Harvesting The Fruits of Contemplation

Do yourself an immense favor and take the time to view this video which originated on Creative Minority Report and the National Catholic Register :

  CHRIST:…Here upon the altar you will find not a relic, nor a monument to someone’s memory, but Me, alive as ever, all-powerful, all-loving, all-perfect.   All the treasures and wonders of this world – these things are nothing compared to what you find upon the altar. You will not be drawn to me by any curiosity or shallow virtue. Only a firm faith, a steady hope, and a burning love will draw you to Me and keep you loyal to Me.   Consider how great must be the tepidity and negligence of this world, since so many fail to take advantage of My gift of Holy Communion. It is sad to see how few are drawn to Me with tender affection and wordless gratitude. In this Sacrament I offer Myself, in Whom lie all human hopes and merits for salvation.   THINK:   I should never cease to express my sorrow for the neglect and coldness which is shown to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. How great must be His love for us, since He does not become disgusted with so much ingrati

It is a privilege to once again join other Catholic bloggers at RAnn's Place for Sunday Snippets - a Catholic Carnival where we share posts from the previous week. Here are my posts: A Eucharistic Glance Into Today's Gospel A Christmas and Eucharistic Reflection That All of Us Would Come To Reverence And Love Our Eucharistic Lord as Father Mark Does! Will You Pray For Them Tonight?

Lift up our brave men and women in prayer!

The love of Father Mark for the Eucharist is once again reflected in the following prayer that he offered after Christmas Day Vespers and that he posted on his blog , Vultus Christi. THY GLORY SO HIDDEN, AND THY LOVE SO DESPISED Lord Jesus Christ , God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten of the Father before the daystar, and consubstantial with Him, born in the fullness of time of the Immaculate Virgin Mary, by the power of the Holy Spirit, I adore Thee, who art truly present here, and, out of my own poverty and weakness, I desire to make reparation for those who do not adore Thee in this wondrous Sacrament, and for those who deny the mystery of Thy real presence. I would make reparation as well for those who approach Thee without reverence, for those who touch, and handle, and receive Thy adorable Body with coldness, with indifference, and with little awareness of the immensity of Thy charity burning in this Most Holy Sacrament

Thank You For Coming! When I entered this world, my Blessed Mother and her most chaste spouse, Joseph, welcomed Me with loving arms, eyes and hearts. A choir of heavenly angels surrounded and serenaded us! My heart leaped for joy when the humble shepherds came and paid Me homage. I smiled! We waited. But none of the religious, political or social leaders bothered to visit. They never thought to look for Me. I cried! Even today, centuries after my arrival, most of them rarely think of Me. I   cry! Then the foreign dignitaries came. They had left their country in search of the Truth, not knowing on their departure, exactly Where, What or Who that Truth was but certain they would find It.   They did - the Incarnate Truth wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger - and they were forever changed. I smiled! My parents and I had to flee to Egypt to thwart Herod’s plan to murder Me. He killed other Innocents

Some spiritual writers have described Mary as the first tabernacle since the Son of God resided in her womb. She took the newly and spiritually conceived Savior of the world to her aged cousin Elizabeth, who, after Mary and Joseph, is the first recorded Adorer of our Lord. Elizabeth was beside herself to be so blessed as to be in the presence of God.   How sad that so many of us today do not share that appreciation when we are in His Presence. Rather than leaping for joy as did John the Baptist in his mother’s womb, we walk by ignoring the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, acting as if He was not here among us.       To have such a great gift, to have a God so easily accessible and not to appreciate that Gift, is one of mankind’s greatest tragedies.   (Image source: catholicfire.blogspot.com )  

Please visit RAnn's Place today where you can sample the writings of several Catholic bloggers. Here are my contributions: Eucharistic Reflection - How Much Our Lord Loves Us! Enter Into His Presence Pondering Tidbits Of Truth - December 20, 2012

