Daily Thought

God's Peace Peace is the gift that Jesus Christ brought us from heaven, his gift, the gift of God. It is a gift so beautiful, so profound, so all-embracing, and efficacious, that we shall never truly comprehend it. We might say concerning peace what our Lord said of himself to the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well: “If you knew the gift of God …” (Jn 4:10). Truly, if we understood this God-given gift of peace, we could appreciate how it is the synthesis, the very peak, so to speak, of all the graces and heavenly blessings we have received in Christ Jesus. Peace is the seal of Christ. It is not just one of his many gifts; it is, in a certain way, his own gift. When Jesus appeared in the world on that unforgettable night in Bethlehem, the angels proclaimed peace. On another unforgettable night, the last that he spent on earth, the pivotal night of the Cenacle and the Eucharist, Jesus left peace to his loved ones as a testament of his love: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I gi...

The Amazing Grace of Pentecost  We have reflected on the Holy Spirit as love in the Trinity and in the Church, and now it is time to be thinking of the Holy Spirit of Love in each believer, that is, in each one of us. For this purpose, we need to go back to the Pentecost event.  If the Holy Spirit is indeed nothing other than the love of God, love in Person, the statement in Acts that "they were all filled with the Holy Spirit" can mean nothing other than that "they were all full of the love of God!" In this light, the Holy Spirit can truly be seen as the "seal" that is stamped upon all God's creative and redemptive work (see Eph 1: 13) and Pentecost as the culmination of all the works of God. Why did God create the world? Why did he send his Son to redeem the world from sin? Why would God have given us the Scriptures? For no other reason than that he wanted to fill his creatures with his love.  Pentecost, therefore, was not only an event in th...

Perspective  Oftentimes abundance is more about our perspective than the number of things we own.  Whose life is richer? The poor man who appreciates his warm but tattered coat —or the wealthy man who is angry and resentful that his neighbor's car is newer than his own?  Gratitude begets a wealth of heart that can never be taken away.  Fields of Abundance —Simple Words of Wisdom to Receive God's Blessings for Your Every Need p.44

A Great Prayer For The Holy Spirit To "Scatter" Cheerful Beams O Holy Spirit, descend plentifully into my heart. Enlighten the dark corners of this neglected dwelling and scatter there Thy cheerful beams. St. Augustine

Cardinal Sarah Weighs In On Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI's Article — And Hits The Nail On The Head! “The theme of God seems so unreal, so far removed from the things that concern us.” With these words Benedict XVI is describing a style of priestly life that is secularized and profane, a life in which God passes into the background. Pope Benedict gives several examples. The first concern of bishops became no longer God himself but a “radically open relationship with the world” (II, 1). Seminaries were transformed into secularized places in which, Pope Benedict says, the climate “could not provide support for preparation to the priestly vocation.” The life of prayer and adoration was neglected, and the understanding of priestly life as consecration to God was all but forgotten. The Pope Emeritus points out several symptoms of this forgetfulness: an unhealthy mixing with the lay world, which introduced noise and denied the fact that every priest is by his priesthood a man separate f...

The Holy Spirit & The Word of God It happens that over a period of time you may read a particular passage of Scripture, and perhaps even preach on it, without experiencing any special feelings about it. Then, one day, you may read that same text in an atmosphere of prayer and faith, and quite unexpectedly it is lit up, it speaks, it makes you see some circumstance of your life in a whole new light, and it shows you clearly what is God's will in the situation. And not only that once, but every time, even after a long time, when you read that passage again, you are touched in the same powerful, enlightening way. What causes this change, if not the enlightening touch of the Holy Spirit? The words of Scripture, by the action of the Holy Spirit, are transformed: they glow, they bathe you and your situation in light.  Of all the experiences to which the coming of the Holy Spirit into a soul gives rise, this in fact is one of the most common, most powerful. The Scripture comes al...

Be A Blessing For Others On another occasion the instruction I received was this: "Act in such a way that all those who come in contact with you will go away joyful. Sow happiness about you because you have received much from God; give, then, generously to others. They should take leave of you with their hearts filled with joy, even if they have no more than touched the hem of your garment. Keep well in mind the words I am telling you right now." Still another time he gave me the following recommendation: "Let God push your boat out into the deep waters, toward the unfathomable depths of the interior life." St. Faustina Divine Mercy in My Soul #56

We Love Because He First Loved Us After a mother has smiled at her child for many days and weeks, she finally receives her child’s smile in response. She has awakened love in the heart of her child, and as the child awakens to love, it also awakens to knowledge: the initially empty-sense impressions gather meaningfully around the core of the Thou. Knowledge (with its whole complex of intuition and concept) comes into play, because the play of love has already begun beforehand, initiated by the mother, the transcendent. God interprets himself to man as love in the same way: he radiates love, which kindles the light of love in the heart of man, and it is precisely this light that allows man to perceive this, the absolute Love: “For it is the God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness’, who has shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ” (2 Cor 4:6). In this face, the primal foundation of being smiles at us as a mother and as a...

Controlling One's Own Opinion VOICE OF CHRIST:      My CHILD, everybody likes to follow his own way of thinking. Every man prefers  to associate with those who agree with his ideas. Yet, it is so foolish for you to think too highly of your own opinion.   2. Nobody knows all the answers. The man who is always talking does not advance much in knowledge. A good listener will always learn more than the one who talks too much.  3. It is not always necessary to point out the mistakes of others. Even when you know better, you need not always express your opinion. In fact, many discussions are unnecessary and unimportant. So often, too, opinions depend on people's likes and dislikes. Why argue when it is not an important matter?  4. To those who know how to control their tongues for My sake, I grant the grace of interior peace.  5. Do not love your own opinions too much.  Be humble enough to seek advice when you need it. Do not try ...

A Very Important Reminder If a soul loves God sincerely and is intimately united with Him, then, even though such a soul may be living in the midst of difficult external circumstances, nothing can disturb its interior life. In the midst of corruption, it can remain pure and unsullied because the great love of God gives it strength for battle, and God also protects it in a special way”  St. Faustina Divine Mercy In My Soul # 1094

The Journey of Conversion The Bible constantly warns against a merely mercenary relationship with God - a friendship of convenience or self-interest. We should not love God simply because doing so will produce many consolations in our life. We must enter a true relationship, were we fall in love not with His benefits, but with Him. Bishop Robert Barron

God's Love Sets Us Free Lectio John 13:31–33a, 34–35 Meditatio “This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” Imagine yourself as the leader of an association, business, or social group. If you wanted to brand your followers with a sign that would make them easy to recognize, what would you choose? Would they all wear the same clothes? Would they speak a particular language? Would they would be experts at a particular trade or manufacture a unique product? Jesus did something completely revolutionary. He “branded” his disciples with his very self, but left them free to make him visible by loving others. Saint John says that “God is love” (1 Jn 4:16). Love is the imprint of God’s very being upon us, within us. If the world is going to see God, it will only see him to the extent that you and I are willing to make him visible in our relationships with one another. How much do you and I want to make God visible? True, loving one...

A Miracle of Grace Lectio John 13:16–20 Meditatio “… whoever receives the one I send receives me …” I wonder how easy it was to receive the apostles or disciples, grimy with road dust, hot, tired, and hungry, bearing a message that sounded unbelievable. Was it easy to welcome them? Was it easy to accept their message? I find it amazing that people did come to believe—and in such numbers. In those first years following the resurrection, Christianity spread swiftly throughout the Roman Empire. Only one explanation seems possible: it was a miracle of grace. If we reflect, we see that our own lives are also marked by grace. We may have received the faith as children from parents and teachers. We may have received it as adults—through books, friends, a counselor or spouse—perhaps after much seeking and soul searching. In any case, how could the faith have come to us except by means of grace? So, what does the Scripture citation mean for me? I have faith already: who will Jes...

Open Up It is only when we stand up, with all our failings and sufferings, and try to support others rather than withdraw into ourselves, that we can fully live the life of community. Jean Varnier Community and Growth

Attentive To The Present Moment It is no longer in my power, To change, correct or add to the past; For neither sages nor prophets could do that. And so, what the past has embraced I must entrust to God. O present moment, you belong to me, whole and entire, I desire to use you as best I can. And although I am weak and small, You grant me the grace of Your omnipotence. And so, trusting in Your mercy, I walk through life like a little child, Offering You each day this heart Burning with love for Your greater glory. St. Faustina Divine Mercy in My Soul Notebook 1 #1

No Need For Fear  “Jesus shows us his wounds so that we will not be afraid to show him ours.”  Narrative for Divine Mercy Sunday Mass, April 2019 Magnificat, p. 323.

