Harvesting The Fruits of Contemplation

Source: Wikimedia Commons ) We know our God is a God of unlimited mercy. So long as we have breath in our earthly lungs and turn to Him in true repentance, seeking His forgiveness and mercy, we will receive it. But not a single human being can presume upon God’s mercy, since He is also a God of Justice. Presumption is, as the Baltimore Catechism tells us, “a rash expectation of salvation without making proper use of the necessary means to obtain it.” We ignore God, His graces, promptings and teachings at our eternal peril. In order not to be caught by surprise, we would do well as we end the old year and welcome in the new one, to set aside sufficient time today to silently reflect on how we have lived this past year and ponder whether or not we need to make adjustments in how we will live the rest of our lives - be it seconds, minutes, weeks, months or years.

(Abbey at Genesee Piffard, NY) It's Sunday and time to join an interesting group of Catholic bloggers at RAnn's place - T his That and The Other Thing . Take a look.You will be pleased that you did. Question of the week:   Do you have any spiritual New Year's Resolutions? Yes - to daily pray for the grace to faithfully live out my Lay Dominican vocation. What follows are the three posts I published this week on my blog Monday Musings - He Came and He Will Return Christmas Day Reflection - The Miracle in Our Midst The Mysteries of Christmas and the Eucharist Catholic Online also published two other posts of mine: Thank You For Coming - Merry Christmas! A Christmas Reflection - How Great It Was to See You!

Take a few minutes to view Christmas and the Eucharist through the eyes of an Apostle of the Eucharist - another great gift from the late and beloved Father John A. Hardon, S.J. You can find this saintly priest's reflection here.

(Photography©Michael Seagriff) On Christmas we will join family and friends in our Churches to joyfully celebrate the birth of the Christ-child, our Lord and Savior. Christmas carols will resonate throughout these sacred places and within the hearts of those present. With gusto and joy, united voices will sing the ever present heavenly invitation: “O come let us adore Him – Christ the Lord!”

(Source: Wikimedia Commons ) The Jewish people waited centuries for the coming of the promised Messiah.  When He came their leaders rejected and killed Him. As we approach Christmas Day, ponder this sad reality: many who profess being Catholic today are no better prepared to receive and accept their Lord upon His return than were the Chosen people when He first arrived.

(Source: Visit beatae-memoriae.tumblr.com )

(Source: WikiMedia Commons ) It's Sunday (almost) and time to join an interesting group of Catholic bloggers at RAnn's place - T his That and The Other Thing . Take a look. You will be pleased that you did. But before you go there, let me wish you a very Merry and Blessed Christmas! Christmas would not be complete without my wife baking cookies and storing them in our cars (which serve as her outdoor refrigerators in chilly Central New York) until she can find the time to deliver and/or mail them out to family and friends. She and I enjoy preparing the Christmas dinner for our children and grandchildren. With our children now scattered across the country, this is a tradition that may be difficult to keep in future years. The following three posts are from my blog this week:  Eucharistic Reflection - We Owe The Blessed Sacrament to Bethlehem Pondering Tidbits of Truth - December 19, 2013 Learning From Zechariah - Enter Into His Presence

[I posted the following last year under the title "Enter Into His Presence". I thought it worth sharing again] 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 a...

(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. A different twist this week - just one Christmas nugget:   “Far into the night, at the coldest time of the year, in a chilly grotto, more suitable for a flock of beasts than for humans, the promised Messiah – Jesus – the savior of mankind, comes into the world in the fullness of time. 

(Source: FREEIMAGES.co.uk ) “Christ's body on earth at Bethlehem was the same body which is now on earth in our tabernacles all over the world. The only difference is that now He is veiled beneath the species of bread and wine. The Blessed Sacrament is the continuation of Christmas; we cannot think of Christ's first personal visit two thousand years ago without instinctively thinking of His constant visit at every present moment. We owe the Blessed Sacrament to Bethlehem. 

Your smile can lead others to the Lord you love:

(St. Agatha's, Canastota, NY) 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 spiritual gift do you want for Christmas? The gift to be a better servant - to always  put the needs of others before my own. Here are my contributions this week: Monday Musings - Some Thoughts on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception Eucharistic Reflection - Lose Yourself  in God's Divinity We Can Not Afford To Lose A Single Dominican Vocation

Please take the time to prayerfully watch this short but compelling video and you will understand.

“When the fire of God's love has cleansed a man of all unlikeness to God, and such a man receives the Blessed Sacrament, he loses himself in God’s divinity. This is what our Lord told St. Augustine: “I am the food for grown men. Grow and feed on Me. Instead of transforming Me into yourself, you will be transformed into Me.” But, children, before this can happen your natures have to die many a death and we must travel along many a rough and unknown path, along which God draws us, teaching us to die.

( (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. In the first reading today (Gen 3:9-15, 20) we revisit the fall of our first parents. Adam and Eve forfeited “Paradise” out of pride. We should know “better” than to follow their sinful example. Yet, we are prone to do so and have been no less prideful or sinful.

(Notre Dame campus Photography©Michael Seagriff) It's Sunday and time to join an interesting group of Catholic bloggers at RAnn's place  where you are sure to find something that will touch your heart and stir your soul. Take a few minutes and visit! The question of the week is: What is your favorite title for Mary, and why? I have two: Our Lady of Fatima because her message is still one our world must hear and follow; and Our Lady of Guadalupe because I was privileged to see her magnificent image when visiting Mexico City with my daughter, to kneel at the site of the actual apparitions, to pray while in that holy space for the healing of my sister, and to discover upon returning home that a very significant increase in her heart function occurred precisely at the time of my prayer.  I have three offerings this week: Eucharistic Reflection - Visits To the Divine Solitary Pondering Tidbits of Truth - December 4, 2013  What Might Sacred L...

We have lost the sense of, and appreciation for, the Sacred! May this short two minute clip from reclaimingthesacred.com help you rediscover that sense and re-ignite a hunger for the heavenly and transcendent. . Thanks to Father Z for passing it along.

(Source:unprofound.com)  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.  Father Garrigou-Lagrange, O.P. “The secondary purpose of the grace which the priest receives at ordination is the sanctification of the faithful. If the priest has the care of souls, he has a special obligation to strive for holiness of life because of his duty toward the Mystical Body of Christ. In no other way will he be able to sanctify the souls committed to his charge or avoid the dangers of the world which are not to be found in a monastery. (Cf. St. Thomas, loc. cit.)

(Tabernacle-St. Agatha's Canastota, NY) “In our visits to the Divine Solitary, we can with intense de­votion prepare ourselves to receive Him sacramentally. Poor, wretched, miserable, blind, and naked, we cannot alone make ourselves fit for the reception of our God. He must clothe our souls with the wedding garment of divine grace, and adorn them with virtue. As we kneel before the Eucharistic Savior, the Eternal Fa­ther will draw us closer to His Divine Son. Christ will so influ­ence us as to bring out the best that is in us. The Holy Spirit will calm us with the peace of God, and thus remove the ob­stacles to our loving advance in intimate conversation with the sacramental King. Our very nearness to Christ will dispel our diffidence at the thought of too hasty an approach to the God who has found sin among the angels. Breathing the spiri­tual air of the tabernacle, illumining our souls with the light reflected from His earthly dwelling, strengthening our wills...

(Photography©Michael Seagriff) It's Sunday and time to join an interesting group of Catholic bloggers at RAnn's place  where 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 hope to make an Advent retreat. Here are three posts from my blog: Monday Musings - We Are Are Own Worse Enemies Eucharistic Reflection  - I Need No Miracle. I Believe ! We Give Your Thanks, O Lord, For Your Presence Among Us