Pondering Tidbits of Truth - February 26, 2015

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. Teresa of Avila

“Oh, what a hard thing I am asking of you, my true God: that you should love one who does not love you;  that you should open the door to one who does not knock; that you should give health to one who prefers to be sick and chooses rather to walk in her infirmity! You say, my Lord, that you .have come to seek out sinners. These, my Lord are the true sinners. Do not look on our blindness, oh my God, but at the streams of blood that your Son shed for us. May your mercy shine on such grave wickedness; remember, Lord, that we were made by your hands.”

(From Exclamations of the Soul to God)

It's "Worth Revisiting" Wednesday -"Listen Again to the Venerable Fulton J. Sheen"

Thanks to the generosity and encouragement of Allison Gingras and Elizabeth Riordan, an ever-expanding group of Catholic bloggers take the time each week to re-post their favorite articles on “It’s Worth Revisiting” Wednesdays.

Do yourself a favor- go there now (and every Wednesday) and let these authors bless and challenge you in Faith journey.

During the rest of each week. visit Allison at  Reconciled To You and Elizabeth at Theology Is A Verb.  You will be pleased with what they share.

This is what I have chosen to share this week:

Listen Again to the Venerable Fulton J. Sheen

(Originally posted on July 24, 2012)

There have always been prophets among us. Unfortunately, far too often we either do not hear them or intentionally ignore them. How different our Church and world might have been had we listened to Venerable Fulton J. Sheen.

The good news is that much of what he wrote still is readily accessible to anyone who wants to read what this often ignored messenger tried to share during his earthly life and what God is now allowing so many to re-discover and appreciate.  May more of us listen to this prophet. His wisdom and insight are timeless.

The following gem was recently quoted on Church Militant TV.com and is well worth sharing here:

Eucharistic Reflection - I Also Blush. Do You?

By means of the angels, Jesus calls the poor and simple shepherds,

in order to manifest Himself to them. 

He calls the learned men by means of their science.

And all of them, moved by His inner grace,

 hasten to adore Him. 

He calls all of us by divine inspiration, and

 communicates with us by means of His grace.

How many times has He invited us, too?
                           

And how readily have we responded? 

My God, I blush and become embarrassed

 when I have to answer such a question."

(St. Pio of Pietrelcina)

Your Hearts, Works, Joys and Sorrows Belong on the Paten

What a treasure trove of wisdom and spiritual insight our Church has accumulated over the centuries! The problem is that there are so many jewels, we forget what and where they are. 

How fortunate I was to stumble upon this gem, written more than four centuries ago:

May more of our priests follow the good Cardinal's excellent suggestion.

I also believe this is sound advice for us lay folk. Nothing prevents us from prayerfully offering Jesus our hearts, works, joys and sorrows each day at Mass when the priest, as alter Christus, lifts the paten in his sacred and venerable hands. 

This is not a novel idea. Many make such offerings daily in the privacy of their homes or in their cars on the way to work.  Why not join those prayers with those of the priest at Mass? A number of spiritual writers have made similar suggestions. 

This is a pretty simple thing to do - silently from your pew. It strikes me as a powerful and appropriate way for the laity to more "actively participate" in the celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

What do you think?

One Act of Random Kindness

Thanks to my friend, Cathy V, I have the privilege of share this video - it is the simple gestures of kindness that have lasting impact:

Sunday Snippets - February 22, 2015

(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:

Prayer and That Persistent Pest

A Different Kind of Lenten Devotion - Part II

Homilies - When Was The Last Time You Were Challenged to Change the Way You Live?

What Does The World Need? 

Spend Time With Him! 

"It's Worth Revisiting" Wednesday - How's This for Clarity in Preaching?

"It's Worth Revisiting" Wednesday - How's This for Clarity in Preaching?

Thanks again to the generosity and encouragement of Allison Gingras and Elizabeth Riordan, an ever-expanding group of Catholic bloggers take the time each week to re-post their favorite articles on “It’s Worth Revisiting” Wednesdays.

