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November 2026

Putting the Word into Practice

James 1:19-27
My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

In a world where we are bombarded by all kinds of messages, the voice of the Gospel sometimes becomes inaudible. For various reasons, the announcement of the Good News of Jesus Christ has become inaccessible to a large part of the world. In this context, how can we help our contemporaries to hear God’s Word?

The Letter of James, written for the Christian communities of the dispersion outside of Palestine, is still relevant in our multicultural, secularized and globalized world. It stresses the importance of works, in other words the concrete practice of love. We must not merely listen to the Word; we must act.

James urges his readers to be “quick to listen but slow to speak.” The importance of listening to build and keep peace at all levels of society cannot be overstated. This virtue is even more necessary for those who bear responsibility. Being “slow to anger” (v. 19) reminds us that “God is slow to anger, abounding in love” (Psalm 103:8). Of course, there can be a holy and justifiable anger. We have good reason to be indignant at injustices done to the weak in society, at the abuse of the innocent. But when we are misunderstood or falsely accused, most often anger resolves nothing. It facilitates neither our relationship to others nor the peace of our own heart. Persevering in a relationship instead of getting angry prepares the ground for the Word of God.

The Word, in fact, has already been planted in us (v. 21). It is good news: Christ loved us and offered himself to God for us (Ephesians 5:2). We can live in love because he loved us first. We must welcome this Word of life and truth as a precious treasure, since it can save our lives (v. 21). Receiving the Word also means putting it into practice. Meditating on it or contemplating it is not enough. Later on the letter develops the relationship between believing and acting (2:14-26). In a language different from that of St. Paul, James says that people are justified by their works and not by their faith alone (2:24). This is a topic which, since the Reformation, has generated much controversy and divisions. However, the position of James is not necessarily in contradiction with what the apostle Paul said. For Paul too, “what matters is faith working through love” (Galatians 5:6).

For James, putting love into practice is closely linked to the worship of God (v. 27). Solidarity with the poor is not only an ethical requirement but also a way to encounter the Lord, who identified himself with the lowest of the low (see Matthew 25:40). One cannot separate action and prayer, struggle and contemplation, solidarity and inner life. True religion is never a flight from the realities of life. For James, the refusal of worldliness is consistent with commitment to the poor in distress (v. 27).

Translated into concrete acts of love, the language of faith can rediscover its power and meaning. Then the words of the Gospel can touch people’s hearts beyond our Churches and can change their lives.

01
How can we learn to be “quick to listen but slow to speak”? What helps me to deal with anger?
02
Who are “the orphans and widows in distress” for us today? Where is it urgent to show solidarity around us and in the world?
03
“Ubi caritas Deus ibi est” (Where charity and love are found, God is there). When have I experienced this? Who are the people whose lives reflect this?

Recent meditations

November 2026

Putting the Word into Practice

James 1:19-27

My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

October 2026

Persevering in Solidarity

Romans 15:1-7

We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Each of us should please our neighbors for their good, to build them up. For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: “The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me. For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope. May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.

September 2026

What do you want?

John 1:35-42

When John saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?” They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?” “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.” So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon. Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter).

June 2026

Praying in Secret

Matthew 6:5-6

Jesus said: Whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. . There are few passages in the gospels where Jesus offers concrete, practical advice—almost to the point where a literal interpretation is called for. When we read “love your enemies,” for example, we are invited to apply this teaching to our lives, knowing that it is a challenge to love that is possible only with God’s help. But when we hear “When you pray, go into your room,” or to a private place, this is a practical example that most people can follow at home.

May 2026

Widening our Friendship

Acts 2:1-11

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability. Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.”

April 2026

The Mystery of the Passover

John 12:20-28

Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus." Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus.Jesus answered them, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who cling to their life lose it, and those who are not attached to their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor."Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say—"Father, save me from this hour'? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name."

March 2026

Do You Want to Get Well?

John 5:1-9

There was a Jewish feast, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool called Bethzatha in Aramaic, which has five covered walkways. A great number of sick, blind, lame, and paralyzed people were lying in these walkways. Now a man was there who had been disabled for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and when he realized that the man had been disabled a long time already, he said to him, “Do you want to get well?” The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up. While I am trying to get into the water, someone else goes down there before me.” Jesus said to him, “Stand up! Pick up your mat and walk.” Immediately the man was healed, and he picked up his mat and started walking. (Now that day was a Sabbath.)