tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2879849397500156692024-03-13T23:07:22.578-07:00Daily ThoughtFr. Jim Northrop's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14487177357738746001noreply@blogger.comBlogger2106125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-287984939750015669.post-50537893609007182922022-11-10T07:38:00.002-08:002022-11-10T07:38:14.675-08:00Daily Thought For November 10, 2022<p style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>God's Generosity</b></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">No one, however weak, is denied a share in the victory of the cross. No one is beyond the help of the prayer of Christ. </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">St. Leo the Great </span></b></p>Fr. Jim Northrop's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14487177357738746001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-287984939750015669.post-80777225481434614882022-10-29T07:02:00.009-07:002022-10-29T07:02:54.292-07:00Daily Thought For October 29, 2022<p style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Cast Your Cares</b></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">As a camel kneels before his master to have him remove his burden at the end of the day, so kneel each night and let the Master take your burden.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Corrie Ten Boom</b></span></p>Fr. Jim Northrop's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14487177357738746001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-287984939750015669.post-39715112575141878632022-10-22T15:06:00.005-07:002022-10-22T15:06:29.321-07:00Daily Thought For October 23, 2022<p style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Powerful Reflection from The Word Among Us</b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">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?</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">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.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">The tax collector, on the other hand, laid himself bare before God. He knew his failings and unworthiness and had no list of righteous acts to display to God. He opened his heart and begged for mercy. There, in that vulnerable, humble moment, God and man came together in a real way. And as a result, the tax collector went home a new man.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Prayer isn’t always a raw, gut-wrenching experience like the tax collector had. But if we want to encounter God as we pray, we do need to approach him with honesty and humility. We need to open our hearts to God and ask him to come in.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">When you go to Mass today, you’ll be entering a holy place where God and his children come together. Come, like the tax collector, without pretense and ready to receive his grace and mercy.</span></p><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><i>“God, you alone are holy. I open my heart and invite you to cleanse me. Make me like you!”</i></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Daily Reflection from The Word Among Us (www.wau.org)</b></span></p>Fr. Jim Northrop's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14487177357738746001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-287984939750015669.post-16744236697690701032022-10-20T07:36:00.004-07:002022-10-20T07:36:15.803-07:00Daily Thought For October 20, 2022<p style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Ocean of Goodness</b></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">Let us throw ourselves into the ocean of His goodness, where every failing will be canceled and anxiety turned into love.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>St. Paul of the Cross</b></span></p>Fr. Jim Northrop's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14487177357738746001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-287984939750015669.post-82546420079262556202022-10-15T11:10:00.010-07:002022-10-15T11:10:53.898-07:00Daily Thought For October 15, 2022<p style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Simplicity</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;">The closer one approaches to God, the simpler one becomes.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;"><b>St. Teresa of Avila</b></span></p>Fr. Jim Northrop's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14487177357738746001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-287984939750015669.post-43831137737509159742022-10-13T08:24:00.003-07:002022-10-13T08:24:10.580-07:00Daily Thought For October 13, 2022<p style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Character</b></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">Your true character Is most accurately measured by how you treat those who can do 'Nothing' for you.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>St. Teresa of Calcutta</b></span></p>Fr. Jim Northrop's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14487177357738746001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-287984939750015669.post-83417029170952612862022-10-11T07:18:00.004-07:002022-10-11T07:18:22.638-07:00Daily Thought for October 11, 2022<p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"> A Hopeful Perspective</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">Consult not your fears but your hopes and your dreams. Think not about your frustrations, but about your unfulfilled potential. Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed in, but with what it is still possible for you to do.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>St. John XXIII</b></span></p>Fr. Jim Northrop's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14487177357738746001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-287984939750015669.post-55499428126433380962022-10-09T06:47:00.001-07:002022-10-09T06:47:02.152-07:00Daily Thought For October 9, 2022<p style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Worship & Weakness</b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">This appeal to the moral value of spiritual worship should not be interpreted in a merely moralistic way. It is before all else the joy-filled discovery of love at work in the hearts of those who accept the Lord’s gift, abandon themselves to him and thus find true freedom. The moral transformation implicit in the new worship instituted by Christ is a heartfelt yearning to respond to the Lord’s love with one’s whole being, while remaining ever conscious of one’s own weakness. This is clearly reflected in the Gospel story of Zacchaeus (cf. Lk 19:1–10). After welcoming Jesus to his home, the tax collector is completely changed: he decides to give half of his possessions to the poor and to repay fourfold those whom he had defrauded. The moral urgency born of welcoming Jesus into our lives is the fruit of gratitude for having experienced the Lord’s unmerited closeness.</span></p><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Benedict XVI, Sacramentum Caritatis (Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2007). #82</b></span></p>Fr. Jim Northrop's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14487177357738746001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-287984939750015669.post-25808849634815443202022-10-08T10:18:00.003-07:002022-10-08T10:18:37.915-07:00Daily Thought For October 8, 2022<p style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Fight The Good Fight</b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">As a man dedicated to God, you must aim to be saintly and religious, filled with faith and love, patient and gentle. Fight the good fight of the faith and win for yourself the eternal life to which you were called when you made your profession and spoke up for the truth in front of many witnesses. Now, before God the source of all life and before Christ, who spoke up as a witness for the truth in front of Pontius Pilate, I put to you the duty of doing all that you have been told, with no faults or failures, until the Appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ,</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">who at the due time will be revealed</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">by God, the blessed and only Ruler of all,</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">the King of kings and the Lord of lords,</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">who alone is immortal,</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">whose home is in inaccessible light,</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">whom no man has seen and no man is able to see:</span></p><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">to him be honour and everlasting power. Amen.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>1 Timothy 6:11-16</b></span></p>Fr. Jim Northrop's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14487177357738746001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-287984939750015669.post-27418853333082864802022-10-02T07:05:00.010-07:002022-10-02T07:05:56.259-07:00Daily Thought For October 2, 2022<blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>God Will Make A Way</b></span></p></blockquote><p><span style="font-size: large;">The wonderful thing about praying is that you leave a world of not being able to do something, and enter God’s realm where everything is possible. He specializes in the impossible. Nothing is too great for His almighty power. Nothing is too small for His love. </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Corrie Ten Boom</b></span></p>Fr. Jim Northrop's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14487177357738746001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-287984939750015669.post-72988404130347674102022-09-29T07:50:00.007-07:002022-09-29T07:50:57.994-07:00Daily Thought September 29, 2022<p style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Asking For Angelic Help</b></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">“Michael: Help us in our battle – each of us has a battle to fight in our lives; Gabriel: Bring us news, bring us the good news of salvation; Raphael: Take us by the hand and lead us forward without taking the wrong turns. Always walking forward, but with your help!”</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Pope Francis - Homily 9/27/17</b></span></p>Fr. Jim Northrop's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14487177357738746001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-287984939750015669.post-87865213418117547462022-09-22T10:13:00.008-07:002022-09-22T10:13:40.796-07:00Daily Thought For September 22, 2022<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"> <b>Truth</b></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">To live in Truth is the basic minimum of human dignity, even if the price to defend the Truth could be costly. You need to always remain faithful to the Truth. Truth can never be betrayed.