Harvesting The Fruits of Contemplation

For this great gift, we must be forever thankful! (Source: Catholic Exchange.com)

(Image source: Wikimedia Commons) I believe everything the Church teaches about the Holy Eucharist. I believe, even if I do not understand, even if I do not see. I know that those are blessed who do not see and yet believe. The Savior said so. It reminds me of the story that is told about St. Louis IX of France. One day a miracle took place in a nearby church. Someone came rush­ing to the King and said: "Hurry, Your Majesty! Jesus has appeared in the Host in human figure during Mass." But the King did not hurry. He did not even go. He said: "Let those go to see the miracle who have any doubt about the Real Presence. I need no miracle. I believe."

( (Image from Biblebios.com) [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.]   Far too many Catholics are not well-formed in the teachings of Christ's Church. Given this tragic reality, one would expect Catholic media to only publish the work of individuals and columnists who accurately set forth the tenets of the Catholic Church.  Over the years, too many publications claiming to be "Catholic" have consistently demonstrated a preference for doing just the opposite. A most recent example of this proclivity is a column that a local Diocesean newspaper published wherein its author wrote the following: “Putting an end to the killing of unborn babies is a priority for me, and it is a priority for the Catholic Church. But it is not the only priority. The co

Thanks for visiting RAnn's place   where Catholic bloggers sample their wares. Come and browse. You are sure to find something that will touch your heart and stir your soul. Take a few minutes and visit! I just returned from visiting my sister and rather that hastily answer this week's question, I will wait until I have more time to reflect on it before posting my response. Before I left to see my sister, I managed to post the following: Big Hearted - Inspiring Stories From Everyday Families - Book Review Eucharistic Reflection - Inflame Me With Your Holy Love  Pondering Tidbits of Truth - November 21, 2013

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.                      Frank Morriss “Unfortunately, there is a tendency to think that the laity need only gather together and receive inspiration from the Holy Spirit. It is a situation readily open to that master of deceit – Satan, who can quite easily convince the foolish that he is indeed the holy spirit, when he is not even a holy spirit.” (From Lumen Gentium: The Church of Our Time Looks at Herself)

  (St. Agatha's, Canastota, NY) "O my beloved Jesus, O God, who has loved me with love exceeding! What more can you do to make yourself loved by ungrateful people? If we loved you, all the churches would be continually filled with people prostrate on the ground adoring and thanking you, burning with love for you, and seeing you with the eyes of faith, hidden in a tabernacle. But no, we are forgetful of you and your love. We are ready enough to try to win the favor of a person from whom we hope for some miserable advantage, while we leave you, Lord, abandoned and alone. If only by my devotion I could make reparation for such ingratitude! I am sorry that I also have been careless and ungrateful. In the future I will change my ways, I will devote myself to your service as much as possible. Inflame me with your holy love, so that from this day forward I may live only to love and to please you. You deserve the love of all hearts. If at one time I have despised you, I n

We live in an upside down world. Demonic forces have conspired to redefine family and marriage in ways contrary to God’s law. Children are often considered an unwanted burden. Large intact families are mocked and criticized. Many children are raised in a moral vacuum and without the love and support of a loving mother and father. It is that world – our world - that needs and hungers for the truthful and inspiring stories of the faith-filled, struggling, imperfect loving families which Patti Armstrong and Theresa Thomas introduce us to in Big Hearted – Inspiring Stories From Everyday Families.

Thanks for visiting RAnn's place   where Catholic bloggers sample their wares. Come and browse. You are sure to find something that will touch your heart and stir your soul. Take a few minutes and visit! This week's question : What religious artifacts would you find in my home? The Bible, images of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Immaculate Heart of Mary, St. Dominic, St. Catherine of Siena, St. Martin de Porres, and the Cursillo Christ; multiple crucifixes and rosaries; sculptures of our Blessed Mother; framed photographs of our crucified Lord, an elevated Host, and a Monstrance upon an angelic throne; and a pencil sketch of the face of a tearful, suffering and crucified Christ, drawn by an inmate I met on a prison retreat.  Here is one of my posts that appeared on Catholic Online this week: Unlock the Doors Before It Is Too Late! Here are two posts from my blog: The Everyday Catholic's Guide to the Liturgy of the Hours - Book Review Eucharistic Reflec

(St.Agatha's, Canastota, NY) “O Jesus, Divine Prisoner of Love, when I consider Your love and how You emptied Yourself for me, my senses deaden. You hide Your inconceivable majesty and lower Yourself to miserable me. O king of Glory, though You hide Your beauty, yet the eye of my soul rends the veil. I see the angelic choirs giving You honor without cease, and all the heavenly Powers praising You without cease, and without cease they are saying: Holy, Holy, Holy. 

