Harvesting The Fruits of Contemplation

(Image Source: Hands At Mass ) "Don't take the Eucharist for granted. The Lord is present among us, dwelling in every tabernacle. If we would only take the time to contemplate this mystery, our spiritual lives would be transformed!" Father Patrick Mary Briscoe, O.P.  

   

"Devotion to the Sacred Heart should bring us to a life of intimate union with Jesus who, we know, is truly present and living in the Eucharist. The two devotions — to the Sacred Heart and to the Eucharist — are closely connected. They call upon one another and, we may even say, they require one another. The Sacred Heart explains the mystery of the love of Jesus by which He becomes bread in order to nourish us with His substance, while in the Eucharist we have the real presence of this same Heart, living in our midst. It is wonderful to contemplate Jesus as the symbol of His infinite love, but it is even more wonderful to find Him always near us in the Sacrament of the altar. The Sacred Heart which we honor is not a dead person's heart which no longer palpitates, so that we have only the memory of him, but it is the Heart of a living Person, of One who lives eternally. He lives not only in heaven where His sacred humanity dwells in glory, but He lives also on earth wherever th

(Image Source: Wikimedia Commons ) I will continue to share this post so long as the issues it discusses continue to be ignored. There can be no authentic Eucharistic Revival until we reestablish the sense of the Sacred in our Churches. Few people warm up to lepers or prophets. That is most unfortunate. In Jesus’ time, lepers were shunned. Rarely would they show themselves in public and when they did so they kept their distance from the rest of the community – warning those nearby of their diseased presence by their voices and/or by ringing bells. What great courage and faith it took for them to seek Jesus out. They knew He was the source of mercy, forgiveness, healing and eternal life. They begged Him to have mercy on them and cleanse them physically. Jesus, defying the norms of His day, not only approached them, He touched and healed them. Unfortunately, true to human nature, not all of those cured expressed their thanksgiving and gratitude for the opportunity at

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. Faustina Kowalska "All grace flows from mercy, and the last hour abounds with mercy for us. Let no one doubt concerning the goodness of God; even if a person's sins were as dark as night, God's mercy is stronger than our misery. One thing alone is necessary, that the sinner set ajar the door of his heart, be it ever so little, to let in a ray of God's merciful Grace, and then God will do the rest." (From Diary of St. Maria Faustina Kowalska - Divine Mercy in My Soul ) Father Patrick Mary Briscoe, O.P. "The Church’s invitation to join the Eucharistic Revival isn’t just another program. It’s a plea for each and every disciple’s heart to be re-ignited with a greater love for Christ in the Eucharist. Renewed love for the Eucharist will transform our lives and the very shape of the Church in our country.&quo

“While no one suggests that Christ is more present in the exposed sacrament than in the tabernacle, this physical visibility can be a powerful aid in learning to be attentive to the Lord in prayer . . .exposition of the Blessed Sacrament is an extension of the Mass. It prolongs the Mass. . . (and is) a means to drawing the adorer into a deeper life of prayer, a more intimate relationship with Christ.”  (Father Gabriel O’Donnell, O.P.)

 

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 Fulton J. Sheen “The man who thinks only of himself says only prayers of petition; he who thinks of his neighbor says prayers of intercession; he who thinks only of loving and serving God, says prayers of abandonment to God’s will, and this is the prayer of the saints.”   (From Lenten Mediations With Fulton J. Sheen ) St. Teresa of Avila “Do not suppose that after advancing the soul to such a state God abandons it so easily that it is light work for the devil to regain it. When His Majesty sees it leaving Him, He feels the loss so keenly that He gives it in many a way a thousand secret warnings which reveal to it the hidden danger. In conclusion, let us strive to make constant progress: we ought to feel great alarm if we do not find ourselves advancing, for without doubt the evil one must be planning to injure us in some way; it is i

All of us walking the face of this earth have become discouraged, even sometimes overwhelmed by the many challenges life throws at us. For some souls, this is just an occasional battle. For far too many of us, this is an on-going and debilitating one – especially if we do not realize we are embroiled in spiritual combat every day of our lives. It is nearly impossible to serve God and others when discouragement has taken root in our souls. Discouragement – spiritual discouragement - never originates with God. It is the Evil one who plants the seed, encourages its growth and seeks to destroy souls through it. His sole intent is to prevent us from doing God’s will in our lives. Few of us are well equipped to defeat this scoundrel! Overcoming Spiritual Discouragement – The Wisdom and Spiritual Power of Venerable Bruno Lanteri by Father Timothy Gallagher, O.M.V. will give you the insight and tools needed to fend off the demon’s unending attacks. It is with great gratitude that I than

(Image Source: Hands at Mass) "Dear Eucharistic soul: In that hour [of the Last Supper] Jesus thought of you. Have no doubt about it. He thought of you in particular, and had you before His eyes. He understood that, without that small, white, consecrated wafer, which you adore and which you receive every morning, you would feel lonely, very lonely, in your exile here below. He knew that your heart would hunger and thirst for love and be the prey of unmitigated nostalgia for heaven. He knew that on the road through life you would find many a cause for grief and, behind a smiling appearance, would have to conceal many a galling sorrow.  And for your sake, dear soul, lest you be orphaned and without a loyal friend in whose understanding heart you might pour out the overflowing bitterness of your heart, Jesus overlooked all those sacrileges, profanations and ingratitudes and, in that night, instituted the Eucharist for you—understand this well!—just for you. And for your sake He has r

[I first shared this post nearly ten years ago. It seems like a good time to take another look.] I was prompted a few weeks back to go through and empty out my desk drawer. It had been far too long since I had de-cluttered it. I had forgotten the hidden treasures it contained. Then I saw them – about 15 of them. Suddenly, I realized how long it had been since I last went to prison.    Odd, isn’t it. The one place I visited where I was always immensely blessed is filled with men and women whom the majority of us would never voluntarily choose to have anything to do with - no matter that our Faith teaches that all of us, including the greatest sinners among us, were created in the image and likeness of God and that each of us, without exception, by and through the unearned and undeserved grace of Almighty God, can, despite what we might have done in the past,   become new creations in Him who made us. Every one of us – no exceptions! We must, of course, humble ourselves, acknowledge ou