Harvesting The Fruits of Contemplation

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. Saint John Paul II "As Catholic lay people you have an important moral and cultural contribution of service to make to the life of your country. Much will be required of the person entrusted with much (Lk 12:48). These words of Christ apply not only to the sharing of material wealth or personal talents, but also to the sharing of one's faith." (Remarks to Laity, San Francisco California, September 1987)

We deceive ourselves and others if we believe the words we post and publish (no matter how insightful and inspiring we may consider them to be) are more important than the manner in which we live our daily lives.  

(Image Source: Wikimedia Commons ) “I adore You, O Precious Blood of Jesus, flower of creation, fruit of virginity, ineffable instrument of the Holy Spirit, and I rejoice at the thought that You came from the drop of virginal blood on which eternal Love impressed its movement. You were assumed by the Word and deified in His person. I am overcome with emotion when I think of Your passing from the Blessed Virgin's heart into the heart of the Word, and, being vivified by the breath of the Divinity, becoming adorable because You became the Blood of God. 

(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! The question this week: Do you have any suggestions regarding the rosary?  Yes, I do. pray it everyday! More than once a day if you can. Our Blessed Mother has asked us to do so .It is a powerful prayer that brings Scripture to life.   Read and ponder St John Paul II's Apostolic Letter on the Rosary This is what I posted this week:  Monday Musings - Conforming Our Hearts With  That Of God How's Your Sense Of Smell? Eucharistic Reflection - Above All Do Not Close Our Church Doors  Guest Post From Vultus Christ i - "Hide Yourself In Me"  Rosary Reflection - Its Beauty

"The entire Rosary has the beauty of reproducing the theological thoughts concerning Mary, they are reproduced in the entire dialectic of truth and deduction. Marian theology and the Rosary are two poems that are united into one, two hymns forming one hymn, two magnificent temples, two cathedrals of thought and piety, that come together as one... Here in the Rosary, piety speaks in the language of theologians. Here meditation rises to the heights attained by scholars. Here prayer dwells where the scholars are brought to a halt.

What follows is another magnificent reflection from Vultus Christi .  Oh, how we take our Eucharistic Lord for granted!  (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons )   Oh, how differently our lives and our world would be if we would spend time with our Hidden Lord, locked and ignored in the tabernacles of His Churches. Please prayerfully and financially support the work of Father Mark's community, The Benedictine Monks of Perpetual Adoration. Their charism - praying for the sanctification of all priests - is a most needed gift to our Church and our priests. You can make a contribution by going here .                                     Hide Yourself In Me I am a hidden God and those whom I call to adore Me must hide themselves in Me, becoming hidden from the eyes of the world, and hidden even from themselves, having a pure gaze fixed upon Me alone, even as My pure filial gaze is fixed upon My Father in heaven.

[ One is left to ponder how different our Church would be today had we listened to the Holy Pontiff . It is not too late to open the doors and encourage us to visit He Who Is Love .] (Image Source- Wikimedia Commons ) "Above all, do not allow - as some do, who are deceived under the pretext of restoring the liturgy or who idly claim that only liturgical rites are of any real value and dignity - that churches be closed during the hours not appointed for public functions, as has already happened in some places: where the adoration of the august Sacrament and visits to our Lord in the tabernacles are neglected; where confession of devotion is discouraged; and devotion to the Virgin Mother of God, a sign of 'predestination' according to the opinion of holy men, is so neglected, especially among the young, as to fade away and gradually vanish. Such conduct most harmful to Christian piety is like poisonous fruit, growing on the infected branches of a healthy tr

I bet these words will stir some self-reflection:

The seemingly never ending fount of wisdom from this gifted Saint:

