Sons in the Son

Find all 40 days of reflections for the Sons in the Son Consecration to Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Part 1 (Days 1-8)

Restoring Our Sonship

Part 1: Restoring Our Sonship

Jesus is the Beloved Son of the Father. By your baptism in Christ Jesus, you too are a beloved son of the Father. We are “sons in the Son.” The reflections below are solid truths that will help remind us of who we are as men and beloved sons and guide us to the restoration we need.

Part 1 (Days 1-8)

Day 1: Beloved

Jesus Christ, the second Person of the Holy Trinity, is the beloved Son of the Father. From all eternity, He is the object of the Father’s perfect love, the One who receives His complete attention and His constant benevolence.

Day 2: Chosen

At the heart of every relationship is the experience of being ‘chosen.’ This dynamic finds its perfection in the heart of the Trinity. The Father constantly ‘chooses’ His Son Jesus as the object of his love and affection.

Day 3: Seen and Known

Jesus is the perfect Son who reveals to us what it means to live in perfect communion with the Father. As I kneel before the mystery of the life of the Trinity, I have such a reverence for how I speak of the way the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit love one another.

Day 4: Safe and Secure

A fundamental human need that every son has is to be safe and secure in the presence of his father and mother. This means that all of his needs, both spiritual and human, will be taken care of and provided for. In the Sonship of Jesus, this was true in abundance.

Day 5: Redeemed

One of St. John Paul II’s favorite titles of Jesus was “The Redeemer of Man.” The title of redeemer denotes a figure who saves and liberates - one who offers his life for the sake of freedom for those in bondage.

Day 6: Blessed

As sons, we have a profound need to be “blessed” by our father and mother. A blessing is an intimate revelation of the truth about who we are in the eyes of the ones who love us. It announces and activates the truth within our hearts that we are good, seen, known, and loved.

Day 7: Sent Out

As Jesus the Son enjoys perfect communion and love with His Father, this Love is not meant just for them. In the fullness of time, the Father sends Jesus, His Son, into the world to be its savior and redeemer, and to be the perfect revelation of the Father’s love.

Day 8: A Son Forever

As the perfect Son of the Father, Jesus sets the perfect example for us. While this might seem obvious, there is a profound point about sonship that we often overlook: Sons do not grow out of sonship. Put another way, sons never graduate from being sons.

Part 2 (Days 9-16)

Restoring Communion with God

Part 2: Restoring Our Communion with God – Prayer

In Christ Jesus we are beloved sons of the Father, and we share in His divine inheritance. The most profound experience of our inheritance of being ‘sons in the Son’ is the gift of prayer. What is prayer? The Catechism of the Catholic Church states: “Prayer is the raising of one’s mind and heart to God,” (CCC 2559), and as we do this we encounter Him in a deeper way. Simply put, prayer is the gift of living in communion with the Holy Trinity. As you reflect on the theme of prayer, the life of St. Juan Diego shows us a man of deep prayer, who dedicated his life to prayer in the hermitage which housed the Tilma, and thus lived as a son in deep communion with God and Our Lady.

Part 2 (Days 9-16)

Day 9

Jesus is the beloved Son of the Father who is constantly in prayer. For Jesus, prayer is not merely a daily task, ritual, or obligation, but His very life source. In other words, prayer is for Him all about a sacred relationship with His Father and the Holy Spirit.

Day 10: Communion

At the foundation of Jesus' prayer life as a Son of the Father is the truth that He is always held in communion with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Quite simply, this is what prayer is for Him. The word “communion” articulates an experience that is the longing of every human heart: the great desire to belong.

Day 11: Intimacy – The Compassionate Gaze

It is written into our human experience to be attracted to someone's gaze. It is first the gaze of our mother and father that secures us in a loving relationship. When someone “looks” at us with eyes of love and delight, we know we have a place in the world.

Day 12: Listening and Receptive

The interior posture of Jesus at prayer with His Father is always one of listening and receptivity. The very nature of sonship is to constantly live with hands wide open to receive all good things from the Father. He delights to hand over everything that He has and give it to the Son.

