Harvesting The Fruits of Contemplation

O Blessed Host, in whom is contained the testament of God’s mercy for us, and especially for poor sinners. O Blessed Host, in whom is contained the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus as proof of infinite mercy for us, and especially to poor sinners. O Blessed Host, in whom is contained life eternal and of infinite mercy, dispensed in abundance to us and especially to poor sinners. O Blessed Host, in whom is contained the mercy of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit toward us, and especially toward poor sinners. O Blessed Host, in whom is contained the infinite price of mercy which will compensate for all our debts, and especially those of poor sinners. O Blessed Host, in whom is contained the fountain of living water which springs from infinite mercy for us, and especially for poor sinners. O Blessed Host, in whom is contained the fire of purest love which blazes forth from the bosom of the Eternal Father, as from an abyss of infinite mercy for u...

Run to your local theater and see OCTOBER BABY as soon as you are able! Bring as many of your family and friends with you as possible! This film completes the incomplete public discussion of abortion and the dignity of all human life. The frank beauty and power of its message will anger some but change countless lives. It will cause many to look at this issue with different eyes - the eyes of a woman who survived a botched abortion, the eyes of the nurse who saved her life, the eyes of an aborted child whose life was so abruptly and needlessly ended, the eyes of adoptive parents, the eyes of a birth mother, and the eyes of Christ. In between the tears, you will the see the power of faith, forgiveness, healing, and love. The awesome power of God's love for all Whom He has created will be evident to everyone. Reason and Truth will reign supreme.   No one who views this film with an open mind and loving heart can continue to be ambivalent about the value of all hum...

Father Mark at Vultus Christi offers another treasure trove for contemplation: What Seek You? Men Called to a Hidden Life Our Lord continues to call souls to a hidden life of adoration and reparation. Jesus desires to have, close to His tabernacles on earth, men who will imitate His own hidden sacramental life in the adorable Mystery of His Real Presence. He is calling these men from a variety of backgrounds, saying to each one, "Come and see" (John 1:39). The Hidden Dynamism of the Most Blessed Sacrament The work of such men, their role in the Mystical Body of Christ, is, and will always be to seek the Eucharistic Face of Jesus, and to allow Him to reproduce the traits of that Face in their souls. Without leaving the enclosure of their monastery, without much speaking, and without appearing to do anything of value in the eyes of the world, such men enter into the hidden dynamism of the Most Blessed Sacrament. The Little Way A man called to this life will besee...

"We pass the church and have no greeting for our amiable Savior; we meet Him on the street and are almost ashamed to recognize Him as God. Great sinners, notorious criminals, are treated better than He...Poor Jesus!" ( Eucharistic Whisperings , Father Winfrid Herbst, SDS)

At some point in the lives of far too many people, they no longer recognize or believe in the existence of sin. They  look right at it, desire it, engage in it, but don't see it for what it actually is - a grave offense and injustice to God, an act of immense ingratitude to He Who created them, and a conduit for eternal damnation. When sin becomes that entrenched, love and zeal for the salvation of souls dictate that sinners be confronted with the Truth and  offered an opportunity to see and repent of the sin in which they are mired. Such was the case in the 16th century when Dominican missionaries in the Americas were unable to convince their fellow countrymen to cease their abuse and mistreatment of the native populations. In order to protect those natives and to save the souls of their abusers, they had to preach the Truth with clarity and with no concern about "hurting" the "feelings" of their listeners. This is how one Dominican preacher confronte...

In response to a question posed in the Zenit Daily Dispatch some time ago, Father Edward McNamara wrote that “a Catholic who has even an inkling of the full meaning of the Mass would never voluntarily settle for a Communion service.”    F ar too many Catholics have no clear understanding of what is happening and who is present at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.   Until this lack of clarity is resolved, any discussion about Communion services will have very limited value. Out of necessity then we must begin with these questions: What is the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass?   What happens at the Mass?   Who is really present there?   What benefits do we receive by participating at the Mass? In his powerful book, The Way to God , the late Father Winfrid Herbst, S.D.S. tells us that the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, “is not a mere commemoration of the Sacrifice of the cross.   No, it is the same, the actuality, the renewal, the continuation, the representati...

This seems such an obvious need in most of our Churches. Why do we fail to heed this sound advice? A Benedictine Bishop on Silence in Church

In today’s Gospel we are reminded of the form God’s justice will take – each of us will be held accountable for the things we have done and that we have failed to do, the manner in which we have loved others or failed to do so. It really is that simple. Stop acting like others are there to serve us; serve others first. There are Lazarus’ all around us - most of the time we either don’t see them or consciously chose to ignore them.   If we don’t open our eyes and lend a helping hand now, we will be in the same plight as the rich man in today’s Gospel. When we know the truth and fail to act on it, we condemn ourselves to eternal punishment. Is it time to change the way we live?

My wife, I and four strangers spent an hour outside the local Planned Parenthood (PP) center one fall morning in 2010, witnessing to and praying for all those entering that building - staff and client alike. That had been only the fourth time over the past two years that we had participated in the Forty Days for Life prayer vigil in front of this place of deception and death. The majority of the cars entering the facility’s driveway while we were there sped up immediately when they saw the signs and leaflets we carried and the rosaries in our hands.    Most avoided having any eye contact with us, perhaps in a last ditch effort to prevent their consciences from awakening them to the horror of what they were about to do. It was like we were lepers. We continued to pray. We sang softly and sometimes off key.   We listened to God’s Word.   We encouraged each other and prayed that these women, their escorts and the facility’s staff would know that we were there...

(From the Introduction to Forgotten Truths To Set Faith Afire! Words to Challenge, Inspire and Instruct ) “After 20 centuries of miracles from Cana to Fatima, after 20 centuries of martyrs, after 20 centuries of sanctity in every walk of life, after centuries of intellectual brilliance (Augustine, Aquinas, Bonaventure, Scotus), after all the truth that has been poured out by the Fathers, Doctors and ecclesiastical writers, by the 20 Ecumenical Councils of the Church, the infallible pronouncements of our Pontiff…after all this, the world is as pagan today as when Christ was born and had to flee.   Perhaps more so... God, in his world today, is as hidden to most people as he was when in Egypt 's exile.”               Father M. Raymond, O.C.S.O. made these observations in a 1954 book entitled, “God, A Woman and the Way”.   This gifted Cistercian priest warned us then that we Catholics were suffering from amnesia – ...

Listen. Jesus is speaking …Being in heaven I came down to earth; and then I instituted the Blessed Sacrament in order to be with you always. In Holy Communion I really and truly come to you…And you?...When do you come to Me? In Holy Communion I visit you; but, tell Me, My child, when do you visit Me? Perhaps our sacred meeting in the morning satisfies you; it does not satisfy Me. I long to see you here in My presence again before evening. My child. That is why I now invite you. Won’t you accept the invitation? ( Eucharistic Whisperings , Father Winfrid Herbst, SDS) Image credit to Pat Gohn

     A Reflection On The Priesthood “To live in the midst of the world without wishing its pleasures; to be a member of each family, yet belonging to none; to share all sufferings, to penetrate all secrets; to heal all wounds; to go from men to God and offer Him their prayers; to return from God to men bring pardon and hope; to have a heart of fire for charity and a heart of bronze for chastity; to teach and to pardon, console and bless always –what a glori-ous life! And it is yours, O Priest of Jesus Christ!” (Father Jean Baptiste Henri-Dominque Lacordaire, O.P.)

Father Z shared this video and I wanted to pass it along: