Showing posts with label St. Francis de Sales. Show all posts
Showing posts with label St. Francis de Sales. Show all posts

Pondering Tidbits of Truth - May 8, 2025



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. 

Raoul Plus, S.J

"That is the essential word: mission. Everyone who is baptized, if he understands the part he has to play, is a missionary. He may not be called upon to go to foreign lands; his apostolate may be destined only to affect his near neighbors. But he must understand that wherever he may happen to be, he has a function to perform there: he not only has to save himself, but he also has to sanctify and save his brethren."

 (An excerpt from How To Pray Always)

St. Francis de Sales

 

If during vocal prayer your heart is drawn to mental prayer, do not restrain it, but let your devotion take that channel, omitting the vocal prayers which you intended to say: that which takes their place is more acceptable to God, and more useful to your own soul." 

(From Introduction to a Devout Life)


Thomas à Kempis

"Jesus has many lovers of His heavenly kingdom, but few cross-bearers. Many desire His consolation, but few His tribulation. Many will sit down with Him at table, but few will share His fast. All desire to rejoice with Him, but few will suffer for Him. Many will follow Him to the breaking of the bread, but few will drink the bitter cup of His Passion. Many revere His miracles, but few follow the shame of His cross. Many love Jesus when all goes well with them, and praise Him when He does them a favor; but if Jesus conceals Himself and leaves them for a little while, they fall to complaining or become depressed. They who love Jesus purely for Himself and not for their own sake bless Him in all trouble and anguish as well as in time of consolation. Even if He never sent them consolation, they would still praise Him and give thanks. Oh how powerful is the pure love of Jesus, when not mixed with self-interest or self-love!" 

(From Imitation of Christ)

 

Pondering Tidbits of Truth - February 29, 2024


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.




Caryll Houselander

"You see, God's will for you is to serve Him, in His way, as He chooses, now. It is only a want of humility to think of extreme vocations, like being a nun or a nurse, while you try to bypass your present obvious vocation, which is to restore your will to God's, so that you may become what He wants you to be, and may be able to use the faculties He has given  to you for His service."

(From The Letters of Caryll Houselander)


St. Paul of the Cross

"Build an oratory within yourself, and there have Jesus on the altar of your heart. Speak to Him often while you are doing your work. Speak to Him of His holy love, of His holy sufferings and of the sorrow of most holy Mary."

(From Flower of the Passion -Thoughts of St. Paul of the Cross)


St. Francis de Sales

"It is horrible irreverence to Him who with so much love and sweetness invites us to perfection, to say, 'I don't want to be holy, or perfect, or to have a greater share in Your friendship, or to follow the counsels You give me to advance in it."

(From Finding God's Will For You)


Pondering Tidbits of Truth - October 24, 2019






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. Frances de Sales

"It is horrible irreverence to Him who with so much love and sweetness invites us to perfection, to say, ‘I do not want to be holy, or perfect, or to have a greater share in Your friendship, or to follow the counsels You give me to advance in it.” 

(From Finding God’s Will For You)


Pondering Tidbits of Truth - March 14, 2019



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. Francis de Sales

"If the grace of God had caused me to perform any work of righteousness, or had wrought any good by my means, when the secrets of the hearts are manifested, God alone should know of my righteousness; and my unrighteousness, on the contrary, should be seen by every creature."

(From Introduction to the Devout Life)


Pondering Tidbits of Truth - February 28, 2019



 
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. Francis de Sales

“Souls but little confirmed in piety advance well and happily when the Lord gives them consolations in prayer. But if He afterwards deprive them of these, they immediately become languid and discontented, like children who thank their mother when she gives them sweet things and cry when she takes them away, because they are children, and do not know that a long course of such things is hurtful to them and causes worms. Sensible consolations of the soul often produce the worm of self-satisfaction and that of pride which is the reason why the Lord, who gives them to us at first to encourage us, afterwards takes them away that they might not hurt us, and therefore merits no less thanks in taking them away than in giving them.” 

(From Introduction to the Devout Life)


Pondering Tidbits of Truth - October 4, 2018


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. Basil


“If you wish for a method brief and compendious, one which contains in itself all other methods and is most efficacious in conquering all temptation and difficulties, and acquiring perfection, this is the exercise of the presence of God.” 

(From A Year With the Saints – A Virtue For Every Month of the Year)



Archbishop George Joseph Lucas 


"The invitation to be with Jesus, to live as His disciples is being given to all of us. Increasingly, young Catholics are hearing the invitation in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament – and are finding the strength to respond in times of adoration before the Eucharistic Lord. It is a hopeful sign – to have those who will soon assume roles of leadership and service in the Church – to be leading us now in appreciation for the power of the presence of the risen Christ in the Eucharist.”



St. Frances de Sales


It is horrible irreverence to Him who with so much love and sweetness invites us to perfection, to say, ‘I do not want to be holy, or perfect, or to have a greater share in Your friendship, or to follow the counsels You give me to advance in it.”


(From Finding God’s Will For You)


Pondering Tidbits of Truth - July 5, 2018




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 Achille Gagliardi 


“All perfection is found upon only two principles…The first principle is a very low esteem for all created things but above all, for ourselves. This low esteem should show itself, in practice, by renouncing ourselves and all creatures…especially by manifesting contentment and cheerfulness when the Lord takes from us any good The second principle is a very high esteem of God…From this esteem there must certainly arise in us a great submission of will, and of every power and faculty, to His greater glory, without any mingling of our own interest, though it be ever so holy….there will be great conformity with the Divine Will…”
(From A Year With the Saints – A Virtue for Every Month of the Year)


Pondering Tidbits of Truth - December 21, 2017




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. Francis de Sales


"God detests failings because they are failings. On the other hand, however, in a certain sense, He loves failings since they give to Him an opportunity to show His mercy and to us an opportunity to remain humble and to understand and to sympathize with our neighbor's failings."

(As quoted by Servant of God, John Paul I in his September 20, 1976 General Audience)



Pondering Tidbits of Truth - April 6, 2017




(Photo©Michael Seagriff)


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. Mechtildis

"Oh, if men did but knew how much they might increase their glory and their merit every day, they would never awaken in the morning without gratitude in their hearts to God for His goodness in giving them another day in which they might increase their glory in heaven, their eternal home."


St. Jerome


"With a Christian, not the beginning but the end is what is important. St. Paul had a bad beginning but a good end. Judas had a good beginning but a bad end."



St. Francis de Sales

"Holy Mass is the sum of all spiritual exercises, the mainspring of devotion, the soul of piety, the fire of divine charity, the abyss of divine mercy, and a precious means whereby God confers on us His graces."

[Source of all three quotes: The Way to God]

Eucharistic Reflection - Would A Stranger Know?

  "The Eucharist is alive. If a stranger who knew nothing about the Eucharist were to watch the way we receive, would he know...