Harvesting The Fruits of Contemplation

Father Mark is once again doing what he does best - challenging his brother priests to be the holy men God chose them to be and in the process to lead their flock to holiness as well: Give Him your poverty, trust Him with your sins Our priests need our prayerful and daily support.

“When Jesus remains in the quiet of the altar, in the tabernacle’s shadow, people in their blind carelessness let Him alone, they forget all about Him. And when He exposes Himself upon the altar, he is hurt to the Heart by the irreverence of so many who either have no faith at all or a faith that is very weak. When He goes through the streets in order to bring unspeakable blessings to His beloved children, He hears curses and blasphemies that make out of His errand of mercy another way of the cross. But in the midst of all these bitternesses one hope sustains Him – the hope of a place of refuge that will offer the love and peace He craves. The bitter chalice which others continually place to His lips He drinks with resignation; for He is sustained by the hope of a loving reception in my heart by way of reparation. One only hour spent in the enjoyment of my love, and He forgets years and years of suffering… Altar and tabernacle, monstrance and church, are merely the avenues...

Catholic Writers Conference M E D I A   R E L E A S E CONTACT: Ann Margaret Lewis Phone: (317) 755-2693 e-mail: c wglivecon@catholicwritersguild.com   Catholic Writers to Hold Conference in Arlington, Texas Arlington, TX--The fourth annual Catholic Writers’ Conference LIVE will take place August 29-31, 2012, at the Arlington Convention Center in Arlington, TX. Sponsored by the Catholic Writer’s Guild and the Catholic Marketing Network (CMN), and held in conjunction with CMN’s annual retailer trade show, the Catholic Writers Conference LIVE provides Catholic authors with a prime opportunity to meet and share their faith with editors, publishers, fellow writers, and bookstore owners from across the globe. The conference will offer “pitch sessions,” allowing authors an opportunity to meet personally with publishing professionals and pitch their writing projects. In addition, attendees have the opportunity to sign up for critique w...

There have always been prophets among us. Unfortunately, far too often we either do not hear them or intentionally ignore them. How different our Church and world might have been had we listened to Venerable Fulton J. Sheen. The good news is that much of what he wrote still is readily accessible to anyone who wants to read what this often ignored messenger tried to share during his earthly life and what God is now allowing so many to re-discover and appreciate.    May more of us listen to this prophet. His wisdom and insight are timeless. The following gem was recently quoted on Church Militant and is well worth sharing here: “The world in which we live is the battleground of the Church. I believe that we are now living at the end of Christendom. It is the end of Christendom but not the end of Christianity. What is Christendom? It is the political, economic, moral, social, legal life of a nation as inspired by the gospel ethic. That is finished. Aborti...

"If the poison of pride is swelling up in you, turn to the Eucharist; and that Bread, Which is your God humbling and disguising Himself, will teach you humility. If the fever of selfish greed rages in you, feed on this Bread; and you will learn generosity. If the cold wind of coveting withers you, hasten to the Bread of Angels; and charity will come to blossom in your heart. If you feel the itch of intemperance, nourish yourself with the Flesh and Blood of Christ, Who practiced heroic self-control during His earthly life; and you will become temperate. If you are lazy and sluggish about spiritual things, strengthen yourself with this heavenly Food; and you will grow fervent. Lastly, if you feel scorched by the fever of impurity, go to the banquet of the Angels; and the spotless Flesh of Christ will make you pure and chaste," (St. Cyril of Alexandria )

(In the event you are not familar with the purpose of this post, take a quick look here ). This week's offerings: From St. Teresa of Avila : “The whole aim of any person who is beginning prayer – and don’t forget this, because it is very important     – should be that he work and prepare himself with determination and every effort to bring his will in conformity with God’s will.” (From Interior Castle) From Scripture: “He summoned the crowd with His disciples and said to them: ‘If a man wishes to come after me, he must deny his very self, take up his cross and follow in My steps. Whoever will preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will preserve it’.” (Mark 8:34-35) From St. Augustine “Love of self till God is forgotten or love of God till self is forgotten.” (From The City of God ) (You can find my initial offerings here ).

The Purpose of Pondering Tidbits of Truth We are all busy people. Many of us have convinced ourselves that we simply do not have the time to read, ponder and reflect on the Scriptures or the wealth of spiritual wisdom our Church has accumulated over the centuries. Yet, we owe God and ourselves this reflective time. If we spend little or no time, pondering the truths and mysteries of our Faith, we are not going to progress spiritually - a growth essential to our eternal well-being and that of those around us. 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. Rarely will they share a common thread. On the first and third Thursday of each month (God willing), I will offer some quotations for your reflection. This is my challenge to you. Read and ponder them. Invest at least five minutes of your time on each of them over the course of two weeks, asking God to let you understa...

