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. Dan Burke and Connie Rossini   “When we have too many vocal prayers to say, our goal easily changes to getting them done instead of praying them well. They become less, rather than more, contemplative. The Holy Spirt might be moving us to linger silently on the meditation of a mystery, but we feel that we can't stop or we will never fit all our prayers in. So we find ourselves working against the Holy Spirit...We forget that the very purpose of prayer is communing with the Lord."                                                           (From The Contemplative Rosary )     Thomas Howard   "This is why Cath...

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. Dan Burke and Connie Rossini   "When we have too many vocal prayers to say, our goal easily changes to getting them done instead of praying them well. They become less, rather than more, contemplative. The Holy Spirt might be moving us to linger silently on the meditation of a mystery, but we feel that we can't stop or we will never fit all our prayers in. So we find ourselves working against the Holy Spirit...We forget that the very purpose of prayer is communing with the Lord."   (From The Contemplative Rosary )     Dom Lorenzo Scupoli   "No creature ever loved Jesus Christ more ardently, nor showed more perfect submission to His will, than Mary, His mother. If then, this Savior, immolated for us sinners, gave His mother to us, an advocate and intercessor for all time, she ca...

Prayer is the primary method by which we establish a real and loving relationship with our Lord – wherein we talk to Him and He with us – one heart to another.   Prayer takes on many forms and serves a number of diverse purposes. Sometimes we use the words of others, sometimes our own and on other occasions we simply listen to the silent promptings that stir our souls. But prayer can become complicated and even unsettling. What is mental prayer? What is contemplative prayer? How does one progress from one form of prayer to another? How would one know which contemporary prayer models, even those popular among Catholics, are not really authentic forms of prayer? Many of us - prayer novices and veterans alike - are searching for answers to these and a myriad of other questions. Nearly everyone can use guidance as to how to pray, how to discern what they experience during prayer and how to know if it is really God who is speaking to their hearts. Some may not know where to t...

[I could not let the month of May come and and go without sharing this post from December of 2017] Bringing the Mysteries of the Most Holy Rosary to Life Let me be frank. Dan Burke and Connie Rossini are fine outstanding lay Catholics whose efforts on behalf of the Lord they serve have touched the hearts of countless souls seeking a closer union with God. Nary a day passes without my being enriched by the wisdom and insight they share at spiritualdirection.com    and at authenticcontemplativeprayer. But I am upset with both of them! Why you ask? Because I was too weak to stand my ground, to honor the promise I made not to buy another book this year! It is THEIR fault that I was unfaithful to that promise and succumbed once again to that “buy with one click” button on Amazon. Had they not written The Contemplative   Rosary with St. John Paul II and St. Teresa of   Avila , I would have been successful in fulfilling my promise. They should h...

Stirring Slumbering Souls - 250 Eucharistic Reflections   is doing just that - stirring souls to rediscover and treasure Christ's Real and Substantial Presence here among us. Read what noted Catholic authors, Connie Rossini and Virginia Lieto, have to say about this inspiring book.  Consider sharing this post and a copy of Stirring Slumbering Souls with those you know and love. Join the effort to quench our Lord's Thirst to be visited, adored and loved.

When I returned to the Catholic Church, I was hungry to really learn and live my Faith. Naturally, I turned to those who had welcomed me back for guidance, never suspecting for a second that those I approached would ever (intentionally or unintentionally) steer me anywhere but to the Truth.  I read and devoured everything they put before me, including suggestions that I turn to “centering prayer”.   At the time, my prayer life was rather simple. I relied heavily on the words others created and was in no position to compare the efficacy and/or validity of centering prayer to other forms of prayer. Initially, I enjoyed this new way of praying. But as I matured in my Faith, I abandoned it. It did not seem “right” although I was still too spiritually immature to articulate why I felt that way. It would have been helpful to me during that part of my spiritual journey had “ Is Centering Prayer Catholic? ” existed. Connie Rossini has done a great service to the Chu...

I have too long delayed in writing a few words about this outstanding book. Oh, it is easy to mouth the words "I Trust God" but far more difficult to actually do so. Connie has given us the tools to help turn our words into action. How does she manage to do this? - by drawing upon her own spiritual journey, life experiences, challenges and crosses, and the teachings of the Little Flower. I particularly enjoyed the way in which she weaved her personal story with the teachings and life of St. Therese. She provides the reader with penetrating, potentially life changing questions at the end of each chapter - some of which force a painful but necessary self-examination. The reader would be wise to take much time to ponder the issues she raises. This book is not a one-time read - it can be, and should be, a lifetime resource which one frequently takes off the shelf from time to time to re-read, to re-ponder and to become spiritually re-invigorated. I am about read...

It is my privilege to welcome Connie Rossini as my guest blogger today. Connie is a homeschooling Mom of four boys, a Lay Carmelite and a gifted writer and author who hails from Minnesota.. You will want to visit her blog regularly: What is a Mystic? by Connie Rossini The word mystic presents a similar problem as the word contemplation . It's not particular to Catholics, or even Christians. And among Catholics, mystic is understood in different senses. What does it mean to be a mystic, according to the Catholic Church? How did the Carmelite saints view mysticism? Is mysticism for a chosen few, or for everyone? First, let's look at the history of the word mystic . Mystic comes from a Greek root meaning "hidden" or "concealed." In the rime of Christ and the early Church, many people in Eastern Europe, which was then under the influence of Hellenistic (Greek) culture, practiced mystery religions. Practitioners were initiated into spiritua...