Do yourself a favor- go there now (and every Wednesday) and let these authors bless and challenge you in Faith journey.

During the rest of each week. visit Allison at  Reconciled To You and Elizabeth at Theology Is A Verb.  You will be pleased with what they share.

Here is what I am sharing this week:

Spend Time With Him!

The following quotation is attributed to "a holy priest whose difficult character his parishioners new well". How different our lives and the lives of those with whom we interact would be if we too came to the same realization:

What Does The World Need?

St. John Paul II minces no words in answering this most compelling question:

Homilies - When Were You Last Challenged To Change the Way You Live?

The best homilies are those which challenge us to look objectively at our relationship with God and how we live out our faith. We need to be reminded of the great chasm that often exists between what we profess to believe and how we actually live our lives. We must be encouraged to seek God's grace and forgiveness if we are ever to bridge that gap.

How can that be done? Father Suarez has some unambiguous suggestions:

A Different Kind Of Lenten Devotion - Part II

Image Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Last week I passed on a Different Kind of Lenten Devotion that had been recommended by Father Thomas Heier, C.M.M., editor-in-chief and columnist of Leaves, a magazine published by the Marianhill Fathers. Since many of my readers responded favorably to that post and Father's suggestion, I prepared a daily chart that you may find helpful in living out that devotion this Lent. 

LIVING THE FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT THIS LENT

Love: We exhibit the virtue of charity, or love, by our unselfish devotion and care for God and our neighbor.
Joy: We live with joy when we recognize that true happiness comes, not from money or possessions, but from knowing and following Christ.
Peace: We are freed from worrying about trivial things because of the inner peace we experience with God in our hearts. We work and pray for peace throughout the world.
Patience: We demonstrate patience by treating others with thoughtfulness and tolerance. We know that we can overcome the temptations and sufferings of life because God is always with us.
Kindness: We live the virtue of kindness by treating others as we want to be treated.
Generosity: We demonstrate the fruit of generosity when we are share our gifts and possessions with others.
Faithfulness: We are faithful when we live out our commitment to the teachings of Jesus, the Scriptures, and the Catholic Church.
Gentleness: Gentle people act calmly and avoid actions that might lead others to anger or resentment.
Self-control: We exercise self-control by working to overcome the temptations we face and by trying always to do God’s will.

[I did not create these definitions. They appear at: http://faithfirst.com/RCLsacraments/confirmation/teens/older/gifts_spirit.html]

Sunday Snippets - February 15, 2015

(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!

Guess I was a little busier than normal this week:

A Different Type of Lenten Practice - Living the Fruits of the Spirit

Is God Too Demanding?

What Is At Heart of Your Life?

Eucharistic Reflection - The Most Tender of Friends

Scurry To Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament

"It's Worth Revisiting Wednesday" - February 11, 2015

Pondering Tidbits of Truth - February 15, 2015

Pondering Tidbits of Truth - February 12, 2015

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.

  

Georges Chevrot

 “You are often mistaken when you say, 'I brought my children up wrongly', or 'I did not know how to do good to those around me.' What happens is that you have not achieved the result you were hoping for, that you do not yet see the fruit you would have wished for, because the harvest is not yet ripe. What does matter is that you have sown the seed, that you have given God to souls. When God wants, those souls will return to him. You may not be there to see it, but there will be others who will gather in what you have sown.'1 What matters is that Christ, on whose behalf we have made so much effort, will be beside us.

(From The Well of Life )

“It’s Worth Revisiting” Wednesday -Fra Angelico - Sharing The Fruits of His Contemplation

Thanks to the generosity and encouragement of Allison Gingras and Elizabeth Riordan, an ever-expanding group of Catholic bloggers take the time each week to re-post their favorite articles on “It’s Worth Revisiting” Wednesdays.

Do yourself a favor- go there now (and every Wednesday) and let these authors bless and challenge you in Faith journey.

During the rest of each week. visit Allison at  Reconciled To You and Elizabeth at Theology Is A Verb.  You will be pleased with what they share.

Here is what I am sharing this week: 

Fra Angelico - Sharing The Fruits of His Contemplation

(Originally posted February 18, 2015)

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

As a Lay Dominican, I promised to engage in a consistent and serious study of my Faith, to ponder and chew on those Truths and to share the fruits of my contemplation with others - all for the glory of God and for the salvation of souls. In a very limited and inadequate way, I have tried to use my writing and this blog to achieve those goals.

The Blessed Dominican whom we commemorate today,  Blessed John of Fiesole (more popularly referred to as Fra Angelico) shared the fruits of his contemplation, not so much through words, but through the magnificent works of art that flowed from his reflection and through the paint brushes God so skillfully guided.

One would be hard pressed to gaze upon these treasures without obtaining a greater understanding and appreciation for the great Truths of our Faith. Oh, how satisfying  his work is to souls hungry to be nourished!

Eucharistic Reflection – The Most Tender of Friends

I find my consolation in the only companion of mine who never leaves me, that is, our divine Savior in the Holy Eucharist.

It is at the foot of the altar that we find the strength we need in our isolation. Without the Blessed Sacrament, a situation like mine would not be sustainable. But with our Lord at my side, well then! I continue to be always happy and content. With this gaiety of heart and a smile on my lips, I work with zeal for the good of the poor unfortunate lepers, and little by little, without much fuss, good is done. . . . [Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament] is the most tender of friends with souls that seek to please him. His goodness knows how to proportion itself to the littlest of his creatures as to the greatest. Do not fear, then, in solitary conversations, to speak to him of your woes, your fears, your troubles, those who are dear to you, your plans, your hopes; do it confidently and with an open heart.'

(Saint Damien of Molokai, quoted in Could You Not Watch With Me One Hour? by Father Florian Racine)

Scurry to Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament!

Bet you have had a similar experience. You are reading a passage from Scripture – one that you have read many times in the past. Suddenly from the page leaps an insight that had heretofore escaped your grasp.

I had just such an experience early Monday morning when I filled in for an Adorer who was stranded some distance from our Chapel due to a significant snow storm.

Let me set forth the familiar words of Mark’s Gospel (Mk 6:53-56) that prompts this post and reflection:

“After making the crossing to the other side of the sea,
Jesus and his disciples came to land at Gennesaret
and tied up there.
As they were leaving the boat, people immediately recognized him.
They scurried about the surrounding country
and began to bring in the sick on mats
to wherever they heard he was.
Whatever villages or towns or countryside he entered,
they laid the sick in the marketplaces
and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak;
and as many as touched it were healed.”

(From the Revised Standard Version, emphasis added)

(Basilica at Notre Dame)

The great tragedy of our times is the fact that so few Catholics believe that Jesus is really, truly and substantially present here with us in the Most Blessed Sacrament, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity – the same Jesus the people in Mark’s Gospel immediately recognized and approached with expectant faith.

Eucharistic Reflection - Ah! If We Had The Eyes of Angels

"Ah! if we had the eyes of angels with which to see Our Lord Jesus Christ, who is here present on this altar, and who is looking at us, how we should love Him!

We should never more wish to part from Him. We should wish to remain always at His feet; it would be a foretaste of Heaven: all else would become insipid to us. 

But see, it is faith we want. We are poor blind people; we have a mist before our eyes. Faith alone can dispel this mist. 

Presently, my children, when I shall hold Our Lord in my hands, when the good God blesses you, ask Him then to open the eyes of your heart; say to Him like the blind man of Jericho, 'O Lord, make me to see!' If you say to Him sincerely, 'Make me to see!' you will certainly obtain what you desire, because He wishes nothing but your happiness. He has His hands full of graces, seeking to whom to distribute them; Alas! and no one will have them.

. . . Oh, indifference! Oh, ingratitude! My children, we are most unhappy that we do not understand these things! We shall understand them well one day; but it will then be too late!" 

(St. John Marie Vianney)

What Is At The Heart Of Your Life?

