Daily Thought

How The Holy Spirit Helps With Discernment The Holy Spirit makes us discern between trials, which are necessary for the growth of the inner man, and temptation, which leads to sin and death. We must also discern between being tempted and consenting to temptation. Finally, discernment unmasks the lie of temptation, whose object appears to be good, a “delight to the eyes” and desirable, when in reality its fruit is death. Catechism of the Catholic Church #2847

Moving With God A good interior relationship with God is an indispensable ingredient for a happy life. For only when this basic relationship is in order can all other relationships prosper. That is why it is important to learn and practice all one’s life long, from childhood on, to think with God, to feel with God, to will with God, so that love will follow and will become the keynote of my life. When that occurs, love of neighbor will follow as a matter of course. For if the keynote of my life is love, then I, in my turn, will react to those whom God places on my path only with a Yes of acceptance, with trust, with approval, and with love. To characterize love of neighbor, Holy Scripture employs a very wise and very profound expression: “to love one’s neighbor as oneself”. It requires no quixotic or spurious heroism. It does not say: “You should deny yourself and exist only for the other; you must be less concerned about yourself and more about the other.” No!—“as you love yours

I Thank You For I am Fearfully & Wonderfully Made Men go forth to wonder at the height of mountains, the huge waves of the sea, the broad flow of the ocean, the course of the stars-and forget to wonder at themselves.  St. Augustine

Taking Care of Ourselves Take care of your body as if you were going to live forever; and take care of your soul as if you were going to die tomorrow. St. Augustine

Enrich Your Soul! Enrich your soul in the great goodness of God: The Father is your table, the Son is your food, and the Holy Spirit waits on you and then makes His dwelling in you. St. Catherine of Siena

God Sows - We Wait With Patience The apostolic mission is sometimes to sow without being able to see any fruits. At other times it is reaping what others have sown with their words, or with their pain offered up from a hospital bed, or with their hidden and monotonous work which has remained unnoticed by human eyes. Whichever is the case, God wants sower and reaper to rejoice together? The apostolate is a task which both gives joy and demands sacrifice as we go about our sowing and reaping. The apostolic task is also work that is patient and constant. Just as the farm-laborer knows how to wait and wait until the first shoots appear above the ground, and wait still longer till harvest time, so must we know how to persevere in bringing souls to God. The Gospel and our own experience teach us that grace usually takes time to bear fruit in souls. We know too about the resistance many hearts put up against grace, as our own heart may have done at some tim

Nothing Is Beyond Remedy For Those Who Hope In The Lord   Souls have to be encouraged to aim very high; they have to be impelled towards Christ's ideal. Lead them to the highest goals, which should not be scaled down or made less lofty in any way. But remember that sanctity is not primarily worked out with one's own hands. Grace normally takes its time, and is not normally inclined to act with violence or irresistible force.    Encourage your holy impatience, but do not lose your patience ...  Just as the farmer, with the wisdom of centuries, does not lose his patience, we must learn to aim very high in sanctity and apostolate, waiting for the right moment, without ever losing heart. We will frequently have to start again with our unmodified ambitious resolution.    We need to be able to wait and to struggle with patient perseverance, with the conviction that overcoming a defect or acquiring a virtue does not normally depend on sporad

The Importance of Prayer Prayer, without a doubt,  is the most powerful weapon the Lord gives us to conquer evil.  But we must put ourselves into the prayer. It is not enough just to  say the words; it must come from the heart. And prayer needs to be  continuous. We must pray no matter  what kind of situation we find  ourselves in. The warfare in which  we are engaged is ongoing, so our  prayer must be ongoing as well. St. Alphonsus Liguori

With God All Things Are Possible! Lectio Matthew 19:23–30 Meditatio “… for God all things are possible.…” The disciples are clearly startled when Jesus tells them that the rich have such a difficult time entering the kingdom of God. It was commonly believed that riches were a sign of God’s blessing or favor on the person—“Happy are those who fear the LORD, who greatly delight in God’s commands … Wealth and riches shall be in their homes; their prosperity shall endure forever” (Ps 112:1, 3). Jesus’ saying contradicts a culturally accepted belief. When the disciples hear it, they are probably thinking, “If it’s that difficult for someone whom we believe enjoys God’s blessing to enter God’s kingdom, then we don’t have a prayer.” It is more difficult for those who are wealthy to trust in God. Their money, or the possessions that their wealth can afford, can become their idol. This idol can easily become the source of their ethics; they are driven to hoard instead of to give, t

Perfect Love Casts Out Fear Neither fear nor self-interest can convert the soul. They may change the appearance, perhaps even the conduct, but never the object of supreme desire... Fear is the motive which constrains the slave; greed binds the selfish man, by which he is tempted when he is drawn away by his own lust and enticed (James 1:14). But neither fear nor self-interest is undefiled, nor can they convert the soul. Only charity can convert the soul, freeing it from unworthy motives. St. Bernard of Clairvaux

