Harvesting The Fruits of Contemplation

Jesus to St. Catherine: “What I ask of you is nothing other than love and affection for Me and for your neighbor. This can be done at any time, any place, and in any state of life.” “In the way of God, he who makes no progress loses ground.” “Choose the Truth...Will to know the truth!” “Proclaim the Truth and do not be silent through fear.” (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons ) Thanks to St. Catherine of Siena our excuses for failing to love our priests, or to proclaim the Truth or to faithfully live out our Catholic faith must come to an end! The fear that once reigned in our hearts must be replaced with an unyielding zeal for the salvation of souls – all souls – and for the sanctification of all our priests! “If you are what you should be,”she once exclaimed, “you will set the whole world ablaze.” How many fires have any of us set lately? No longer will any of us in good conscience be able to play the “I am only a lay person” card to a...

“It is nightfall...One by one the lights go out in the dwellings of men...Millions of stars twinkle in the vast vault of heaven...But on earth one only star still glimmers - the tiny star of light in the sanctuary lamp.” “Its feeble rays struggle through the windows of a little church...it moves unsteadily to and fro...until it reaches you...Do you not see it? Jesus sends it to tell you that He never rests, that day and night, year in and year out, His heart is busy loving you, and the poor, and the unhappy - yes, even those who crucify Him.” (Eucharistic Whisperings by Father Winfrid Herbst, SDS)

This is surely worth passing on.  Thanks to Faith at The One True Faith for sharing it:

I am ashamed to admit how easily I fall prey to the “blues.” God has immensely blessed me in this life and I have no real reason for ever feeling down and discouraged.   But, of course, I am human and prone to such disorders. In reflecting (many times) on what might set me off on this non-productive path, I discovered a number of culprits, these being the “big three” - thinking I can actually accomplish anything of value by myself and without God’s grace and assistance; being self-centered and self-absorbed; and not being present and helpful to others. The solution then seems so obvious: allow God to be God and use me as His instrument, put others before myself, and do something concrete to help someone. Inevitably, the “blues” evaporate whenever I stop thinking of myself and focus on God and my neighbor. But lately, these demons, like vultures circling their prey, have refused to leave. They have used my love for our Eucharistic Lord and passion for Eucharistic ...

This video graphically reminds us of an often  Forgotten Truth - a Truth so essential to our eternal well-being, that it can never be shared enough: To see 1200 more Forgotten Truths that will Set Your Faith Afire! take a look at my book . (Video credit: You Tube, Brian Littrell, Mac Powell, Mark Hall, Mark Harris, Steven Curtis Chapman, and Catholic Online)

I have frequently expressed my fondness and admiration for Servant of God Fulton J. Sheen. Not surprisingly, I apppreciated the article Father Kevin Gabriel Gillen, O.P. posted on the website for the Dominican Province of St. Joseph, entitled Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen: Master Preacher, Master of the Airwaves . You will too. Let me share the following excerpt from Father's article. In doing so, I ask everyone reading this entry today to pray that all of our priests will follow the good Archbishop's example and advice - knowing in my heart that if they did so their priesthood, our Church and our world would be so much different than they presently are: What exerted the greatest influence in the life of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen and has become his trademark is the Holy Hour. Sheen entitles one of the chapters in his autobiography, “The Hour That Makes My Day.” On the day of his ordination, Sheen resolved to spend one hour in the presence of the Bles...

Jesus Waits for us Here with Divine Longing Adore and visit Jesus, abandoned and forsaken by men in His Sacrament of Love. Man has time for everything except for visits to His Lord and God, WHO IS WAITING AND LONGING FOR US in the Blessed Sacrament. The streets and places of entertainment are filled with people; the House of God is deserted. Men flee from it; they are afraid of it. Ah! Poor Jesus! Did you expect so much indifference from those You have redeemed, from Your friends, from Your children, from me? Sympathize with Jesus Who is betrayed, insulted, mocked, and crucified far more ignominiously in His Sacrament of Love than He was in the Garden of Olives , in Jerusalem , and on Calvary . Those whom He has the most honored, loved, and enriched with His gifts and graces are the very ones who offend Him the most by their indifference. Offer up for this intention all that you have suffered during the day or week that Jesus may be loved and a...

Ordinarily we would have commemorated the feast day of St. Vincent Ferrer (1350-1419) last week on April 5th. But this year that day was Holy Thursday. Since this Dominican saint was an outstanding preacher whose passion and zeal for the salvation of souls knew no bounds, I did not want to wait unitl next year before sharing a little bit about him. There is much we can learn from him today. His early years – Prior to his birth in Valencia, Spain on January 23, 1350, Vincent’s parents, William and Constance, had several experiences which led them and others to understand how uniquely gifted would be the child in Constance’s womb. A Dominican friar appeared to William in a dream and told him he would have a son who would be a “prodigy of learning and sanctity,” whose wondrous deeds would be known throughout the world, who would fill “heaven with joy and Hell with terror,” and who would accomplish these things as a Dominican priest. [i] Sometime thereaft...

