Harvesting The Fruits of Contemplation

This should not be a secret: the fundamental crisis in the Catholic Church is, and has been for some time now, the loss of believe in and reverence for our Blessed Lord in the Eucharist.  He is here among us; yet we act like He is not. We leave Him alone and forgotten in the tabernacles of our Churches. We lock the doors of our Churches making it virtually impossible for anyone to come visit Him. Is it any wonder that so few identifying themselves as Catholics attend Sunday Mass or that less than 25% of them who do, no longer believe He is really, truly and substantially present in the Blessed Sacrament, or that hundreds of Catholic Churches have been permanently closed? The 250 Eucharistic Reflections in Stirring Slumbering Souls attempts to do something about this tragedy. People are beginning to notice this book. Here is but one example (more will follow in the coming days): David Torkington , author, columnist and spiritual theologian:   Michael Seagriff d

It is time to thank Allison Gingras and Elizabeth Riordan for another opportunity to re-publish our favorite posts on  Worth Revisiting . Go there now  (and every Wednesday) and be nourished spiritually. Be sure to visit Allison at  Reconciled to You  and Elizabeth at  Theology Is A Verb  during the rest of the week. You will enjoy your visit. [It has been five years to the day since I posted the following. I regret to report that the need for acts of reparation has not diminished.] That All of Us Would Come to Reverence and Love our Eucharistic Lord as Father Mark Does (Originally published December 27, 2012) The love of Father Mark for the Eucharist is once again reflected in the following prayer that he offered after Christmas Day Vespers and that he posted on his blog , Vultus Christi. THY GLORY SO HIDDEN, AND THY LOVE SO DESPISED Lord Jesus Christ , God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten of the Father before the daystar, and

(Image Source: Wikimedia Commons ) "Words cannot express the perfection of his adoration. If Saint John leaped in the womb at the approach of Mary, what feelings must have coursed through Joseph during those six months when he had at his side and under his very eyes the hidden God! If the father of Origin used to kiss his child during the night and adore the Holy Spirit living within Him, can we doubt that Joseph must often have adored Jesus hidden in the pure tabernacle of Mary? How fervent that adoration must have been: My Lord and my God, behold your servant! No one can describe the adoration of this noble soul. He saw nothing, yet he believed; his faith had to pierce the virginal veil of Mary. So likewise with you! Under the veil of the Sacred Species your faith must see our Lord. Ask St. Joseph for his lively, constant faith."                                                (St. Peter Julian Eymard)

So much of contemporary Christmas celebrations has little or nothing to with commemorating the birth of the Savior of the world, In fact, depictions of that great event have been banned from more than a few public venues. This should not come as a surprise to a nation whose highest court, among other things, has banned prayer in its public schools, allowed the murder of innocent life in the womb, and “redefined” marriage. As people of faith, we know that no court on earth has the power to do any of these things. That truth has not, and will not, prevent them from trying to force compliance with laws that run contrary to God’s and to punish those who refuse to yield to their directions. Each of us will have to choose whom we will obey – God or man. Difficult times, no doubt, lie ahead for those of faith and for our nation - very difficult times. Only through the power of the Eucharist may any of us hope to weather the storm and persevere in the Faith.

Merry Christmas and thank you Allison Gingras and Elizabeth Riordan for another opportunity to re-publish our favorite posts on  Worth Revisiting . Go there now  (and every Wednesday) and be nourished spiritually. Be sure to visit Allison at  Reconciled to You and Elizabeth at Theology Is A Verb during the rest of the week. You will enjoy your visit. Here is my contribution this week: Podcast - A Christmas and Eucharistic Reflection Originally published on December 22, 2016) I thought I would re-share this earlier podcast before the formal festivities begin. Merry Christmas! (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons) Imagine this Christmas that before exchanging gifts with family and friends, Jesus thanks you for the greatest gift you could have possibly given Him.  What might that be? Interested?  Listen here.

(Image source: Wikimedia Commons ) "If you really want to grow in love, come back to the Eucharist, come back to that Adoration. Our hours of adoration will be special hours of reparation for sins, and intercession for the needs of the whole world, exposing the sin-sick and suffering humanity to the healing, sustaining and transforming rays of Jesus, radiating from the Eucharist. Each one of us is a coworker of Christ - we must labor hard to carry Him to the hearts where He has not yet been known and loved...But, unless we have Jesus, we cannot give Him; that is why we need the Eucharist. Spend as much time as possible in front of the Blessed Sacrament and He will fill you with His strength and His power." (Attributed to St. Teresa of Calcutta)

The greatest invitation ever extended to mankind – Come Let Us Adore Him - will be sung throughout our Catholic Churches this Christmas. As well it should. But that summons was never intended to be limited to Advent. Indeed, for more than 2000 years our Lord has pleaded with His people to spend one hour with Him. For centuries He has waited...and waited…and waited.  Few have ever stopped by for a visit. Many no longer believe He is really and substantially present in the Sacred Eucharist. For all practical purposes, He is abandoned, ignored and disrespected. Feel His pain and anguish over being abandoned, ignored and treated irreverently. Understand how thirsty He is for your love. Then love and treat Him as He deserves. We just have to love God enough to gift our presence to Him. Could there be any better time than now to do so? May our loving and waiting Lord use the 250 quotations, testimonies, questions for reflection, and prayers in Stirring Slumbering Souls –