Too often we have taken God for granted. So sometimes He asks others “to shake things up.” Today may be one of those days. Here is a question worth pondering now and in the days to come: “What if God loved you only as much as you loved Him?” ( Father Francis Hudson, S.C.J.) Have you ever loved someone so much that you could hardly wait to hear from them, to speak with them and to see them? How often have you looked forward to a visit from someone you deeply love only to have that person not come? How hurt have you felt when you were ignored and your love not returned? Imagine then how God - Who is Love – Who loves us more than words can describe - feels when we fail to demonstrate our love for Him? He waits in our churches hour after hour just to hear our voices and to see our faces. Yet, few of us come to be with Him. God is the sole source of real peace amidst the chaos, challenges and trials of our daily lives. But the noise and busyness that...

The prophet Hosea reminds us today (Hosea 11:1-4 ,8e-9) that the history of mankind is a story of unrequited love   – God loving man but man not loving Him in return. God has given us every thing we need. Yet, the more we receive the less grateful we have become.    Despite our ingratitude and our failure to love Him as we ought and in a manner our God deserves, He still loves us. He went to the cross, suffered and died for us, knowing that far too many of us would never appreciate His sacrifice or benefit eternally from it. Oh, that we would love Him as unconditionally as He loves us!

In case you have not recently read Vultus Christi, Father Mark’s blog , make sure you read what follows and then share it with everyone you know, especially with as many priests as you can.  Recommend  Vultus Christi to your priests.  We need to challenge our priests and they us. We must pray for their sanctification, as they pray for our holiness as well.  The Friendship of Christ for His Priests How it grieves My Heart when the unique love I offer a soul is spurned, or ignored, or regarded with indifference. I tell you this so that you may make reparation to My Heart by accepting the love I have for you and by living in My friendship. Receive My gifts, My kindnesses, My attention, My mercies for the sake of those who refuse what I so desire to give them. Do this especially for My priests, your brothers. I would fill each one of My priests with My merciful love, I would take each one into the shelter of My wounded Side, ...

What if the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass was always and everywhere offered in accordance with the dignity, reverence and obedience our God merits? If we truly worshiped Him as He deserves, do you think more Catholics would willingly and lovingly come to Mass and give their Lord the worship and adoration He ought to receive? May the following reflection help move us in that direction wherever there may be a need to do so: When the Host is held on high and a chalice lifted…look up! Look up and see what Mary saw.   See a naked man squirming as He bleeds against a blackened sky; see a battered human body, writhing on a tree, prisoned there by savage spikes that have torn through Sacred hands and feet; see thorn-tortured head tossing from side to side as anguished torso labors, lifts and strains; see the eyes of God roll towards heaven beseeching, as broken lips blurt out that soul piercing cry: “My God, My God, Why has Thou forsaken Me?” What is this?   This is th...

I could not pass this up - another strikingly powerful quote from Venerable Fulton J. Sheen - one which Michael Voris shared on a recent epsiode of ChurchMilitant.TV: “Christian love bears evil, but it does not tolerate it. It does penance for the sins of others, but it is not broad minded about sin. REAL LOVE involves real hatred: whoever has lost the power of moral indignation and the urge to drive out the sellers from the temples has also lost a living fervent love of Truth.”   (From Lift Up Your Heart: A Guide To Spiritual Peace )

I understand that in a democratic society, the Catholic Church and its members must try to shape social and political policies and to have their voices heard on the pressing moral issues of the day. There is no doubt that an increasing number of recent actions (beyond the HHS contraception and sterilzation mandates) taken by the Obama administration   pose real and imminent threats to our God given and constitutionally recognized fundamental right - freedom of religion. Freedom loving people of all religious persuasions and those of no religious affiliation must stand up and defend this fundamental principle – one which no man, no government, no nation has the right to restrict. Nonetheless, I am at a loss to understand how political strategizing and judicial skirmishes, no matter how well-intentioned and necessary they both may be, should take precedence over the Church’s primary duty - the sanctification and salvation of souls. The Catholic Church has a duty...

A simple but powerful way of taking another look at prayer! It is well-worth five minutes of your time. Thanks to Mary Lou for passing this on...Will you? (Source: You Tube:nescvinmd)

Some food for thought today: From Venerable Fulton Sheen : "Sometimes the only way the good Lord can get into some hearts is to break them." From St. Caterhine of Siena : "For nails would not have held God-and-Man fast to the cross, had love not held Him there." From St. Gregory the Great : "If people are scandalized at the Truth, it is better to allow the birth of scandal than to abandon the Truth."