Harvesting The Fruits of Contemplation

We thank Allison Gingras at  Reconciled To You   and Elizabeth Riordan at  Theology Is A Verb once again for  hosting Catholic bloggers at  Worth   Revisiting . It is a privilege for us to share our work with them and their readers . Please pay them a visit.     [Pardon the self-promotion - it is for a magnificent cause - increasing belief in and reverence for our Eucharistic Lord.]   What Are We Catholics Thinking?  (Originally posted May 11, 2018) Father Florian Racine minced no words in his book, Could You Not Watch With Me One Hour? when he wrote: "...to the Real Presence of Jesus, we often respond with our total absence!" Father is not alone in encouraging Catholics to end their neglect of our Eucharistic Lord. I have complied more than 250 quotations from across the centuries (many from our Lord Himself) begging us to visit, adore and spend time with Him. He is imprisoned and hidden in Hi...

[Regarding the Eucharist, Jesus confided the following words to St. Catherine of Siena:] “You receive all the divine essence of the sweetest Sacrament in the whiteness in the bread. Just like the sun cannot be divided in the whiteness of the Holy Host. Let us suppose that the Sacred Host could be divided: even if it would be possible to fragment the Holy Eucharist into  thousands of tiny Particles, in each one of the tiny Particles there is the presence of Christ, the whole God and the whole Man. In the same manner that a mirror would shatter into thousands of pieces, the Sacred Host will not shatter or divide the image of God and Man that you see in the Host; the image of God and Man is in each fragmented part. Contrary to fire, the image of the Host does not diminish in faith or divinity. (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons ) Let us look at the following example: If you had one candle and the whole world would light its candle from that single candle, the lig...

"We are now standing in the face of the greatest historical confrontation humanity has gone through. I do not think that wide circles of American society or wide circles of the Christian community realize this fully. We are now facing the final confrontation between the Church and the anti-Church, of the Gospel versus the anti-Gospel. (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons ) “We must be prepared to undergo great trials in the not-too-distant future; trials that will require us to be ready to give up even our lives, and a total gift of self to Christ and for Christ. Through your prayers and mine, it is possible to alleviate this tribulation, but it is no longer possible to avert it. . . .How many times has the renewal of the Church been brought about in blood! It will not be different this time."  ( Cardinal Karol Wojtyla (St. John Paul II) from Bicentennial talk given in the United States as quoted by Father C. John McClosk...

We thank Allison Gingras at  Reconciled To You   and Elizabeth Riordan at  Theology Is A Verb once again for  hosting Catholic bloggers at  Worth   Revisiting . It is a privilege for us to share our work with them and their readers . Here is my contribution this week:   When Was The Last Time You Really Looked At A Crucifix? (Originally posted August 2, 2015) There are still Catholics (albeit their numbers are dwindling) who attend Mass on Sunday, even though some of them often complain that Mass is boring and/or that they get nothing out of it.   Let me ask two questions. (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons ) When was the last time you really looked at a crucifix? I mean really gazed at one and pondered the realities it depicts. When was the last time you went to Mass and reminded yourself that you were about to spend time at the foot of Jesus' cross? If you have never done either of the...

"In order to show me close up how ardently Thou lovest me, Thou comest from the purest delights of Heaven down to this dirty, miserable earth, spend Thy life in poverty, adversities and sufferings - finally to hang, despised, ridiculed and overwhelmed with pain, between two thieves on the shameful gibbet. By sacrificing Thyself in this horrible way, Thou hast redeemed me, O God of love! Who could have imagined it?

Few people warm up to lepers or prophets. That is most unfortunate. (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons ) In Jesus’ time, lepers were shunned. Rarely would they show themselves in public and when they did so they kept their distance from the rest of the community – warning those nearby of their diseased presence by their voices and/or by ringing bells. What great courage and faith it took for them to seek Jesus out. They knew He was the source of mercy, forgiveness, healing and eternal life. They begged Him to have mercy on them and cleanse them physically. Jesus, defying the norms of His day, not only approached them, He touched and healed them. Unfortunately, true to human nature, not all of those cured expressed their thanksgiving and gratitude for the opportunity at a new life. Man’s ingratitude toward His God has continued over the centuries. As the undeserved beneficiaries of God’s mercy and spiritual healing, how have we expressed our gratitude ...