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. St. John Chrysostom "Even if you do not confess, God is not ignorant of the deed, since he knew it before it was committed. Why then do you not speak of it? Does the transgression become heavier by the confession? No, it becomes lighter and less troublesome. And this is why he wants you to confess: not that you should be punished, but that you should be forgiven; not that he may learn your sin—how could that be, since he has seen it?—but that you may learn what favor he bestows. He wishes you to learn the greatness of his grace, so that you may praise him perfectly, that you may be slower to sin, that you may be quicker to virtue. And if you do not confess the greatness of the need, you will not understand the enormous magnitude of his grace."                       ...

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. Jesus to Saint Catherine of Siena “I require that you should love  Me with the same love with which I love you. This indeed you cannot do, because I love you without being loved. All the love you have for Me you owe to Me, so that it is not of grace that you love Me, but because you ought to do so, while I love you of grace, and not because I owe you My love. Therefore to Me, in person, you cannot repay the love which I require of you, and I have placed you in the midst of your fellows, that you may do to them that which you cannot do to Me,  that is to say, that you may love your neighbor of free grace, without expecting any return from him, and what you do to him, I count as done to Me, which My Truth showed forth when He said to Paul, My persecutor - 'Saul, Saul why persecute you Me?' This He said, judging that Paul persecuted Him in His...

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.       Johann Tauler, O.P. "Everyone should do for his neighbor what his neighbor  cannot do so well as he, and in this way, by his love for others, he thanks God for His graces. Be sure of this: if we are not useful, profitable and helpful to our neighbor, we shall have much to answer for before God. The Gospel says that everyone will have to give an account of his stewardship. Each one of us has an obligation to pay back as best he can what he has received from God, because God gave it to him for the benefit of others." (From Spiritual Conferences )    St. Peter Julian Eymard "Another characteristic of the charity of our Lord is humility. Our Lord did not regard Himself as anything but a servant of His Apostles. Never put your self above others; never believe yourselves greater than they on account of your learning or...

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 Venerable Fulton J. Sheen "The executioners expected Jesus to cry, for everyone pinned to the gibbet of the Cross had done it before Him. Seneca wrote that those who were crucified cursed the day of their birthday, the executioners, their mothers, and even spat on those who looked upon them. Cicero recorded that at times it was necessary to cut out the tongues of those who were crucified to stop their terrible blasphemies. Hence the executioners expected a word, but not the kind of word that they heard...Like some fragrant trees which bathe in perfume the very axe which gashes them, the great Heart on the Tree of Love poured out from its depths something  less than a cry than a prayer - the soft, low prayer of pardon and forgiveness." (From The Life of Christ ) Ven. Cardinal Nguyen Von Thuan "Kn...

(Image source: Wikimedia Commons ) “Our union with Christ in the Eucharist must be expressed in the truth of our lives today – in our actions, in our behavior, in our life-style and in our relationships with others. For each one of us the Eucharist is a call to ever greater effort, so that we may live as true followers of Jesus: truthful in our speech, generous in our deeds, concerned, respectful of the dignity and rights of all persons – whatever their rank or income – self-sacrificing, fair and just, kind, compassionate and self-controlled…The truth of our union with Jesus Christ in the Eucharist is tested by whether or not we really love our fellow men and women; it is tested by how we treat others; especially our families…, by whether or not we try to be reconciled with our enemies, or whether or not we forgive those who hurt us or offend us.” (St John Paul II from Homily in Phoenix Park, September 29, 1979)