(Canandaigua Lake, NY) 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: Have you ever tried the Liturgy of the Hours (Divine Office)? Why or why not, and, if so, is it something you pray regularly? I pray portions of the Liturgy of the Hours daily (Morning, Evening and Night prayer), not simply because I am expected to do so as a Lay Dominican but because I have come to treasure the peace and rhythm it brings to my life. Rosary Reflection - Receive A Never-Fading Crown Of Glory Monday Musings - Let Us Never Forget EVERYTHING Comes From God Eucharistic Adoration - Our Ingratitude Our Full And Complete Surrender Pondering Tidbits of Truth - October 16, 2014 Mary of Nazareth BlogTour/Rosary Crawl - The Finding In The Temple

"If you say the Rosary faithfully until death, I do assure you that, in spite of the gravity of your sins 'you shall receive a never-fading crown of glory'. Even if you are on the brink of damnation, even if you have one foot in hell, even if you have sold your soul to the devil as sorcerers do who practice black magic, and even if you are a heretic as obstinate as a devil, sooner or later you will be converted and will amend your life and save your soul, if - and mark well what I say - if you say the Rosary devoutly every day until death for the purpose of knowing the truth and obtaining contrition and pardon for your sins." (St. Louis Marie de Montfort)

Harvesting The Fruits of Contemplation , along with many other inspiring bloggers, is delighted to be a part of the MARY of NAZARETH Blog Tour/Rosary Crawl. To learn more CLICK HERE .   When I first watched Mary of Nazareth , I was reminded of the words Father George P. Schommer, O.P. shared during a retreat some years ago: “Praying the rosary with Mary is a memorial – making present in our own time an event in salvation history. By meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary, Mary brings that event to us, so we can experience its power and grace.  Mary draws us to her Son.  Use your imagination. Meditate on the mysteries.  It will help you grow in your relationship with Jesus.  We are with Him and with Mary in these events.” Viewing Mary of Nazareth - the equivalent of praying the rosary with one's eyes - breathed new life into the good Friar's words and provided much to ponder.

(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. M. Eugene Boylan, O.C.R. “We have our own plans for our happiness, and too often we look upon God as someone who will help us to carry them out. The true state of affairs is invariably the reverse of this. God has his own perfect plans for our happiness, and is waiting for us to help him carry them out. And let it be clear that we can in no way improve on God's plans.” (From This Tremendous Lover )

(Image 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. Adolphe Tanquerey "Every one of us contributes in some way toward increasing the suffering of Christ. For this reason, we should rejoice to be able to meditate slowly on sin's impact on the loving Hearts of Jesus and Mary. We will then accept our share in their suffering and make reparation gladly." (From The Divinization of Suffering ) 

(Image source: Wikimedia Commons ) "It is for us that, during eighteen now [twenty] hundred years, our divine Savior has remained day and night on our altars, that we may have recourse to Him in all our needs; and nothing so much afflicts His divine Heart as our ingratitude for such a favor, and our neglect to visit Him and ask His blessing. If we knew how profitable those visits are, we should be constantly prostrate before the altar. The Saints understood this truth; they knew that Jesus Christ is the source of all grace, and whenever they encountered any difficulty or wished to obtain any particular favor, they ran to Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. St. Francis Xavier, St. Francis Regis and others spent whole hours during the day and, frequently, a great part of the night at the foot of the altar; it was in these long interviews with Jesus Christ that they advanced the good works they had in hand, converted sinners, and obtained success in all their undertakings

      (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 contributions this week: What Is Mercy? Our Lady of the Rosary, Adoration and My Friend Mike Eucharistic Reflection - Possess the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus Guest Post - Waiting For The Company of Even One Priest Rosary Reflection - Rosary Is The Book of The Blind

(Photo©Michael Seagriff) "The rosary is the book of the blind, where souls see and there enact the greatest drama of love the world has ever known; it is the book of the simple, which initiates them into mysteries and knowledge more satisfying than the education of other men; it is the book of the aged, whose eyes close upon the shadow of this world, and open on the substance of the next.  The power of the rosary is beyond description."                                                          (Venerable Fulton J. Sheen)

