Pondering Tidbits of Truth - May 12, 2022

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 Louis of Granada, O.P.

“Covetousness is an inordinate desire for riches…When you are assailed by this vice arm yourself with the following considerations: Remember that our Lord and Savior, at His coming into this world, disdained to possess riches which are the object of your desires. On the contrary, He so loved poverty that He chose for His mother not a rich and powerful queen, but a poor and humble Virgin. He willed to be born not in a palace, but in a bleak stable, the manger of which, covered with a little straw, was His only couch.

During His life upon earth, He never ceased to manifest His love with poverty and His contempt for riches. For His Apostles he chose not the princes of great houses, but poor and ignorant fisherman. What greater presumption can there be than that of a base worm coveting riches, when the Creator of the universe became so poor for love of him!”

(From The Sinner’s Guide)

 

Venerable Bruno Lanteri

“As you walk out the door toward the car, as you sit down to begin your study, as you walk across the parking lot to the church, as you put on the apron…simply lift your spiritual gaze to Jesus, clothing yourself in His spirit and uniting yourself to His will. This adds no time to the activity, but it changes everything.”

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

 

Dan Burke

"When in desolation don't change commitments made while in consolation…

Why is that? Well, when we are in consolation, the voice of the good spirit - how we can hear and understand these positive inspirations - is very clear. Said another way, in consolation the voice or inspiration of good spirit is louder and clearer. So, in consolation, it is more likely that we will make good decisions as we seek to respond to God's leading

In contrast, when we are in desolation the voice or inspiration of the good spirit is hard to hear and understand. This is something similar to what happens when we were hiking in the woods and fog sets in and we are visually separated from a companion. We can call out and they can call back but their voice is so faint that we can't hear them clearly enough to figure out where they are and where we need to go to find them. We must wait until the fog lifts and we can better interpret the terrain and better decipher how we should proceed to clarity. At that point, we shout out to our lost friend, ‘Don't move! the sun is coming up. Let's wait until the fog lifts'.”

(From Spiritual Warfare and the Discernment of Spirits)