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. Rev. Father Raymond, O.C.S.O. “We need God.  Without Him we can do nothing. But God also needs us. He needs us to bear witness to the fact that He exists; that God became man; that God died; that God rose again; that men can become like God. God needs us to be animated Gospels and give the world the almost unbelievable ‘Good News’ that God is our Father, and we are heirs to all that almighty God possesses.” (From God. A Woman and the Way )     Father Jean-Pierre de Caussade, S.J. "The divine activity permeates the whole universe, it pervades every creature; wherever they are it is there; it goes before them, with them, and it follows them; all they have to do is to let the waves bear them on. Would to God that ... all men could know how very easy it would be for them to arrive at a high degree of sanctity. They would only h...

(Image Source: Wikimedia Commons ) “We have forgotten that there is eloquence in the silent simplicity of doing one’s ordinary duty. We have forgotten that there is power and terrific impact in example. A child of six was about to undergo a tonsillectomy. The surgeon, a fallen away Catholic, to ease all tension, playfully and paternally told the little girl that he was going to help her go to sleep for a while. Whereupon the child knelt on the operating table saying: 'If I’m going to sleep, I must first say my night prayers.’ In all simplicity and with the full charm of innocent childhood she folded her hands and said what you and I have said again and again in our youth. Now I lay me down to sleep; To God I give my soul to keep. And if I die before I wake, To God I give my soul to take. That night a fallen away Catholic came back to Christ.   We forget that silence speaks, that our mere presence gives testimony to the truth – or evidence of our untruth!”  (Rev. ...

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. Father 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 and 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.)   Plinio Correa de Oliveira “If I am truly grateful for the fact that our Lord is my God and my Savior Who shed His blood to the last drop for me and would have done it for me alone, I must react when I see Him attacked, insulted derided, blasphemed and His Church persecuted. That is t...

 

How can we Catholics credibly profess to believe that Jesus Christ is really, truly and substantially present in the tabernacles of  our Churches but rarely attend Sunday Mass and seldom visit Him outside of Mass?  If it is true (and it is) that the more time that we spend in the Presence of our God, the more like Him we will become, why are we not encouraged to do so?  Why do we keep our Churches locked so that the few who do stop for a visit, cannot get in to be with their Lord?  God wants us to visit Him. Don't we trust Him? Why have we not shared these Truths with our non-Catholic brethren? God is not in our tabernacles just for we Catholics. He is there for every soul, waiting to touch and stir their hearts, to bring them into His one, holy Catholic and Apostolic Church and His loving embrace. There are at least two likely answers to these questions: we mistakenly believe that one religion is just as good as another; and/ or we don't believe He is there!  O...

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. Cardinal Francis Arinze   “The lay faithful as parishioners are the people who are called upon to witness to Christ at the level of the family, the place of work or recreation, in trade and commerce, in politics and government, and in other social areas of daily life. From them, people in society see what the parish is or should be.”  (From  The Evangelizing Parish ) St. John Marie Vianney “If a priest is determined not to lose his soul as soon as any disorder arises in his parish, he must trample underfoot all human considerations as well as the fear of contempt and hatred of his people. He must not allow anything to bar his way in the discharge of duty, even were he certain of being murdered on coming down from the pulpit.” (From  The Curé d’Ars  by François Trochu   Saint Philip Neri  “If a ma...

Most of us are familiar with the  miracle of the five loaves and two fish found in  Matthew 14.  When that Gospel was read recently, I ran across an article entitled Giving What You Receive . It was posted as Catholic Life's Daily Reflection for August 7, 2024. You can read this excellent post in its entirety here.   (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons) Today, I want to share an excerpt from that post - one that provides much fruit for our contemplation: "When we receive spiritual nourishment from our Lord, our first thought must be to give it away. We must first see all that we receive from God as an opportunity to bestow those blessings upon others. This is the nature of grace. For example, if we are given a sense of peace or joy within our hearts, we must realize that this peace or joy we receive is a gift that must be immediately offered to others. If we are given a spiritual insight into the Scriptures, this is given to us first and foremost to share with others. E...

  (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 is my simple and inadequate way of providing nuggets of spiritual wisdom for you to chew on from time to time.       Robert Cardinal Sarah “Noise surrounds us and assaults us. The noise of our ceaselessly active cities, the noise of automobiles, airplanes, machines outside and inside our houses. Besides this noise that is imposed on us. There are other noises that we ourselves produce or choose. Such as the soundtrack of our everyday routine. This noise, unconsciously, often has a function that we do not dare admit: it masks and stifles another sound, the one that occupies and invades our interior life. How can we not be astonished by the efforts that we constantly make to stifle God’s silences.” (From The Power of Silence )     Madeliene Delbrel, Servant of God “At the beginning of each hour of the long day, we could say 'I must begin this hour as if I were going to be a martyr, and a witness' - because there is not one secon...