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. Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration "The most powerful thing we can do on this earth with our time is to spend it in Eucharistic adoration. Nothing can do more to change the world, to bring about peace, to convert hearts, to make reparation for the many evils committed. Spending time in prayer may seem, on the outside, to be a passive thing; however, it is anything but! Our world is in desperate need of hope, of renewal, of a 'turning back' to the things of God. By visiting Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, we take up the best weapon for the battles of our age and contribute to the healing of our culture. Cultivating a Eucharistic life of adoration also bears tremendous fruit in our own hearts and lives. We cannot spend time in the rays of His Eucharistic Presence without receiving His grace, His love, His mercy, His peace. As we gaze...

"Did you ever consider well, dear Christian soul, that, when the Sacred Host is publicly exposed, Jesus is not on His Eucharistic throne to receive the adorations of the angels and to enjoy the company of the blessed? These He finds in heaven. But He is on His Eucharistic throne to receive your adorations, to listen to your confidences, and to console and alleviate your sorrows and trials.' Come, then, and adore the Holy Host." (From the book The Holy Eucharist , by Jose Guadalupe Trevino)

 

 

How to Be His - A 33-Day Dedication to our Eucharistic Lord , authored by Father Jesse J. Maingot, O.P. and Father Ignatius John Schweitzer, O.P., enriched my Advent, reignited my love for the Eucharist and opened my eyes to the prophetic voice we are all called to share. I highly recommend their work. Here is a summary of some of the more important insights these wise Friars shared about prophets and their role in God's plan of salvation. To speak a prophetic word,  Father Ignatius instructs us, " is not so much about foretelling something in the future. Prophecy is seeing the unfolding of history as God sees it." A prophet gets God's people to read the sign of the times and to be aware of their lives and the events of their days in light of God's wisdom and God's plan. A prophet is able to interpret what is happening from God's perspective. To speak a prophetic word is to speak into a situation, a living Word that manifests what God is up to and encourag...

"We need to change the [current] culture that once Mass is over, we leave Church and are gone, that we don't linger [in our pews].  In the past tradition, it was understood that people would stay back after Mass to continue their thanksgiving with the Lord, to really receive the grace of Holy Communion because this is the most important moment of our life - the Lord has united us so amazingly to Himself. Our prayer is most powerful in these minutes after Mass.  So let us not lose the graces of prayer that is born from our Holy Communion with Jesus." Linger. Pray. Don't rush to leave. (From How To Be His - A 33-Day Dedication to Our Eucharistic Jesus ,  by Father J. Maingot, O.P. and Father Ignatius John Schweitzer, O.P. with Dan Burke).

In How To Be His - A 33-Day Dedication to our Eucharistic Jesus , Father Jesse J. Maingot, O.P. shares the wisdom and insight of St. Peter Julian Eymard; here are two brief samples:   "Few persons think of the virtues, the life, the state of our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. We treat Him like a statute; we think He is there merely to forgive our sins and to listen to our prayers. That is a wrong viewpoint. Our Lord lives and acts in the Eucharist. Look at Him, study and imitate Him!...Observe Him practicing virtue and you shall know what you have to do."                                                                    (St. Peter Julian Eymard) Father reminds us: that our Lord is patient and quiet; that He's waiting for us; that He's so available, so generous - anyone can come and talk to Him; that He looks at Hi...