Day 13: Trust and Surrender in Suffering

Jesus, quoting Psalm 31, prays these words at the very end of his life, right before He dies on the Cross. With great reverence, we can probably say that at this moment He was experiencing the most excruciating suffering of His life. After the scourging at the pillar, being crowned with thorns, walking the way of the Cross, and being pierced with nails, He is the Crucified Son of the Father.

Day 14: Making Time for Prayer

Throughout the Gospel, Jesus is the perfect example of “keeping the first things first.” He absolutely prioritized His relationship with His heavenly Father. Practically, His whole day was centered around personal time spent with His Father in prayer.

Day 15: Praying with the Church

What is the point of our Faith? What did Jesus come down from heaven to teach us? Jesus, the Son of God came to save us from our sins. His whole life, death, resurrection, and ascension aims to save all the sons and daughters of God and bring them home to heaven.

Day 16: Gratitude

As Jesus constantly lived in the unconditional love and providence of His heavenly Father, the most sincere and authentic response back to Him was one of praise, adoration, and gratitude. Jesus, as beloved Son of the Father, was held and protected in intimacy by His good Father at every moment of the day.

Part 3 (Days 17-24)

Restoring Our Masculine Hearts

Part 3: Restoring Our Masculine Hearts

After the Heart of Jesus, we are beloved sons of the Father who are made for deep communion and prayer. With these truths as the foundation of our identity, we are now invited to go deeper in understanding the gift of our masculinity. Jesus, the perfect man, teaches us the necessary qualities and attributes of how to live as a Christian man in the world. It is in this context that we ask Jesus to come and restore our masculine dignity.

Part 3 (Days 17-24)

Day 17: True Masculinity

The masculine heart is available, attuned, and fully offered in sacrificial love. Jesus' masculinity was an icon of availability, attunement, and offering because that is His experience of the way the Father loves and blesses Him. This is His experience of being a son: having a Father who is always available, attuned, and offered in love for His Son.

Day 18: Holy Desire

Jesus desires unity and communion with those He loves. His heart burns with desire to be near His Father, to be in proximity to Him always. He had a deep hunger to be in relationship with His Father and an insatiable desire to be given over completely and fully to Him.

Day 19: Magnanimity and Generosity

The virtue of magnanimity means, ‘greatness of soul.’ St. Thomas Aquinas taught that it is a manly virtue, a habit that allows for the "stretching forth of the mind to great things” (St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica II-II, Q. 129, Art. 1). When a person is magnanimous, they seem to operate at a different level, possessing a generosity in all areas of life, that might include time, attention, talent, and perhaps most importantly, love.

Day 20: Chastity

Jesus was the “Chaste One'' who exercised perfect freedom that allowed each choice of His will to be one of love and blessing. In every moment, Jesus was aware of His capacity to love. Jesus made choices, acts of love that engaged all of His Person to love and bless those in His life.

Day 21: Pride and Control

The pure heart is a meek heart. Jesus teaches about meekness in the Sermon on the Mount and also later on in Matthew’s Gospel where he says “learn from me; for I am gentle and humble of heart” (Mt 11:29). Living in meekness, Jesus had a heart that was eager to live in His identity as a son and receive the gifts of His “inheritance” at all times.

Day 22: Lust

Chaste sons are open and receptive, receiving love and intimacy as a gift from another. The chaste man has also grown in self-mastery allowing him to make a gift of himself to another. Lust is the complete opposite. Lustful men are grasping and controlling in their need or their desire for sexual gratification. The lustful man is governed by his desires and has no self-possession.

Day 23: Repentance

In His purity of heart, Jesus was always oriented to God and always living in His Father’s presence. His eyes, His heart, His body, and His soul were always and everywhere oriented to His Father. The relationship that He has with His Father is the gift that He wants to give us, and this happens through His call to repentance.

Day 24: Freedom and Peace

The fruit of purity of heart is freedom and peace. In every moment of his life, Jesus was free to be Himself and to live in His identity as a son. This is what was so attractive to those who met Him 2000 years ago and even to those who have encountered him through the gospels ever since. Jesus, knowing who He was as a son, was a totally free man.

