Harvesting The Fruits of Contemplation

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 each week.  Stop by for a visit now .    A picture and a few words: What Do  We Need To Be Told Again and Again? (Originally posted June 22, 2017)

There was a time when everyone entering a Catholic Church knew enough to genuflect, to remain silent and to spend time in intimate interior conversation with their Loving Lord locked behind the tabernacle doors. God deserves nothing less today. (Photo©Michael Seagriff) Back in that day, everyone knew they were there in the Presence of God to adore and worship Him, not to visit with their neighbor. Somehow, they were able to enter, remain and exit the Church in reverent silence and postpone their socialization and greetings until they were out on the sidewalk. God deserves nothing less today. These same individuals knew enough to refrain from receiving our Lord in Holy Communion unworthily. Our priests reminded them of that obligation, not only out of loving concern for the salvation of their souls but as a bulwark and protector against Eucharistic sacrilege. God deserves nothing less today  If necessary, these truths were reinforced from the pu...

Thanks to the generosity and encouragement of Allison Gingras and Elizabeth Riordan, an ever-expanding group of Catholic bloggers take the time each week to re-post their favorite articles on “Worth Revisiting” Wednesdays. Go there now (and every Wednesday) and let these authors bless and challenge you in your Faith journey. During the rest of each week, be sure to  visit Allison at Reconciled To You and Elizabeth at Theology Is A Verb .    Here is my contribution: Why Injustice? Why Suffering? Why? (Originally posted June 14, 2015) [There are questions that have no ready answers.How many times have we asked God "Why" when He sends suffering or injustice our way or to our loved ones and friends? Father Raymond answers this recurrent question with one of his own sure to cause you to ponder this subject anew:] (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons ) "Divine Providence, which is but another name for God, is bound to be more than pu...

There are still Catholics (albeit their numbers are dwindling) who attend Mass on Sunday, even though some of them often complain that Mass is boring and/or that they get nothing out of it.  Let me ask two questions. (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons ) When was the last time you really looked at a crucifix? I mean really gazed at one and pondered the realities it depicts. When was the last time you went to Mass and reminded yourself that you were about to spend time at the foot of Jesus' cross? If you have never done either of theses exercises or it has been some time since you did,  take a few minutes today to read and meditate on the following reflections of Father Raymond and author John Lynch. Then when you next go to Church, arrive a few minutes earlier than normal. Gaze upon the crucifix and recall what is about to take place at the Altar of Sacrifice.  “You have never looked upon a crucifix and seen what the early Christians saw...

(Image Source: Wikimedia Commons ) 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. M. Raymond, O.C.S.O . “Do we believe that when we sin we are Pilate ordering the cross and the nails; we are Judas taking the thirty pieces of silver and kissing the Christ; we are Annas and Caiphas and the rest of the Sanhedrin urg­ing the people on to cry "Away with this Man; give unto us Barabbas!" Do we really believe that when we sin we take hammer and use it on a nail that goes through the flesh of God? Or have we, too, lost our sense of sin? (From God, A Woman and the Way )

Our duty and primary mission as Catholics is to make Him known by the way we live our lives. Guess we have a bit more work to do!

When man rejects God's law, there is one most appropriate and necessary response that all who love their Suffering Savior should offer Him:

[There are questions that have no ready answers.How many times have we asked God "Why" when He sends suffering or injustice our way or to our loved ones and friends? Father Raymond answers this recurrent question with one of his own sure to cause you to ponder this subject anew:] (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons ) "Divine Providence, which is but another name for God, is bound to be more than puzzling; it is sure to be an insoluble mystery. We simply do not, we simply cannot, see the reason for many things. Why is this young couple denied children for whom they long, and for whom they could make lavish provision, while next door the mother already burdened with a large family, for whom the father is straining to make ends meet, gives birth to another healthy child? Why is it that this holy young woman brings forth a stillborn child, while a neighbor who has lost all faith becomes a mother to stocky twins?