Harvesting The Fruits of Contemplation

Happy Thanksgiving! 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 . Venerable Fulton J. Sheen "When you fail to measure up to your Christian privilege, be not discouraged for discouragement is a form of pride. The reason you are sad is because you looked to yourself and not to God; to your failings not to His love. You will shake off your faults more readily when you love God than when you criticize yourself. You have always the right to love Him in your heart even though you do not love Him in your acts. God is biased in your favor. God is more lenient than you because he is perfectly good and therefore loves you more. Be bold enough then to believe that God is on your side, even when you forget to be on His." (From Remade for Happiness: Achieving Life's Purpose through Spiritual Transformation )

T hank you 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 .     Flock to Him  (Originally posted on January 22, 2018) Scripture reports many instances where people flocked to Jesus like metal to a magnet. One example is set forth in the Gospel of Luke (6:12-19).  Everyone in the crowd,” the evangelist tells us, “sought to touch Jesus because power came forth from Him and healed them all.” (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons ) Oftentimes, we muse what it might have been like if we could have been there in the crowd reaching out to touch Jesus. We ignore the fact that He is still here among us, locked as a prisoner in the tabernacles of His Churches.  Oh, that we would flock to Him there where He awaits our visits and remains just as willing to heal us. What ingratitude ...

" 'I would indeed make my adoration or visit, but I cannot come to the church during the day'. Do not let that stop you. Our Lord sees as far as your home; He listens to you from His tabernacle. He can see us from heaven; why could He not see us from the Sacred Host? Adore Him from where you are; you will make a good adoration of love, and our Lord will understand your desire. It would indeed be unfortunate if we could be in touch with Jesus Eucharistic only in His churches. The light of the sun envelops and illumines us even when we do not stand directly beneath its rays. In the same way, from His Host our Lord will find the means to send some rays of His love into your home to bring you warmth and strength. There are currents in the supernatural  order as in the natural. Do you not at times feel unexpectedly recollected and transported with love? The reason is you have come upon a beneficent ray, a current of grace. Have confidence in these currents, in these re...

(Image Source: Wikimedia Commons ) I was disappointed when I was not able to see You this morning. I have grown to treasure our morning visit, Mass and the reception of Your Sacred Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity- so nourishing, peaceful and transforming. I have noticed over the years that on those days I am unable or foolishly choose not to start my morning this way, the rest of my day is often more hectic and stressful. I marvel at Your great Love and Generosity in making Yourself so available to all of us. We certainly are not worthy of that love and attention. How joyful I felt as I drove up to Your place later that same day. I did not have a great deal of time to spend with You, but You can do so much in just a few minutes. It is nice to end my day with You, however briefly our time together may be. I began talking to You as I walked towards the Church door. As I grabbed the door handle, I was anxious to be with You. Suddenly, my peace was shattered. The door was l...

T hank you 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 .  We Are Own Worse Enemies (Originally published on November 25, 2013)   (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons ) Far too many Catholics are not well-formed in the teachings of Christ's Church. Given this tragic reality, one would expect Catholic media to only publish the work of individuals and columnists who accurately set forth the tenets of the Catholic Church.  Over the years, too many publications claiming to be "Catholic" have consistently demonstrated a preference for doing just the opposite. A most recent example of this proclivity is a column that a local Diocesean newspaper published wherein its author wrote the following: “Putting an end to the killing of unborn babies is a priority for me, and it is a priority fo...

"Every moment given Me is precious in My sight and becomes fruitful for the whole Church. It is not a question of quantity, of spending long hours in My presence when the duties of one’s state in life require something else. What I ask instead is the moment of pure adoration and of love offered to Me from a simple, childlike heart. Just as a mot her takes as much delight in a single wildflower offered by her child as in a great bouquet of flowers, so too do I take delight in the moment offered Me out of love. (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons ) Begin, then, by offering Me what you can. You will see that I will move you to add moment to moment, until you are giving Me all the time of adoration and of love that I desire from you. Too many souls are discouraged when they attempt to pray. They think, wrongly, that unless they undertake much, they should undertake nothing. And so they abandon prayer and leave Me alone, leave Me waiting for their little moment of ...

It is really as simple as this... (Photo©Father Lawrence Lew, O.P. Used with permission.) "Give  me a priest who is in love with the Eucharist, and I will show you young men and women who will be in love with the Eucharist. In fact, there is probably no greater mission a Catholic priest could have than to spend that one hour with their youth before spending one hour with the Lord. We are starving for it." (Shaun Kenney, Boring Catechesis Produces Boring Catholics, published in November 14, 2019 issue of The Wanderer )

Just Eat The Pork Under Protest!  (Originally posted on June 30, 2013) (Image source: Wikimedia Commons ) One of my favorite characters in the Old Testament (2 Maccabees 6:18-31) is Eleazar, a ninety year old Jewish scribe, a “teacher of the Law.” He was ordered to eat pork in violation of the Mosaic Law or be killed. He preferred death rather than offend God.

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. Vincent de Paul "Let each of us accept the truth of the following statement and try to make it our most fundamental principle: Christ's teaching will never let us down, while worldly wisdom always will. Christ Himself said that this sort of wisdom was like a house with nothing but sand as its foundation, while His own was like a building with solid rock as its foundation." (From Vincent de Paul and Louise de Marillac: Rules, Conferences, and Writings ) St. Anthony Mary Claret "A son of the Immaculate Heart of Mary is a man on fire with love, who spreads its flames wherever he goes. He desires mightily and strives by all means possible to set everyone on fire with God’s love. Nothing daunts him: he delights in privations, welcomes work, embraces sacrifices, smiles at slander...