Daily Need of Patience  CHRIST: My CHILD, though you may plan all things and arrange everything with the greatest care, you will still have many opportunities to exercise the virtue of patience. You cannot eliminate the unexpected, the unforeseen, and the unavoidable. In many cases your best remedy and weapon will be an intelligent patience with yourself as well as with others.  2. Every man has his daily share of troubles and trials. Sometimes it may be bodily pain and discomfort.  At other times it may be mental or spiritual suffering, some annoyance, disappointment, or anxiety. Sometimes you may feel that I have deserted you. Then again, you may have to bear misunderstandings, misinterpretations, or even bad will from your neighbor. In fact, there are times when you are a burden and a bother to yourself.  3. Everybody would like to be free of these trials, but it cannot be. They are a part of your earthly life. Wherever you turn, you will always find My cross in one form or a

Who Are The Saints? The saints are those who struggle right up to the end of their lives, who always get up each time they stumble, each time they fall, and courageously embark on their way once more with humility, love, and hope.    St. Josemaría Escrivá, The Forge

A Father Speaks To His Son    My dearest son, if you desire to honour the royal crown, I advise, I counsel, I urge you above all things to maintain the Catholic and apostolic faith with such diligence and care that you may be an example for all those placed under you by God and that all the clergy may rightly call you a man of true Christian profession. Failing to do this, you may be sure that you will not be called a Christian or a son of the Church. Indeed, in the royal palace – after the faith itself – the Church holds second place, first propagated as she was by our head, Christ; then transplanted, firmly constituted and spread through the whole world by his members, the apostles and holy fathers. And though she always produced fresh offspring, nevertheless in certain places she is regarded as ancient.   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

Yes, It Is Really Bad. But Don't Lose Hope. When we find ourselves in some danger, we must not lose courage, but confide much in the Lord; for where danger is great, great also is the assistance of Him Who is called our Helper in tribulation.” Saint Ambrose

Fighting The Good Fight No one in the world can change Truth. What we can do and should do is to seek truth and to serve it when we have found it. The real conflict is the inner conflict. Beyond armies of occupation and the hecatombs [e.g. the sacrifice of many victims] of extermination camps, there are two irreconcilable enemies in the depth of every soul: good and evil, sin and love. And what use are the victories on the battlefield if we ourselves are defeated in our innermost personal selves? St. Maximilian Kolbe

  The Beautiful Gift of the Eucharist      Today our Lord forcefully reminds us that we need to receive him in Holy Communion in order to participate in the divine life, to overcome temptations, to foster and nourish the life of grace born in us through Baptism. Whoever receives Communion in a state of grace participates in the fruits of the Holy Mass and obtains benefits that are proper and specific to the reception of the Sacrament. He receives Christ himself, the source of all grace, really and spiritually. Thus, the Holy Eucharist is the greatest sacrament, the centre and summit of all the rest. The true presence of Christ in this sacrament gives it an infinite supernatural effectiveness.        There is no greater joy in this life than to receive our Lord. When we wish to give ourselves to others we often give them something that belongs to us, or something we know to symbolize a deeper attitude of affection, of love. But we always encounter some limitation to our

Experience Transformation Place your mind before the mirror of eternity! Place your soul in the brilliance of glory! Place your heart in the figure of divine substance! And transform your whole being into the image of the Godhead itself through contemplation. St. Clare of Assisi

Indescribable Joy Every time I hear anyone speak of the Sacred Heart of Jesus or of the Blessed Sacrament I feel an indescribable joy. It is as if a wave of precious memories, sweet affections and joyful hopes swept over my poor person, making me tremble with happiness and filling my soul with tenderness. St. Pope John XIII

Care of the Soul   The self can be a jealous gatekeeper that clamors for all the attention and does not want us to go deeper. Moreover, the Evil One likes to discourage us and arrogantly charges us with the sole responsibility of fixing ourselves  –  a dead end! Jean-Pierre de Caussade knew well that when healing is needed for the damaged, dysfunctional self, God seeks to heal the soul, from where the most salutary healing will spring forth and endure. When the soul is tended with care, the self thrives.  Archbishop J. Peter Sartain

Trust In God, Use What You Have, Find True & Lasting Joy Sickness and trouble are not a sign that we are far from God or that he has rejected us. Look at the lives of great saints of our day―for instance, Thérèse of Lisieux and Bernadette of Lourdes. No, we don’t believe in a God of small deeds who lets his favorites win lotteries and capriciously ignores the others. He is too great to act like that. . . He will always respond to real prayer, though! You’ll often see sick people, who know how to pray, getting better. That’s not necessarily miraculous. It is often the natural result of living in the milieu of his peace and grace. I could be cured miraculously of leukemia, and that would be good. If I’m not cured, that’s good too, and it won’t bother me a scrap. All that I am concerned about is what his plans are for me; the only life that interests me is one lived for him. . . one day at a time, supported by prayer.  Takashi Nagai - A Song For Nagasaki - The Story of Takashi N

