Pondering Tidbits of Truth - January 28, 2021

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.

 

 

 

Dr. Peter Kwasniewski

"At this time in history, with news crashing on upon us from every side - mostly bad news, and some of it frankly scandalous in the extreme, as it reveals the callous complicity with, approbation of, and dedication to evil on the part of many in the hierarchy of the Church, who were supposed to be our guides to holiness and our models of it - nothing could be better than for us to go regularly before the Lord in Adoration. Fair weather or foul, super-busy or at loose ends, it doesn't matter; this is what we should be doing for our Church, for our clergy, for ourselves. This is what Our Lord is waiting for: a sign from us, an unmistakable sign, that we love Him for His own sake, and above all things on earth. When enough of us are taking real steps to love Him in exactly this way - with our whole mind, our whole heart, our whole soul, and our whole strength - we may then count on a new flood of graces inundating the Church."

(From The Holy Bread of Eternal Life - Restoring Eucharistic Reverence in an Age of Impiety) 

 

 Father Jean-Pierre de Caussade, S.J.

"I proclaim it openly so that everyone may know that sanctification consists of enduring moment by moment all the trials and tribulations it [Divine providence] brings, as though they were clouds behind which God lay concealed."

(From The Sacrament of the Present Moment)

 

Venerable Bruno Lanteri

" 'Let us fix our gaze of faith on the Crucifix'. Do you have a Crucifix at hand? On your wall? Do you ever 'fix your gaze' on it? Place a crucifix where you can see it. Frequently, and especially in times of suffering, fix your gaze of faith on the Crucifix. There you will see every kind of bodily pain - head, face, back, feet, hands - and every kind of emotional pain - isolation, abandonment, betrayal, unjust condemnation, ingratitude. Where you are, He has been. He understands. He shares your pain with you. 'Let us then accept from His hand every occasion of suffering and of practicing virtue'."

(From Overcoming Spiritual Discouragement - The Wisdom and Spiritual Power of Venerable Bruno Lanteri)

 

 

Eucharistic Reflection - Bask In The Sun of God's Love

I ran across the following reflection of Father Willie Doyle, S.J. which Dr. Peter Kwasniewski included in his new and powerful book, The Holy Bread of Eternal Life - Restoring Eucharistic Reverence in an Age of Impiety. This is a book that belongs in the hands and hearts of everyone claiming to be Catholic: 

Photo©Michael Seagriff

"Try basking in the sun of God's love, that is, quietly kneeling before the tabernacle. as you would sit enjoying the warm sunshine, not trying to do anything, except love Him; but realizing that, during all the time you are at His feet, more especially when dry and cold, grace is dropping down upon your soul and you are growing fast in holiness.

I think the best of all prayers is just to kneel quietly and let Jesus pour Himself into your soul."

(From To Raise The Fallen: A Selection of The War Letters, Prayers and Spiritual Writings of Fr. Willie Doyle, S.J.)

Monday Musings - Some Have Betrayed Him!

A timely and challenging reflection for our times:

Photo©Michael Seagriff

"How is He [my Son] betrayed? His priests, my own sons, betray Him when they fail to make Him known, when by not teaching the mystery of His real presence they leave souls in the darkness of ignorance, without fire or light. They betray my Son when, by their example, they discourage reverence and adoration, and a loving attention to His presence. They betray Him when they offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass unworthily, and when they hand Him over to sinners who have no intention of giving Him their hearts and seeking His mercy and His pardon for their sins. They betray Him when they leave Him alone in locked churches and when they make it difficult or impossible for souls to approach His tabernacles and rest in the radiance of His Eucharistic Face. They betray Him when they allow His churches to become places of noise and worldly chatter, and when they do nothing to recall souls to the living mystery of His love, that is, His presence in the tabernacle."

(From In Sinu Jesu: When Heart Speaks to Heart - The Journal of a Priest at Prayer)

Let us never stop praying for our priests!

Eucharistic Reflection - Upon Receiving Our Lord In Holy Communion

The following excerpt is from an article entitled St. Thomas More on the Reception of Holy Communion, written by Father David Friel and which was published on February 18, 2018 on Corpus Christi Watershed. 