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Blessed</b><b style="color: #555555;"> </b></span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Jerzy Popieluszko</b></span></p>Fr. Jim Northrop's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14487177357738746001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-287984939750015669.post-22438161381646392602022-09-18T07:07:00.001-07:002022-09-18T07:07:07.353-07:00Daily Thought for September 18, 2022<p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Creativity & The Mission of the Church</span></b></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Lectio</b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Luke 16:1–13</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Meditatio</b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><i>“For the children of this world are more prudent in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light.”</i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Setting aside the confusing discussion of what the steward actually did before and after getting fired, let’s look at why Jesus is telling this parable in the first place. The moral is basically that the children of light (that’s us) can learn from the creative problem-solving of the steward, who represents the “children of this world.” Jesus is holding up not the steward’s concrete actions for us to learn from, but the prudence he shows.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">In current usage, the term “prudence” is mostly associated with cautiousness, but that is not the true meaning of the word. Prudence is the virtue that helps us make sound judgments, a kind of practical wisdom. It’s called a cardinal virtue (remember those?) because it is a hinge for other virtues. (“Cardinal” comes from cardo, the Latin word for hinge.) With prudence we can judge whether a certain action is virtuous or not. We can judge that it would be right to help someone in a particular way, or to resist some wrong being done. Then other virtues come into play in actually carrying out what we have judged to be the right thing to do—generosity in helping someone, courage to speak up about the wrong, and so forth.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Jesus looks at the steward as someone who makes a practical decision about what he should do, and then carries out the decision with energy and creativity. How much more should the children of light follow his example!</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Oratio</b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">I need to look at how prudent I am, Jesus. My goal is ultimately to spend eternity with you and to help as many people as I can to do the same. But when I look at some of my daily choices, they don’t seem to be bringing me toward that goal. I sometimes live as if this life were all there is. That’s not prudent. I remember times in the past when I acted with much more creativity and determination toward my goal. Jesus, help me to recover some of that zeal and energy and to live as a child of the light.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Contemplatio</b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><i>I want to live as a child of light (see Eph 5:8).</i></span></p><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Daughters of St. Paul, Ordinary Grace Weeks 18–34: Daily Gospel Reflections, ed. Maria Grace Dateno and Marianne Lorraine Trouvé (Boston, MA: Pauline Books & Media, 2011), 136–137.</b></span></p>Fr. Jim Northrop's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14487177357738746001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-287984939750015669.post-9285188133553479712022-09-15T07:18:00.004-07:002022-09-15T07:18:21.417-07:00Daily Thought For September 15, 2022<p style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Living Life Abundantly</b></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">If you never take risks, you'll never accomplish great things. Everybody dies, but not everyone has lived.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>C.S. Lewis</b></span></p>Fr. Jim Northrop's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14487177357738746001noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-287984939750015669.post-5982746976518093702022-09-09T07:48:00.010-07:002022-09-09T07:50:03.887-07:00Daily Thought for September 9, 2022<p style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Heaven Begins with Gratitude</b></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">It's 'Heaven Begun', for the grateful on earth.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Blessed Solanus Casey</b></span></p>Fr. Jim Northrop's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14487177357738746001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-287984939750015669.post-32354810839060361402022-09-08T06:08:00.003-07:002022-09-08T06:08:10.681-07:00Daily Thought For September 8, 2022<p style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>The Gift of Discernment</b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">We are continuing our reflection on discernment – in this time we will speak every Wednesday about spiritual discernment – and for this it can help us to refer to a specific witness.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">One of the most instructive examples is offered to us by Saint Ignatius of Loyola, with a decisive episode in his life. Ignatius is at home convalescing, after injuring a leg in battle. To dispel the boredom, he asks for something to read. He loves tales of chivalry, but unfortunately only the lives of saints can be found at home. Somewhat reluctantly he adapts, but in the course of reading he begins to discover another world, a world that conquers him and seems to compete with that of knights. He is fascinated by the figures of Saint Francis and Saint Dominic, and feels the desire to imitate them. But the world of chivalry also continues to exert its fascination on him. And so, within himself he feels within himself this alternation of thoughts – those of chivalry and those of the saints – which seem to equate to one another.