Harvesting The Fruits of Contemplation

What follows are simple declarative sentences excerpted from God, A Woman and the Way, a book written more than sixty years ago by Rev. M. Raymond, O.C.S.O., a Trappist monk. They set forth fundamental Truths which today are routinely denied and denounced: (Photo©Michael Seagriff) “We need God. Without Him we can do nothing. But God also needs us. He needs us to bear witness to the fact that He exists; that God became man; that God died; that God rose again; that men can become like God. God needs us to be animated Gospels and give the world the almost unbelievable ‘Good News’ that God is our Father and we are heirs to all that almighty God possesses.” Do you suppose there is any connection between the denial and denunciation of these Truths and the chaos that exists in our world today? Sad that I even have to ask such a question. It’s time to start blaming ourselves and not God for the messes we have created.

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 . Catherine Doherty, Servant of God "The acceptance of this truth [all that I am, all that I have is from God] will make you truly free, free to love and serve...It will also make you free to love and serve God more passionately, more constantly, more totally. You will then be on the threshold of this many-faceted, infinitely beautiful virtue and attitude of heart, state of life. That is poverty! But still you will only have begun. I repeat, you will be only standing on the threshold of poverty's dwelling. The next step is having a heart wide open to grace! Now you will enter an unknown terrain through which God Himself will deign to lead you. All you have to do is to be open to grace." (From Dearly Beloved , Volume 1)   Father Charles Arminjon "Remove the fear of eternal punishment from mankind,...

That night of the betrayal [by Judas] was also a symbol and image of another night, now twenty centuries long, filed with betrayal, ingratitude, perfidy and sacrilege. Is this not indeed men’s answer to the gift of God? Is there even one day when, nowhere in the world, a sacrilege is committed? (Image source: Wikimedia Commons ) Many Christians live as if there were no Eucharist. Many spend months and years without receiving Jesus, without paying Him even a short visit. And when, perhaps to avoid being pointed out by fellow Catholics, they do assist at Mass, they single out the shortest one, hear it with little attention, and feel irritated if it ‘lasts too long.’ For any pretext they omit it altogether. Many, in a whole lifetime, receive only the First Communion and perhaps, Viaticum. Is this not a night devoid of love, but full of ingratitude? (From The Holy Eucharist by Father Jose Guadalupe Trevino)

Some Catholic theologians, clergy and writers teach that we should have a reasonable hope all men and women will be saved. We should reject this erroneous prediction of  our eternal residency. Even a simple man like I can understand that this claim of universal salvation doesn't really pass the smell test.  How could it when Jesus Himself told us: "For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it (Matthew 7:14)? Less we would forget this essential Truth, from time to time our Lord has used others as His messengers. Here are just a few examples: St Bernard "said with tears that there were hardly one ship out of ten lost on the sea, but on the ocean of life there is hardly one soul saved out of ten." St Teresa of Avila saw souls "falling like snowflakes into hell." Even the Blessed Mother at Fatima told the children:  “Pray, pray a great deal, and make sacrifices for sinners, for many souls...

Be sure to visit Allison Gingras  (Reconciled To You) and Elizabeth Riordan ( Theology Is A Verb ) each week for Revisiting Wednesday , a place for Catholic writers to share their wares and stir your souls. Stop for a visit now (and every Wednesday). Here is something to ponder and chew on: Monday Musings - We Have Forgotten (Originally published May 15, 2017) When we lose the sense of sin, when we fail to appreciate the eternal value of embracing suffering, when we no longer give any thought to making reparation for our sins and the sins of the world, evil triumphs and souls are lost: “We moderns shrink from pain; we shun all that can afflict body or mind. We have forgotten that we were saved by the Body’s agony and the Mind’s torture. We have forgotten that the problem of evil was solved by ropes, whips and thorns, by nails that were pounded through the flesh of God and by three hours of anguish such as no other human has or ever will know....

(Image source: Wikimedia Commons ) "The Son of God is as it were the Captain of the Church Militant. It is needful now that He be a warrior. He resides there in the Tabernacle, as in the Ark [of the Covenant], as in His pavilion of war. This then is the God of armies, He is there like the angel in the pillar [of cloud] in the desert who marches at the head of His squadrons ranged in battle. This then is He who presides over our combats, and who renders us victorious over our invisible enemies." (Father Jacques Nouet, S.J. from The Mystical Life of Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament )