Pondering Tidbits of Truth - September 26, 2019
 |
(Photo©Michael Seagriff)
|
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
Cardinal Robert Sarah
“I wish to underline a very important fact here: God, not man is at the
center of Catholic liturgy. We come to worship Him. The liturgy is not about
you and me; it is not where we celebrate our own identity or achievements or
exalt or promote our own culture and local religious customs. The liturgy is first
and foremost about God and what He has done for us.”
(Presentation to Sacra Liturgia Conference)
Worth Revisiting - Jesus The Beggar
Thank you once again, Allison Gingras at Reconciled To You and Elizabeth Riordan at Theology Is A Verb for hosting Worth Revisiting each week. It is a privilege to share our work with you and your followers.
The late Father Winfrid Herbst, S.D.S. is a treasure you must discover:
Jesus The Beggar
(Originally posted November 4, 2012)
“Jesus loves poverty with a very special love – so much so, indeed, that, because He could not find it in heaven, He came down and sought it here on earth.
He took nothing along with Him from heaven. The tiny bit of glory that He gets on earth is the free gift of the few generous hearts that are trying to show how much they love Him. He is at His lovers’ mercy! Were merely a little wafer of bread denied Him, He could not remain in our midst on earth – He, the Lord of the Universe!...
Jesus begs. I wonder for what?
He [Jesus] begs for one little word of kindly considerate greeting when I pass by a church… for a short ejaculatory prayer from time to time…for at least one loving aspiration when the bells ring out from the church towers…for a thought, one only thought, when I am alone. A word surely…at least a word I would not even refuse the most despicable criminal. But for Jesus?...Have I a word for Jesus?...How many?
He begs for a little company. For hours and hours he is all, all alone. Oh, what a longing – one that is well-night a necessity – he has for my presence! It would cost me so very little to give Him a few minutes every day; and still, rather than pay him a brief visit, I yawn and try to while away the weary hours. Rather than sit at His blessed feet, I would quite tire myself out in searching after the pleasures of the world and its miserable distractions!”
Jesus begs for a little love.
Contemplate Him, O my soul!...Not far from Him there stands another; also he would have something of you...it is Satan!"
Jesus begs for a little love.
Contemplate Him, O my soul!...Not far from Him there stands another; also he would have something of you...it is Satan!"
(Eucharistic Whisperings, Father Winfrid Herbst, S.D.S.)
Eucharistic Reflection - Be Children In The Arms Of Love
 |
| (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons) |
"By our prayer we share the life of God. True prayer demands that we be more passive than active; it requires more silence than words, more adoration than study, more concentration than rushing about, more faith than reason. The highest state of prayer is to be children in the arms of Love: silent, loving, rejoicing."
Carlo Carrett
Monday Musings - Kneeling
(Excerpted from the column entitled The Privilege of Kneeling published in the August 21, 2019 issue of The Wanderer)
Worth Revisiting - Put God First - Love and Console Our Lord!
Thank you once again, Allison Gingras at Reconciled To You and Elizabeth Riordan at Theology Is A Verb for hosting Worth Revisiting each week. It is a privilege to share our work with you and your followers.
More from In Sinu Jesu: (Originally published June 7, 2012)
The Eucharist must be the source and center of our lives. If we and our priests prefer Him over all others and all things, He will transform us and our world - one heart at a time. We can never share this Truth enough!
Please spend time mining this spiritual treasure from Father Mark at Vultus Christi and then share it with all whom you love, especially your priests!
Put Nothing Before My Love for You
You have only to prefer My company
to every other companionship,
the love of My Heart to the love of every other heart,
and the sound of My voice in the silence of your soul
to every other voice.
I have called you to be for Me another John
and this vocation of yours remains My plan for you.
You have only to abide close to Me,
to seek Me before all else,
and to put nothing whatsoever
before My love for you
and the love I have placed in your heart
to love Me in return.
Love Me in this way
not only for yourself,
but for all your brother priests
whose hearts have grown indifferent and cold.
Love Me for them.
Take their place before My Eucharistic Face.
Persevere in loving Me and in adoring Me
for those poor priests of Mine
who no longer love Me
and who never adore Me.
