Worth Revisiting - Do You Have Any Marks of the Cross?

Thank you, Allison Gingras at Reconciled To You  and Elizabeth Riordan at Theology Is A Verb for  hosting Catholic bloggers at Worth Revisiting.

It is a privilege for us to share our work with you and your readers each week. Stop by for a visit now. Here is my contribution:

 

Eucharistic Reflection - Do You Have Any Marks of the Cross? 

 (Originally posted February 6, 2018)

“I can remember when, after four months in the hospital, I began to recover: I was reading Mass on an altar constructed over the bed before a few priests and friends. I spontaneously gave a sermon, which I remember so well.

I said that I was glad that I had open-heart surgery, because when the Lord comes to take us all, He will look to see if we have any marks of the Cross upon ourselves. He will look at our hands to see if they are crucified from sacrificial giving; He will look at our feet to see if they have been thorn-bruised and nail-pierced searching for lost sheep; He will look at our heart to see if that has been opened to receive His Divine Heart.

Oh what joy is mine just to have endured the minuscule imitation of His suffering on the Cross by having a wounded side. Maybe He will recognize me from that scar and receive me into His Kingdom."

(Venerable Fulton J Sheen – Treasure in Clay)

Eucharistic Reflection - Nothing Could Be Further From The Truth

(Image Source: Wikimedia Commons)

"I think that there may be some people for whom Adoration may be considered a salutary devotion, but still on the periphery of Church life. I fear there may even be priests for whom things like Holy Hours and extended periods of Eucharistic Adoration are nothing more than quaint relics of a past piety or something which ought to take second place to the pursuit of social justice and the search to find the face of Jesus in the poor. Nothing, however, could be further from the truth!"

Bishop Edward J. Slattery

It's Enough To Make God and A Grown Man Cry

What if you had given everything you had (including your life) in order that others might live but only a handful of those for whom you died seemed to care? What if you returned ready to comfort, strengthen and sustain them through life’s daily challenges and struggles, but only a small number acknowledged your presence among them and even fewer spent time with you or sought your aid? What if the majority of people totally ignored you and acted as if you were not even there?

If you or I were treated this way, we would cry. Jesus, the King of King and Lords of Lords, is treated that way day after day by many who claim to be Catholic. Yet, so great is His love for us that He chooses to remain locked in the tabernacles of His churches, every day, waiting for us to acknowledge His presence among us, to visit and speak to Him, and to ask for His help.

He too must have recently cried. I’ll tell you why.

(Image Source: Wikimedia Commons)

A man entered a Catholic church a few days ago to spend some quiet time in the soothing loving presence of His Lord. He was the only one there. He kneeled and prayerfully pleaded with Him to protect and heal his granddaughter and return peace to her young but troubled heart. The silence, solitude and flickering candles brought peace to his heart as this man gazed upon his imprisoned Lord.

This consoling silence was short-lived, however, as one parent after another arrived to pick up their elementary school age children from religious education class. It was not too long before this quiet and sacred place was filled with the din of loud adult voices discussing the burning issues of parenthood, politics and current economic challenges - no matter that their Lord was just a few feet in front of them; no matter the presence of a man obviously attempting to pray.

Pondering Tidbits of Truth - April 19, 2018

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

“The  excessive multiplication of vocal prayers (even aside from time of mental prayer) can likewise impede growth. There are people who get into a set habit of adding litany upon litany, devotion upon devotion, to the point where they leave little or no time for God to give what He wants to give. They do not understand contemplation, and they think that unless they are vocalizing, they are not praying.” 

(From Fire Within)

Worth Revisiting - Feeling Incomplete?

Thank you, Allison Gingras at Reconciled To You  and Elizabeth Riordan at Theology Is A Verb for  hosting Catholic bloggers at Worth Revisiting.

It is a privilege for us to share our work with you and your readers each week. Stop by for a visit now.

 

Monday Musings - Feeling Incomplete?

(Originally published on March 12, 2018)

“I feel so incomplete,” the Pastor announced at the end of Mass.

The parish we had visited during a recent trip (not the one depicted below) had been holding Stations of the Cross during Lent in their newly constructed Church even though the physical Stations of the Cross had not yet arrived or been mounted on the Church walls.

“The Stations are coming,” Father assured his congregation. “We won’t be looking at empty walls much longer.”

I understood that sentiment and how having the physical Stations would enhance that prayerful devotion.

But…

Eucharistic Reflection - Be Convinced

(Image Source: Wikimedia Commons)

"Be convinced that the Lord is waiting for you to open your hearts to him in prayer. He wants to meet you personally and to enter into a dialogue with you. This conviction will fill you with an urgent desire to seek periods of silence in your daily life where you have the space to be drawn into union with God in prayer.

In this regard I should like to commend to you the practice of Eucharistic Adoration...Adoration draws us away from external distractions into a growing communion with Jesus present in the Blessed Sacrament. Encourage your friends to join in this practice."

Archbishop Antonio Mennini