Harvesting The Fruits of Contemplation

  "Please, make a visit every so often. Just go into your church for a moment and say, 'Hi, Jesus, I’m here. I don’t have much to say.' He knows that...He wants our will, our love, our faith, and our trust. Remember now, you have that, you have everything. Every day, whatever church you belong to, He waits in that tabernacle, hoping when that door opens, it’s you.  (Mother Angelica)

 

What a privilege it is to participate in this Virtual Book Tour! In the past, I have been the beneficiary of authors who participated in Virtual Blog tours for several of my books.  When I am asked to reciprocate for a fellow author, I generally jump right in. That was the case when a friend asked me to take a look at Keith Lilek's  Mentored for Good. I had no idea who Keith was. I soon learned this about him: He has dedicated himself to learning, absorbing knowledge, and living out the teachings of his faith...  He is happy with who he has become...but he didn’t get there by himself. He is the beneficiary of many God-inspired mentors throughout his life. Their guidance and wisdom have shaped him into the person he is today. Do you remember who lifted you at various times in your life? Who inspired you to actively change your course? He does. He remembers. He remembers them all. And he wants to share with you how their guidance and his willingness to learn transformed his...

  "Oh! How well the devil knows that by keeping souls away from the Eucharist he is destroying the Christian family and fostering selfishness in us. For there are only two loves: the love of God and the love of self. We must give ourselves to the one or to the other.   How unhappy are they who no longer have the Eucharist! What darkness! What lawlessness of mind! What coldness of heart! Satan alone reigns as master and with him every evil passion! As for us, the Eucharist delivers us from all evils!"  (Excerpted from   30 Day Eucharistic Retreat - A Retreat with St. Peter Julian Eymard by Father Donald H. Calloway, MIC)

As You know Lord, for much of my life, I rarely gave You any thought. You were not important to me. I went about my life without You, foolishly thinking I did not need You. I never considered how my disinterest in, and lack of love for You, made You feel. The audacity of a sinful creature to treat his Creator in such a despicable unloving way! But that began to change, slowly. Oh, how bitter I was when mom became ill and suffered so! How oblivious I was to being on the brink of eternal damnation when you sent people into my life to drag me back from the precipice. Oh, how upset I became when I could not understand why my efforts to come closer to You were thwarted? Why I caused so much pain to those who loved me. How often Lord did I scream out in anger and pain asking You. "Where have You had gone?" The more I prayed, the more I attempted to come closer to You, the further from You I felt. I realize now Lord that You have never abandoned me. You have always been at...

[If you have not read (and completed) Father Donald H. Calloway's   3 0 Day Eucharistic Revival - A Retreat with St. Peter Julian Eymard - go get a copy now and begin! Father courageously writes the Truth - Truth that too many others have been unwilling or afraid to speak - Truths upon which authentic and lasting Eucharistic Revival must rest. Read this excerpt and you will understand: “…God’s goodness should not be taken advantage of or abused. In our times, some in leadership positions, warn people not to ‘weaponize the Eucharist’ and offer very confusing messages by seemingly encouraging everyone to receive Holy Communion, regardless of the state of their soul. For example, people living in unnatural relationships, those committing intrinsically disordered actions, and those who are in adulterous relationships are encouraged to receive Holy Communion. This is wrong. Such thinking is very dangerous and destructive to souls and their ultimate well-being. We must never forget...

It is easy to say "I Trust in You, Lord" but it is difficult to live that truth throughout the challenges, disappointments and toils of life -  at times, very hard if not seemingly impossible. For more than three years now, I keep returning to the following reflection from Mary's Mantle - Consecration Prayer Journal  - Write the Virtues and Gifts of the Holy Spirit on Your Soul . Each time I re-read it and my journal notes on trust, I thank God for leading me to this book. I highly recommend this journal to you. It is a treasure that never stops giving hope and inspiration.] Please take the time to read and ponder these words: "Is there anything the Lord, Jesus Christ, would refuse to suffer, if He knew it would help you? Jesus profoundly grieves when one of his own is critically wounded; He aches when you are hurt even, in the slightest way; and He mixes his tears with yours so that not a drop of your shared suffering should be wasted. This same Man holds the worl...

" My Lord Jesus Christ, who, for the love You bear to mankind, do remain night and day in this Sacrament, full of pity and love, awaiting, calling, and receiving all who come to visit You; I believe that You are present in the Sacrament of the Altar; I adore You from the depths of my own nothingness; I thank You for the many graces You have given me, and especially for having given me Yourself in this Sacrament."                                                           (St. Alphonsus Liguori)

(Photo©Father Lawrence Lew, O.P. - Used With Permission) I appreciate the ongoing efforts of the U.S. Bishops to reawaken and foster greater belief in our Lord’s Real and Substantial Presence here with and within us. The number of Eucharistic processions and Holy Hours with Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament that have taken place throughout this nation have been heartening. The excellent homilies, posts, videos and testimonies of lay Catholics that our bishops have shared on social media are inspiring. I have no doubt that countless souls have been touched by these efforts.  We pray that the bishops’ efforts (as well as our own and those of our individual parishes) are reaching not just the choir but the millions of non-believing Catholics and former Catholics who inhabit this great nation. How are we going to assess the success of the U.S. Bishops’ efforts as well as our own individual and parish endeavors? Simply and radically! If we actually believe that God is really, tr...

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. Cardinal Francis Arinze “The lay faithful as parishioners are the people who are called upon to witness to Christ at the level of the family, the place of work or recreation, in trade and commerce, in politics and government, and in other social areas of daily life. From them, people in society see what the parish is or should be.”   (From The Evangelizing Parish ) St. Vincent de Paul "I am sent not only to love God but to make Him loved. It is not enough for me to love God, if my neighbor does not love Him."   (From Always A Joy ) St. Philip Neri “If a man finds it very hard to forgive injuries, let him look at a Crucifix, and think that Christ shed all His Blood for him, and not only forgave His enemies, but even prayed His Heavenly Father to forgive them also. Let him remember that when he says the Our Father...

"There is in every house a place where the provisions of the family are kept: the storeroom. The church is the house of souls. This house belongs to us who are Christians.  Well, in this house there is a storeroom. Do you see this tabernacle? If one asks Christian souls, what is that? Your souls answer: 'it is the storeroom. It is there that the Body and Blood of Jesus is, and this good Savior says to us: ‘Take and eat . . . take and drink’.'  A mortal man, a creature, feeds himself, satiates himself with his God, making of Him his daily food and drink! O miracle of miracles! O love beyond all love! O happiness beyond all happiness! I thank you, O my God, and I ask of you the grace to hunger always for this heavenly food." (St. John Marie Vianney from The Eucharistic Meditations of the Cure of Ars )