Harvesting The Fruits of Contemplation

Father Mark is once again doing what he does best - challenging his brother priests to be the holy men God chose them to be and in the process to lead their flock to holiness as well: Give Him your poverty, trust Him with your sins Our priests need our prayerful and daily support.

“When Jesus remains in the quiet of the altar, in the tabernacle’s shadow, people in their blind carelessness let Him alone, they forget all about Him. And when He exposes Himself upon the altar, he is hurt to the Heart by the irreverence of so many who either have no faith at all or a faith that is very weak. When He goes through the streets in order to bring unspeakable blessings to His beloved children, He hears curses and blasphemies that make out of His errand of mercy another way of the cross. But in the midst of all these bitternesses one hope sustains Him – the hope of a place of refuge that will offer the love and peace He craves. The bitter chalice which others continually place to His lips He drinks with resignation; for He is sustained by the hope of a loving reception in my heart by way of reparation. One only hour spent in the enjoyment of my love, and He forgets years and years of suffering… Altar and tabernacle, monstrance and church, are merely the avenues...

Catholic Writers Conference M E D I A   R E L E A S E CONTACT: Ann Margaret Lewis Phone: (317) 755-2693 e-mail: c wglivecon@catholicwritersguild.com   Catholic Writers to Hold Conference in Arlington, Texas Arlington, TX--The fourth annual Catholic Writers’ Conference LIVE will take place August 29-31, 2012, at the Arlington Convention Center in Arlington, TX. Sponsored by the Catholic Writer’s Guild and the Catholic Marketing Network (CMN), and held in conjunction with CMN’s annual retailer trade show, the Catholic Writers Conference LIVE provides Catholic authors with a prime opportunity to meet and share their faith with editors, publishers, fellow writers, and bookstore owners from across the globe. The conference will offer “pitch sessions,” allowing authors an opportunity to meet personally with publishing professionals and pitch their writing projects. In addition, attendees have the opportunity to sign up for critique w...

There have always been prophets among us. Unfortunately, far too often we either do not hear them or intentionally ignore them. How different our Church and world might have been had we listened to Venerable Fulton J. Sheen. The good news is that much of what he wrote still is readily accessible to anyone who wants to read what this often ignored messenger tried to share during his earthly life and what God is now allowing so many to re-discover and appreciate.    May more of us listen to this prophet. His wisdom and insight are timeless. The following gem was recently quoted on Church Militant and is well worth sharing here: “The world in which we live is the battleground of the Church. I believe that we are now living at the end of Christendom. It is the end of Christendom but not the end of Christianity. What is Christendom? It is the political, economic, moral, social, legal life of a nation as inspired by the gospel ethic. That is finished. Aborti...

"If the poison of pride is swelling up in you, turn to the Eucharist; and that Bread, Which is your God humbling and disguising Himself, will teach you humility. If the fever of selfish greed rages in you, feed on this Bread; and you will learn generosity. If the cold wind of coveting withers you, hasten to the Bread of Angels; and charity will come to blossom in your heart. If you feel the itch of intemperance, nourish yourself with the Flesh and Blood of Christ, Who practiced heroic self-control during His earthly life; and you will become temperate. If you are lazy and sluggish about spiritual things, strengthen yourself with this heavenly Food; and you will grow fervent. Lastly, if you feel scorched by the fever of impurity, go to the banquet of the Angels; and the spotless Flesh of Christ will make you pure and chaste," (St. Cyril of Alexandria )

(In the event you are not familar with the purpose of this post, take a quick look here ). This week's offerings: From St. Teresa of Avila : “The whole aim of any person who is beginning prayer – and don’t forget this, because it is very important     – should be that he work and prepare himself with determination and every effort to bring his will in conformity with God’s will.” (From Interior Castle) From Scripture: “He summoned the crowd with His disciples and said to them: ‘If a man wishes to come after me, he must deny his very self, take up his cross and follow in My steps. Whoever will preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will preserve it’.” (Mark 8:34-35) From St. Augustine “Love of self till God is forgotten or love of God till self is forgotten.” (From The City of God ) (You can find my initial offerings here ).

The Purpose of Pondering Tidbits of Truth We are all busy people. Many of us have convinced ourselves that we simply do not have the time to read, ponder and reflect on the Scriptures or the wealth of spiritual wisdom our Church has accumulated over the centuries. Yet, we owe God and ourselves this reflective time. If we spend little or no time, pondering the truths and mysteries of our Faith, we are not going to progress spiritually - a growth essential to our eternal well-being and that of those around us. 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. Rarely will they share a common thread. On the first and third Thursday of each month (God willing), I will offer some quotations for your reflection. This is my challenge to you. Read and ponder them. Invest at least five minutes of your time on each of them over the course of two weeks, asking God to let you understa...