Part 4 (Days 25-32)

Restoring Our Actions

Part 4: Restoring Our Actions and Attitudes of Sonship – The Beatitudes

Drawn into the Heart of Jesus by our Baptism, we are beloved sons of the Father who share in His very own masculine dignity. We shift now to reflecting on the fundamentals of sonship, as we seek the restoration of all of our actions and attitudes as sons of the Father (CCC 1717). As sons in the Son, we look to Jesus’ own life as the perfect example of sonship. We seek His own attitudes and actions in the gospels, which the Church presents to us in eight beatitudes. They will be our sure path to the restoration of all of our actions and attitudes in Christ Jesus.

Part 4 (Days 25-32)

Day 25: Poverty

Kenosis is a powerful word that describes the “self-emptying” of Jesus. As the Second Person of the Holy Trinity He “emptied himself, taking the form of a slave” (Phil 2:7), to reveal to us that path of sonship and redemption.

Day 26: Mourning

The gift of mourning is a revelation of a heart that is tender, compassionate, and kind. It is an attitude of sonship that is open to feel and experience reality and not run from it. Jesus lived and embraced reality when it meant facing something painful or difficult.

Day 27: Meekness

As we look at the heart of Jesus in the gospels, we get to experience His meekness and humility. In Matthew 11, He says: “Learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart.” Meekness can be confusing as it is often portrayed as being weak or soft. But nothing could be further from the truth.

Day 28: Righteousness

When Jesus teaches that those who “hunger and thirst for righteousness” shall be blessed, He is acknowledging the innate hunger of the human heart to live in right relationship with God. The gift of righteousness is ultimately a grace of obedience, of following God’s law and His will.

Day 29: Mercy

Mercy is a love that desires communion in the face of rejection, judgment, and misunderstanding. It is a love that is fully willing to forgive when the offender does not even deserve it. This is why the love of Jesus is so revolutionary. He loves like this: “Father forgive them, for do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34)

Day 30: Purity

As the incarnate Son of the Father, He reveals Himself as the one who is pure and undefiled, radically open and receptive to all the Father wants to give Him. He is the one unstained by the world, never distracted or interrupted from rejoicing in the light of the Father’s eyes.

Day 31: Peace

In communion with His Father, He found peace. In the midst of His earthly life and the intensity of His ministry, He knew where He could keep receiving the gift of peace: constantly anchored in His identity as the beloved Son. There He experienced peace beyond what the world can give (cf. John 14: 27).

Day 32: Suffering

Just after Jesus reveals to his disciples that he is the Good Shepherd, he proclaims, “ For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.” (John 10:17-18) The Good Shepherd is not intimidated by suffering or hard things.

Part 5 (Days 33-40)

Restoring Our Mission

Part 5: Restoring Our Mission

Following the Heart of Jesus, we are beloved sons of the Father who are called to share in His divine mission. As Jesus was the perfect Son, He was sent by the Father to establish His Kingdom on earth and be the perfect revelation of His mercy and love for all people. Brothers, united to Jesus, this is our exalted mission. To be clear, our life of mission in this world is a battle. Daily, we are called to fight for the Kingdom of God, waging all the necessary battles to be men fully alive in our faith.

Part 5 (Days 33-40)

Day 33: Living Our Identity and Mission to the Full

As we prepare to do battle in our life of mission, it is essential to first understand that our mission flows from our identity. As always, Jesus sets the perfect example for us. The core foundation of the identity of Jesus was always His beloved Sonship.

Day 34: The Great Commission

The battle to live our mission is not our own. ‘Do not fear or be dismayed at this great multitude; for the battle is not yours but God’s.” (2 Chronicles 20:15) This is good news! The profound truth of our identity and mission is that we share in the identity and mission of Jesus.

Day 35: Brother

A major battle to live our mission in the Kingdom of God is to love our neighbor as ourselves. Love is hard! But you are part of God’s family, and this family battles for love!

Day 36: Spouse

When the Father sent His beloved Son to become man and to save His chosen people, He was sending the Bridegroom, the husband, to save His Bride, the Church. Thus, the most foundational truth of marital love is sacrificial love, the Bridegroom shedding his blood and laying down His life for His Bride.

