Harvesting The Fruits of Contemplation

(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.] This beloved Dominican has something to say to those of us who have no difficulty "seeing" the faults of others but nary any of our own:

Thank you to RAnn for the on-going invitation to participate in Sunday Snippets each week. Go sample the wares of the diverse group of Catholic bloggers who post there. No doubt one at least one of the gifted writers there has a message meant for you. Question of the week: Who is your favorite Catholic author? I would have to say Ven. Fulton J. Sheen. Although I did not set out to make Confession a topic of more than one post, God had other plans. Here is a sampling of what I posted on my blog this week: Confession - The Forgotten Sacrament Eucharistic Reflection - Cling To Him! A Must See Invitation to Confession Pondering Tidbits of Truth - March 27, 2014 Our Holy Father - Let Us All Follow His Words and Example Another of my posts was published on Catholic Online: It's Enough to Make God and a Grown Man Cry!

Thanks to Father Z for sharing this . .

(Source: Wikimedia Commons ) 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 L'Engle "We do not draw people to Christ by loudly discrediting what they believe, by telling them how wrong they are and how right we are, but by showing them a light that is so lovely that they want with all their hearts to know the source of it." (From Walking on Water: Reflections of Faith and Ar t)

We answer that question with this indisputable photographic proof: (Thanks to my friend Karen S. for passing this photo on. )

What a short, powerful, inspiring video on the forgotten Sacrament of Confession produced by CatholicsComeHome.org and shared via Catholic Online. Pass this on!

(Photo©Michael Seagriff) "If you would become all that God intended you to be, if you would have life and success in life, if you would have love and not love's base counterfeit, you will enter into a union with God as intimate and as vital as that which exists between a mother and the babe in her womb; in very brief, you will cling to Jesus Christ in Holy Communion! He is your only hope for success, your only means to sanctification, your one true life and real love. Cling to Him..." (From A Trappist Asks Do You Want Life and Love?)

It should be no surprise, after decades of being told it is unlikely that any of us have committed a mortal sin and that we are "good people" whom a loving and merciful God would never send to hell, that we have lost the sense of sin, a healthy fear of hell, a concern for the salvation of souls, and a recognition of our need to seek Sacramental forgiveness. How refreshing then that our Holy Father is beckoning the members of Christ's Church to discard these untruths, to humble themselves and to be reconciled and transformed by the healing graces of that great and undeserved Sacrament. In doing so, Pope Francis is extending the same invitation offered by many of his predecessors.  No doubt his invitation echoes the wisdom of Pope Paul VI: Let's us pray that all who profess to be Catholic will heed the invitation of Christ's Vicar on earth and will go to confession, not only during the "Day of Reconciliation" he has annou...

(Photo©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! Here are my five short posts this week: Do You Ever Notice Him? Eucharistic Reflection - The Blessed Sacrament - Magnet  of Souls Going Beyond Our Words Words Are Not Always Necessary - Reflection on St. Joseph What Is "The Sin of All Sins"?

Our present Pope, as well as many of his predecessors, including Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, Blessed John Paul II and Paul VI, have lamented the fact that we have "lost the sense of sin". This should be obvious when we take an honest look at ourselves and the world around us. But what is "the sin of all sins" and why is it eternally vital for each of us to know the answer to this question?  Because knowing the answer to that question, a wise Trappist author suggests, is to discover the means of recognizing and avoiding sin in the future:

(St. Joseph's Parish, Oneida, NY) Scripture contains none of the words that St. Joseph shared with his Divine Son, his Virgin bride, his customers or those with whom he interacted daily. But that is okay as our Holy Father tells us: There are many additional reasons to love this great Saint. I have no doubt that you will enjoy the thoughts of Brother Joseph Martin Hagan, O.P.

We must be ever mindful of this essential Truth every time our fingers dance across our computer keyboard:

(Source: Wikimedia Commons ) “…the Blessed Sacrament is the magnet of souls. There is a mutual attraction between Jesus and the souls of men. Mary drew Him down from heaven. Our nature attracted Him rather than the nature of angels. Our misery caused Him to stoop to our lowness. Even our sins had a sort of attraction for the abundance of His mercy and the predilection of His grace. Our repentance wins Him to us. Our love makes earth a paradise to Him; and our souls lure Him as gold lures the miser, with irresistible fascination. This is the attraction on our side. On the other hand, He draws us to Himself by grace, by example, by power, by lovingness, by beauty, by pardon, and above all by the Blessed Sac­rament. Every one who has had anything to do with ministering to souls has seen the power which Jesus has.” (Father Frederick Faber from The Blessed Sacrament )

How different our lives would be if we practiced the Presence of God - being conscious of His being ever present and next to us.

