Harvesting The Fruits of Contemplation

(Image Source: Unsplash ) "The night before [Jesus] died, He said, ‘This is my body – This is my blood’. Every day that we live, we are to hold out on the paten of our hands, our hearts, and minds, and wills, our all, and say: ‘This is my body - this is my blood.’ Take them. And what You do with wheat and wine and these awe-filled words, do with me! Let the outward appearances remain; my face, figure, height, and breadth; but the inner substance, change! Change it so that it will no longer be mine, but Thine. Change it so that I will always be what transubstantiated Wheat and Wine ever remain – Thee."  ( God, A Woman and The Way - Rev. M. Raymond, O.C.S.O.) [This is just one of 250 powerful Eucharistic Reflections you will find in Stirring Slumbering Souls  - a must read during this time of Eucharistic Revival]

(Photo©Michael Seagriff) "Do we believe that when we sin we are Pilate ordering the cross and the nails; we are Judas taking the thirty pieces of silver and kissing the Christ; we are Annas and Caiaphas and the rest of the Sanhedrin urging the people on to cry ‘Away with this Man; give unto us Barabbas!’ Do we really believe that when we sin we take hammer and use it on a nail that goes through the flesh of God? Or have we, too, lost our sense of sin?" (Rev. M. Raymond, O.C.S.O. f rom God, A Woman and the Way )  

We thank Allison Gingras at  Reconciled To You   and Elizabeth Riordan at  Theology Is A Verb once again for  hosting Catholic bloggers at  Worth   Revisiting . It is a privilege for us to share our work with them and their readers . Here is my contribution this week:   When Was The Last Time You Really Looked At A Crucifix? (Originally posted August 2, 2015) There are still Catholics (albeit their numbers are dwindling) who attend Mass on Sunday, even though some of them often complain that Mass is boring and/or that they get nothing out of it.   Let me ask two questions. (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons ) When was the last time you really looked at a crucifix? I mean really gazed at one and pondered the realities it depicts. When was the last time you went to Mass and reminded yourself that you were about to spend time at the foot of Jesus' cross? If you have never done either of the...

We thank Allison Gingras at  Reconciled To You   and Elizabeth Riordan at  Theology Is A Verb once again for  hosting Catholic bloggers at  Worth   Revisiting . It is a privilege for us to share our work with them and their readers .   Monday Musings - Stop Blaming God  (Originally posted on July 31, 2017) What follows are simple declarative sentences excerpted from God, A Woman and the Way, a book written more than sixty years ago by Rev. M. Raymond, O.C.S.O., a Trappist monk. They set forth fundamental Truths which today are routinely denied and denounced:  (Photo©Michael Seagriff) “We need God. Without Him we can do nothing. But God also needs us. He needs us to bear witness to the fact that He exists; that God became man; that God died; that God rose again; that men can become like God. God needs us to be animated Gospels and give the world the almost unbelievable ‘Good News’ that God is our Father ...

We thank Allison Gingras at  Reconciled To You   and Elizabeth Riordan at  Theology Is A Verb once again for  hosting Catholic bloggers at  Worth   Revisiting . It is a privilege for us to share our work with them and their readers . Stop by for a visit now . We Stand With You Lord - No Matter The Price We May Be Asked To Pay!  (Originally published on June 29, 2015) May the following words penned more than 50 years ago by Rev. M. Raymond, O.C.S.O. encourage us during these trying times and our pending exile in a world that has, for the most part, turned its back on the Lord who created them, died for them, yet still offers all of us eternal life: (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons ) "There was pain in Egypt - yet, I say it was heaven. Mary saw raw, rampant paganism all about her, yet she nursed God at her breast; she had to listen to false gods being called upon, yet she heard the Word of God utt...

(Photo©Michael Seagriff) When we look around our family, Church and world, we have no one else to blame but ourselves for the messes we have created. Want to know why? Listen here .

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 Winfrid Herbst, S.D.S. "We need God. Without Him we can do nothing. But God also needs us. He needs us to bear witness to the fact that He exists; that God became man; that God died; that God rose again; that men can become like God. God needs us to be animated Gospels and give the world the almost unbelievable ‘Good News’ that God is our Father and we are heirs to all that almighty God possesses." (From God, A Woman and the Way ) Father J. Urteaga Loidi "If you give yourself to God give yourself the way the saints did. Let no one and nothing occupy your attention and slow you down: you belong to God. If you give yourself, give yourself for eternity. Let neither the roaring waves nor the treacherous undercurrent shake the concrete solidity of your foundations. God depends on you: He leans on you....

What follows are simple declarative sentences excerpted from God, A Woman and the Way, a book written more than sixty years ago by Rev. M. Raymond, O.C.S.O., a Trappist monk. They set forth fundamental Truths which today are routinely denied and denounced: (Photo©Michael Seagriff) “We need God. Without Him we can do nothing. But God also needs us. He needs us to bear witness to the fact that He exists; that God became man; that God died; that God rose again; that men can become like God. God needs us to be animated Gospels and give the world the almost unbelievable ‘Good News’ that God is our Father and we are heirs to all that almighty God possesses.” Do you suppose there is any connection between the denial and denunciation of these Truths and the chaos that exists in our world today? Sad that I even have to ask such a question. It’s time to start blaming ourselves and not God for the messes we have created.

Be sure to visit Allison Gingras  (Reconciled To You) and Elizabeth Riordan ( Theology Is A Verb ) each week for Revisiting Wednesday , a place for Catholic writers to share their wares and stir your souls. Stop for a visit now (and every Wednesday). Here is something to ponder and chew on: Monday Musings - We Have Forgotten (Originally published May 15, 2017) When we lose the sense of sin, when we fail to appreciate the eternal value of embracing suffering, when we no longer give any thought to making reparation for our sins and the sins of the world, evil triumphs and souls are lost: “We moderns shrink from pain; we shun all that can afflict body or mind. We have forgotten that we were saved by the Body’s agony and the Mind’s torture. We have forgotten that the problem of evil was solved by ropes, whips and thorns, by nails that were pounded through the flesh of God and by three hours of anguish such as no other human has or ever will know....

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 . Pope Pius XI "Christ must reign in our minds – which must assent firmly and submissively to all revealed truth and to Christ’s teachings. He must reign in our wills – which should bow in obedience to God’s laws and precepts. He must reign in our hearts - which, turning aside from all natural desires, should love God above all things and cling to Him alone. He should reign in our bodies and members , which should serve as instruments of our soul’s sanctification." (From Encyclical Quas Primas)

Another Wednesday and another opportunity to thank Allison Gingras and Elizabeth Riordan for their weekly invitation to re-post our favorite articles on Worth Revisiting . Go there now (and every Wednesday) and let an interesting group of Catholic bloggers nourish you in your Faith journey. V isit Allison at   Reconciled To You and Elizabeth at Theology Is A Verb during the rest of each week.   You will enjoy your visit. This is what I am sharing:   Is This How You See Sin? (Originally posted June 22, 2015)

Thank you Allison Gingras and Elizabeth Riordan for hosting "Worth Revisiting” every Wednesday and inviting Catholic bloggers to re-post their favorite articles there.  Go there now (and every Wednesday). You will be inspired by the variety of spiritual insights these authors share. Visit Allison at  Reconciled To You and Elizabeth at Theology Is A Verb during the rest of the week.  It will be time well spent. Here is my contribution: We Stand With You Lord - No Matter The Price We May Be Asked To Pay!  (Originally published June 25, 2015) May the following words penned more than 50 years ago by Rev. M. Raymond, O.C.S.O. encourage us during these trying times and our pending exile in a world that has, for the most part, turned its back on the Lord who created them, died for them, yet still offers all of us eternal life: (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons ) "There was pain in Egypt - yet, I say it was he...

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. But first a heartfelt prayer for a happy and blessed Thanksgiving ! Rev. M. Raymond, O.C.S.O. "So long as God, who is all good, wills a thing, we are fools if we do not say Fiat – and thus will it with Him. The lone exception is sin." (From God, A Woman and The Way )  

May the following words penned more than 50 years ago by Rev. M. Raymond, O.C.S.O. encourage us during these trying times and our pending exile in a world that has, for the most part, turned its back on the Lord who created them, died for them, yet still offers all of us eternal life: (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons ) "There was pain in Egypt - yet, I say it was heaven. Mary saw raw, rampant paganism all about her, yet she nursed God at her breast; she had to listen to false gods being called upon, yet she heard the Word of God utter His first human word. And while the sight of pyramids standing out against a setting sun, and the shimmer on the waters of the Nile told her not only that she was in exile, but that her whole people had once been here, yet when she gazed into the starry light in His eyes and knew that it had been kindled from light in her own and that He was the Maker of the stars, Egypt and exile was heaven. It was here she saw Him take His ...

(Image Source: Wikimedia Commons ) The night before [Jesus] died He said “This is my body – This is my blood.” Every day that we live, we are to hold out on the paten of our hands our hearts, and minds, and wills, our all, and say: "This is my body - this is my blood. Take them. And what You do with wheat and wine and these awe-filled words, do with me! Let the outward appearances remain; my face, figure, height, and breadth; but the inner substance, change! Change it so that it will no longer be mine, but Thine. Change it so that I will always be what transubstantiated Wheat and Wine ever remain - Thee!" (From God, A Woman and The Way by Rev. M. Raymond, O.C.S.O.)