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. Venerable Fulton J. Sheen   “Burning the candle at both ends for God’s sake may be foolishness to the world, but it is a profitable Christian exercise for so much better the light! Only one thing in life matters: Being found worthy of the Light of the World in the hour of His visitation. We need have no undue fear for our health if we work hard for the Kingdom of God; God will take care of our health if we take care of His cause. In any case, it is better to burn out than to rust out.”   (From Fulton Sheen Institute) St. Isaac of Syria "In times of spiritual coldness and laziness, imagine in your heart those times in the past when you were full of zeal and solicitude in all things, even the smallest. Remember your past efforts and the energy with which you opposed those who wanted to obstruct your progress. These recollections...

"We have close to us as much as Joseph had at Nazareth; we have our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, but our poor eyes fail to see Him. Let us once become interior souls and we shall immediately see. In no better way can we enter into the Heart of our Lord than through Saint Joseph. Jesus and Mary are eager to pay the debts which they owe him for his devoted care of them, and their greatest pleasure is to fulfill his least desire. Let him, then, lead you by hand into the interior sanctuary of Jesus Eucharistic." St. Peter Julian Eymard

  “We all have in him [St. Joseph] a model and a protector. As adorers of the Sacramental Jesus, we continue near the Blessed Sacrament his service, his adoration and his love. He will watch over us and give us his spirit and virtues. Leading us to Jesus, he will say to Him: ‘I cannot be on earth any longer to watch over You and serve You, but bless these adorers who are replacing me; give them the graces You gave me, so that their service may recall and replace mine.’ How happy St. Joseph is to see us crowding about Jesus in His Sacrament, feeble, abandoned, persecuted, more in need of defenders and servants than in His Infancy…” (St. Peter Julian Eymard)

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. I wanted to share this:   Words Are Not Always Necessary - Reflection on St. Joseph (Originally published March 14, 2014) (Photo©Michael Seagriff) Scripture contains none of the words that St. Joseph shared with his Divine Son, his Virgin bride, his customers or those with whom he interacted daily. But that is okay as our Holy Father tells us: There are many additional reasons to love this great Saint. I have no doubt that you will enjoy the thoughts of Brother Joseph Martin Hagan, O.P. ...

(St. Joseph's Parish, Oneida, NY) Scripture contains none of the words that St. Joseph shared with his Divine Son, his Virgin bride, his customers or those with whom he interacted daily. But that is okay as our Holy Father tells us: There are many additional reasons to love this great Saint. I have no doubt that you will enjoy the thoughts of Brother Joseph Martin Hagan, O.P.

My Dad was a Joseph. My deceased brother was a Joseph. My Confirmation name is Joseph. My only son is a Joseph. And as a Lay Dominican, I am a member of the St. Joseph Province of the Order of Preachers.   Guess it is incumbent upon me then to share something about St. Joseph today.   Let me start with the wisdom offered by our beloved Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI, during an Address he gave on December 19, 2005:   “Let us allow ourselves to be ‘infected’ by St. Joseph ’s silence.   We need it greatly, in a world that is often too noisy, that does not favor meditation or listening to the voice of God.”   What follows are three Scriptural passages involving St. Joseph .  Three times an angel told him what God was asking of him. Each time Joseph accepted what he was told. Is there a lesson there for us? Why not take some time before the end of this day to read, reflect and meditate on these passages? Hopefully that exercise will make thi...

  What a privilege it was to serve Mass this morning! It is not something I have had the honor to do more than 3 or 4 times in my adult life.   For someone who just recently received his Medicare card, today was both a day for gratitude and for awe – gratitude for the gift of life and awe for the privilege to be so close to the holy altar of sacrifice.   Who am I to have been privileged to unlock Jesus’ cell door this morning in anticipation of Father carrying Him out to be with those Whom He so dearly loves?   Or to have prayed with Father in the sacristy before we processed into the sanctuary and after we returned upon the completion of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass?   I marvel at the undeserved honor given me this day to carry the chalice, paten and unconsecrated host to its altar home prior to Mass.   (Not My Parish But St. Vincent Ferrer, NYC)   How can I ever explain the overwhelming sense of unworthiness...