Daily Thought

Only The Truth Can Set Us Free    What is remarkable to me is the aggressiveness, always on the verge of pouncing, which we experience openly in our society — the lurking readiness to demean the other person, to hold him guilty whenever some misfortune occurs to him, to accuse society, and to want to change the world by violence. It seems to me that all of this can only be understood as an expression of the suppressed reality of guilt, which people do not want to admit. But since it is still there, they have to attack it and destroy it. As long as the situation remains thus — that is, as long as people suppress the truth but do not succeed in doing away with it, and as long as they are suffering from this suppressed truth — it will be one of the tasks of the Holy Spirit to “convince the world of sin” (John 16:8). It is not a question here of making people’s lives unpleasant and of fettering them with restrictions and negations but rather simply ...

Shout To The Lord! If at times it seems that the Lord is not listening to us, we must be careful not to lose heart. It may be that He wants us to shout a little louder into the ears of His goodness, to prove as a result the greatness of His mercy ... When the Lord withdraws His consolations in prayer, He does not do this to discourage us or create a gulf between us, but to force us to come closer to His goodness, to practice perseverance and to give some proof of our patience. St. Frances de Sales

Strength For Today          O my God, fill my soul with holy joy, courage and strength to serve You. Enkindle Your love in me and then walk with me along the next stretch of road before me. I do not see very far ahead, but when I have arrived where the horizon now closes down, a new prospect will open before me, and I shall meet it with peace.   St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross

Little By Little    It is not possible to gain control over your soul all at once and have it immediately in your power. Be satisfied, therefore, with gaining control of it little by little, and so learn how to conquer your dominant passion. If you have to put up with others, begin by putting up with yourself. Be patient at finding that you are not perfect. Do you want to enjoy interior peace without having to suffer the day-to-day contradictions and setbacks? Every morning prepare your soul to face the day without getting upset, and throughout the day be careful to return to this resolution. from St. Frances de Sales

(A Lot Of Spiritual Growth Is Invisible) Of its own accord the land yields fruit. (Mark 4:28) Are you familiar with the Chinese bamboo tree? This fascinating plant grows to a height of ninety feet and can be used for everything from home construction to furniture, from paper to pipes. It also has a very unusual growth pattern. It takes five years for a bamboo seed to sprout, but once it does, that tiny sprout reaches its full height in only six weeks—almost overnight! During those first five years, the farmer must water the seed every single day, all the while never seeing any growth. You can imagine an inexperienced farmer wondering if anything will ever happen. He might even give up. Just as with the bamboo tree, the same is true both in the kingdom of God and in our own spiritual life: the most important growth is invisible. In today’s Gospel parable, the farmer plants a seed. But that seed doesn’t become a plant overnight. It takes the right combination of soil, water, and,...

Fostering Gratitude         My life changed the day that I realized with brilliant clarity that God is good and kind and truly wants to bless His children.  That awareness  has given me a sense of gratitude that permeates my relationship with God– and with others. I have found appreciation to be so much richer a way to think, feel, and live. I can scarcely believe that I was so easily satisfied my previous thoughts of self sufficiency, avarice, and cynicism.   from  Fields of Abundance - Simple Words of Wisdom to Receive God’s Blessings for Your Every Need  p.15

Let's Communicate "Good" News! Life is not simply a bare succession of events, but a history, a story waiting to be told through the choice of an interpretative lens that can select and gather the most relevant data. In and of itself, reality has no one clear meaning. Everything depends on the way we look at things, on the lens we use to view them. If we change that lens, reality itself appears different. So how can we begin to “read” reality through the right lens? For us Christians, that lens can only be the good news, beginning with the Good News par excellence: “the Gospel of Jesus Christ, Son of God” (Mk 1:1). With these words, Saint Mark opens his Gospel not by relating “good news” about Jesus, but rather the good news that is Jesus himself. Indeed, reading the pages of his Gospel, we learn that its title corresponds to its content and, above all else, this content is the very person of Jesus. This good news – Jesus himself – is not good because it has noth...

God Is Watching Over Us Many aim at perfection, but few reach that goal, because they do not proceed as they should, with perfect confidence in God and total abandonment to His Providence. They are too self-confident and rely too much on their good works. These people get all upset when difficulties arise. Instead, they should remain clam, using all the means that their vocation puts at their disposal. God, under whose direction we have embarked, will see to it that we never lack necessities. Be convinced of this: no matter how much we are in need, we will want for nothing because God is watching over us. He must be our all.  St. Francis de Sales (Sermons 61; O. X, p. 202)

Pope Francis On "Gossip"  I would only like to leave you a message. We all understand this, what I have said: sinful witnesses. But, reading the Gospel, I do not find one [certain type of] sin in the Apostles. There were some brutes, who wanted to burn down a village that had not welcomed them.... They had many sins: traitors, cowards.... But I do not find one [in particular]: they were not gossipmongers; they did not speak ill of others, they did not speak badly of one another. In this they were good. They did not ‘rip off others’. I think of our communities: how many times this sin of ‘flaying one another’, of disparaging, of believing oneself superior to another and secretly speaking ill! In the Gospel, they did not do this. They did terrible things; they betrayed the Lord, but did not do this. Even in one parish, in one community who knows where ... this one cheated, this one did that..., but then they confess, they convert.... We are all sinners. But a community wher...

Hope - The Fruit Of Faith Hope is the fruit of faith, we have said: in it our life stretches itself out towards the totality of all that is real, towards a boundless future that becomes accessible to us in faith. This fulfilled totality of being to which faith provides the key is a love without reserve—a love that is an immense affirmation of my existence and that discloses the fullness of all being to me in its breadth and depth. In it the creator of all things says to me: “All that is mine is yours” (Luke 15:31). God, however, is “all in all,” “everything to everyone” (1 Cor. 15:28): the person to whom he imparts all that is his is someone for whom there are no longer any ends or boundaries. The love that Christian hope approaches in the light of faith is not something purely private and individual: it does not enclose me in a little world of my own. This love opens up to me the whole of everything, which through love becomes “paradise.” The worst anx...

Established In Humility       Be careful never to become discouraged when you see yourself surrounded by spiritual infirmities.      If God lets you fall into some weakness, it is not to abandon you, but only to establish in you humility and make you more careful in the future.  St. Padre Pio 

Great Prayer    Dear Lord, the Great Healer, I kneel before You. Since every perfect gift must come from You. I pray, give skill to my hands, clear vision to my mind,      kindness and meekness to my heart. Give me singleness of purpose, strength to lift up a part      of the burden of my suffering fellow men, and a       true realization of the privilege that is mine.  Take from my heart all guile and worldliness, That with the simple faith of a child, I may rely on You.    Daily Prayer of the Missionaries of Charity

Kindness        How can I show kindness to others?    GOD'S RESPONSE   The way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and you will continually do good, kind things for others. All the while, you will learn to know God better and better.  Colossians 1: 1 0    Do for others what you would like them to do for you.  Matthew 7:12    I myself have gained much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because your kindness has so often refreshed the hearts of God's people.  Philemon 1:7   ✚  Kindness is not a single act but a lifestyle. It is the habit of being helpful, encouraging, sympathetic, and giving-what you do for others that says, "I'm thinking of you." Even in confrontation you can be kind. You practice kindness in all you do and say, always treating others as you would want to be treated. When you do that, you bring great refreshment to everyone yo...