Harvesting The Fruits of Contemplation

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.     A Merry Christmas to Allison, Elizabeth and to all who visit each week. Here is m y contribution:   He Came and He Will Return (Originally posted December 23, 2013) (Source: Wikimedia Commons ) The Jewish people waited centuries for the coming of the promised Messiah.  When He came their leaders rejected and killed Him. As we approach Christmas Day, ponder this sad reality: many who profess being Catholic today are no better prepared to receive and accept their Lord upon His return than were the Chosen people when He first arrived.

Another Wednesday and another opportunity to thank Allison Gingras and Elizabeth Riordan for their weekly invitation to re-post our favorite posts on Worth Revisiting. Go there now (and every Wednesday) and let an interesting group of Catholic bloggers nourish you in your Faith journey. 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. Here is my contribution: Time To Ask A Difficult But Necessary Question (Originally published on May 3, 2015) For too long there has been a hesitancy, if not a fear, to ask difficult but necessary questions. What follows is certainly one of them. Would our Church and world look substantially different today had all our priests followed this shepherd's example?  It is never too late to begin! Pray for all our shepherds.

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”.  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: Above All - Do Not Close Our Church Doors (Originally posted October 23, 2014) [ One is left to ponder how different our Church would be today had we listened to the Holy Pontiff . It is not too late to open the doors and encourage us to visit He Who Is Love .] (Image Source- Wikimedia Commons ) "Above all, do not allow - as some do, who are deceived under the pretext of restoring the liturgy or who idly claim that only litur...

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 Revisiting Wednesdays. Do yourself a favor- go here 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. This is the post I have chosen to share: Monday Musings - So What’s the Rush? (Initially published April 27, 2015) (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons ) Many professing to be Catholic - even among those who attend Sunday Mass regularly - have lost the sense of the Sacred and their belief in the Real Presence of our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. The many reasons for this are beyond the scope of this brief reflection. Let me mention just two   (1) the ...

Thank you Allison Gingras at  Reconciled To You and Elizabeth Riordan at Theology Is A Verb for hosting "Revisiting Wednesday" each week and those Catholic bloggers who re-post their favorite articles there.  Go there now. (and every Wednesday). You will be inspired by the variety of spiritual insights these authors share.  I am sharing the following post: Stop Searching For Loopholes and Make The Salvation of Souls Priority Number One!  (Originally posted in a slightly different form on April 19, 2013) More than fourteen months ago, I offered my few cents on the unprecedented attack on our religious liberty. Sad to say, not much has changed since I wrote those words. If you not already done so, I suggest you read those comments here if the rest of this entry is to make sense.   The current Administration still refuses to acknowledge our God-given right to freely practice our religion. In fact, it has expres...

Thank you Allison Gingras at  Reconciled To You and Elizabeth Riordan at Theology Is A Verb for hosting "Revisiting Wednesday" each week and those Catholic bloggers who re-post their favorite articles there.  Go there now. (and every Wednesday). You will be inspired by the variety of spiritual insights these authors share. I am sharing the following: Gospel Reflection - Do You and I Really Want to See Jesus?  (Originally posted in slightly different form on November 3, 2013) In Luke's Gospel (19:1-10), we find the hated tax collector Zacchaeus doing everything he could in order to see this Jesus of whom he had heard, including climbing up onto a tree. He did not care what people thought of him. He wanted to see Jesus and nothing and no one were going to stop him. He probably did not expect that Jesus would actually look up, see him perched in the tree, speak to him, and then ask to stay at his home that very...

Time again to thank Allison Gingras at  Reconciled To You and Elizabeth Riordan at Theology Is A Verb for hosting "Revisiting Wednesday" each week and those Catholic bloggers who re-post their favorite articles there.  Go there now. (and every Wednesday). You will be inspired by the variety of spiritual insights these authors share. I thought I would share the following: A Simple Reflection on Mary's Fiat  (Originally posted December 8, 2014) Image Source: Wikimedia Commons ) [I am recycling this simple reflection which got lost amid an earlier and lengthier post.] In Luke's Gospel (1:26-38) we hear the angel Gabriel’s familiar greeting to our heavenly Mother Mary: “Hail full of grace”. We repeat that salutation every time we pray the “Hail Mary”.  As a result, we sometimes forget the significance of those words and the rest of this Scripture passage.  When told by the angel that she, a virgin, would conceive the G...

Thank you Allison Gingras and Elizabeth Riordan for hosting "Worth Revisiting” every Wednesday and inviting Catholic bloggers to re-post their favorite articles there.  Go there now (and every Wednesday). You will be inspired by the variety of spiritual insights these authors share. Visit Allison at  Reconciled To You and Elizabeth at Theology Is A Verb during the rest of the week.  It will be time well spent. Here is my contribution: We Stand With You Lord - No Matter The Price We May Be Asked To Pay!  (Originally published June 25, 2015) May the following words penned more than 50 years ago by Rev. M. Raymond, O.C.S.O. encourage us during these trying times and our pending exile in a world that has, for the most part, turned its back on the Lord who created them, died for them, yet still offers all of us eternal life: (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons ) "There was pain in Egypt - yet, I say it was he...

Once again we thank Allison Gingras and Elizabeth Riordan for hosting "Worth Revisiting” every Wednesday and inviting Catholic bloggers to re-post their favorite articles there. Go there now (and every Wednesday). You will be inspired by the variety of spiritual insights these authors share. Visit Allison at  Reconciled To You and Elizabeth at Theology Is A Verb during the rest of the week.  It will be time well spent. Here is my contribution:  Of Priests, the Eucharist and the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass  (Slightly modified version of a March 28, 2013 post) When Jesus told His followers that unless they ate His Body and drank His Blood, they could not have eternal life, large numbers left and never returned. Their initial repulsion to this direction was understandable: who would want to eat the flesh and drink the blood of another living human being? Yet, many had come to believe that Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah. The...

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 treat yourself to an unending buffet 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 encouragement there. Here is my contribution: [The following personal reflection is one of twenty in my book, Fleeting Glimpses of the Silly, Sentimental and Sublime , all of which are intended to bring you laughter at a time you feel forlorn, comfort when you are overburdened with the challenges of daily living, tears of joy when certain words you read or images they generate resurrect thoughts of those you loved and lost, greater appreciation for the gift of life, zeal for the salvation of your soul, and an increased desire to give to God and tho...