Harvesting The Fruits of Contemplation

The words of the well-known and beloved hymn, Come Let Us Adore Him will reverberate throughout our Churches this Joyful Season, as well they should. But it is an exhortation that should not be limited to Christmas. It is an invitation and obligation to do so daily.  The hard and difficult Truth, one that is not always welcomed but must be shared no matter the pain and discomfort it may cause, is poignantly captured by these words of our loving but abandoned and ignored Lord: How will you respond?

Last year on the Memorial of our Lady of Guadalupe, I wrote of the blessed visit my daughter and I had made to the site of this great Marian apparition so many years earlier. You can read that post here. Today I want to share a brief message she delivered to St. Juan Diego - a message meant for our ears as well: "I, who am your Mother, stand before you. You remain always under the shelter of my protection. Be aware of how fortunate you are to have access to my motherly care at all times." Our Lady of Guadalupe, ever at our side,  pray for us!

(Image source: Wikimedia Commons ) 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. John Chrysostom “When you are weary of praying, and do not receive, consider how often you have heard a poor man calling, and have not listened to him.” (From Contemplative Provocations by Father Donald Haggerty)

Thank you Allison Gingras and Elizabeth Riordan, for extending a weekly invitation to Catholic bloggers to re-post their favorite articles on It’s "Worth Revisiting” Wednesday. Do yourself a favor- go there now (and every Wednesday). During the rest of each week. be sure to visit Allison at   Reconciled To You and Elizabeth at Theology Is A Verb .  This is what I am offering this week. Guess you can say I am persistent if not always effective.... 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?  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 o...

“How could I, a poor sinner, who have so often offended You, dare to approach You, O Lord, if I beheld You in all your majesty? Under the appearance of bread, however, it is easy to approach You, for if a king disguises himself, it seems as if we do not have to talk to him with so much circumspection and ceremony. If you were not hidden, O Lord, who would dare to approach You with such coldness, so unworthily, and with so many imperfections? (St. Teresa of Avila from The Way of Perfection )