I thought More's reflection and exhortation were well worth sharing:

 

(Image Source: Wikimedia Commons)

OW, WHEN WE HAVE RECEIVED our Lord and have Him inside our body, let us not then leave Him alone as we get involved in other things, forgetting to look to Him anymore. For anyone who would serve a guest in such a way would have little sense!

Instead, let all our concern be focused on Him. Let us by devout prayer talk to Him, by devout meditation talk with Him. Let us say with the prophet: “I will hear what our Lord will speak within me” (Ps 85:9). If we set aside all other things and attend to Him, He will not fail to inspire us, to speak to us such things within us that will lead to the great spiritual comfort and profit of our soul. Having received the Blessed Sacrament, we have a special time of prayer. For He who made us, who redeemed us, whom we have offended, who will judge us, who will either damn us or save us, has because of His great goodness become our guest. He is personally present within us—and He has done that for no other purpose but to be sought for pardon so that He can save us.

Let us not lose this time, therefore, nor allow this occasion to slip by. For we can hardly tell whether we will ever get in to church again or not.

(St. Thomas More, Treatise: To Receive the Blessed Body of Our Lord)

 

Monday Musings - God's Mercy

(Image Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Lord, I do not recall the exact day or date when You showered Your mercy upon me. I was not particularly close to You at the time. But I do remember the place - my former parish while I was sitting in a pew in front of Your tabernacle - complaining to You about the suffering You had asked my dying Mom to endure.

In Your infinite wisdom and love, You used my mother's suffering and subsequent death for her eternal benefit and to draw me closer to You.

I recall sitting in the pew and thinking about my life up to that point in time. You allowed me to see the many times I was on the brink of falling into hell for all eternity. That day, You let me appreciate  how much You loved me by showing me how often You had withheld Your hand of Justice and extended Your hand of mercy!

I believe You when you told St. Faustina that You would extend Your mercy, even to the most wretched of sinners, who seek it prior to death with just a repenting glance. 

How many Chaplets of Divine Mercy I have offered over the ensuing years for the salvation of so many souls. 

From this moment forward Lord, let me quick to love, to forgive and to be merciful to all whom I encounter - especially those closest to me whom I have so frequently disappointed - since those are the undeserved gifts I have so often received from You.

Pondering Tidbits of Truth - January 14, 2021

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 Ferrer, O.P.

"The seven dispositions with relation to our Lord in which you should exercise yourself are as follows: Love Him with most ardent love; Fear Him above all things; Render Him the honor and respect which are His due; Have a most constant zeal in His service; in addition to which, Thank and praise Him; Obey promptly and perfectly His commands; and Relish the divine sweetness as keenly as possible."

(From A Treatise On The Spiritual Life) 

 

Venerable Bruno Lanteri

"Anxieties, temptations, aridity, heaviness of heart, tribulations, injuries, unpleasant situations, offenses, ingratitude, crosses, matters which do not go well, and sorrows of various kinds:  I will expect all these, even from those I love and whom I have helped. But I will never consider them as evil nor will I regard their origin in men, but rather in God. I know that nothing can take place against the will of God. I know that this is way He Himself followed here on earth and through which He led the saints closest to Him, even His very Mother, so as to glorify her correspondingly in heaven. 

And so I will consider these as favors and opportunities that He gives me, so that I will need to ask for His help, so that I will know my weakness, and do penance for my sins. I will try to accept them, confident that this is the road He has laid out for me, that all is ordered for my good, and that my part is to seek to benefit from these situations."

(From Overcoming Spiritual Discouragement - The Wisdom and Spiritual Power of Venerable Bruno Lanteri)

 

Robert Cardinal Sarah

"For my part, I know that all the great moments of my day are found in the incomparable hours that I spend on my knees in the darkness before the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. I am, so to speak, swallowed up in God and surrounded on all sides by His presence. I would like to belong now to God alone and to plunge into the purity of His love. And yet, I can tell how poor I am, how far from loving the Lord as He loved me to the point of giving Himself up for me ."

(From The Power of Silence)