Harvesting The Fruits of Contemplation

“To approach the holy altar, one must have an upright intention, that is to say, one should not receive Communion under constraint or on account of habit, human respect, vanity, or any other motive, but for the sake of uniting himself to the intentions for which Jesus Christ instituted this Sacrament, namely to transform us into Himself, to obtain from Him some graces for ourselves and for others, or again, to perpetuate and resurrect in us the memory of His Passion,   as He Himself commanded in the Upper Room.” (Blessed Hyacinthe-Marie Cormier, O.P. from Instructions for Novices )                                        

The key is not worldly power, possessions and prestige. It is interior:

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. Henri Dominic Lacordaire, O.P. "What is difficult is to carry the cross each day, the cross which is not blood-stained but which bruises the skin a little without making it bleed, and which is composed of restraint, tediousness and languor. If one could only mount Calvary once and for all, and give one's body once an for all to the executioners, what pleasure! But no, the torment is in detail; a little cut of  the whip, a little slap in the face, a little humiliation." (From St. Dominic's Family by Sister Mary Jean Dorcy, O.P.) St. Augustine "Remember this. When people choose to withdraw far from a fire, the fire continues to give warmth, but they grow cold. When people choose to withdraw far from light, the light continues to be bright in itself but they are in darkness. This is also the cas...