Harvesting The Fruits of Contemplation

Thank you Allison Gingras  (Reconciled To You) and Elizabeth Riordan ( Theology Is A Verb) for hosting  Worth Revisiting . Be sure to stop by every Wednesday . You will enjoy your visits. I have decided to share this post: Imagine God Embracing You While You Pray!  (Originally posted August 15, 2016) (Image source: Wikimedia Commons ) Nearly a year ago, I shared a brief article on prayer – a gift I received while on retreat at the Abbey of Genesee . That post was well-received. You can read it here. If you read that simple reflection, you will understand what a blessing it was for me to return to that special place a few weeks ago and to hear Father John Denburger, O.C.S.O. discuss prayer once again.  Father did not disappoint. Underlying all prayer, he told us, is God’s decisive love for each of us. During the course of his presentation, this soft-spoken and insightful teacher drew a distinction between two types of prayer: maintenance and spousal

(Image source: Wikimedia Commons ) “Our union with Christ in the Eucharist must be expressed in the truth of our lives today – in our actions, in our behavior, in our life-style and in our relationships with others. For each one of us the Eucharist is a call to ever greater effort, so that we may live as true followers of Jesus: truthful in our speech, generous in our deeds, concerned, respectful of the dignity and rights of all persons – whatever their rank or income – self-sacrificing, fair and just, kind, compassionate and self-controlled…The truth of our union with Jesus Christ in the Eucharist is tested by whether or not we really love our fellow men and women; it is tested by how we treat others; especially our families…, by whether or not we try to be reconciled with our enemies, or whether or not we forgive those who hurt us or offend us.” (St John Paul II from Homily in Phoenix Park, September 29, 1979)

Leave it to a friend to put you on the spot.  (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons ) What would you do, she asked me, if a homeless man repeatedly came into the Church to sleep, snoring and with foul body odor and refused offers to shower in the rectory? He is not otherwise disruptive or violent. He simply sleeps and stinks. Many Adorers in my friend’s parish refuse to do their Holy Hour if this man is present.  This is no hypothetical question. This is reality in this one parish.  The simplest and easiest solution to this difficult situation would to bar him from being with God.  Such a response may make some Adorers more comfortable, but how would the Lord they come to adore feel? What would He expect of us? Coward that I am, I responded with a series of questions – a lot easier to do than to answer the specific one she posed.

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. Alphonsus Liguori  "There will be those who say: 'that is exactly why I don't go to Communion more often, because I realize my love is cold...' If you are cold, do you think it sensible to move away from the fire? Precisely because you feel your heart frozen you should go 'more frequently' to Holy Communion, provided you feel a sincere desire to love Jesus Christ. 'Go to Holy Communion', says St. Bonaventure, 'even when you feel lukewarm, leaving everything in God's hands. The more my sickness debilitates me, the more urgently do I need a doctor." (From The Practice of Love for Jesus )

Thank you Allison Gingras  (Reconciled To You) and Elizabeth Riordan ( Theology Is A Verb) for hosting  Worth Revisiting . Be sure to stop by every Wednesday . You will enjoy your visits. I am sharing this:   No One Picture Can Tell It All The stately white columns of the reception hall’s entrance stood out all the more because of the faded and weather beaten brick that surrounded it. The colorful rainbow of flowers that greeted its guests took their breath away.  The slight summer breeze rustled everyone’s hair as one by one family, friends and strangers passed through the massive iron doors. Dad needed to rest. Even this short walk from the car presented a great challenge to lungs weakened by cancer. But he was determined not to let those destructive cells ruin this special day for his granddaughter. Amidst the internal agony unseen by those passing by, he stood tall and resolute, thankful to be there – a man who hours earlier nearly coughed himsel

“The soul who spends time in My presence, close to My open Heart, will learn all that My Heart contains, and will come to share in all My sentiments and desires.” (From In Sinu Jesu -When Heart Speaks to Heart - The Journal of a Priest at Prayer)

The tragic truth about our Catholic Church today and far too many of its bishops, priests, religious and lay people is the failure to make the Sacred Eucharist the center of our lives, as our Lord has commanded us to do. In far too many parishes, we have, for all practical purposes, ignored and abandoned our Eucharistic Lord imprisoned in tabernacles behind locked doors.  When we are in His Presence we often act irreverently and as if He were not there. Multiple surveys have concluded that few holding themselves out as being Catholics actually believe that our Lord is really and substantially present in the Eucharist. We have lost the sense of the sacred, using our Church buildings not exclusively as places of worship, prayer and adoration but for such inappropriate activities as secular community events, pageants, slide shows of our graduating students, the viewing of secular movies, coffee cafes and socializing.  For centuries, our Lord has been calling us “t

Thank you Allison Gingras  (Reconciled To You) and Elizabeth Riordan ( Theology Is A Verb) for this opportunity to re-publish a favorite post on Worth Revisiting . Stop for a visit now (and every Wednesday). The gifted hostesses and other writers who post each week will no doubt have much of value to offer you.. Here's my contribution: Toward Reclaiming the Sacred Nature of our Churches  (Originally posted on February 22, 2016) When you enter your parish Church are you struck with the awesome power of reverent silence?  Do all who enter demonstrate reverence for, and their belief,  in the Real Presence of their loving Savior by reverently genuflecting to He Whom they have come to worship and adore? Are your fellow parishioners on their knees praying or sitting silently gazing upon the Tabernacle instead of chatting with their neighbors?  Do they stay for a moment at the end of Mass offering a silent prayer of thanksgiving? D

"Now write for My souls: I want to tell them of the poignant sorrow which filled My heart at the Last Supper. If it was bliss for Me to think of those to whom I should be both Companion and Heavenly Food, of all those would surround Me to the end of time with adoration, reparation and love…this in no wise diminished My grief at the many who leave Me deserted in My tabernacle and who would not even believe in MY Real Presence…Sacrileges and outrages, and all the nameless abominations to be committed against Me passed before My eyes… (Image source: Wikimedia Commons ) It is love for souls that keeps Me a prisoner in the Blessed Sacrament, I stay there that all may come and find the comfort they need in the tenderest of Hearts, the best of Fathers, the most faithful of Friends, who will never abandon them. The Holy Eucharist is the invention of Love…Yet how few souls correspond to that love which spends and consumes itself for them." (Sister Josefa Menendez from