Harvesting The Fruits of Contemplation

[It has been four years since I originally shared this post. I thought it might be worthwhile to do so again on the memorial of this great Dominican saint and theologian.] Thomas Aquinas was born to a noble family in Aquino ( Italy ) in 1225. They objected to his entering the Order of Preachers (Dominicans) but he did so in 1244. At the age of nineteen, he went on to study under Saint Albert the Great.   His life is succinctly but beautifully summarized in today’s “Supplement to the Liturgy of the Hours for the Order of Preachers”:  “He devoted all his energy to the service      of  truth,  eagerly searching it out, lovingly contemplating it, and imparting it to others through his writing, his teaching and his preaching. His life was marked by devotion to the Passion of the Lord, to the mystery of the Eucharist, and to the Virgin Mary, Mother of God.” Known as the Angelic Doctor, he is often described as one of the greate...

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. Josemaria Escriva "Mortification does not usually consist of great renunciations, for situations requiring great self-denial seldom occur. Mortification is made up of small conquests, such as smiling at those who annoy us, denying the body some superfluous fancy, getting accustomed to listening to others, making full use of the time God allots us...and so many other details. We find it in the apparently trifling problems, difficulties and worries which arise without our looking for them in the course of each day." (From Christ is Passing By )

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 “Worth Revisiting” Wednesdays. Go there now (and every Wednesday) and let these authors bless and challenge you in your Faith journey. During the rest of each week, be sure to  visit Allison at Reconciled To You and Elizabeth at Theology Is A Verb .  Here is what I am sharing this week: Every Knee Shall Bend! (Originally posted May 12, 2014 and is excerpted from my book - I Thirst For Your Love ) A few days ago, I was prompted to read through some older journal entries and discovered one from more than 13 years ago. How timeless are the insights God gives us, especially those we may have forgotten but are blessed to rediscover! Let me share with you what I wrote (with some editing) more than a decade ago: “I attended Mass...

(Image source: Wikimedia Commons )   "If worldly people ask why you communicate so often, say it is in order to learn to love God, to purge yourself of your imperfections, to free yourself from your miseries, to console yourself in your afflictions, to support yourself in your weaknesses. Say that there are two kinds of people who should communicate often: the perfect, because being so well-disposed they would do great wrong if they did not approach the source and fountain of perfection, and the imperfect with the end of being reasonably able to inspire perfection; the strong, that they may not become weak, and the weak to become strong; the sick that they may be cured, and the healthy that they may not fall sick; and that you, imperfect, weak and sick, need to communicate often with Him who is your perfection, your strength and your doctor." (St Francis de Sales from Introduction to the Devout Life )

(Image source: Wikimedia Commons )  What is more important: the salvation of souls or not “hurting” someone’s “feelings”?   If you are interested in an answer, listen here .

From the March For Life last Friday in Washington, D.C. - our Dominican brothers filling the public square with heavenly chant. Take a listen to:   O Lumen Sub Tuum   Salve Regina

Today we remember Blessed Henry Suso, O.P. (1290-1365) a German Dominican priest, mystic and spiritual writer. Some suggest that it is difficult to separate fact from fiction when discussing  this gifted Friar. He had as many critics as he did followers. There is a brief but interesting account of his life in Sister Mary Jean Dorcy, O.P.'s classic St. Dominic's Family - Lives of over 300 Famous Dominicans . You can also get a glimpse into his life and writings at New Advent . His best known work, A Little Book of Eternal Wisdom , is one well worth reading and pondering. Here is a Eucharistic prayer from that book for your use and reflection: A Prayer To Be Said When  Thou Goest To Receive Our Lord (Image Source: Willing Shepherds.org) O Thou living fruit, Thou sweet blossom, Thou delicious paradise apple of the blooming fatherly heart, Thou sweet vine of Cyprus in the vineyard of Engaddi, who will give me to receive Thee so worthily this day that...

I am an avid reader of anything about, or written by, Venerable Fulton J Sheen. I can never get enough of this unique and gifted prelate. Several months ago, Thomas C. Reeves, the author of America's Bishop - The Life and Times of Fulton J. Sheen left a comment on one of my blog posts. I accepted his suggestion to read his book. I was not disappointed. The book is well-researched, invitingly written and fair in its depiction of this internationally acclaimed preacher, theologian and entertainer. It contained a great deal of information about, and quotes attributed to, Sheen that were new to me. What follows is a good example of how clearly this Bishop saw into the future while so many of us still remain blind to the problems he tried to warn and prepare us for: "Have you noticed that as men lose faith in God, they become selfish, immoral and cruel? On a cosmic scale, as religion decreases, tyranny increases; as men lose faith in Divinity, they lose faith in humani...

All that we do as Christ's Church and as its members MUST be directed toward the Salvation of Souls - ours and those of everyone we know and with whom we come into contact. May this Truth - the essence of the New Evangelization - take root in the hearts of all during this Jubilee of Mercy.

Thanks to the continuing generosity of Allison Gingras and Elizabeth Riordan, several bloggers take the time each week to re-post a favorite post on "Worth Revisiting” Wednesday. Do yourself a favor- go there now (and every Wednesday) and let them 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: Do You Really Want To Remain Silent?  (Originally posted September 16, 2013) (Source:wallpapersdepo.net) In a second reading from the Office of Readings which I ead some time ago (Ez 2.8-3.11,17-21), God uses His prophet Ezekiel to challenge us – another one of those hard teachings for those of us living in what some are describing as the post-Christian era. What do I mean? Let me explain.

(Image source: Wikimedia Commons ) O my God, when You do condescend to suffer me to receive You, to eat and drink You, and You for a while take up Your abode within me, O make my heart beat with Your Heart. Purify it of all that is earthly, all that is proud and sensual, all that is hard and cruel, of all perversity, of all disorder, of all deadness. So fill it with You that neither the events of the day nor the circumstances of the time may have power to ruffle it, but that in Your love and Your fear it may have peace. (From Meditations and Devotions by Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman)