Pondering Tidbits of Truth - February 7, 2025

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  “What is the best argument for the evangelist to use when telling the Good News? The most effective one is joy. It’s irresistible because it’s what everyone deeply wants. We can put up walls of argument against arguments, but we can’t argue with joy.”  (From The Mystery of Joy)

 

   Venerable Fulton J. Sheen 

"If you have never before prayed to Mary, do so now. Can you not see that if Christ himself willed to be physically formed in her for nine months and then be spiritually formed by her for thirty years, it is to her that we must go to learn how to have Christ formed in us? Only she who raised Christ can raise a Christian."  (From Advent Meditations with Fulton J. Sheen)    St. Therese of Lisieux  "I know now that true charity consists in bearing all of our neighbors defects not being surprised at their weakness, but edified at their smallest virtues.”  (From Stories of a Soul – The Autobiography of St. Therese of Lisieux)

 

Monday Musings - Jesus Standing Before Us

 

Monday Musings - Some Soul Searching

 

(Image Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Some time ago, a friend asked me a difficult question. I am a coward and often avoid responding directly to challenging inquiries. That's not always a good idea. Listen here and you will see what I mean.

Pondering Tidbits of Truth - July 6, 2023

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.

St. Leonard of Port Maurice

"To be saved for all eternity, to be damned for all eternity, and to not make your every effort to avoid the one and make sure of the other, is something inconceivable."

(From The Little Number of Those Who Are Saved)

Lisa Brenninkmeyer

"Let’s take a closer look at the people Jesus loved in the Gospels. It wasn’t just the cleaned-up, spiritually open, nicely behaved people. Jesus loved the ones with scandalous sexual sins, the perfectionists, the dirty outcasts, the cheaters, the ones who were lying to themselves, and the ones who spent most of their lives ignoring Him."

(From Rest: 31 Days of Peace Devotional - (Daily Catholic Wisdom)

 

St. Vincent Ferrer, O.P.

"If you truly want to help the soul of your neighbor, you should approach God first with all your heart. Ask him simply to fill you with charity, the greatest of all virtues; with it you can accomplish what you desire." 

(From The Treatise on the Spiritual Life)

Pondering Tidbits of Truth - July 11, 2019

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.

 

Venerable Fulton J. Sheen

“God does not love us because we are lovely or loveable; His love exists not on account of our character, but on account of His. Our highest experience is responsive, not initiative. And so, it is only because we are loved by Him that we are loveable.”  

(From Rejoice)

Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati

"Each of you knows that the foundation of our faith is charity. Without it, our religion would crumble. We will never be truly Catholic unless we conform our entire lives to the two commandments that are the essence of the Catholic faith: to love the Lord, our God, with all our strength, and to love our neighbor as ourselves." 

(From The Saints' Little Book of Wisdom: The Essential Teachings)

 St. Faustina Kowalska

"For there are three ways of performing an act of mercy: the merciful word, by forgiving and by comforting; secondly, if you can offer no word, then pray—that too is mercy; and thirdly, deeds of mercy."  

(From The Diary of St. Faustina Kowalska)

Pondering Tidbits of Truth - April 18, 2019

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

Venerable Fulton J. Sheen

"The executioners expected Jesus to cry, for everyone pinned to the gibbet of the Cross had done it before Him. Seneca wrote that those who were crucified cursed the day of their birthday, the executioners, their mothers, and even spat on those who looked upon them. Cicero recorded that at times it was necessary to cut out the tongues of those who were crucified to stop their terrible blasphemies. Hence the executioners expected a word, but not the kind of word that they heard...Like some fragrant trees which bathe in perfume the very axe which gashes them, the great Heart on the Tree of Love poured out from its depths something  less than a cry than a prayer - the soft, low prayer of pardon and forgiveness."

(From The Life of Christ)

Ven. Cardinal Nguyen Von Thuan

"Kneeling before your tabernacle, Lord, I hear you repeating to me, Love your neighbor as yourself! I understand what you demand of me, Lord. When I go back over my life, I see clearly how I have not yet loved anyone as I love myself. I have not yet really put your word into practice; I have loved others, but less than myself. Nevertheless, I sometimes flattered myself that I was living charitably and that I was one of your authentic disciples!...It is not enough to give a few coins or to help victims of natural disasters with used clothing. I must treat my brothers and sisters as my right hand treats my left hand when it is hurt."

(From Prayers of Hope:Words of Courage) 

Father Anthony J. Paone, S.J. 

[Jesus to a listening soul:] "I shall estimate your worth by your humility and by your charity. I shall look to see whether you think too much of yourself, or whether you prefer My Will. I shall consider whether you seek My honor and glory in your daily activities, or whether you seek your own advantage and honor."

(From My Daily Bread)

Worth Revisiting - Pondering Tidbits of Truth

Another week and an additional opportunity to thank Elizabeth Riordan at Theology Is A Verb  and Allison Gingras at Reconciled To You for  hosting Catholic bloggers at Worth Revisiting.

We appreciate sharing our work with them and their readers each week. Stop by for a visit now.

 

Here is my contribution, soon to be included in Volume 5 of my book series entitled Pondering Tidbits of Truth.

