Harvesting The Fruits of Contemplation

Dear Saint Michael: (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons ) What sweet delight it is to call upon you as the Guardian Angel of the Eucharist! Dear and faithful sentinel, w e believe that you always attend to our Eucharistic King, Jesus, wherever He is pleased to dwell among us.   Please help us grow in imitation of your boundless love for Jesus in this Sacrament of His Divine Love. Confirm and strengthen our faith in His Real Presence. Obtain for us the grace of receiving the Holy Eucharist worthily, mindfully and reverently each time we are blessed to approach His Sacred altar. Amen.  (Carol Puschaver from Lovingly Do I Call to You - Prayers to Saint Michael the Archangel. Used with permission)  

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. David G. Bonagura, Jr. "It has become fashionable in certain circles for parents to put off their child's baptism until he or she is older and can make a personal decision. This is a colossal mistake. To deprive a child of Baptism is akin to depriving him of an education or health care. Parents would never make teeth brushing handwashing or school optional for their children. Likewise, they should never make God and His grace optional. God is essential and Baptism is the means by which human beings begin to encounter God in His fullness.” (From 100 Tough Questions for Catholics -   Common Obstacles to Faith Today. )   St. Alphonsus Liguori "St. Augustine says, that to prevent the sheep from seeking assistance by her cries, the wolf seizes her by the neck, and thus securely carries her away and devours her. The Devil acts in...

“Receive Communion…and be deeply aware of the One who visits you, infinite love, divine madness; of One who not only became man like ourselves, but who became bread. After you receive Communion, ask Jesus, the God you hold prisoner in your soul, to stay with you throughout the day so that you may love Him and give Him thanks.”  (St. Teresa of the Andes , excerpt from  Letters of Saint Teresa of the Andes, Michael D. Griffin,  o.c.d. , tr.)

 

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.   Raoul Plus, S.J "That is the essential word: mission. Everyone who is baptized, if he understands the part he has to play, is a missionary. He may not be called upon to go to foreign lands; his apostolate may be destined only to affect his near neighbors. But he must understand that wherever he may happen to be, he has a function to perform there: he not only has to save himself, but he also has to sanctify and save his brethren."   (An excerpt from  How To Pray Always ) St. Francis de Sales   If during vocal prayer your heart is drawn to mental prayer, do not restrain it, but let your devotion take that channel, omitting the vocal prayers which you intended to say: that which takes their place is more acceptable to God, and more useful to your own soul."   ...

  “Here is a good thought which is not often mentioned: receive Communion not only for yourself, in order to have this immense grace, but for Jesus, in order to respond to His desire to come down into you, to give Him the joy of descending into your heart, which is a heaven for Him. Perhaps you will say,  ‘What, My poor heart, so miserable, so unworthy, a heaven for Jesus?’  Yes, if you call upon Him to make your heart a heaven for Him. Listen to little Therese : ‘I offered myself to Jesus, not as a person who desires to receive His visit for my own consolation, but on the contrary, for the pleasure of Him who gives Himself to me. It is not in order to remain in the golden ciborium that He comes down each day from Heaven, but in order to find another heaven, the heaven of our souls, made in His image, the living temple of the adorable Trinity’ .’’   (From  I Believe in Love , as quoted in  I The Lord Am with You Always – Prayers and Mediations for Euc...

You created us Lord in your image, to know love and serve You on this earth and to be with You eternally. You remain here with us in the Consecrated and Sacred Hosts hidden behind locked tabernacle doors. This is all gift! None of us deserve this Divine generosity. You desire that each of us become more like You - to always be Christ-like. My response over my lifetime, Lord You know, has been inconsistent, and at times, pathetic and traitorous! You want me “to disappear so that You may appear in me.” “I must vacate my territory,” You tell me, “ so that You may fully occupy it.” But this can only happen by Your grace and by my being obedient to Your every command and prompting. On the few occasions when I have obeyed Your promptings Lord, I received a glimpse of what You were calling me to be. Oh, how glorious Lord were the times I obeyed: returning to Your Church; participating in RENEW, Cursillo, Prison Ministry, Lay Dominicans, Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration, and praying for t...