Pondering Tidbits Of Truth

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. Cyprian

 

“Our obligation is to do God’s will, and not our own. We must remember this if the prayer that our Lord commanded us to say daily is to have any meaning on our lips. How unreasonable it is to pray that God’s will be done, and then not promptly obey it when he calls us from this world! Instead we struggle and resist like self-willed slaves and are brought into the Lord’s presence with sorrow and lamentation, not freely consenting to our departure, but constrained by necessity. And yet we expect to be rewarded with heavenly honors by him to whom we come against our will! Why then do we pray for the kingdom of heaven to come if this earthly bondage pleases us? What is the point of praying so often for its early arrival if we would rather serve the devil here than reign with Christ?

 

The world hates Christians, so why give your love to it instead of following Christ, who loves you and has redeemed you?...Our part, our dear brothers, is to be single-minded, firm in faith, and steadfast in courage, ready for God’s will, whatever it may be. Banish the fear of death and think of the eternal life that follows it…” 

(From Office of Readings)

 

Father Alfred Delp, S.J.

 

“Bread is important, freedom is more important, but most important of all is unbroken fidelity and faithful adoration.”

(Quoted by Pope Benedict XVI in Jesus of Nazareth)

 

Venerable Fulton J. Sheen
 

“Very few today believe in the devil. This is exactly what the devil wants. He is always circulating the news of his death. The essence of God is existence, and He defines Himself as: ‘I am Who am.’ The essence of the devil is the lie, and he defines himself as: ‘I am who am not.’ Satan never has to bother with those who do not believe in him; they are already his. But he has a lot of trouble with the saints who are constantly and literally sending him to hell. Satan keeps thousands of devils stationed on monastery walls, but only one in a large city. There are probably some places where the devil sleeps, because he has no work to do. The devil has used many in our western world to convince us that there is no hell – a thing rather hard to believe, when there is so much evidence for hell around us…”

(From The Life of Christ)