Words of Encouragement On The Transfiguration Dear Brothers and Sisters,  Good morning! This Sunday, the liturgy celebrates the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord. Today’s Gospel passage recounts that the Apostles Peter, James and John were witnesses to this extraordinary event. Jesus took them with him “and led them up a high mountain apart” (Mt 17:1) and, while he prayed, his face changed in appearance, “shone like the sun”, and “his garments became white as light”. Then Moses and Elijah appeared, and began a dialogue with Him. At this point, Peter said to Jesus: “Lord, it is well that we are here; if you wish, I will make three booths here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah” (v. 4). He had not yet finished speaking when a bright cloud enveloped them. The event of the Lord’s Transfiguration offers us a message of hope — thus shall we be, with Him —: it invites us to encounter Jesus, to be at the service of our brothers and sisters. The disciples’ ascen

Food That Endures For Eternal Life When I see that everything around me is collapsing, increasing evil and darkness that may engulf me, I need to remember the words of Saint Paul: where sin increased, grace abounded all the more (Rom 5:20). If I see my personal selfishness or egoism in those around me, I can see it as an opportunity to look for the solution in the one place I can find it. I need to turn to the one who loves me and unceasingly transmits his redeeming graces on the altar. In my difficulties, he is here and now closer to me than ever. The chosen people’s forty years of wandering in the desert mirrors humankind’s journey towards God. It is an image of my history too. I can detect in it some of my own temptations to doubt in the face of what seems to be overpowering. For Moses, who led the wandering during this time, it sometimes seemed that everything was falling apart. He felt as though his life was one big failure. Perseverance seemed to bring him to the breaking p

Our Task — To Pray & To Love      Consider, children, a Christian’s treasure is not on earth, it is in heaven. Well then, our thoughts should turn to where our treasure is.      Man has a noble task: that of prayer and love. To pray and to love, that is the happiness of man on earth.      Prayer is nothing else than union with God. When the heart is pure and united with God it is consoled and filled with sweetness; it is dazzled by a marvelous light. In this intimate union God and the soul are like two pieces of wax moulded into one; they cannot any more be separated. It is a very wonderful thing, this union of God with his insignificant creature, a happiness passing all understanding.      We had deserved to be left incapable of praying; but God in his goodness has permitted us to speak to him. Our prayer is an incense that is delightful to God.      My children, your hearts are small, but prayer enlarges them and renders them capable of loving God. Prayer is a foretaste o

Fruitful Prayer God wants us to be his instruments for making his redemptive work present in the midst of secular tasks, in ordinary life. But how can we be good instruments of God if we do not ourselves really cherish our life of piety, if we do not really have a personal relationship with Christ in prayer? Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? The apostolate is the fruit of love for Christ. It is He who is the Light with which we are to give light, the Truth that we must teach, the Life that we have to communicate. And this will only be possible if we are men and women who are united to God through prayer. It is moving to see how, in the midst of so much apostolic activity, Our Lord gets up early in the morning, a great while before day, to talk to his Father God, and to entrust the new day to him, a day that will be full of attention to particular souls.    We must imitate him. It is in prayer, in talking to Jesus, that

Drawing From Our Storeroom Here is what I want you to do…to love God’s goodness within yourself, and his immeasurable charity, which you will find in the cell of self-knowledge. In this cell you will find God. For just as God holds within himself everything that shares in being, so you will find within yourself memory, which holds and is well-suited to hold the treasure of God’s blessing. There too you will find understanding, which makes us sharers in the wisdom of God’s Son by understanding and knowing his will, a will that wants nothing but that we be made holy. When we see this, our soul cannot be sad or shaken, no matter what happens, for we know that everything is done with God’s providence and tremendous love…. Getting back to self-knowledge: I tell you, you will also find there the gentle mercy of the Holy Spirit, the aspect of God that gives and is nothing but love. Whatever the Spirit does is done because of love. And this movement of love you will find within your own

God's Mercy & New Beginnings As for my God, may his mercy go before me. (Psalm 59:11) Imagine driving down a crowded street with only the use of your rearview mirrors. The idea is laughable—and more than a bit dangerous. It just doesn’t make sense to drive while looking backward. This isn’t a bad image for our spiritual lives. Most of the time, we need to be looking forward, not backward. Sure, we need to glance back to check for blind spots or to assess our progress—like when we review our day or learn from past mistakes. But overall, we need to be looking forward if we want to move forward. And so today’s Responsorial Psalm talks about God’s mercy going before us. You might think of mercy as a gift that deals with your past. And it is. Mercy reaches back to cover your sins. But the Hebrew word for mercy (hesed) here can also mean “God’s grace and favor,” his loving kindness toward us that never fails. This broad, expansive definition tells us to do more than just se