(Photo©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! Question of the Week:  Do you have any suggested resources for those trying to kickstart these last weeks of Lent?  My suggestion: Spend fifteen minutes every day before the Blessed Sacrament.    Here is what I shared this week: What Hope Could We Have? Video - An Eight Year old, a Twenty Dollar Bill and an Absent dad Who Would Be Most Proud of His Son What We Catholics Don't Need Pondering Tidbits of Truth - March 13, 2014 Eucharistic Reflection - A Widow Writes From Her Heart I am honored that Catholic Online also published this: On The Most Precious Gift of the Holy Eucharist

We have a journal book in our Adoration Chapel. From time to time, visitors there write some personal reflections in it. When I saw the note set forth below,  I "knew" it was meant to be shared beyond the walls of this little Chapel.   "Dear Jesus, When I am lonely or depressed at home since becoming a widow, I come to Adoration and peace and stillness overcome me. It is better than relying on medicine; it works immediately. I do not want to leave here and sometimes stay 2-3 hours. It is peaceful here and being in God’s Presence is like being wrapped in a soft blanket of love and comfort. Being alone at home can be very lonely until I recall that You are always with me and I can talk to You. I love being here."

(Source: Wikimedia Commons ) 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. Jose Orlandis "A Christianity from which we tried to remove the cross of voluntary mortification and penance under the pretext that these practices are the remains of the dark Ages or of an outworn Medieval era, quite inappropriate for a modern Humanistic Age, would be an insipid Christianity, a Christianity in name only. It would not have kept intact the doctrine of the Gospels, nor would it serve to induce men to follow in Christ's footsteps." (From The Eight Beatitudes )  

Pray for the sanctification of all our priests!

If you only watch one short video clip, THIS IS THE ONE . Guaranteed!!!

Only because of His Grace and Mercy, neither of which can we earn or deserve, can any of us hope to be with Him eternally:

(Ceiling at Basilica on Notre Dame campus) It's Sunday and time to thank RAnn for another opportunity to join an interesting group of Catholic bloggers at her place - This That and The Other. Come visit. You are sure to find something that will touch your heart and stir your soul. Take a few minutes and visit! I rarely go to the movies so I will pass on this week's question. My posts from the past week: Monday Musings - Who Was That Man? Eucharistic Reflection - Everything By And For Him Are You Seeking God? Are You Holy? Just Saying... Lord, What A Hard Thing We Ask of You  Before We Go Sleep Tonight Catholic Online also featured one of my posts this week: Of Hell and Other Things

When we come to realize that all of us who have walked, are walking or will walk this earth are sinners, we will eagerly offer this prayer for ourselves and others:

As you will note after reading their comments, the following two gentlemen found Fleeting Glimpses of the Silly, Sentimental and Sublime worthwhile.  "Good reading - Highly recommended for everyone. Very enlightening and inspirational. I have read and re-read it several times. God bless the author." -  Richard "Manly thoughts - Wonderfully written to inspire thought and moreover, action. Seagriff challenges me to be the man and Christian I know I should be but does so with a velvet hammer. I appreciate his example." Dave W. I suspect you too will find the book worthy of your time. Still available for less than a buck here . Vitally important notice: you do not need a Kindle in order to read it. Just download the free Kindle reader on your laptop, tablet or smart phone and you will be good to go. If you are among the hundreds who have already read this book how about a two or three sentence review?

Our Lord tells us to be holy because He is holy (1 Pt 1:16). So why don't we listen to Him?

(Source: Wikimedia Commons ) “By Communion, Jesus comes to take possession of us and make us His. To enter into His plan, we must abandon to Him all rights over and all ownership in ourselves; we must leave to Him the direction and initiative of all our acts; we must do nothing by ourselves nor for ourselves, but everything by and for Him.” (St. Peter Julian Eymard from How To Get More Out of Holy Communion )

(Source: Wikimedia Commons ) [ 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.]   I’ve walked these few blocks countless times over the past twelve years during my visits to see my ailing sister. Although I have seen homeless individuals soliciting money many times, I had never seen anyone quite like the gentleman I saw this day as I headed toward confession.  

(Photo©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! Question this week: What are you plans for Lent? To spend at least 15 minutes before the Blessed Sacrament every day. Quench His Thirst! When You Next Receive Holy Communion... Pondering Tidbits of Truth - February 27, 2014 Eucharistic Reflection - Oh Indifference! Oh, Ingratitude!