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.   St. Alphonsus Liguori   “God is ready to heal those who sincerely wish to amend their lives, but cannot take pity on the obstinate sinner. The Lord pardons sins, but he cannot pardon those who are determined to offend Him. He who receives pardon is pardoned through the pure mercy of God, and they who are chastised, are justly punished. But, God is not obliged to wait for your repentance.”                  (From a sermon “ On The Number of Sins Beyond Which God Pardons No More ”)   Catherine de Heuck, Servant of God   “We don’t need psychiatrists from our priests. We don’t need counselors from our priests. We need priests to take us by the hand and lead us to sanctity.”   St. Pius X   “In our time more than ever before, the chief strength of the wicked, lies in the cowardice and weakness of good men. All the st

Today’s Gospel (Luke 1:5-25) prompts these simple thoughts: The Jewish people were so filled with awe, amazement, respect and reverent fear for the Ark of the Covenant located in their midst, that only once a year was the high priest permitted to enter the inner sanctuary of the tabernacle and go behind the veil that separated the “Holy of Holies” from the “Holy Place,” the Temple’s second holiest chamber, and the rest of the temple area. The other Jewish priests burned incense and offered prayers in the “ Holy Place ” at the morning and evening sacrifices while crowds prayed in the Temple courts. [i] Priests like Zechariah drew lots to determine which one of their priestly number would be selected to enter and incense this sacred space. It was a great honor and privilege for the priest chosen to experience this intimate encounter with the Lord – something the average Jew could never experience. Today, we Catholics can approach the tabernacles in our Churches where our Lo

               But we must remember that, however great and ineffable is all that our Lord has done for our salvation, the love which has led Him to do it is still greater than all, because it is infinite — and as if this love could not be satisfied, so long as there remained a miracle it had not wrought, He institutes the adorable Sacrament of the Altar, the sum of all His wonders.   He truly lives with us until the end of the world. He gives Himself to us, under the appearances of bread and wine. He makes His flesh and blood the nourishment of our souls, in order to unite Himself more closely to us, or rather to unite us more closely to Him. Can we then be possessed of reason, and not be deeply moved at the mere recital of this marvel? Can we still retain any feeling of humanity, and not be all inflamed with love for Jesus Christ, at the sight of such a benefit?   A God feels tenderness for man, takes delight in him, and is solicitous about him! A God desires to unite

Another opportunity for you to join me and other Catholic bloggers at RAnn's Place  where we share our own blogposts from the previous week. May something you read during your visit today touch your heart and stir your soul! Eucharistic Reflection - Union With God Father Mark Draws Us Again To The Soruce of Eternal Life The Good Shepherd Monday Musings - Their Silence Must End!

 If God used Balaam’s donkey to get that prophet’s attention, I guess he can use me to get yours. May these periodic postings on the second and fourth Mondays of each month (God willing) generate fruitful discussion and faithful change. (Image from Biblebios.com)   (I know it is Friday and not Monday! But I feel guilty about missing my Monday Musing posting this week. So I am doing this now.These thoughts have been on my mind for some time. I was prompted to share them today as a result of an on-going discussion at  another site .)   Their Silence Must End!   The long-standing public silence of a majority of our Bishops remains deafening. Too many have refused for far too long to publicly correct errant Catholic politicians and organizations. Gay marriage would not have passed in NYS were it not for the actions of a governor and legislators who held themselves out as being Catholics. At least one of its staunchest legislative supporters still serves as a ca

a Today’s Gospel (Mt. 18:12-14) is a reminder that God made us to be with Him eternally. He gives us all the graces we need on this journey back to Him. But He also gave us free will and we can, if we are fools, exercise that free will to reject His offer of eternal life. He stands always ready to forgive and extend His merciful arms toward us. He will never give up on us and remains ever willing, as the good Shepherd He is, to welcome us back into His loving arms. But we must want Him to pick us up.  

