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. Peter Kreeft, Ph.D.  "Here is one of the most wonderful and terrifying sentences I have ever read, from William Law’s S erious Call:  'If you will look into your own heart in utter honesty, you must admit that there is one and only one reason why you are not even now a saint.  You do not wholly want to be'.”  (From  How to Win the Culture War: A Christian Plan   Jesus to St. Catherine of Siena  “My daughter, if you wish to acquire strength, you must imitate Me. I could, with My divine power, have thwarted Satan’s efforts and taken other measures to nullify them, but I wish to instruct you through My example and teach you to conquer him through the Cross. If you wish to have power over your enemies, take the Cross as your safeguard. Have not My apostles taught you that I ran with joy to a ...

(Photo ©Father Lawence Lew, O.P., Used with Permission) "My God, poor, weak and miserable as I am, I have come to spend this hour alone with Thee, in reparation for the priests who have forgotten that they are Thou chosen souls. Especially, dear God, do I offer this holy hour for the priests who at this moment need it most.  In praying for consecrated souls, help me to remember my own utter weakness, misery and nothingness. Were it not for Thy grace, I would be far worse than those for whom I pray.  O My God, help those priests who are faithful to remain faithful; to those who are falling, stretch forth Your Divine Hand that they may grasp it as their support. And for those poor unfortunate souls who have fallen, lift them up in the great ocean of Your Mercy, that being engulfed therein, they may receive the grace to return to Thy Great Loving Heart. Amen." (From The Cure of Ars Prayer Group )

  "Tell souls not to place within their own hearts obstacles to My mercy, which so greatly wants to act within them. My mercy works in all those hearts which open their doors to it. Both the sinner and the righteous person have need of My mercy. Conversion, as well as perseverance, is a grace of My mercy.  Let souls who are striving for perfection particularly adore My mercy, because the abundance of graces which I grant them flows from My mercy. I desire that these souls distinguish themselves by boundless trust in My mercy. I myself will attend to the sanctification of such souls. I will provide them with everything they will need to attain sanctity. The graces of My mercy are drawn by means of one vessel only, and that is-trust.  The more a soul trusts, the more it will receive. Souls that trust boundlessly are a great comfort to Me, because I pour all the treasures of My graces into them. I rejoice that they ask for much, because it i...

  No surprise - our world is in utter chaos and confusion.  Conduct that has always been deemed morally wrong is now proclaimed right and woe to those who have the audacity to disagree.  (Image Source:  Wikimedia Commons ) More tears and public angst fill our airwaves and cyberspace over an American dentist who killed a lion in a wild life preserve, whales that beach themselves on our shores, or the callous destruction of baby swan eggs than the brutal dismemberment and murder of human life encased within a mother's womb or the subsequent sale of their body parts.  We refuse to recognize the child in  utero  as a person whose life is protected under both God's law and our Constitution, yet think nothing of trying to convince a Court to extend constitutional protection and rights to animals or to rule that it is preferable for farms and humans to go without water than to disrupt the habitat of some snail. Let us pray that we will come to our senses, whi...

(Image Source: Hands at Mass ) There are two kinds of food - that of the soul - and that of the body which the earth brings forth. Our body which is only dust lives on the earth, but the food of the soul is the Body and Blood of a God. O beautiful food! it is enough, if one thinks of it to make one lose oneself in this abyss of love. My Father is God! my good is (Imageheaven! my food the Body and Blood of God Himself! O man, how happy thou art! Thou are made to adore, to love and to receive God!  The bread of souls is in the tabernacle. The tabernacle is the storeroom of Christians. Oh! how wonderful it is my children! when the priest holds up the Host and you see It, your soul can say: 'there is my food.' 0! my children, we are too well off. We shall only understand it in heaven. What a pity! If we could conceive a little of the grandeur and happiness of Communion, we would desire life only to have the happiness of making Jesus Christ our daily bread. All created things would ...

[117] Venerable Fulton J. Sheen  At the very moment when a tree turns against Him and becomes a cross, when iron turns against Him and becomes nails, when roses turn against Him and become thorns, when men turn against Him and become executioners, He lets fall from His lips for the first time in the history of the world a prayer for enemies: ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do’ (Luke 23:34).  (From  The Rainbow of Sorrow ) PAUSE AND PONDER :  Do I find it difficult to forgive those who have sinned against me? If Jesus forgave His executioners, how can I hold on to a grudge or desire for revenge? Do I understand that God will forgive me only to the extent that I have forgiven those who have injured me?                           (Excerpted from  Pondering Tidbits of Truth – Volume 6 )