Imagine the pain our Lord suffers every day because of those priests who ignore Him and flee from His company. No need to imagine.  Read, ponder and share the most recent post from Father Mark on Vultus Christi . These powerful words are taken from In Sinu Iesu , The Journal of a Priest, and are set forth below with his permission. Have the courage to share this reflection with your pastor and priests. Pray for and support your priests! [Please consider supporting the work of Father Mark's community, the Benediction Monks of Perpetual Adoration, whose charism is to pray for the sanctification of all priests. Just click the icon in the column to the right of this article to make a donation]. Waiting For the Company of Even One Priest You are always welcome in My presence. I long to receive you and to keep you close to Me. This is your vocation, priest-adorer. Respond to the call of My Heart. Adore Me for your brother priests who

(Image source: Wikimedia Commons )  “Why separate the Heart of Jesus from His body and divinity? Is it not through His Heart that He lives in the Blessed Sacrament, and that His body is alive and animated? Having risen from the dead, Jesus dies no more; why separate His Heart from His Person and try to make Him die, so to speak, in our mind? No, no! This divine Heart is living and palpitating in the Eucharist, no longer of a passible and mortal life, subject to sadness, agony, and pain, but of a life risen and consummated in blessedness. This impossibility to suffer and die diminishes in no way the reality of His life; on the contrary, it makes that life more perfect. God has never known death, and still He is the source of perfect and eternal life. 

(Image source: Wikimedia Commons ) Today we celebrate the memorial of our Lady of the Rosary, instituted by Pope Pius V. He attributed the naval victory over the Turks at the Battle of Lepanto in 1571 to the Blessed Mother's intercession after the Christian world sought her aid through the Rosary. The Nashville Dominicans provide an interesting summary of this miraculous event and of Pius V. I encourage you to read their article here . As a Lay Dominican, I have come to treasure the rosary, contemplating the richness of its mysteries every day. But I also have a fondness for this particular memorial beyond my love of the rosary. You will understand why after reading about my friend Mike. The article that follows is one of twenty stories from my book, Fleeting Glimpses of the Silly, Sentimental and Sublime :

(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!  This is what I shared this week: Monday Musings - Mary Our Mother Eucharistic Reflection - Behind the Eucharistic Veils Pondering Tidbits of Truth - October 2, 2014 October - The Month of the Rosary - Calling Upon Mary Rosary Reflections - When Parents Pray The Rosary

"The faults of children are not always imputed to the parents, especially when they have instructed them and given good example. Our Lord, in His wondrous Providence, allows children to break the hearts of devout fathers and mothers. Thus the decisions your children have made don't make you a failure as a parent in God's eyes. You are entitled to feel sorrow, but not necessarily guilt. Do not cease praying for your children; God's grace can touch a hardened heart. Commend your children to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. When parents pray the Rosary, at the end of each decade they should hold the Rosary aloft and say to her, 'With these beads bind my children to your Immaculate Heart"'. She will attend to their souls." (St. Louise de Marillac)

(Image source) October is the month dedicated to the most Holy Rosary of our Blessed Mother Mary.  We Dominicans love Mary. We treasure her Rosary and make it a priority in our daily prayer lives. Devotion to Mother Mary and the Rosary go hand in hand.

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. Thomas Aquinas "Now is the time of mercy;  then, there will be only the time of justice. This is why we have to live in the present moment and transform it into the moment of God."   ( From About the Creed)

(Image source: Wikimedia Commons ) "Every time I hear anyone speak of the Sacred Heart of Jesus or of the Blessed Sacrament I feel an indescribable joy. It is as if a wave of precious memories, sweet affections and joyful hopes swept over my poor person, making me tremble with happiness and filling my soul with tenderness. These are loving appeals from Jesus who wants me wholeheartedly there, at the source of all goodness, his Sacred Heart, throbbing mysteriously behind the Eucharistic veils... I love to repeat today 'Sweet Heart of my Jesus, make me love You more and more.'" (Pope  John XXIII -  Journal of a Soul)