Harvesting The Fruits of Contemplation

  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.       David Torkington  “ ‘Prayer’, he [Cardinal Hume] said, ‘is trying to raise the heart and mind to God.’… The quality of our prayer is ultimately determined by the quality of our endeavor. It was for this reason that the great Mystic and mother Saint Angela of Foligno said that prayer is the School of Divine Love. In other words, it is the place where we learn how to love God by trying daily to raise our hearts and minds to him. I intend to introduce you to the different means and methods that tradition is given us to help us keep trying to turn and open our minds and hearts to God in this book but first let me say this. There are no perfect means to help us keep trying to raise the heart and mind to God, just different means. What helps you at the beginning, may not help you later. What helps you in the morning...

I love the melody of the Eucharistic Prayer when Father chants it at Mass. On the way to Church last Thursday, I chanted that melody aloud but used words that came to mind and not those in the prayer. I sang from the moment I pulled out of my driveway until I arrived. I praised and worshiped God. It was a blessed time. I thanked Him for such an undeserved gift and prayed that I might appreciate Holy Communion more today than I have ever had in the past. As has been my practice as of late, as I approached the altar, I recited the words of a prayer one of my Lay Dominican sisters had shared with me: “ MY GOD! If I am to die today, or suddenly at any time, I wish to receive this Communion as my Viaticum..." After receiving the Sacred Body and Blood, I returned to my pew, thanking God for this most magnificent Gift. I stayed a few minutes after Mass to continue my prayer of gratitude. I left Church, got into my car, and began the short drive home. I had driven about a m...