Daily Thought For August 15, 2015

-
The Sacrifices Called For In Marriage

Sometimes our health and our own duties do not allow us to suffer the hardships of penance, even though everybody admits that the road of our earthly existence is covered with small crosses. The acceptance of these crosses in the spirit of penance is the vast field where we can exercise penance.

 Besides, we are to fulfill our everyday duties and the will of God in every instant of our lives. The latter, which we must do perfectly in every action, word, and thought, demands giving up a lot of things we like: and this is a plentiful source of penance.

 However, Jesus urges us not to be sad when doing penance, but to do it for love.

 A soul that loves God is always ready to please, with every thought, word, and action, throughout one’s entire existence. And should any affection be sacrificed in order to give joy to God, we should consider ourselves fortunate to have the opportunity to prove our unselfish love.

 That is why the saints were always willing to make sacrifices and to suffer. In fact, that was how they could prove the purity of their love; in the cross their love was purified and every affection that was contrary to it was rooted out.
Thus, we can all do penance without considering our health conditions, the type of occupations and duties that our own status or calling in life calls for; in fact, we can do penance every moment of our lives, as long as we do it for love.
Saint Maximilian Kolbe

Popular posts from this blog

Daily Thought For October 23, 2022

-
  Powerful Reflection from The Word Among Us Let’s not get off on the wrong foot with the Pharisee in this parable. He seemed to be doing pretty well spiritually. He was not greedy, dishonest, or adulterous. He fasted twice a week and went so far as to pay tithes on all his income. He prayed at the Temple regularly. That was better than most people. So why did Jesus say he didn’t go home justified? Because the Temple was a place of encounter with God. A holy location where God and his children came together. This Pharisee seemed to be missing that connection with the Lord. Instead of speaking his prayer to God, he prayed “to himself” (Luke 18:11) and itemized his accomplishments. By focusing on his righteous acts, he was not really making himself present to God. He wasn’t inviting God to be present to him either. So he missed the chance to encounter God and receive his mercy and grace. In that sense, the Pharisee left the Temple basically the same way he had entered. The tax collector,
Read more

Daily Thought For May 12, 2016

-
With God Setbacks Become Opportunities EVERY TIME something thwarts your plans or desires, use that as a reminder to communicate with Me. This practice has several benefits. The first is obvious: Talking with Me blesses you and strengthens our relationship. Another benefit is that disappointments, instead of dragging you down, are transformed into opportunities for good. This transformation removes the sting from difficult circumstances, making it possible to be joyful in the midst of adversity.  Begin by practicing this discipline in all the little disappointments of daily life. It is often these minor setbacks that draw you away from My Presence. When you reframe setbacks as opportunities, you find that you gain much more than you have lost. It is only after much training that you can accept major losses in this positive way. But it is possible to attain the perspective of the apostle Paul, who wrote:  Compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus, I consider eve
Read more