integrate fasting as an important aid on the spiritual journey, the Lord

The holy journey of Lent also includes – whenever possible – bodily fasting and the renunciation of certain things. In doing so, we exercise ourselves in an asceticism that is beneficial for the spiritual life. If practised properly, the words of one of the Lenten Prefaces become a reality: “For through bodily fasting you restrain