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 detests failings because they are failings. On the other hand, however, in a certain sense, He loves failings since they give to Him an opportunity to show His mercy and to us an opportunity to remain humble and to understand and to sympathize with our neighbor's failings." (As quoted by Servant of God, John Paul I in his September 20, 1976 General Audience)

Thank you Allison Gingras and Elizabeth Riordan for another opportunity to re-publish our favorite posts on  Worth Revisiting . Go there now  (and every Wednesday) and be nourished spiritually. Be sure to v isit Allison at   Reconciled To You   and Elizabeth at  Theology Is A Verb  during the rest of each week.   You will enjoy your visit.  Here is my contribution: There Would Have Been No Need of Christ Coming to Earth (Originally posted January 27, 2015) (Image source: Wikimedia Commons ) “If we were naturally good and naturally progressive, there would have been no need of Christ coming to earth to make men good. Those who are well have no need of a physician. If all were right with the world, God would have stayed In His Heaven. His Presence in the crib in Bethlehem is a witness not to our progress, but to our misery. Just as Christmas is a season for exchanging gifts with friends, so Our Lord came to this poor earth of ours to exchange gifts. He said

Perpetual Adoration is the most beautiful thing you could ever think of doing. People are hungry for God. Imagine for a moment that we are living in Jesus’ time and He has invited us to visit with Him and spend some quiet time getting to know Him better. Being aware who He was, we would be humbled and honored by such an invitation. (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons ) The good news is that Jesus is here with us TODAY - Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity - in the Holy Eucharist. Although Jesus comes to us under the appearance of bread and wine, His Presence is as real to us NOW as He was flesh-and-blood-real to His disciples when he walked this earth. He can perform miracles, heal us, teach us, and love us. We can talk to Him and He can speak to us through His Word and through the Holy Spirit who lives in us through our baptism and confirmation. (Attributed to St. Teresa of Calcutta)                                                                                      

Bringing the Mysteries of the most Holy Rosary to Life Let me be frank. Dan Burke and Connie Rossini are fine outstanding lay Catholics whose efforts on behalf of the Lord they serve have touched the hearts of countless souls seeking a closer union with God. Nary a day passes without my being enriched by the wisdom and insight they share at spiritualdirection.com    and at authenticcontemplativeprayer. But I am upset with both of them! Why you ask? Because I was too weak to stand my ground, to honor the promise I made not to buy another book this year! It is THEIR fault that I was unfaithful to that promise and succumbed once again to that “buy with one click” button on Amazon. Had they not written The Contemplative   Rosary with St. John Paul II and St. Teresa of   Avila , I would have been successful in fulfilling my promise. They should have known that this rosary loving Lay Dominican, who never leaves home without his beads, would rush to get a copy. It’s unfair th

(Image source: Wikimedia Commons )  Should we be concerned about the salvation of our souls and the souls of those we know and love? Hopefully, after liste ning  here , you will know the correct answer. 

Thank you Allison Gingras and Elizabeth Riordan for another opportunity to re-publish our favorite posts on Worth Revisiting . Go there now (and every Wednesday) and be nourished spiritually. Be sure to v isit Allison at   Reconciled To You and Elizabeth at Theology Is A Verb during the rest of each week.   You will enjoy your visit.  If nothing else, I can be persistent. Every Christmas since 2014, I have urged all those who see this post and agree with its content to ask their pastors to include it as an insert in their Christmas bulletins. Nothing much has changed over the years. Few have accepted the invitation. This prompts me to paraphrase my Father Dominic's nightly plea: What will become of those lost souls whose ears are not permitted to hear and their eyes not allowed to see this essential, loving and truthful message? Do we even care? Who Will Step Up This Christmas and Speak the Truth in Love? (Originally posted 12/9/14) [This is one

(Image Source: Wikimedia Commons ) "How sweet is the moment in which poor humanity, wearied and afflicted, may remain alone, with Jesus alone, in the Sacrament of Love; for there the Lord, with His flaming heart open, calls unto all, 'You that are burdened and heavy laden, come unto Me and I will refresh you.' Happy are those hearts that know how to satisfy the unquenchable hunger and thirst in this heavenly banquet!"  Father M.J. Corcoran, O.S.A.

Have you promised God that you would "fit Him" in that busy schedule of yours, but have not been successful in doing so? Perhaps you have not yet seen the value in making time for spiritual reading in your daily life. Are you among those who have approached spiritual reading as being worse than going to a dentist? It is time to end your spiritual malnutrition! Read these faith-enriching quotations - one soul-stirring morsel at a time! Get your copy here. But don't stop there. Take a gander at the three earlier volumes of Pondering Tidbits of Truth - treasure troves of meditative material for the coming year. All available at Amazon.com