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Ignatius, however, also begins to perceive some differences. In his Autobiography - in the third person - he writes: “When he thought of worldly things” – and of chivalrous things, one understands – “it gave him great pleasure, but afterward he found himself dry and sad. But when he thought of journeying to Jerusalem, and of living only on herbs and practicing austerities, he found pleasure not only while thinking of them, but also when he had ceased” (Chapter 8); they left him a trace of joy.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">In this experience we note two aspects, above all. The first is time: that is, the thoughts of the world are attractive at the beginning, but then they lose their lustre and leave emptiness and discontent; they leave you that way, empty. Thoughts of God, on the contrary, rouse first a certain resistance – “But I’m not going to read this boring ting about saints” – but when they are welcomed, they bring an unknown peace that lasts for a long time.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Here, then, is the other aspect: the end point of thoughts. At first the situation does not seem so clear. There is a development of discernment: for example, we understand what is good for us not in an abstract, general way, but in the journey of our life. In the rules for discernment, the fruit of this fundamental experience, Ignatius lays down an important premise, which helps to understand this process: “In the persons who go from mortal sin to mortal sin, the enemy is commonly used to propose to them apparent pleasures” – to reassure them that everything is fine – “making them imagine sensual delights and pleasures in order to hold them more and make them grow in their vices and sins. In these persons the good spirit uses the opposite method, pricking them and biting their consciences through the process of reason” (Spiritual Exercises, 314). But this will not do.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">There is a history that precedes one who discerns, a history that it is indispensable to know, because discernment is not a sort of oracle or fatalism, or something from a laboratory, like casting one’s lot on two possibilities. The great questions arise when we have already travelled a stretch of the road in life, and it is to that journey we must return to understand what we are looking for. If in life we make a little progress, then: “But why am I walking in this direction, what am I looking for?”, and that is where discernment takes place. Ignatius, when he found himself wounded in his father’s house, was not thinking of God at all, or of how to reform his own life, no. He had his first experience of God by listening to his own heart, which presented him with a curious reversal: things that were attractive at first sight left him disillusioned, whereas in others, less dazzling, he found lasting peace. We too have this experience; very often we begin to think about something, and we stay there, and then we end up disappointed. Instead, if we carry out a work of charity, do something good and feel something of happiness, a good thought comes to us, and happiness comes to us, something of joy, and it is an experience that is entirely our own. He, Ignatius, had his first experience of God by listening to his own heart, that showed him a curious reversal. This is what we must learn: to listen to our own heart, to know what is happening, what decision to make, to make a judgement on a situation, one must listen to one’s own heart. We listen to the television, the radio, the mobile phone; we are experts at listening, but I ask you: do you know how to listen to your heart? Do you stop to ask: “But how is my heart? Is it satisfied, is it sad, is it searching for something?”. To make good decisions, you need to listen to your heart.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">This is why Ignatius will go on to suggest reading the lives of the saints, because they show the style of God in the life of people not very different to us, because the saints were made of flesh and blood like us, in a narrative, comprehensible way. Their actions speak to ours, and they help us to understand their meaning.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">In that famous episode of the two feelings that Ignatius had, one when he read about knights and the other when he read about the life of the saints, we can recognize another important aspect of discernment, which we already mentioned last time. There is an apparent randomness in the events of life: everything seems to arise from a banal mishap – there were no books about knights, only lives of saints. A mishap that nonetheless holds a possible turning point. Only after some time will Ignatius realize this, at which point he will devote all his attention to it. Listen carefully: God works through unplannable events that happen by chance, but by chance this happened to me, and by chance I met this person, by chance I saw this film. It was not planned but God works through unplannable events, and also through mishaps: “But I was supposed to go for a walk and I had a problem with my foot, I can’t…”. Mishap: what is God saying to you? What is life telling you there? We have also seen this in a passage from the Gospel of Matthew: a man ploughing a field accidentally comes across buried treasure. A totally unexpected situation. But what is important is that he recognizes it as the lucky break of his life and decides accordingly: he sells everything and buys that field (cf. 13:44). I will give you a piece of advice: beware of the unexpected. He who says to you: “But I wasn’t expecting this”. Is it life speaking to you, is it the Lord speaking to you, or is it the devil? Someone. But there is something to discern, how I react when faced with the unexpected. But I was quiet at home and “Boom!” – my mother-in-law arrives; and how do you react to your mother-in-law? Is it love or something else inside? And you must discern. I was working well in the office, and a companion comes along to tell me he needs money: how do you react? See what happens when we experience things we were not expecting, and there we can learn to know out heart as it moves.