journey with jesus through the liturgica

By Blessed Alvaro del Portillo

“These pages can help the reader to live out again the events of Christ’s passage on earth which the Church presents in the liturgy.” -Bishop Javier Echevarria, Prelate of Opus Dei

Álvaro del Portillo was the head of Opus Dei from 1975 to 1994, and was the successor to Josemaría Escrivá. He was beatified on September 27, 2014. During his life, del Portillo gave a myriad of homilies and wrote many pastoral letters. 241 of these pastoral letters were gathered, compiled, and organized according to the Liturgical Year in a book called ‘Journey with Jesus through the Liturgical Year’. The six sections are called:

1. Advent: Awaiting the Lord
2. Christmastime: Lessons from Bethlehem
3. Lent: A time for conversion and penance
4. Holy Week: Accompanying Jesus in the Passion
5. Easter: Fount of true joy
6. Ordinary Time: Sanctifying daily living

The lessons for Advent invite us to purify ourselves before Christmas arrives. The way to do this, del Portillo says, is by turning to the Virgin Mary and imitating her. He also invites us to “build a crib for our God in our hearts.