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. St. Augustine “…how the sea comes in through any leaky places in the hull, and little by little fills the hold of the boat. Unless it is expelled, the ship goes down ... Imitate the sailors: their hands never rest until they have baled her out thoroughly; let yours never rest from doing good. In spite of everything however, the bottom of the ship will fill with water again, because the weak points of our human nature are always there; and you will have to man the pumps again.” (From Sermon 16 )

(Image Source: Wikimedia Commons ) “I warmly encourage the faithful to adore Christ, present in the Blessed Sacrament of the altar, letting Him heal our consciences and purify us, enlighten us and unite us. In their encounter with Him, Christians will find strength for their spiritual life and their mission in the world. In fact, in communing heart to heart with the divine Teacher, they will discover the Father's infinite love and will be true worshipers in spirit and in truth. Their faith in him will be revitalized; they will enter into God's mystery and be profoundly transformed by Christ. In their trials and in joys, they will conform their life to the mystery of our Saviour's Cross and Resurrection. . . . Every day they will become more and more sons and daughters in the Son. Then, love will be spread through them in human hearts, in order to build up the Body of Christ which is the Church to establish a society of justice, peace and brotherhood. They will be i

Our Blessed Mother's example should encourage us to fully immerse ourselves into the ordinariness of our daily lives and to do everything [as Blessed Teresa of Calcutta also told us] with extraordinary love.

MAY GOD GRANT EACH OF YOU A BLESSED NEW YEAR!  (Abbey at Genesee) Another week of interesting and informative posts at RAnn's place where several Catholic bloggers share their wares. Stop in for a visit. Here is what I posted this week: Monday Musings - A Christmas Day Handout As An Alternative to Silence Eucharistic Reflection - Finding Peace On The Inside Merry Christmas! Book Review - "Working Mother" by Erin McCole Cupp

We just spent time at the manger adoring and worshiping our Infant Savior. Shortly, we will recoil in horror to recall that the Holy Family had to flee their homeland to thwart Herod’s murderous plot. But how many of us have ever given any further thought to what life was like in Egypt or what we might learn from their exile in a foreign land? Probably, not too many of us. Thankfully, Erin McCole Cupp paused, pondered and now presents, as the fruits of her contemplation, Working Mother, a challenging, fascinating, inspiring, and intriguing short fictional tale of what life as exiles in Egypt could have been like for Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus. Drawing from her life-long study and her experiences as a Catholic, mother, spouse and Lay Dominican, and fueled by the gift of a creative imagination, Erin opens a window of carefully crafted words and images, through which we can better appreciate the humanity of the Holy Family - who, like us

(Image Source: Embedded Faith.org )

(Image Source: Wikimedia Commons ) “How to find Christmas peace in a world of unrest? You cannot find peace on the outside but you can find peace on the inside, by letting God do to your soul what Mary let Him do to her body, namely, let Christ be formed in you. As she cooked meals in her Nazarene home, as she nursed her aged cousin, as she drew water at the well, as she prepared the meals of the village carpenter, as she knitted the seamless garment, as she kneaded the dough and swept the floor, she was conscious that Christ was in her; that she was a living Ciborium, a monstrance of the Divine Eucharist, a Gate of Heaven through which a Creator would peer upon creation, a Tower of Ivory up whose chaste body He was to climb "to kiss upon her lips a mystical rose." 

A MERRY AND BLESSED CHRISTMAS TO ALL! (Image Source: Embedded Faith.org ) 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: How To Persevere in Goodness The Path To Spiritual Peace Book Review - Breaking Into Joy - Meditations for Living in the Love of Christ Eucharistic Reflection - Be Transformed in the Fire of His Love  Pondering Tidbits of Truth - December 18, 2014 Breathtaking Rendition of "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel"