I had the privilege to hear and briefly speak to the author The Everyday Catholic's Guide to the Liturgy of the Hours at a recent Catholic Writers’ Guild Conference Live! She offered me a review copy. Am I glad I accepted the offer! I have been praying portions of the Liturgy of the Hours for more then a dozen years, painfully aware that at times I have offered this magnificent pray too rapidly, mechanically and distractedly and without a sufficient appreciation of its enormous value. With God’s grace and the suggestions Sockey offers in this book that will not happen too often in the future. I certainly would have benefited from this fantastic and comprehensive guide when I first began this devotion. But God’s timing is ever perfect. I have been blessed immensely since I read this book. I have a greater understanding not only of the mechanics of this prayer but a deeper appreciation for the spiritual treasures it contains. To have so much valuable practical and spir

(Photography©Michael Seagriff) Thanks for visiting RAnn's place   where Catholic bloggers sample their wares. Come and browse. You are sure to find something that will touch your heart and stir your soul. Take a few minutes and visit! My answer to this week's question: I have no real recipes I follow with the exception of dropping off an occasional crockpot full of peppers, sausage and sauce to the good nuns at the Dominican Monastery. Here is my week's contribution: Gospel Reflection - Do I Really Want to See Jesus? Let Us Pray For Generosity Eucharistic Reflection - Come Close to the Loving Host Pondering Tidbits of Truth - November 8, 2013

Photography©Michael Seagriff   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. Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap. "Catholics have a duty to work tirelessly for human dignity at every stage of life, and to demand the same of their lawmakers. But some issues are jugular. Some issues take priority. Abortion, immigration law, international trade policy, the death penalty and housing for the poor are all vitally important issues. But no amount of calculating can make them equal in gravity. The right to life comes first. It precedes and undergirds every other social issue or group of issues. This is why Blessed John XXIII listed it as the first human right in his great encyclical on world peace, Pacem in Terris and as the U.S. bishops stressed in their 1998 pastoral letter, Living the Gospel of Life , the right to life is the foundation of every other right."  

When I suggested that readers of my book, “ Forgotten Truths to Set Faith Afire! Words to Challenge, Inspire and Instruct” take their time to ponder and “chew on” the wealth of spiritual inspiration contained in it, I never thought someone would take me literally.

"Did you ever consider well, dear Christian soul, that, when the Sacred Host is publicly exposed, Jesus is not on His Eucharistic throne to receive the adorations of the angels and to enjoy the company of the blessed? These He finds in heaven. But He is on His Eucharistic throne to receive your adorations, to listen to your confidences, and to console and alleviate your sorrows and trials. Come, then, and adore that Holy Host. When Jesus is offended everywhere, when His royal dignity is mocked and His sovereignty denied, it behooves noble souls to come and acknowledge publicly that He is our beloved Sovereign and divine King, and that to Him all praise, honor, and glory are due.

        (Photography©Michael Seagriff)   "Dearest Lord, teach me to be generous. Teach me to serve You as You deserve; to give and not to count the cost; to fight and not to heed the wounds; to toil and not to seek for rest; to labor and not ask for reward, except that of knowing that I am doing Your will."   (From My Daily Bread )                            

In today's Gospel, we find the hated tax collector Zacchaeus doing everything he could in order to see this Jesus of whom he had heard, including climbing up onto a tree. He did not care what people thought of him. He wanted to see Jesus and nothing and no one were going to stop him.  

( Abbey at Genesee, Piffard, NY Photography©Michael Seagriff) Thanks for visiting RAnn's place   where Catholic bloggers sample their wares. Come and browse. You are sure to find something that will touch your heart and stir your soul. Take a few minutes and visit!

( Today, I am deviating from the style of Eucharistic Reflection I normally offer each week by sharing a  personal one.) I was on the road recently and stopped at a nearby parish for daily Mass. As Father elevated the Sacred Host, I intended to gaze upon the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of my loving Lord Jesus Christ, and to silently utter the prayer of adoration first offered by a doubting St. Thomas, “My Lord and my God”.