They are many
and the sorrow of My Heart over such priests
is a sorrow that no human language can describe,
for it is a divine sorrow;
it is the grieving of a Divine Heart.
It is the pain of an infinite Love rejected again and again
by finite creatures who have become blind
in a terrible darkness of the spirit.
Love Me, then, and console My Heart
by adoring Me for them.
When I see you before Me,
I will see them,
and in seeing them,
I will be moved to show them pity,
and many of those who are far from Me
will return to My tabernacles;
and many of those who have spurned My Divine Friendship
will, in the end, surrender to the embrace of My mercy.
Do your part,
and I will fulfil all that I have promised.
to every other companionship,
the love of My Heart to the love of every other heart,
and the sound of My voice in the silence of your soul
to every other voice.
I have called you to be for Me another John
and this vocation of yours remains My plan for you.
You have only to abide close to Me,
to seek Me before all else,
and to put nothing whatsoever
before My love for you
and the love I have placed in your heart
to love Me in return.
Love Me in this way
not only for yourself,
but for all your brother priests
whose hearts have grown indifferent and cold.
Love Me for them.
Take their place before My Eucharistic Face.
Persevere in loving Me and in adoring Me
for those poor priests of Mine
who no longer love Me
and who never adore Me.
They are many
and the sorrow of My Heart over such priests
is a sorrow that no human language can describe,
for it is a divine sorrow;
it is the grieving of a Divine Heart.
It is the pain of an infinite Love rejected again and again
by finite creatures who have become blind
in a terrible darkness of the spirit.
Love Me, then, and console My Heart
by adoring Me for them.
When I see you before Me,
I will see them,
and in seeing them,
I will be moved to show them pity,
and many of those who are far from Me
will return to My tabernacles;
and many of those who have spurned My Divine Friendship
will, in the end, surrender to the embrace of My mercy.
Do your part,
and I will fulfil all that I have promised.
There is no need to force your prayer
as if it were something of your own doing.
It is enough to remain with Me,
content to be in My presence
as I am content to be in yours.
as if it were something of your own doing.
It is enough to remain with Me,
content to be in My presence
as I am content to be in yours.
Adore Me and trust Me to restore your energy,
your health, and your joy in My service.
Those who adore Me know that My presence
renews the soul and the body.
Experience this -- as you already did today --
and teach others to find in My presence
the rest for which they long,
the peace that the world cannot give,
the joy that renews the heart,
and the strength to follow Me in My sufferings,
even along the way of the Cross.
your health, and your joy in My service.
Those who adore Me know that My presence
renews the soul and the body.
Experience this -- as you already did today --
and teach others to find in My presence
the rest for which they long,
the peace that the world cannot give,
the joy that renews the heart,
and the strength to follow Me in My sufferings,
even along the way of the Cross.
To adore Me is to demonstrate
that all your hope is in Me.
To adore Me is to show Me
that you count not on yourself nor on others,
but on Me alone.
that all your hope is in Me.
To adore Me is to show Me
that you count not on yourself nor on others,
but on Me alone.
To adore Me is to give Me the freedom to act
within you and upon you
in such a way
as to unite you wholly to myself
as you have asked Me to do:
My Heart to your heart,
My Soul to your soul,
My Body to your body,
My Blood to your blood.
within you and upon you
in such a way
as to unite you wholly to myself
as you have asked Me to do:
My Heart to your heart,
My Soul to your soul,
My Body to your body,
My Blood to your blood.
The work of adoration is little understood,
even by those who claim to be My adorers.
There is no need to fill up the time of adoration
with thoughts and words,
as if it all depended on your doing something.
even by those who claim to be My adorers.
There is no need to fill up the time of adoration
with thoughts and words,
as if it all depended on your doing something.
It is sufficient to speak to Me
as the Holy Spirit gives you to speak,
to listen to Me with the ear of your heart,
and to abide in the light of My Face
for those who languish in the darkness of sin
and in the refusal of My love, My truth, and My life.
as the Holy Spirit gives you to speak,
to listen to Me with the ear of your heart,
and to abide in the light of My Face
for those who languish in the darkness of sin
and in the refusal of My love, My truth, and My life.