</span></p><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Discernment is the aid in recognizing the signals with which the Lord makes himself known in unexpected, even unpleasant situations, as the leg wound was for Ignatius. A life-changing encounter can arise from them, forever, as in the case of Ignatius. Something can arise that that makes you better along the way, or worse, I don’t know, but be careful; the most beautiful thread is given to us by the unexpected: “How do I act in view of this?” May the Lord help us to hear our hearts and see when it is He who acts and when it is not, and it is something else.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Appeal </b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Tomorrow we will celebrate the feast of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary. Mary experienced God’s tenderness as a daughter, full of grace, and went on to give this tenderness as a mother, through union with the mission of her Son Jesus.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Therefore, today I wish to express my closeness to all mothers. In a special way, to those mothers who have children who suffer: those who are sick, those who are marginalized, those who are imprisoned. A special prayer goes to the mothers of young detainees: let hope never be lacking. Unfortunately, in prisons there are many people who take their own life, at times also young people. A mother’s love can save them from this danger. May Our Lady console all mothers distressed by the suffering of their children.</span></p><p><b><span style="font-size: large;">Pope Francis ⏤ General Audience of September 7, 2022</span></b></p>Fr. Jim Northrop's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14487177357738746001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-287984939750015669.post-21378703762838384352022-09-07T08:18:00.005-07:002022-09-07T08:18:24.824-07:00Daily Thought For September 7, 2022<p style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Trusting In God's Grace</b></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that. This enables us to do something, and to do it very well. It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord's grace to enter and do the rest.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>St. Oscar Romero</b></span></p>Fr. Jim Northrop's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14487177357738746001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-287984939750015669.post-55160942370587821222022-09-06T08:43:00.002-07:002022-09-06T08:43:15.094-07:00Daily Thought For September 6, 2022<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Sacred Story Affirmations</b></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"> <span style="font-size: large;">I believe the grace of forgiveness opens my heart making my every thought, word and deed bear fruit that endures to eternity. I ask that everything in my life serve Christ's Great Work of Reconciliation. </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Fr. Bill Waston, S.J.</b></span></p>Fr. Jim Northrop's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14487177357738746001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-287984939750015669.post-81600811747269748142022-09-05T09:06:00.004-07:002022-09-05T09:06:20.782-07:00Daily Thought For September 5, 2022<p style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>We Can Begin Again!</b></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">You can't go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>C.S. Lewis</b></span></p>Fr. Jim Northrop's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14487177357738746001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-287984939750015669.post-75574381206557808552022-09-03T09:52:00.008-07:002022-09-03T09:52:50.697-07:00Daily Thought For September 3, 2022<p style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>A Thwarted Air Raid & Padre Pio</b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">During World War II a general at the American base near Bari heard that the Germans had an arms depot somewhere around San Giovanni Rotondo. He planned an air raid to destroy the depot, and he led the squadron on this mission. Nearing the target, he saw a friar ascend into the air with his arms outstretched! Suddenly the controls on the planes no longer responded. So they dropped their bombs in the forest, turned around, and went back to base.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">The general could not understand. He talked about the incident to the officers and pilots, but no one could come up with a reasonable explanation. Who was this friar who had obstructed their mission and disabled the planes’ communication system? What a mystery!</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">One day, the general overheard someone speaking of Padre Pio, who lived on Mount Gargano and worked miracles. Suspecting that this was the friar who had thwarted the bombardment, he went to San Giovanni Rotondo to see him.