Pondering Tidbits of Truth - July 16, 2026



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.



Father Anthony J. Paone, S.J.

 

“My Child, if you desire to make progress along the way to Heaven, keep in your heart a holy fear of the Divine Justice. It is only reasonable that you should be afraid to hurt yourself. When you bring sin into your life, you are making yourself an object of My justice. I, the Eternal Truth, cannot accept you as good if you have become bad by sin. Therefore, keep your earthly desires under control and refuse to surrender yourself to unnecessary or dangerous pleasures. This holy fear of My justice will help you to stay free of the slavery of earthly attractions…

If your love of Me is not yet strong enough to hold you back from doing wrong, then let your fear of hell keep you from sinning. A man who lacks this wise and holy fear will not go on doing good things for long. He will soon fall into Satan's snares as he becomes more careless in avoiding temptations. This fear is a holy thing because it is given by me it makes a man strong in the daily battle against his unreasoning and selfish desires.

(From My Daily Bread)

 

Rev. Father Raymond, O.C.S.O.

 

“Relatively few are allowed to spend their whole day in a convent, monastery or church. Yet no one should spend his or her day or one hour of the day without being consciously in the presence of God. It demands an exercise of memory. It requires an effort of mind and will. But it can become second nature to us if we are willing to pay the price: repeated acts! God is within us and within every creature. Christ is in the baptized, living in those who are in grace, dead - as He was in the tomb - in those who are in mortal sin. So, we greet Him and worship Him and all our fellow beings. Even the unbaptized are his potential members. Hence, we can find God everywhere if we will but look aright.”

(From God, A Woman and the Way)

 

Father Timothy Gallagher, O.M.V.

“If I should fall a thousand times a day, a thousand times a day I will begin again. A thousand times a day:  I lost my patience this morning at breakfast, again and again at work, this evening with my spouse, my children, my parishioners, my brothers in community, my sisters in community, the others in the group…Even a thousand times a day. Then, a thousand times a day, I will begin again.

Stop for a moment. Reread these words:’ If I should fall a thousand times a day, a thousand times a day I will begin again’. Think about them. Pray about them for a moment. Do they apply to your heart, your life? Ask the Lord for this courage and this hope.”

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

 

 

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