( (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. St. Catherine of Siena “I long to see you making your home in the cell of self-knowledge, so that you may attain perfect love, for I know that we cannot please our Creator unless we love him, because he is love and wants nothing but love. If we do know ourselves we find this love. Why? Because we see our own nothingness, that our very existence is ours by grace and not because we have a right to it, and every grace beyond our existence as well - it is all given to us with boundless love. Then we discover so much of God's goodness poured out on us that words cannot describe it. And once we see ourselves so loved by God, we cannot help loving him. And within ourselves we love God and our own ratio­nality, and hate the sensuality that would take inordi­nate pleasure in the world.” (From

(Image Source :motherteresa.org) Jesus kissed and embraced His Cross for love of us, because by His Holy Cross He would become one with us in the Eucharist. The Eucharist is the gift of Our Lord's Passion. With Mary we unite ourselves with Jesus and offer to Him all our sufferings in mind and body, in heart and soul… We are never given more than we can carry or bear, and as Simon helped Jesus carry His cross, so Jesus Himself helps us carry ours… All trials purify us and lead us into a deeper union with Jesus... We offer Jesus all our sufferings for the salvation of souls, even the sufferings we bring upon ourselves.

The refrains of O Come Let Us Adore Him reverberate through many of our Churches and communities this Advent Season. For many, this is the most joyful time of year, filled with hope and love and thoughts which go beyond oneself and which seek to touch the hearts of others. But is it an authentic Joy? Truth be told a sense of Joy is absent from so many of us during the rest of the year. We are called to be joyful people, EVERY DAY, regardless of the individual circumstances and daily struggles of our lives. Not easy to do admittedly. We can never be truly joyful if we rely solely on ourselves.

Blaming our faults on others is a futile and deadly pastime.

(St. Vincent Ferrer Parish, NYC) 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! I was prompted to write quite a bit this week. Here is so of what I shared: Mary Our Mother A Simple Reflection on Mary's Fiat Who Will Step Up This Christmas and Speak the Truth in Love? Eucharistic Reflection -  The Pain of Not Receiving Love for Love  Book Trailer - Working Mother by Erin McCole Cupp  Remembering Our Lady of Guadalupe

While my wife and I were cleaning out our attic and basement a few weeks ago, we discovered a long lost treasure - photographs from a trip that my eldest daughter and I had taken to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City more than twenty-five years ago. At the time of that visit, the original Church built at the request of the Blessed Mother, was deemed unsafe to enter. A new modern structure – much larger had been erected nearby. I remember pausing in awe and wonder watching pilgrims walking on their knees across the plaza leading to the Cathedral, some of whom I was later told had been walking in that manner for miles. I regret now not having photographically captured the inspiring witness of those devoted souls.  

Take a gander at this trailer for Erin McCole Cupp's latest short fiction, "Working Mother". Come back on December 28 to see my review and order your copy.

(St. Joseph's Parish, Oneida, NY) “O Jesus, how great is Thy humility in this Sacrament. Though Thou art the eternal and almighty God, Thou hast lowered Thyself, tak­ing the form of man for love of me and for the sake of my salvation. Not only hast Thou become my Elder Brother, a fellow-creature, but Thou hast willed to be the very food of my soul in Holy Communion. Once Thy human form cloaked Thy divinity, but now the appearances of bread hide even Thy Humanity. I can see Thee only with the eyes of faith.

[This is one of the two times each year when, I believe,  our Lord most dreads the silence that will envelop far too many of our parishes. Someone needs to give voice to His yearnings. Where is the zeal for the salvation of souls?  What follows is similar to some of my previous posts on this subject.] Image Source: Wikimedia Commons ) Let us welcome with open arms the thousands who will flock to our Churches this Christmas – most especially those who rarely come to worship the God whose birth we commemorate. But what does Love command we tell them?  Speaking the Truth is, at times, very difficult but necessary. This is one of those times. If our primary concern is for the salvation of souls (and it should be), silence about their absence from our midst during the rest of the year is not an option. Such silence will be construed as tacit approval of their continual and mortally sinful absence from Mass on Sundays and holydays of obliga