Eucharistic Reflection - Staying Still In Silence
 |
| (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons) |
_-_Adoration_Chapel,_Eucharist_%26_tabernacle.jpg){kind=link}
"It is by staying still, in silence, and possibly for long periods,
before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament that we perceive what He wants
from us, put aside our own plans to make way for His, and let God’s
light gradually penetrate the heart and heal it."
Father Raniero Cantalamessa, O.F.M.
Monday Musings - What Harm Could Possibly Befall Our Parishes?
 |
| (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons) |
As we face the tragic reality that so few Catholics believe our Lord is really and substantially present in the Holy Eucharist, we must be honest in assessing the reasons why this has occurred. While there are many possible explanations, there is one common denominator: we abandoned sacred rituals and conduct for the banal - discarding that which elevated our minds and hearts to the heavenly King, for practices that center on ourselves and the mundane.
So many Catholics today either do not remember or never experienced the sacred practices of days gone by. It is important then that those practices and the reasons for them be shared anew if we are ever to re-establish belief in, awe and amazement for our Eucharistic Lord.
Actions do indeed speak louder than words:
Toward that end, let me share again the observations of columnist, James Monti:
Pondering Tidbits of Truth - September 12, 2019
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. Catherine of Siena
"To join two things together there must be nothing
between them or there cannot be a perfect fusion. Now realize that this is how
God wants our soul to be, without any selfish love of ourselves or of others in
between, just as God loves us without anything in between."
(From The Letters of St. Catherine)
Worth Revisiting - Will They Hear?
Thank you once again, Allison Gingras at Reconciled To You and Elizabeth Riordan at Theology Is A Verb for hosting Worth Revisiting each week. It is a privilege to share our work with you and your followers.
Sometimes, one priest must have the courage to challenge some of his brother priests by writing frankly and truthfully. This is the time. Thank you Father Mark for doing so.
This is what I wanted to share this week:
Will They Hear?
(Originally posted on October 31, 2011)
Nothing so grieves my Heart
as the coldness and indifference of priests and of consecrated souls
to my living presence among them.
Had they not the privilege
of my abiding sacramental presence close at hand,
they might be excused for the hardness of their hearts,
but those who have me near,
those who dwell close to my tabernacles
have no excuse for the estrangement of their souls
from the Sacrament of my Love.
On the Day of Judgment I will hold them accountable
for the neglect and indifference
by which they alienated themselves from me,
while I, the living God,
the God who is love,
the God who is all mercy
and who sought their friendship and their company
waited for them,
and waited in vain.
as the coldness and indifference of priests and of consecrated souls
to my living presence among them.
Had they not the privilege
of my abiding sacramental presence close at hand,
they might be excused for the hardness of their hearts,
but those who have me near,
those who dwell close to my tabernacles
have no excuse for the estrangement of their souls
from the Sacrament of my Love.
On the Day of Judgment I will hold them accountable
for the neglect and indifference
by which they alienated themselves from me,
while I, the living God,
the God who is love,
the God who is all mercy
and who sought their friendship and their company
waited for them,
and waited in vain.
Even you, O my priests,
my adorers, my chosen friends, consolers of my Heart,
disappoint me when,
although I wait for you
and although it is within your power to approach me,
to adore me even for a moment,
and to console me,
you pass me by
and live as though I were not here waiting for you,
yearning for your companionship,
ready to embrace you.
my adorers, my chosen friends, consolers of my Heart,
disappoint me when,
although I wait for you
and although it is within your power to approach me,
to adore me even for a moment,
and to console me,
you pass me by
and live as though I were not here waiting for you,
yearning for your companionship,
ready to embrace you.
Come to me, then,
come to me as often as you can.
Come, even if only for a moment
to allow me to refresh you,
to inflame you with my love,
to illuminate your mind,
and to pacify your soul.
Come to me and, for a moment,
remain with me
for the sake of those who walk away from me.
Come to me
for the sake of those who pass me by.
Come to me for the sake of those
whose hearts are cold
and who seek their happiness in passing things.
come to me as often as you can.
Come, even if only for a moment
to allow me to refresh you,
to inflame you with my love,
to illuminate your mind,
and to pacify your soul.
Come to me and, for a moment,
remain with me
for the sake of those who walk away from me.
Come to me
for the sake of those who pass me by.