  Take some time away from the worldly distractions of this season and prayerfully, slowly and reflectively let these Truths shared by Father Mark take root in your heart:   Adore te devote, latens Deitas      O hidden God, I adore Thee.   O silent God, I adore Thee.   O utterly humble God, I adore Thee.   O ineffably obedient God, I adore Thee.   O God, faithful and constant, I adore Thee.   O piteously vulnerable God, I adore Thee.   O God delivered into the hands of sinful men, I adore Thee.   O God held lightly in the hands of Thy priests, I adore Thee.   O God most fragile in appearance, I adore Thee.   O God, offering Thyself to be broken and consumed, I adore Thee.   O God, ready to descend into the souls and bodies of poor sinners, I adore Thee.   O God, ignored by the multitudes, I adore Thee.   O God, whose real presence heretics deny, I adore Thee.   O God, grieved by the coldness, indifference, and irre

Let this soak in and you will! (Video credit to YouTube, Catholic Online, DefendUsInBattleBlog)

“[Our] Eucharistic Encounter with Christ in Holy Communion is that apex moment of union with God within which Christ opens Himself fully to us and we respond, each in our own degree of readiness to receive Him. All other moments of our days find their full significance at the moment of Eucharistic Communion. It is at this moment that our quality of preparation for God’s coming stands revealed for what it is. Without a doubt, we come up wanting in this marvelous exchange with God. He receives our broken humanity and we receive His divinity. Through our Eucharistic union with the Blessed Trinity, our inner poverty is filled with the Eternal riches of our Triune God.”   (From Eucharistic Adoration – Mary, the Mother of the Holy Eucharist by Barbara Jensen)

(Photo copyright 2012 Natalie Seagriff) It is a privilege to once again join other Catholic bloggers at RAnn's Place for Sunday Snippets - a Catholic Carnival where we share posts from the previous week. Here are my posts: Making Sure Jesus Is The Reason for The Season!! Pondering Tidbits of Truth - December 6, 2012 An Early Christmas Present

Soon the stirring words of that all time favorite Christmas hymn, O Come Let Us Adore Him, will be sung in our Churches, reminding us of the real reason for the Christmas Season. For too many of us that will be the last time we think of adoring our Lord and Savior until we sing those words again next December 25th. How tragic! Our Lord waits behind locked tabernacle doors, 24 hours a day every day, eagerly looking for your visit, your words of praise and adoration, your prayerful petitions, your tears of sorrow and despair, your plea for help, your humble acknowledgement that You love Him, that you are dependent on Him and that you will never be happy until you are one with Him. For the most part He waits in vain - rarely a visitor appears to comfort and adore Him. Stop ignoring He Who is love! Make it a point to stop in at least once during the week every week, even if it just to say "Hi Lord, it's Harry (or Joyce, or Benjamin, or Esther, or whomever you are)

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.     Madeleine Delbrel, Servant of God     “Once we have heard God’s Word, we no longer have the right not to accept it; once we have accepted it, we no longer have the right not to let it become flesh in us; once it has become flesh in us, we no longer have the right to keep it for ourselves alone. Henceforward, we belong to all those who are waiting for the Word.”     (From We, the Ordinary People of the Streets ) Sister Josefa Menendez   “I saw several souls fall into Hell, and among them a child of fifteen, cursing her parents for not having taught her to fear God, and that Hell actually exits.” (From The Way of Divine Love ) Anne Costa   “There are no unforgivable sins, only unconfessed ones, and there are no sins greater than God’s mercy.”   (From Lord, I Hurt!)     Jean-Baptist

      Had to pass this along via Creative Minority Report  

Please join me and other Catholic bloggers at RAnn's Place for Sunday Snippets - a Catholic Carnival where we share posts from the previous week. Here are my posts - all with the Eucharist as their theme: Eucharistic Reflection - "An Invitation to Holy Communion" Monday Musings - November 26, 2012 - Is It Time To Change? Eucharistic Reflection - Not Much Has Changed Consider listening in at 6 P.M. (EST) this Monday, December 3, 2012, when I will be interviewed by Anne Costa and her co-host, Kathy Kreinheder,  on the  radio program, "Refresh Me Lord." You can join us online by simply clicking this link to  WVOA Radio .