Pondering Tidbits of Truth

(Originally published January 4, 2018)

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.

Jean-Baptiste Chautard, O.C.S.O.

"A preacher endowed with learning but of only mediocre piety may be able to paint a picture of Christian Truth that will stir souls, bring them a little closer to God, even increase their faith. But if one is to fill souls with the life-giving savor of virtue, he must first have tasted the true spirit of the Gospel and made it enter into the substance of his own life by means of mental prayer."

(From The Soul of the Apostolate) 

Worth Revisiting - Who Will Step Up This Christmas and Speak the Truth in Love?

Thank you Allison Gingras and Elizabeth Riordan for another opportunity to re-publish our favorite posts on Worth Revisiting.

Go there now (and every Wednesday) and be nourished spiritually. Be sure to visit Allison at  Reconciled To You and Elizabeth at Theology Is A Verb during the rest of each week.  You will enjoy your visit. 

If nothing else, I can be persistent. Every Christmas since 2014, I have urged all those who see this post and agree with its content to ask their pastors to include it as an insert in their Christmas bulletins. Nothing much has changed over the years. Few have accepted the invitation. This prompts me to paraphrase my Father Dominic's nightly plea: What will become of those lost souls whose ears are not permitted to hear and their eyes not allowed to see this essential, loving and truthful message? Do we even care?

Who Will Step Up This Christmas and Speak the Truth in Love?

(Originally posted 12/9/14)

[This is one of the two times each year when, I believe,  our Lord most dreads the silence that will envelop far too many of our parishes. Someone needs to give voice to His yearnings. Where is the zeal for the salvation of souls?  What follows is similar to some of my previous posts on this subject.]

Image Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Let us welcome with open arms the thousands who will flock to our Churches this Christmas – most especially those who rarely come to worship the God whose birth we commemorate.

But what does Love command we tell them?  

Speaking the Truth is, at times, very difficult but necessary. This is one of those times.

If our primary concern is for the salvation of souls (and it should be), silence about their absence from our midst during the rest of the year is not an option. Such silence will be construed as tacit approval of their continual and mortally sinful absence from Mass on Sundays and holydays of obligation. The failure to explain why many in attendance should refrain from receiving the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ is equally egregious.

Why are we afraid to share these Truths?

Worth Revisiting - Don'T Pass Them By!

Thank you Allison Gingras at Reconciled To You  and Elizabeth Riordan at Theology Is A Verb  for  hosting Catholic bloggers at Worth Revisiting. 

It is a privilege for us to share our work with you and your readers.

Stop by for a visit now. 

Here is my contribution:

Don't Pass Them By

(Originally posted on October 17, 2015)

[The memorial of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque is celebrated on October 16 each year. She was devoted to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and spent her life promoting devotion to It and to Him. Sadly, in our busyness, many of us skipped by this special remembrance without much thought or reflection - just as we often pass by our waiting Lord.

Sometime today or during this weekend, let us pause and ponder the insight of this loving servant, the majestic Gift of His Sacred Heart and His Presence here among us.]

We must know the love of Christ which surpasses all knowledge 

"It seems to me that our Lord's earnest desire to have His Sacred Heart honored in a special way is directed toward renewing the effects of redemption in our souls. For the Sacred Heart is an inexhaustible fountain and its sole desire is to pour itself out into the hearts of the humble so as to free them and prepare them to lead lives according to his good pleasure. 

From this Divine Heart three streams flow endlessly. The first is the stream of mercy for sinners; it pours into their hearts sentiments of contrition and repentance. The second is the stream of charity which helps all in need and especially aids those seeking perfection to find the means of surmounting their difficulties. From the third stream flow love and light for the benefit of His friends who have attained perfection; these He wishes to unite to Himself so that they may share His knowledge and commandments and, in their individual ways, devote themselves wholly to advancing His glory. 

This Divine Heart is an abyss of all blessings, and into it the poor should submerge all their needs. It is an abyss of joy in which all of us can immerse our sorrows. It is an abyss of lowliness to counteract our foolishness, an abyss of mercy for the wretched, an abyss of love to meet our every need. 

Podcast - Some Soul Searching

(Image Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Recently, a friend asked me a difficult question. I am a coward and often avoid responding directly to challenging inquiries. That's not always a good idea. Listen here and you will see what I mean.

Show Me!

Pondering Tidbits of Truth - October 20, 2016

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.

Venerable Louis of Granada, O.P.

"Among the works comprising charity to our neighbor the following are the most important: advice, counsel, succor, forbearance, pardon, edification. These are so strongly linked with charity that the practice of them indicates the progress we have made in the practice of this greatest of virtues."

(From The Sinner's Guide)

St. Augustine

"What better words may we carry in our heart, pronounce with our mouth, write with a pen, than the words, 'Thanks be to God'? There is no phrase that may be said so readily, that can be heard with greater joy, felt with more emotion or produced with greater effect."

(From Letter 72)

St. John Paul II

"The rich man was condemned because he did not pay attention to the other man. Because he failed to take notice of Lazarus, the person who sat at his door and who longed to eat the scraps from his table."

(From Homily at Yankee Stadium, October 2, 1979)