I am always here – 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year - waiting for you. But generally I am alone, abandoned and ignored. So when I looked out from behind the closed doors this morning, I was overjoyed to see you - so many of you. While there were many familiar faces among those filling the pews, there were a good number whom I have not seen in some time. If you only knew the joy I experience when you come! I take delight in all My people, but I experience a special joy when those who stay away come to be with Me. I have so much to give each of you! How I hunger for your presence here every Sunday. How I want to be one with you and fill you will My graces. How I want to give you the spiritual nourishment you need to withstand the weekly onslaught and temptations that surround you. I offer you My Word and most especially My Body, Blood Soul and Divinity! But if you have not been coming to Sunday Mass, if you have intentionally ignored or disobeyed My c...

From Father Mark on April 5, 2012  I who am here before you, I am the Word. No book, however beautifully written, can speak to your heart as do I, for I am Eternal Wisdom, and Infinite Love, and Uncreated Beauty in dialogue with your soul. My words are not like the words of men, My words surpass even the words of My saints, though I often speak through them and continue to touch souls through their writings. My words are like arrows of fire shot into the heart and wounding it so as to inflame it, and heal it with Divine Love. Make yourself vulnerable to My words. Allow Me to speak to you in such a way as to wound you with the piercing of Divine Love. When you come before Me and wait upon Me in silence, you are, in effect, waiting upon Me and allowing Me, when I choose and in the way I choose, to wound you with an interior word and to set you on fire with a communication of Divine Love. Expect Me, then, to speak to you, to console you, and to en...

This the day so long foretold   The day of little light The day of justice lacking The day of man’s ingratitude The day of cowardice and fear     This the day of torture and sorrow The day of darkness and death The day of horror and pain The day of weeping women   The day of uncaring masses This the day sin prevailed   The day that mirrored night The day so profound and tragic The day of death and new life The day with kiss betrayed This the day your apostles fled The day Peter knew you not The day the cock crowed thrice The day of whips and chains The day of piercing thorns This the day of spittle and stones The day of splintered wood The day your cross bearing The day of multiple falls The day of Simon’s helping hand This the day of Veronica’s veil     The day stripped of clothing The day your mother sobbed The da...

(A somewhat updated version of several posts from previous years) According to St. Pius X, our sanctity depends in large measure on the holiness of our priests. This Holy Thursday then is an appropriate time to reflect on our priests, the imperative that the Eucharist be the source, center and summit of their lives and ours, and our duty as lay men and women to treasure, encourage and support them. We begin by recalling how eloquently St. Gregory of Nazianzus, Doctor of our Church, wrote of what it is to be a priest:   “We must begin by purifying ourselves before purifying others; we must be instructed to be able to instruct, become light to illuminate, draw close to God to bring Him close to others, be sanctified to sanctify, lead by the hand and counsel prudently…I know God’s greatness and man’s weakness but also his potential. The priest is the defender of Truth, who stands with angels, gives glory with archangels, causes sacrifices to rise to the altar on high, share...

I was humbled and honored to be notified last week that the Catholic Writer's Guild has awarded its "Seal of Approval" to Forgotten Truths to Set Faith Afire! Words to Challenge, Inspire and Instruct . "The SoA is not a critique of a work, but rather an assurance of its Catholicity and that neither the work nor its author go against the Mageristerium authority of the Catholic Church." CWG "evaluates for Catholicity, not for writing style or quality." Other individuals who have read the book have offered their view on its content. Here are excerpts from what four readers have shared: “ I am very impressed with this book and the author's commitment to writing about the Catholic Faith in a very informational and inspirational manner. I have no doubt that this book will help others on their Faith journeys.” Donna M. Cooper O’Boyle , EWTN host and author of numerous books, including Mother Teresa and Me .   “ The volume is a g...

When we read or hear the Scriptural reminder of the eternal consequences for our failing to visit the imprisoned (Matthew 25: 31-46) more often than not the image that first comes to mind is of those locked behind bars in the far too numerous Federal and State prisons and local jails that saturate the landscape of this nation – some 2,266,800 adults in 2010 according to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics. More than 2 million! Many of them are Catholic and none of them are there voluntarily! Admittedly, Jesus is not calling every Catholic to be His representative and ambassador to our forgotten convicted brothers and sisters. Certainly though more are being invited to this needed ministry than are responding. Is God calling you? Is fear holding you back? But there is one prisoner you need not fear. One that each and everyone who professes to be Catholic, without exception, is being called to visit. He has been imprisoned and been ignored for more than two thousand yea...