Image Source: Wikimedia Commons ) [I am recycling this simple reflection which got lost amid an earlier and lengthier post.] In today’s Gospel (Luke 1:26-38) we hear the angel Gabriel’s familiar greeting to our heavenly Mother Mary: “Hail full of grace”. We repeat that salutation every time we pray the “Hail Mary”.  As a result, we sometimes forget the significance of those words and the rest of this Scripture passage. When told by the angel that she, a virgin, would conceive the God-man, she asked him: “How can that be?” His reply – she would conceive not naturally but by the power of the Holy Spirit - was all Mary needed to hear. Without further hesitation, she said “let it be done to me according to thy word”. How often have we said “How can this be?” in response to promptings we have received – some no doubt from the Holy Spirit? Today’s Gospel should be an unmistakable reminder that, like Mary,  we must also say “Yes” to whatever God asks of us, knowi

(Photo©Michael Seagriff) It's Sunday and time to thank RAnn for hosting another week of Sunday Snippets - A Catholic Carnival . Join an interesting group of Catholic bloggers there. You are sure to find something that will touch your heart and stir your soul. This is what I shared: God - Our Relentless Lover Book Review - Sacred Fire - Practicing Devotion to the Sacred Heart Eucharistic Reflection - Dereliction of Good Manners Are We Too Complacent? Book Review - Bringing Lent Home with St. John Paul II - Prayers, Reflections and Activities for Families Pondering Tidbits of Truth - December 4, 2014

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. Francis de Sales "God has signified to us in so many ways and by so many means that He wills all of us to be saved, that no one can be ignorant of this fact...Although all men are not saved, this will that all should be saved still remains God's true will, for He acts in us according to the condition of His own nature and of ours. His goodness moves Him to communicate liberally to us the help of His grace so that we may come to the joy of His glory, but our nature requires that His liberality should leave us at liberty to use it for our salvation or to neglect it to our damnation." (From Finding God's Will For You )

Don’t begin Lent without this book! When was the last time, you journeyed through Lent as a family? Have you ever suggested praying, fasting and giving alms together?   Don’t think your family has the time to do these things?   Not sure how to begin? You are probably no different from countless other Catholic families who want to more fully live out their Faith but sometimes feel the demands on their time render it impossible to do so. But you can make next Lent a special and blessed experience for you and your entire family. How? Get a copy of Donna-Marie Cooper O’Boyle’s most recent family Lenten prayer aid, Bringing Lent Home with St. John Paul II – Prayers, Reflections and Activities for Families . Drawing from the wisdom and life of St. John Paul II, Donna-Marie sets forth an easy to follow daily plan that allows every member to grow in their Faith and better grasp the real meaning of Lent. You will come to appreciate the joy and grace that f

Is it possible now that He so readily gives Himself to us that we have taken His great Gift for granted? Today is the day to end our complacency.

“We read in the Gospel of St John that when Jesus went to Bethany, to the house of his friend Lazarus, one of his friend's sisters, called Martha, busied herself about the house. The other, Mary, gave her entire attention to the Lord. It seems that this was by far the more commendable kind of action: if you receive a friend as a guest into your house, you look after him - that is, you keep him company and converse with him. You do not leave him in the sitting room, or anywhere else in the house reading the newspaper to amuse himself until you have time to attend to him. Without doubt this would be a dereliction of good manners. And if the person were of such importance that the mere fact of his coming to your house would be regarded as an honor far surpassing your condition and deserts, the discourtesy would be tan­tamount to a gross insult.” (Federico Suarez from The Sacrifice of the Altar)

Like the Eucharist, so many Catholics have ignored our Lord’s Sacred Heart – to their spiritual detriment. Love for the Sacred Heart of Jesus and for the Eucharist is forever interconnected. One leads to the other. “In reality,” Mother Louise Margaret Claret de la Touche asserts, “they are only one and the same devotion”. Is not the Holy Eucharist the living flesh of our resurrected Lord? Does not His Sacred Heart beat within the consecrated host? Yet both devotions remain unappreciated and undervalued gifts from our loving Lord. Philip Michael Bulman, the author of Sacred Fire - Practicing Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus , wants to do something about this tragedy.