Pondering Tidbits of Truth - September 2, 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.

 

 

Venerable Bruno Lanteri

"Do you find yourself turning inward, preoccupied by your anxieties and burdened by your failings? 'Instead of turning in on yourself, lift your gaze often with peace and love to God.' Often. With peace. With love. The less you focus on your failures and the more you gaze on the Lord with peace and love, the more your heart will lift, the stronger you will become, the more joy you will find. Tell Him that 'you want to be totally His' and, with boldness, tell Him that 'it is His to make you become better'!"

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

 

Mother Mectilde of the Blessed Sacrament

"Would to God that you could fathom the extreme and terrible evil that it is to sin. Oh! Sin, sin what harm you have done to us! Alas! Who will be able to repair your ruins? Jesus Christ alone has the power, the will, and the capacity for this, and He did it in a perfect manner through His blood and through His death. It is Jesus Christ who ransomed me and gave me back the possession of my rights. He redeems every moment of my life, because after committing one [mortal] sin, we deserve not only spiritual death, but bodily death too. And if God executed justice it would destroy us irretrievably.

Therefore, I owe Jesus Christ every moment of my life, all the operations of my soul's powers, all my time, all my work, all my ability, all my thoughts, in a word, the use of my senses and all my faculties. And as many acts are for myself or for creatures, these are so many thefts I perpetrate against the blood of God's Son. All is His, we are purchased at that inestimable price, and we have no right to use or spend our life’s moments except for His love and glory. Otherwise, we make a dreadful profanation of this precious blood and render ourselves guilty of it…

If a soul understood the evil and abomination of one sin, she would have such a horror of it, that however wicked she might be, she could not bring herself to commit it. You must confess that our blindness is great and worthy of compassion."

(From The Breviary of Fire - Letters by Mother Mectilde of the Blessed Sacrament)

 

Lisa Brenninkmeyer  “The Lord is inviting you to come and gaze into His eyes of mercy. He's offering you hope for a fresh start. Oh, I pray that the eyes of your heart would be enlightened, and that the darkness of shame would be chased away. Shame keeps your eyes cast down. But God is cupping your face in His hands and calling you to look up.”  (From Be Still: A Daily Devotional)