A Different Type of Lenten Practice – Living the Fruits of the Spirit

 A friend provided me with a copy of Leaves, a magazine published by the Marianhill Fathers, which contained an article he had written. I not only enjoyed my friend’s piece, he entered a subscription to that publication on my behalf.  I am glad that he did.

(Image Source: Wikimedia Commons)

The very next issue offered an interesting Lenten practice proposed by the magazine’s editor-in-chief and columnist, Father Thomas Heier, C.M.M. It is one I intend to try this year. I thought many of you might find it of interest as well.

Father has graciously granted me permission to share his suggestion by publishing the following excerpt from his column, Leaflets from the Editor’s Desk.

Sunday Snippets-February 8, 2015

(Renovated Sanctuary - Our Lady of Good Counsel, Verona, NY)

Thank you RAnn for hosting Sunday Snippets at This That and The Other Thing every week and for providing an interesting group of Catholic bloggers an opportunity to share their wares. May many souls be nourished.

I shared the following:

Monday Musings -There Is No Need To Mention Hell!


Time Is Ticking Away

How Have You Responded? 

"It's Worth Revisiting" Wednesday - Visit the Imprisoned

 An Awesome Video Tribute to Our Priests and a Call to Priestly Vocations

Heart Stirring Videos

Heart Stirring Videos

Two touching and thought-provoking videos to share with you this week:

An Awesome Video Tribute to Our Priests and a Call to Priestly Vocations

I saw this on BigPulpit.com and had to share it. Thank you to Ascension Press and WillYouFollow.com

"It's Worth Revisiting" Wednesday - "Visit The Imprisoned"

 “It’s Worth Revisiting” Wednesday again, where a group of Catholic bloggers have accepted the invitation of  Allison Gingras and Elizabeth Riordan, to re-post their favorite articles.

Do yourself a favor- go there now (and every Wednesday) and let the bloggers who post there stir up your Faith.

Be sure you visit Allison at  Reconciled To You and Elizabeth at Theology Is A Verb during the rest of the week. 

This is what I decided to share:

Visit The Imprisoned

(Originally posted April 23, 2012 and included in my book, Fleeting Glimpses of the Silly, Sentimental and Sublime)

When we read or hear the Scriptural reminder of the eternal consequences for our failing to visit the

imprisoned (Matthew 25: 31-46) more often than not the image that first comes to mind is of those locked behind bars in the far too numerous Federal and State prisons and local jails that saturate the landscape of this nation – some 2,266,800 adults in 2010 according to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics. More than 2 million! Many of them are Catholic and none of them are there voluntarily!

Admittedly, Jesus is not calling every Catholic to be His representative and ambassador to our forgotten convicted brothers and sisters. Certainly though more are being invited to this needed ministry than are responding. Is God calling you? Is fear holding you back?

Eucharistic Reflection - How Great Is the Tepidity and Negligence of This World

"[Christ:] Here upon the altar you will find not a relic nor a monument to someone's memory, but Me, alive as ever, all-powerful, all-loving, all-perfect. All the treasures and wonders of this world— whatever can attract the human heart — these things are nothing compared to what you find upon the altar. You will not be drawn to Me by any curiosity or shallow virtue. Only a firm faith, a steady hope, and a burning love will draw you to Me and keep you loyal to Me…

Consider how great must be the tepidity and negligence of this world, since so many fail to take advantage of My gift of Holy Communion. It is sad-to see how few are drawn to Me with tender affection and wordless gratitude. In this sacrament I offer Myself, in Whom lie all human hopes and merits for salvation.

How Have You Responded?

Monday Musings - Please, There Is No Need To Mention Hell!

Do you really think that in the never-ending battle to save souls discussing the existence and nature of hell is inappropriate, counterproductive or unnecessary?

(Image Source: Catholic Pure and Simple)

Maybe St. Teresa of Avila may cause you to change your mind:

At another time something else happened to me [Teresa of Avila] that fright­ened me very much. I was at a place where a certain person died who for many years had lived a wicked life, from what I knew. But he had been sick for two years, and in some things it seems he had made amends. He died without confession, but nevertheless it didn't seem to me he would be condemned.