Come to me for the sake of those
whose hearts are cold
and who seek their happiness in passing things.
Come to me, and I will welcome you.
Come to me, and I will bless you.
Come to me, and I will press you against my open Heart.
Come to me, and I will show you the beauty of my Eucharistic Face.
Come to me, and your soul shall live.
Come to me, and yours shall be the joy that the world cannot give.
Come to me, and I will place you next to myself.
Come to me, and know that I come to those who come to me,
together with my Father and the Holy Spirit.
Come to me, for I wait for you.
Come to me, and I will bless you.
Come to me, and I will press you against my open Heart.
Come to me, and I will show you the beauty of my Eucharistic Face.
Come to me, and your soul shall live.
Come to me, and yours shall be the joy that the world cannot give.
Come to me, and I will place you next to myself.
Come to me, and know that I come to those who come to me,
together with my Father and the Holy Spirit.
Come to me, for I wait for you.
(From In Sinu Iesu - When Heart Speaks to Heart the Journal of a Priest at Prayer, used with permission))
Eucharistic Reflection - We Would Not Do It, But God Does!
"Who would agree to do what our Lord does?
 |
(Photo©Michael Seagriff)
|
He institutes His Sacrament to be honored therein by man, and He is more insulted than honored; the bad Christians outnumber the good.
Our Lord is taking in only losses.
Why does He keep up this business? Who would want to run a business at a total loss?
Ah! The saints who see and understand so much love and abasement must be seized with holy anger and feel indignant at seeing us so ungrateful!
And the Father says to His Son: 'We must put a stop to this; You are getting nothing out of it. Your love is slighted; Your abasements are made nothing of. You are losing out on it; let us be done with it'.
But our Lord will not listen. He stays on, He hopes, He contents Himself with the adoration and love of a few good souls. Oh, We at least, let us not fail Him!
Does He not deserve by His abasements that we honor and love Him?"
(St. Peter Julian Eymard from The Real Presence)
Monday Musings - Belief In the Real Presence Begins With Us
 |
(Photo©Michael Seagriff)
|
Our eyes and ears will not deceive us. As you enter Church, look around; listen. Does what you do, see and hear demonstrate that those in attendance actually believe that they in the Presence of the living Christ? Is there much difference in the conduct you witness within the nave of our Churches from that you experience when in secular, fraternal, sporting and entertainment venues? Is this how you experience Mass?
THIS insulting irreverence to our loving Lord must end. We must address this issue NOW! We can no longer wait for our Bishops and priests to address this pressing issue.
Our Churches are intended to be unlike any other earthly edifice - they house the Son of God. Everyone who enters must conduct themselves in a manner befitting one who is privileged to be on holy ground and in the Presence of the Almighty God.
Let us thank God for the courageous pastors who teach this truth.
THIS insulting irreverence to our loving Lord must end. We must address this issue NOW! We can no longer wait for our Bishops and priests to address this pressing issue.
Our Churches are intended to be unlike any other earthly edifice - they house the Son of God. Everyone who enters must conduct themselves in a manner befitting one who is privileged to be on holy ground and in the Presence of the Almighty God.
Let us thank God for the courageous pastors who teach this truth.
Restoration of the sacred and belief in the Real Presence must be the number one priority of our Church. Such sacredness and belief will occur only when we lay people, supported by our priests, insist on it and model it. Today each of us must begin the effort to reclaim our Churches and to reverence and love our Lord as He deserves!
Here are simple things that each of us can do immediately! This is a list of changes you should ask your pastor to implement.
We must stir slumbering souls and quench our Lord's thirst to be loved!
We need more lepers and prophets!
There is no time to spare!
We need more lepers and prophets!
There is no time to spare!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Monday Musings - What If?
My all time favorite one sentence sermon by Father Francis Hudson, S.C.J. : What if God loved you, only as much as you loved Him? Now th...
The Fatima Chaplet of Adoration and Reparation
-
"St. Paul tells us that at Athens he found written on an altar: 'To the unknown God.' Alas, I might say the opposite to you! I ... -
Let me share a most beautiful prayer from St. Louis de Montfort: " Dearly beloved Mother, grant, if it is possible, that I m... -
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. V...