Harvesting The Fruits of Contemplation

"And what are we to do in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament? Love Him. Praise Him. Thank Him. Ask of Him. What does a poor man do in the presence of a wealthy man?  What does a sick person do in the presence of a doctor?  What does a thirsty person do at the sight of a fountain of sparkling water?"            (St. Alphonsus Liguori from Visits to the Blessed Sacrament )

(Image Source- Josh Applegate  at Unsplash.com ) "Be a Eucharistic soul! If the center around which your thoughts and hopes turn is the Tabernacle, then my child, how abundant the fruits of sanctity and apostolate will be!" St. Josemaria Escriva from The Forge )

Pondering Tidbits of Tr uth   is my simple and inadequate way of providing nuggets of spiritual wisdom for you to chew on from time to time. St. John of the Cross "What more do you want, O soul! And what else do you search for outside, when within yourself you possess your riches, delights, satisfactions, fullness, and kingdom - your Beloved Whom you desire and seek? Be joyful and gladdened in your interior recollection with Him, for you have Him so close to you. Desire Him there, adore Him there. Do not go in pursuit of Him outside yourself. You will only become distracted and wearied thereby, and you shall not find Him, nor enjoy Him more securely, nor sooner, nor more intimately by seeking Him within you." (From The Spiritual Canticle ) Mother Julienne Morrell, O.P. “Human praises are indeed to be shunned on account of the great harm they produce. They are nothing else, in the words of St. Bernard, but a hollow whistle, a little wind in the ears, blinding and inflating the...

(Image source: Wikimedia Commons ) “The Eucharist is alive. If a stranger who knew nothing about the Eucharist were to watch the way we receive, would he know this? When you and I approach the Eucharist, does it look like we believe we are about to take into our bodies the living person, Jesus Christ, true God and true man? How many times, Lord, have I forgotten that the Eucharist is alive! As I wait in line to receive you each day, am I thinking about how much you want to unite yourself with me? Am I seeing your hands filled with the graces you want to give me? Am I filled with awe and gratitude that you love me so much as to actually want to come to me in this incredibly intimate way? Or am I distracted, busy with other thoughts, preoccupied with myself and my agendas for the day? How many times, Jesus, have I made you sad, mindlessly receiving you into my body, into my heart, with no love and no recognition of your love? How many times have I treated you as a dead object? The ...

"Although actual reception of the Sacrament of the Eucharist is limited [generally] to once a day, you are nevertheless at liberty to communicate in spirit every hour. And nothing except your own negligence can prevent you from receiving the inestimable benefits to be derived from such a union with Him. It is worth noting that spiritual communion is sometimes of greater benefit to the soul and more acceptable to God than sacramental communions received with little preparation and less affection."  ( Dom Lorenzo Scupoli  from  The Spiritual Combat )  

 

"He looks at me and I look at Him. That gaze is enriching. I let God observe me, to dig deep inside me, to form my soul, to mold it. He is truly present, not an invention. He is there. If everyone could realize that, they would run to it! If everyone believed in this truth, how their lives would change for the better!" ( From My Son Carlo: Carlo Acutis Through the Eyes of His Mother, by Antonia Salzano Acutis

[The following post is among 175 reflections on the Eucharist  published by the Lay Dominicans of St. Joseph Province in a book entitled Godhead Here In Hiding Whom I Do Adore - Lay Dominicans Reflect on Eucharistic Adoration.   If you want to draw closer to our Eucharistic Lord,  I  highly recommend you get a copy.] God works in mysterious ways. He had a plan for me the instant He thought me into existence. Everything that has happened in my life has been intended by Him to be for the salvation of my soul. Of course, I must willingly consent to follow His plan. He will not force me to do so. It is often hard to discern that plan. Some of us spend a lifetime and may never discover our purpose in life until we are close to standing before His throne of justice. So recently, God let me glimpse back in time so that I could see with absolute clarity, how much He loves me. Looking back nearly seventy-five years, I see God’s ever-present Hand in my life more clearly than I...

“We live in God as children live in the womb of their mother: they are in her and are surrounded by her; they received nourishment and life from her; they depend on her and receive everything from her; they do nothing of themselves and are almost less than nothing; they have eyes and ears and they neither see nor hear their mother; they have a mouth but it is dumb; they have hands and arms and they can neither embrace or caress their mother. We are like that in God: we are surrounded and enveloped by Him; at each moment, He communicates nourishment and life through our body and our soul; we depend on Him in everything -‘without Him we can do nothing’ - and, if it is true that by the fact of our creation we have come from nothingness, it is also true that if it pleased God, we might return immediately to it. We have eyes and we cannot see God; ears, and in ordinary circumstances, we do not hear His voice; we have hands and we can neither take hold of Him or touch Him The day of our ...

  "My child, remember that the soul that  loves Jesus speaks little and suffers much. I order you, in the name of Jesus, never to give your opinion unless asked, and never to hold onto your opinion, but to yield."       St. Gemma Galgani's Guardian Angel