Day 37: Father

Revealing the Father’s heart is the perfection of Jesus' life and mission. His whole person – face, eyes, smile, virtue, voice, personality, etc., revealed the love of His Father. Every action, from the smallest minute action to the climatic action of laying His life down on the Cross, revealed the Father’s unconditional love for the whole world.

Day 38: Revealers

Jesus as the perfect revelation of His heavenly Father has been a common theme. When Jesus proclaims, “I have made your name known to them,” He is revealing to His disciples the deepest truth about His mission.

Day 39: Healers

At the beginning of His public ministry, he stood in the synagogue and proclaimed these words to His disciples, thus inaugurating His mission of healing to the poor, the captives, and the oppressed.

Day 40: Our Mission’s Endgame – Heaven

We can make the life and mission of Jesus about a lot of different things, but the whole point is heaven. The Father sent His son Jesus into the world to save all of His sons and daughters from sin and death. By His life, death, and resurrection, Jesus is savior and redeemer. His whole mission is to bring us to heaven, the heavenly home of His Father.

Consecration Day

Consecration Preparation

Preparing for Your Consecration

On day forty-one of your journey, you will consecrate yourself to Jesus through Our Lady of Guadalupe and it is my hope for you that at this point the Lord has brought healing and restoration to your identity as Son. Our Lady of Guadalupe has walked with us every step of the way, and now you are invited to entrust yourself to her maternal care.

On your consecration day, you should pray a final Prayer of Restoration to Our Lady of Guadalupe and an Act of Consecration to Our Lady of Guadalupe which are found below. If possible, go to Mass on this day and pray these prayers at the end of Mass. You should also make an effort to “visit” Our Lady of Guadalupe on this day of consecration, whether there is an image in your Church, a shrine, or even your home. Allow yourself to rest in her maternal gaze as you embrace her as her true son.

Consecration Day

It’s Consecration Day

Our 40 days of reflection and prayer have come to an end, and it is my hope for you that the Lord has brought healing and restoration to your identity as Son.... You should also make an effort to “visit” Our Lady of Guadalupe on this day of consecration, whether there is an image in your Church, a shrine, or even your home. Allow yourself to rest in her maternal gaze as you embrace her as her true son.

Act of Consecration

Sons in the Son

Restoring Our Sonship

Part 1: Restoring Our Sonship

Part 1 (Days 1-8)

Day 1: Beloved

Day 2: Chosen

Day 3: Seen and Known

Day 4: Safe and Secure

Day 5: Redeemed

Day 6: Blessed

Day 7: Sent Out

Day 8: A Son Forever

Restoring Communion with God

Part 2: Restoring Our Communion with God – Prayer

Part 2 (Days 9-16)

Day 9

Day 10: Communion

Day 11: Intimacy – The Compassionate Gaze

Day 12: Listening and Receptive

Day 13: Trust and Surrender in Suffering

Day 14: Making Time for Prayer

Day 15: Praying with the Church

Day 16: Gratitude

Restoring Our Masculine Hearts

Part 3: Restoring Our Masculine Hearts

Part 3 (Days 17-24)

Day 17: True Masculinity

Day 18: Holy Desire

Day 19: Magnanimity and Generosity

Day 20: Chastity

Day 21: Pride and Control

Day 22: Lust

Day 23: Repentance

Day 24: Freedom and Peace

Restoring Our Actions

Part 4: Restoring Our Actions and Attitudes of Sonship – The Beatitudes

Part 4 (Days 25-32)

Day 25: Poverty

Day 26: Mourning

Day 27: Meekness

Day 28: Righteousness

Day 29: Mercy

Day 30: Purity

Day 31: Peace

Day 32: Suffering

Restoring Our Mission

Part 5: Restoring Our Mission

Part 5 (Days 33-40)

Day 33: Living Our Identity and Mission to the Full

Day 34: The Great Commission

Day 35: Brother

Day 36: Spouse

Day 37: Father

Day 38: Revealers

Day 39: Healers

Day 40: Our Mission’s Endgame – Heaven

Consecration Preparation

Preparing for Your Consecration

Consecration Day

It’s Consecration Day

Consecration Day

Day 41: Consecration Day