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">The priest came toward him, put his hand on his shoulder, and said, “Ah! So you are the one who wanted to kill us all!” The astounded general was won over by the eyes and personality of Padre Pio. He became a Catholic and a friend and follower of Padre Pio until the end of his days.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">It is worth noting an additional and curious detail: When Padre Pio spoke to the general, he used the Benevento dialect, yet the American heard every word in perfect English!</span></p><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Pascal Cataneo, Padre Pio, Glimpse into the Miraculous, trans. Maureen McCollum and Gabriel Dextraze (Boston, MA: Pauline Books & Media, 2013), 83–84.</b></span></p>Fr. Jim Northrop's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14487177357738746001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-287984939750015669.post-46585305367882955972022-08-26T08:17:00.005-07:002022-08-26T08:17:28.869-07:00Daily Thought For August 26, 2022<p style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Love Is The Most Important Thing</b></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">Let us not tire of preaching love; it is the force that will overcome the world.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>St. Oscar Romero</b></span></p>Fr. Jim Northrop's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14487177357738746001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-287984939750015669.post-46475064099495415452022-08-25T07:09:00.011-07:002022-08-25T07:09:38.909-07:00Daily Thought For August 25, 2022<blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Stay Awake!</b></span></p></blockquote><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Lectio</b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Matthew 24:42–51</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Meditatio</b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><i>“Stay awake!”</i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">The Greek word translated as “stay awake” indicates a constant vigil. Monks of the Eastern tradition would keep vigil through the night in prayer, standing toward the rising sun, in a gesture symbolic of the stance all creatures should have as we await the final return of the Son of God. We are more familiar with vigils at the bedside of the sick or dying. We keep vigil with others, comforting them with our presence, awaiting a turn for the better or a dying person’s last breath. We are all too familiar with waiting, but sometimes our waiting is not like watching in constant vigil. We wait for conflicts to end or babies to be born. We wait for pay increases, good weather, or Christmas to arrive. We wait in checkout lines, restaurants, to receive the Eucharist. We spend much of our life waiting. And the waiting often frustrates and annoys us, breaks our hearts, or leads to boredom.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Today’s Gospel might seem distant to us with its stories of thieves breaking into a house, servants and masters, and food distribution. A deeper level of meaning can be found here, however. We all are waiting, on many levels, for many things. We wait for the passing of time and the end of things over which we have no control. We wait for the second coming of the Son of Man. All this frustrating or boring “waiting time” can be transformed into “vigil time.” By keeping constant vigil we wait in a spirit of prayer, expecting God’s loving providence for us now and always. In keeping vigil we support and comfort others, being present and attentive to their every need. Living life as a constant vigil, we have a hushed anticipation that the glory of the Resurrected One shines over the darkness of this world’s sorrow and pain.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Oratio</b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. From this moment forward I will strain to see your face everywhere I go. I will watch for you in my neighbor, in my church, in my place of work. I will keep vigil in prayer in the silence of my heart and in the beauty of the community at Eucharist. Maranatha!</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Contemplatio</b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Come, Lord Jesus, come.</span></p><p><b><span style="font-size: large;">Daughters of St. Paul, Ordinary Grace Weeks 18–34: Daily Gospel Reflections, ed. Maria Grace Dateno and Marianne Lorraine Trouvé (Boston, MA: Pauline Books & Media, 2011), 72–73.</span> </b></p>Fr. Jim Northrop's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14487177357738746001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-287984939750015669.post-77044750794268235602022-08-24T08:28:00.008-07:002022-08-24T08:28:44.213-07:00Daily Thought For August 24, 2022<p style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>St. Bartholomew</b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">ST. BARTHOLOMEW was one of the twelve who were called to the Apostolate by our Blessed Lord Himself. Several learned interpreters of the Holy Scripture take this Apostle to have been the same as Nathaniel, a native of Cana, in Galilee, a doctor in the Jewish law, and one of the seventy-two disciples of Christ, to whom he was conducted by St. Philip, and whose innocence and simplicity of heart deserved to be celebrated with the highest eulogium by the divine mouth of our Redeemer. He is mentioned among the disciples who were met together in prayer after Christ’s ascension, and he received the Holy Ghost with the rest. Being