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(Photography©Michael Seagriff)
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Pondering Tidbits of Truth is my simple and
inadequate way of providing nuggets of spiritual wisdom for you to chew on from
time to time.
Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati
"We
who, by the grace of God, are Catholics, must not squander the best years of
our lives as so many unhappy young people do, who worry about enjoying the good
things in life, things that do not in fact bring any good, but rather the fruit
of immorality in today's world. We must prepare ourselves to be ready and able
to handle the struggles we will have to endure to fulfill our goals, and, in so
doing, to give our country happier and morally healthier days in the near
future. But in order for this to happen we need the following: constant prayer
to obtain God's grace, without which all our efforts are in vain; organization
and discipline to be ready for action at the right moment; and finally, we need
to sacrifice our own passions, indeed our very selves, because without this
sacrifice we will never achieve goal.
(From Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati: An Ordinary Christian)
St. Pius X
“…we would likewise admonish the
priest that in the last analysis, it is not for himself alone that he has to
sanctify himself, for he is the workman whom Christ went out. . . to hire into
his vineyard…Therefore, it is his duty to uproot unfruitful plants and to sow
useful ones, to water the crop and to guard lest the enemy sow cockle among it.
Consequently, the priest must be
careful not to allow an unbalanced concern for personal perfection to lead him
to overlook any part of the duties of his office which are conducive to the
welfare of others. These duties include the preaching of the word of God, the
hearing of confessions, assisting the sick, especially the dying, the
instruction of those who are ignorant of the faith, the consolation of the
sorrowing, leading back the erring, in a word, the imitation in every respect
of Christ who went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed by the
devil…
In the midst of all these duties,
the priest shall have ever present to his mind the striking admonition given by
St. Paul
There is, indeed, only one thing
that unites man to God, one thing that makes him pleasing to God and a not
unworthy dispenser of his mercy; and that one thing is holiness of life and
conduct. If this holiness, which is the true supereminent knowledge of Jesus
Christ, is wanting in the priest, then everything is wanting. Without this,
even the resources of profound learning (which we strive to promote among the
clergy), or exceptional competence in practical affairs, though they may bring
some benefit to the Church or to individuals, are not infrequently the cause of
deplorable damage to them.
On the other hand, there is
abundant evidence from every age that even the humblest priest, provided his
life has the adornment of overflowing sanctity, can undertake and accomplish
marvelous works for the spiritual welfare of the people of God; an outstanding
example in recent times is John Baptist Vianney, a model pastor of souls, to
whom we are happy to have decreed the honors of the Blessed in heaven.
Sanctity alone makes us what our
divine vocation demands, men crucified to the world and to whom the world has
been crucified, men walking in newness of life who, in the words of St. Paul,
show themselves as ministers of God in labors, in vigils, in fasting, in
chastity, in knowledge, in long-suffering, in kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in
sincere charity, in the word of truth; [3 8] men who seek only heavenly things
and strive by every means to
lead others to them."
(From Apostolic Exhortation Haerent Animo, August
4, 1908)
St. Vincent Ferrer, O.P.
“Do you desire to study to your
advantage? Let devotion accompany your studies, and study less to make yourself
learned than to become a saint. Consult God more than books, and ask Him,
with humility, to make you understand what you read. Study fatigues and
drains the mind and heart. Go from time to time to refresh them at the
feet of Jesus Christ under His cross. Some moments of repose in His Sacred
Wounds give fresh vigor and new lights. Interrupt your application by
short but fervent and ejaculatory prayers; never begin or end your study but by
prayer.”
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