Harvesting The Fruits of Contemplation

 

  “Here is a good thought which is not often mentioned: receive Communion not only for yourself, in order to have this immense grace, but for Jesus, in order to respond to His desire to come down into you, to give Him the joy of descending into your heart, which is a heaven for Him. Perhaps you will say,  ‘What, My poor heart, so miserable, so unworthy, a heaven for Jesus?’  Yes, if you call upon Him to make your heart a heaven for Him. Listen to little Therese : ‘I offered myself to Jesus, not as a person who desires to receive His visit for my own consolation, but on the contrary, for the pleasure of Him who gives Himself to me. It is not in order to remain in the golden ciborium that He comes down each day from Heaven, but in order to find another heaven, the heaven of our souls, made in His image, the living temple of the adorable Trinity’ .’’   (From  I Believe in Love , as quoted in  I The Lord Am with You Always – Prayers and Mediations for Euc...

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. John Paul II "You must learn to think, speak and act in accordance with the simplicity of the Gospel: Yes, yes; no, no. You must learn to call white, white; and black, black. To call sin, sin; and not to call it liberty or progress, even if the fashion is to stand against this teaching." (Address to Youth in Rome, 1981) Catherine Doherty, Servant of God "Communion is the union of man's soul with God the source of all strength. Our communions could change the world if the fire of the Holy Spirit were really allowed to fall on the earth and to renew it through you and me. Our faith centers around the truth that God loved us first and all we have to do to be fiery Apostolic Catholics is to love Him back. If we meditate deeply on the Eucharist we will distinctly hear the loving, powerful, immense heartbeat of God. We would h...

(Image Source: Wikimedia Commons ) "Communion spurs you on. It is like a flame bursting within your soul. Off you go to love passionately, recklessly, imprudently, unto folly, without counting the cost to yourself. In the Eucharist, we receive the strength to preach the Gospel with our life in everyday activities, not looking for false glamor or status. From the Eucharist, we draw the courage to go and fight. Wherever we find ourselves, these are the front lines. " Catherine Doherty, Servant of God

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. Catherine of Siena “To join two things together, there must be nothing between them or there cannot be a perfect fusion. Now realize that this is how God wants our soul to be, without any selfish love of ourselves or of others in between, just as God loves us without anything in between.”   (From thehookoffaith.com )   Venerable Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen   “How God will judge my life I know not, but I trust he will see me with mercy and compassion. I am only certain there will be three surprises in Heaven. First of all, I will see some people whom I never expected to see. Second, there will be a number whom I expect who will not be there. And – even relying on God’s mercy – the biggest surprise of all may be that I will be there. When the record of any human life is set down, there are three pairs of eyes who see it in a...

(Photo©Michael Seagriff) “This same God who in His incarnation deigned to unite Himself so closely to me [Blessed Mother Mary] also wants to be united to you, my child, through Communion. But you are much less eager to receive than He is to give. Your laziness and a false humility will suggest excuses for staying away from the holy table; do not accept them. There is the excuse of fear and reverence; but fear and reverence must be subordinated to love and simply serve to make love more attentive. To stay away from Communion out of a false reverence is to rob Jesus of the satisfaction He finds in dwelling with you He has told you of this satisfaction when He said: “My delight is to be with the children of men” (Proverbs 8:31). You say that because of your frequent sins you dare not frequently approached the Holy of Holies. But, my child, however weak a soul may be, if it makes every effort to improve, Jesus will always find it a joy to come to it. You say you stay away ...

In case this invitation was not extended to you today, close your eyes and listen to Jesus speaking directly to you - the one with whom He is in love: I am always here – 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year - waiting for you. But generally I am alone, abandoned and ignored. So when I looked out from behind the closed doors this morning, I was overjoyed to see you - so many of you. While there were many familiar faces among those filling the pews, there were a good number whom I have not seen in some time. If you only knew the joy I experience when you come! I take delight in all My people, but I experience a special joy when those who stay away come to be with Me. I have so much to give each of you! How I hunger for your presence here every Sunday. How I want to be one with you and fill you will My graces. How I want to give you the spiritual nourishment you need to withstand the weekly onslaught and temptations that surround you. I offer you My Word and mo...

(Image Source: Wikimedia Commons ) "But anyone who would approach this gracious Sacrament while guilty of deadly sin would receive no grace from it, even though such a person would really be receiving Me as I am, wholly God, wholly human. But do you know the situation of the soul who receives the Sacrament unworthily? She is like a candle that has been doused with water and only hisses when it is brought under the fire. The flame no more than touches it, but it goes out, and nothing remains but smoke. Just so, this soul brings the candle she received in holy baptism and throws the water of sin over it, a water that drenches the wick of baptismal grace that is meant to bear the light. And unless she dries the wick out with the fire of true contrition by confessing her sin, she will physically receive the light when she approaches the table of the altar, but she will not receive it into her spirit. If the soul is not disposed as she should be for so great a mystery, this true...