eminently qualified by the Divine Grace to discharge the functions of an apostle, he carried the Gospel through the most barbarous countries of the East, penetrating into the remoter Indies. He then returned again into the northwest part of Asia, and met St. Philip at Hierapolis, in Phrygia, Hence he travelled into Lycaonia, where he instructed the people in the Christian faith; but we know not even the names of many of the countries in which he preached. St. Bartholomew’s last removal was into Great Armenia, where, preaching in a place obstinately addicted to the worship of idols, he was crowned with a glorious martyrdom. The modern Greek historians say that he was condemned by the governor of Albanopolis to be crucified. Others affirm that he was flayed alive, which might well enough consist with his crucifixion, this double punishment being in use not only in Egypt, but also among the Persians.</span></p><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><b>John Gilmary Shea, Pictorial Lives of the Saints (New York; Cincinnati; Chicago: Benziger Brothers, 1887), 368–369.</b></span></p>Fr. Jim Northrop's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14487177357738746001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-287984939750015669.post-18733068670113772042022-08-23T08:59:00.004-07:002022-08-23T08:59:30.316-07:00Daily Thought For August 23, 2022<p style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>More Than Conquerors</b></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">If you are faithful you will be able to count yourself a conqueror. Even though you may lose some battles in your life, you will not know defeat. You can be sure that there is no such thing as failure if you act with purity of intention and with a desire to fulfill the Will of God. And then, whether you win or lose, you will always triumph in the end, because you will have carried out your work with Love. </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>St. Josemaría Escrivá (The Forge, 199)</b></span></p>Fr. Jim Northrop's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14487177357738746001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-287984939750015669.post-85352856885787784332022-08-17T12:39:00.002-07:002022-08-17T12:39:18.074-07:00Daily Thought For August 17, 2022<blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"> Advice to a Son from His Father, St. Stephen of Hungary</span></b></p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">King Saint Stephen of Hungary from Admonitions to His Son, Emeric</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">My dearest son, if you desire to honor the royal crown, I advise, I counsel, I urge you above all </span><span style="font-size: x-large;">things to maintain the Catholic and apostolic faith with such diligence and care that you may be an </span><span style="font-size: x-large;">example for all those placed under you by God and that all the clergy may rightly call you a man of </span><span style="font-size: x-large;">true Christian profession. Failing to do this, you may be sure that you will not be called a Christian </span><span style="font-size: x-large;">or a son of the Church. Indeed, in the royal palace after the faith itself, the Church holds second </span><span style="font-size: x-large;">place, first propagated as she was by our head, Christ; then transplanted, firmly constituted and </span><span style="font-size: x-large;">spread through the whole world by his members, the apostles and holy fathers. And though she </span><span style="font-size: x-large;">always produced fresh offspring, nevertheless in certain places she is regarded as ancient.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">However, dearest son, even now in our kingdom the Church is proclaimed as young and newly planted; and for that reason she needs more prudent and trustworthy guardians lest a benefit which the divine mercy bestowed on us undeservedly should be destroyed and annihilated through your idleness, indolence or neglect.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">My beloved son, delight of my heart, hope of your posterity, I pray, I command, that at every time and in everything, strengthened by your devotion to me, you may show favor not only to relations and kin, or to the most eminent, be they leaders or rich men or neighbors or fellow-countrymen, but also to foreigners and to all who come to you. By fulfilling your duty in this way you will reach the highest state of happiness. Be merciful to all who are suffering violence, keeping always in your heart the example of the Lord who said: I desire mercy and not sacrifice. Be patient with everyone, not only with the powerful, but also with the weak.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Finally be strong lest prosperity lift you up too much or adversity cast you down. Be humble in this life, that God may raise you up in the next. Be truly moderate and do not punish or condemn anyone immoderately. Be gentle so that you may never oppose justice. Be honorable so that you may never voluntarily bring disgrace upon anyone. Be chaste so that you may avoid all the foulness of lust like the pangs of death.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">All these virtues I have noted above make up the royal crown and without them no one is fit to rule here on earth or attain the heavenly kingdom.</span> </p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">from the Office of Readings, August 16, 2022</span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></b></p><p> </p>Fr. Jim Northrop's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14487177357738746001noreply@blogger.com