Pondering Tidbits of Truth - January 30, 2020

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.

Archbishop Luis M. Martinez

"For worldly people, the will of God is often a tragic hardship; for imperfect souls, it is a motive for resignation; for saints, it is Heaven. Why so many diverse effects from one thing? Simply because each soul receives the will of God according to its relations with the Holy Spirit."

(From True Devotion to the Holy Spirit)

Robert Cardinal  Sarah

"It is time for the faith to become for Christians their most intimate, most precious treasure. Think of all the martyrs who died for the purity of their faith at the time of the Arian crisis: because they professed that the Son is not only similar to the Father but of one substance with him; how many bishops, priests, monks, and simple believers suffered torture and death! What is at stake is our relationship with God, not just some theological quarrels. You can gauge by our apathy regarding doctrinal deviations the lukewarmness that has set in among us. It is not uncommon to see serious errors being taught in the Catholic universities or in officially Christian publications. No one reacts! We bishops content ourselves with prudent, fearful clarifications. Beware, one day the faithful will demand an accounting of us. They will accuse us before God of having handed them over to the wolves, of having deserted our post as pastor defending the sheepfold. I am not calling here for a reinstatement of the Inquisition! My cry is a cry of love! Our faith affects our love for God. To defend the faith is to defend the weakest, the simplest, and to help them love God in truth.

Dear brother bishops, priests, and all you baptized persons: we must burn with love for our faith. We must not tarnish it or dilute it in worldly compromises. We must not falsify or corrupt it. It is a mater of the salvation of souls: ours and those of our brethren! 'The day when you no longer burn with love, others will die of cold,' Francois Mauriac wrote. The day when we no longer burn with love for our faith, the world would die of cold, deprived of the most precious good. It is up to us to defend and proclaim the faith!"

(From The Day Is Now Far Spent) 

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI 

 

"God has done everything; He has done the impossible: He was made flesh. His all-powerful love has accomplished something which surpasses all human understanding: the Infinite has become a child, has entered the human family. And yet, this same God cannot enter my heart unless I open the door to Him." 

(From  Christmas Message 2012)