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.       Father Raniero Cantalamessa, O.F.M. Cap. “When God finds a person determined to obey Him, He takes the life of that person in His hands like the helm of a boat or the reins of a horse. Not just in theory, but in reality. He becomes ‘Lord,’ that is, He who ‘rules’ and ‘governs’.”   (From Obedience. The Authority of the Word ) St. Peter Julian Eymard “Our Lord must be honored in the manner and through the virtue which He manifests in the Blessed Sacrament. Now then, what virtue does He practice and teach there constantly and visibly, to all, even to the most ignorant? Humility: He is more humiliated there than in His birth, in His life, even in His death. Here His annihilation veils and entombs everything, His divinity, His humanity, His words and His actions. If then you want to honor Him, as is the essential ...

A happy and blessed New Year to all who visit here!   [I thought this post was worth sharing again.]   A Different Kind of New Year's Exercise  (Originally posted on January 1, 2018) Those who visit here, know how blessed I have been over the years to spend time in retreat at the Abbey at the Genesee in Piffard, New York. [If you missed those posts and wish to take a peek, you can find them  here , here ,  here  and here .] (Image Source: Abbey at the Genesee) This present post was prompted by an e-mail I received last week from the Abbey’s Retreat House manager, reminding me of what a perfect time of the year it is to visit this Trappist monastery. He enclosed this breathtakingly beautiful image of our Blessed Mother located near the entrance door to the Abbey. Since death can occur at any time and since we must always be prepared for it, the beginning of this new year seems an appropriate time for me to highlight some o...

We thank Allison Gingras at  Reconciled To You    and Elizabeth Riordan at  Theology Is A Verb   for hosting Worth Revisiting each week. It is a privilege to share our work with them and their followers . A Different Kind of New Year's Exercise  (Originally posted on January 1, 2018) Those who visit here, know how blessed I have been over the years to spend time in retreat at the Abbey at the Genesee in Piffard, New York. [If you missed those posts and wish to take a peek, you can find them  here , here ,  here  and here .] (Image Source: Abbey at the Genesee) This present post was prompted by an e-mail I received last week from the Abbey’s Retreat House manager, reminding me of what a perfect time of the year it is to visit this Trappist monastery. He enclosed this breathtakingly beautiful image of our Blessed Mother located near the entrance door to the Abbey. Since death can occur at any time and since ...

Those who visit here, know how blessed I have been over the years to spend time in retreat at the Abbey at the Genesee in Piffard, New York. [If you missed those posts and wish to take a peek, you can find them  here , here ,  here  and here .] (Image Source: Abbey at the Genesee) This present post was prompted by an e-mail I received last week from the Abbey’s Retreat House manager, reminding me of what a perfect time of the year it is to visit this Trappist monastery. He enclosed this breathtakingly beautiful image of our Blessed Mother located near the entrance door to the Abbey. Since death can occur at any time and since we must always be prepared for it, the beginning of this new year seems an appropriate time for me to highlight some of what Father John Eudes, O.C.S.O. shared when I last made a retreat at the Abbey. He began his presentation by reminding us that “there are many surprises in life, that some are life-changing, and that o...

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 “It’s Worth Revisiting” Wednesdays. Do yourself a favor- go there now (and every Wednesday) and let these authors bless and challenge you in Faith journey. During the rest of each week. visit Allison at  Reconciled To You and Elizabeth at Theology Is A Verb .  You will be pleased with what they share. Here is what I am sharing this week: Recalling Life Changing Moments (Originally posted August 18, 2014) (Photo©Michael Seagriff) [There are times when we should just stop, sit and silently recall some of the life-changing moments we have experienced in our lives but may have buried in the stone piles of our mind. My writing group recently suggested that we resurrect and record some of those memories. It was a good exercise and one I hope you will be encourag...

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 “It’s Worth Revisiting” Wednesdays. Do yourself a favor: go there now (and every Wednesday) and let these authors bless and challenge you in your Faith journey. During the rest of each week. visit Allison at   Reconciled To You and Elizabeth at Theology Is A Verb .  You will be pleased with what they share. I hope you find something of value in what follows: Good Night Lord: Thank You For My Life and My Dominican Vocation (Originally posted:  April 25, 2011) (Image source: Wikimedia Commons ) There are two reasons why I may have some difficulty falling asleep tonight. On my way to Mass this morning at a Church near where my son and his wife live, I was awestruck by a life size portrait of Our Risen Lord that w...

God is the creator of all human life. He makes no mistakes. Who are we to subsitute our judgment for His? Who are we to so brazenly and illegitimately think we have the right to usurp His authority over the life He creates? The next time we think we  know better than Him as to the quality of life some disabled person may have or mistakenly think we are being compassionate when we are tempted to think or suggest that  a less than perfectly formed human being should not be allowed to live, remember Tim. Look at Tim! Look at the way he loves! Look at his joy and love of life! Doesn't he more closely resembles the God Who created him than many of us able bodied folk do? Look at Tim and see He Who created this jewel!     Thanks to Barb at Suffering For Joy for sharing this treasure. Visit her often. She has much to offer us in our earthly journey toward our heavenly home.

What follows is another "must see" video that is making its rounds through Facebook. It is well worth passing on. Thanks to GodVine.com for circulating it and for Anne Costa and Barbara Jensen for sharing it with me. We must never forget that all human life, from the moment of conception to natural death, has value. We are all made in God's image. He has a plan and mission for each of us. His plan for little Christian will be readily apparent to those who take a few moments to view this piece.

This is surely worth passing on.  Thanks to Faith at The One True Faith for sharing it: