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. 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...

Today we Dominicans joyfully remember our beloved sister, St. Catherine of Siena.  (Image source: Wikimedia Commons ) What a treasure St. Catherine of Siena is! One does not become a Doctor of the Church by being fearful to express, teach and live God's Truth in its entirety.  How ill-advised we are to discount, ignore or try to nuance the wisdom God has shared over the centuries through such faithful servants as she.  Less likely would we be to commit this error if our primary concern was the salvation of souls. No wonder those who wish to only tickle our ears and destroy our consciences ignore these great spiritual writers, abandoning God's Truth for a less demanding and counterfeit one. The following words  Jesus shared with St. Catherine in the 14th century are clear and unambiguous directions to his shepherds - not only those living then but for those among us today. May we and they be given the grace, humility and wisdom to hear and f...

Who Will Step Up This Christmas and Speak the Truth in Love? (Originally posted December 9, 2014) [This is one of the two times each year when, I believe,  our Lord most dreads the silence that will envelop far too many of our parishes. Someone needs to give voice to His yearnings. Where is the zeal for the salvation of souls? ] (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons ) Let us welcome with open arms the thousands who will flock to our Churches this Christmas – most especially those who rarely come to worship the God whose birth we commemorate. But what does Love command we tell them?  Speaking the Truth is, at times, very difficult but necessary. This is one of those times. If our primary concern is for the salvation of souls (and it should be), silence about their absence from our midst during the rest of the year is not an option. Such silence will be construed as tacit approval of their continual and mortally sinful absen...

There is nothing more important than the salvation of souls. No wonder Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI challenged all priests to follow the fruitful and courageous example of St. John Marie Vianney. Let us pray that many more may do so!

T hank you Elizabeth Riordan at  Theology Is A Verb  and Allison Gingras at  Reconciled To You for  hosting Catholic bloggers at  Worth   Revisiting . We appreciate sharing our work with you and your readers each week.  Stop by for a visit now . Here is my contribution: Monday Musings - Silence Slays Souls - The Souls of Individuals and the Souls of Nations (Originally published May 28, 2018 Sunday’s Gospel command (Matthew 8:16-20) to make disciples of all nations baptizing them in name of the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit prompts this question: Have we Catholics abandoned our Christ-given mission? For years, our Church has downplayed the importance of conversion and the salvation of all souls, choosing in their stead the promotion of social justice and worldly objectives. We act as if the solution to the world’s problems remain in the secular realm when in fact it can be fought and defeated only on the spiritual plain.  ...

We thank Allison Gingras at  Reconciled To You   and Elizabeth Riordan at  Theology Is A Verb once again for  hosting Catholic bloggers at  Worth   Revisiting . It is a privilege for us to share our work with them and their readers each week.  Stop by for a visit now .    I decided to share this post:   [ Brief update and correction : Father Brian Mulcahy, O.P. was kind enough to inform me of the following: "Because the Memorial of St Vincent Ferrer so often falls either during Holy Week or the Easter Octave, on our Dominican liturgical calendar, his Memorial has been transferred to a month later, on May 5th every year." I am a month early]. Come Meet St. Vincent Ferrer, O.P. (Originally posted on April 5, 2014) (Church of St. Vincent Ferrer, NYC) On April 5th, we will celebrate the feast day of one of the greatest preachers, confessors and healers in the history of the Dominican Order, St. Vi...

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 . Jean-Baptiste Chautard, O.C.S.O. "Preaching b y example will always be the foremost instrument of conversion…Lectures, good books, Christian newspapers and magazines, and even fine sermons must gravitate around this fundamental program: that we need to influence people by an apostolate of good example , the example of fervent Christians, who make Jesus Christ live again on this earth by spreading about them the good odor of His virtues."  (From  The Soul of the Apostolate) St. Vincent de Paul "Believe me, we will never be of any use in doing God’s work until we become thoroughly convinced that, of ourselves, we are better fitted to ruin everything than to make a success of it."  Father Jean-Pierre de Caussade, S.J. "The soul that does not attach itself solely to the will of ...

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 Winfrid Herbst, S.D.S. "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 J. Urteaga Loidi "If you give yourself to God give yourself the way the saints did. Let no one and nothing occupy your attention and slow you down: you belong to God. If you give yourself, give yourself for eternity. Let neither the roaring waves nor the treacherous undercurrent shake the concrete solidity of your foundations. God depends on you: He leans on you....

Thank you Allison Gingras  (Reconciled To You) and Elizabeth Riordan ( Theology Is A Verb ) for another opportunity to re-publish our favorite posts on Worth Revisiting . Stop for a visit now (and every Wednesday). The gifted writers who post there each week will no doubt have much of value to offer you. Monday Musings - A Plea To Save Human Lives and Souls!  (Originally published October 10, 2016) This is not a political post. It is a moral exhortation, a plea to save human lives and souls! (The Truth is a Person - Jesus Christ) Speaking the Truth should not be a rarity in the pulpits of our country. Since the salvation of souls is the primary purpose of the Catholic Church’s existence, Truth should be an ever-present pulpit visitor. But alas Truth is an infrequent guest there. As a result, souls are being lost and millions of human lives, in and out of the womb, are being prematurely snuffed out and discarded like...

After reading a recent syndicated column in my Diocesan newspaper, I could not remain silent. The columnist, Father Ron Rolheiser, a well-known Catholic priest and theologian, criticized a brother priest who had had the courage to preach the Truth. (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons ) Some background first.  For decades, observers have decried the absence of quality catechesis within the Catholic Church – this despite the universal recognition that many Catholics do not know or fully understand their Faith. Several respected polls have concluded that as many as seventy-five per cent of those professing to be Catholic do not attend Sunday Mass on any regular basis, if at all. The number of non-attendees may be even greater than this reported percentage. The salvation of its members’ souls is the Church’s primary mission. Yet rarely is the necessity of attending and participating in Sunday Mass ever addressed. When was the last time you heard a homily on the ...

Thank you Allison Gingras  (Reconciled To You) and Elizabeth Riordan ( Theology Is A Verb) for this opportunity to re-publish a favorite post on Worth Revisiting . Stop for a visit now (and every Wednesday). The gifted hostesses and other writers who post each week will no doubt have much of value to offer you.. (Image source: Wikimedia Commons ) What is more important: the salvation of souls or not “hurting” someone’s “feelings”?   If you are interested in an answer, listen here .

Thank you Allison Gingras and Elizabeth Riordan for another opportunity to re-publish our favorite posts on Worth Revisiting . Go there now (and every Wednesday) and be nourished spiritually. V isit Allison at   Reconciled To You and Elizabeth at Theology Is A Verb during the rest of each week.   You will enjoy your visit. I share the following post: Who Will Step Up This Christmas and Speak the Truth in Love?  (Originally posted 12/9/14) [This is one of the two times each year when, I believe,  our Lord most dreads the silence that will envelop far too many of our parishes. Someone needs to give voice to His yearnings. Where is the zeal for the salvation of souls?  What follows is similar to some of my previous posts on this subject.] Image Source: Wikimedia Commons ) Let us welcome with open arms the thousands who will flock to our Churches this Christmas – most especially those who rarely come to ...

This is not a political post. It is a moral exhortation, a plea to save human lives and souls! (The Truth is a Person - Jesus Christ)  Speaking the Truth should not be a rarity in the pulpits of our country. Since the salvation of souls is the primary purpose of the Catholic Church’s existence, Truth should be an ever-present pulpit visitor. But alas Truth is an infrequent guest there. As a result, souls are being lost and millions of human lives, in and out of the womb, are being prematurely snuffed out and discarded like so much unwelcome trash. Nothing is more valuable or entitled to greater protection than human life – from the moment of conception to the natural death. Abortion and euthanasia are intrinsic evils – always and under all circumstances. Such grave sins can never be supported by anyone, most especially those professing to be Catholic.   No Catholic can ever support these evils or vote for any public official who does. Despite the n...

Too many of us have for too long remained silent in the face of evil and untruth. Too many of us have sat silently as all sense of the Sacred has been removed from many of our Church buildings and our Holy Masses.  Too many of us for too long have mistakenly placed "not offending someone's feelings" over doing whatever might be necessary to help save their soul. In short,  too many of us have been afraid to share the Truth. Our silence allows deception to take root, the profane to replace the Sacred and souls to be lost. We can no longer remain silent. We have to shake things up; we have to "make a mess".  We must worship God in the manner to which He and we are entitled. We must restore a sense of the Sacred and rediscover "awe and amazement" in His Eucharistic Presence here among us. We have to defend and fight for the Truth and demand that it be preached. We have to use our gift of speech:.

W e thank Allison Gingras and Elizabeth Riordan for inviting Catholic bloggers to re-post their favorite articles on "Worth Revisiting” Wednesdays.  Do yourself a favor- go there now (and every Wednesday) and gouge yourself on a feast of spiritual treasures. Be sure to visit Allison at  Reconciled To You and Elizabeth at Theology Is A Verb during the rest of the week.  You will find much spiritual nourishment and encouragement there. Here is my contribution:   It Is The Truth, Not Nuanced Language, That Will Set Us Free (Originally posted on October 26, 2015) (Image source: Wikimedia Commons ) What a treasure St. Catherine of Siena is! One does not become a Doctor of the Church by being fearful to express, teach and live God's Truth in its entirety.  How ill-advised we are to discount, ignore or try to nuance the wisdom God has shared over the centuries through such faithful servants as she.  Less likely ...

(Image source: Wikimedia Commons ) There is confusion in the Church, no doubt, but is it due to the Church's "obstinate insistence" on preaching demanding moral principles? Listen to find out what I think. After you have done so, click this link , read Monsignor Pope's article, and then ponder this one question: Are Monsignor Pope and I wrong ?.  

(Image source: Wikimedia Commons )  What is more important: the salvation of souls or not “hurting” someone’s “feelings”?   If you are interested in an answer, listen here .