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.   Dr. Paul Thigpen "No matter who you are -- whether or not you know it -- you have a mortal enemy who wants to destroy you, not just in this life, but in the next. It's a spiritual war with crucial consequences in your everyday life. And the outcome of that war will determine your eternal destiny."   (From a Spiritual Warfare M anual by Dr. Paul Thigpen)

(Image Source :motherteresa.org) Jesus kissed and embraced His Cross for love of us, because by His Holy Cross He would become one with us in the Eucharist. The Eucharist is the gift of Our Lord's Passion. With Mary we unite ourselves with Jesus and offer to Him all our sufferings in mind and body, in heart and soul… We are never given more than we can carry or bear, and as Simon helped Jesus carry His cross, so Jesus Himself helps us carry ours… All trials purify us and lead us into a deeper union with Jesus... We offer Jesus all our sufferings for the salvation of souls, even the sufferings we bring upon ourselves.

(Photo©Michael Seagriff) “Like Mary, let us be full of zeal to go in haste to give Jesus to others. She was full of grace when, at the annunciation, she received Jesus. Like her, we too become full of grace every time we receive Holy Communion. It is the same Jesus whom she received and whom we receive at Mass. As soon as she received Him she went with haste to give Him to John. For us also, as soon as we receive Jesus in Holy Communion, let us go in haste to give Him to our sisters, to our poor, to the sick, to the dying, to the lepers, to the unwanted, and the unloved. By this we make Jesus present in the world today. 

Dear Jesus, "Help me to spread Your fragrance every­where I go. Flood my soul with Your spirit and life. Penetrate and possess my whole being, so utterly, that my life may only be a radiance of Yours. Shine through me, and be so in me, that every soul I come in contact with may feel Your presence in my soul. Let them look up and see no longer me but only Jesus!   Stay with me, and then I shall begin to shine as You shine; so to shine as to be a light to others; the light, 0 Jesus will be all from You, none of it will be mine; it will be You, shining on others through me. Let me thus praise You in the way You love best by shining on those around me. Let me preach You without preaching, not by words but by my example, by the catching force, the sympathetic influence of what I do, the evident fullness of the love my hearts bear to You. Amen."   (Prayer of John Henry Cardinal Newman – a favorite of           Blessed   ...

“Simeon's prophecy of Jesus being rejected continues in our age as the Holy Eucharist is an embarrassment to the proud today, just as His Incarnation, the Eucharist, and His Cross was a stumbling block to those not open to God's plan of salvation 2000 years ago. At Jesus' first Eucharistic discourse, His disciples walked away. Now His disciples walk away from the call to Eucharistic adoration. So many live their lives as if our Eucharistic Lord were not there. From all the empty churches, Jesus cries out: ‘I hold this against you. . . you have turned away from your first love.’ ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.’ ‘The Master is here and calls you.’ The Eucharist is the same attractive Jesus of the Gospel. Little children came to Him, and everyone wanted to know: ‘Teacher, where do You live?’ …He said to them: 'Come and see.’ …From all the locked churches today, Jesus again cries out: ‘Let the little children c...

Happy Thanksgiving - an ideal time to reflect on, and give God thanks for, His many blessings.  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. Blessed Teresa of Calcutta   “If you are discouraged it is a sign of pride because it shows you trust in your own power. Your self-sufficiency, your selfishness and your intellectual pride will inhibit His coming to live in your heart because God cannot fill what is already full. It is as simple as that.”   (From 7 Steps To A Holier Life )   Scripture   “ From Him [God] no creature can be hidden, everything lies bare, everything is brought to face to face with Him this God to whom we must give our account.”   (From Hebrews 4:13 )   Leo Rudloff, O.S.B. The existence of hell brings home to us with terrifying clarity the fact that God is just, and that His justice is not to be separ...