A Blessing For Mother's Day Bless every mother and every grandmother with the finest of your spiritual blessings today. Confirm in her heart and spirit the work of her hands and the love that she has so freely given to those children under Your care. Validate her worth daily so she has no reason to doubt whether she is loved, valued, and cherished in the eyes of her Heavenly Father. Create in her a deep sense of your protection and trust, so that worry and fear will disappear as she places her loved ones into Your care. Let her know that every prayer she has prayed and every encouraging word she has spoken on behalf of her children/grandchildren has been transformed into sweet, fragrant offerings before Your throne. Whisper deep within her spirit the sweet words she longs to hear from You—that nothing can ever separate her from Your love. Help her to nestle daily into the promises of Your Word, standing with faith on the things You declare are true. Let her know that You re...

Renewing the Church Certainly, every convert is a gift to the Church and represents a serious responsibility for her, not only because converts have to be prepared for Baptism through the catechumenate and then be guided by religious instruction, but also because—especially in the case of adults—such converts bring with them a kind of new energy, an enthusiasm for the faith, and a desire to see the Gospel lived out in the Church. They would be greatly disappointed if, having entered the ecclesial community, they were to find a life lacking fervor and without signs of renewal! We cannot preach conversion unless we ourselves are converted anew every day. John Paul II. (1990). Redemptoris Missio. Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana. #47

Prayer of a Faithful Servant “I have consecrated my life to God; I have given myself to him with my whole heart; I have prayed fervently for those whom I love, for [my husband] whom I love more than all the others. Now I want to be no longer useless; I have seen my greatest obligations clearly, and I want to fulfill them.  To do each day all the good that can be done humbly, so that only God may see it; always to seek out all the misery and grief surrounding me in order to relieve it, to cultivate a lively affection for everyone; and to do all this for God alone—that is the goal of all human life.  My own life, which until now has often been so empty, will be transformed, I hope, by the strength of close union with God. There are around me many that I love deeply, and I have a task to fulfill in relationship to them.  Many of them do not know God or know him only imperfectly.  It is not in arguing or lecturing that I can make them know who God is for us. ...

Eternal Life Lectio John 6:44–51 Meditatio “I am the bread of life.” Do you want to live forever? How much would you pay for eternal life? I did an Internet search for the words “how to live forever” and got almost 52 million hits! Some people are going to great lengths to try and live forever, from having their dead bodies frozen in liquid nitrogen in hopes of future revival, to developing gene therapy that short-circuits the aging process. Perhaps a better question is: where do you want to live forever? Do you want to live forever on an earth filled with suffering and sadness, or do you want eternal life with God in the perfect happiness of heaven? In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us: “This is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die.… Whoever eats this bread will live forever.” Jesus is telling us the secret of eternal life, the secret that so many desperate people are paying huge amounts of money to discover. It’s ironic and a little sad t...

Providence God loves with intensely tender love those of us who are happy enough to abandon tomorrow, ourselves entirely to his fatherly care, letting ourselves be governed by his divine providence without wasting time by considering if the effects of this providence will be useful, profitable, or harmful for us. We can be assured that from all that has been sent to us from his fatherly and lovable heart, God will draw goodness and value, provided that we have placed all our confidence in him and that we say willingly: "I place my spirit," — my soul, my body, and all that I am  —  "into your blessed hands" to do with as you wish.  I recommend to you holy simplicity. Look straight in front of you and not at those dangers you see in the distance. As you say, to you they look like armies, but they are only willow branches; and while you are looking at them you may take a false step. Let us be firmly resolved to serve God with our whole heart and life. Beyond that,...

Living In The Light Lectio John 3:16–21 Meditatio “God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son …” A true gift is given out of love with no strings attached. The receiver may either accept it with joy, hugging or kissing the giver, or disregard its value and reject it, perhaps ignoring the giver. Jesus compares himself to a gift given to humanity by his Father, who gives us his only-begotten Son so that we may have eternal life through him. The Father offers us his unconditional love. As a loving Father, he only wants the best for us, and he offers this great gift to all. Will we accept this offer and open our hearts to his love? Or will we refuse to accept him and turn away from his love? Will we live in the light or walk in darkness? Jesus is the light of the world. It is easier and safer to travel during the day than at night, because street signs and landmarks are visible. But at night, even where there are streetlights, it’s easier to make a wrong turn o...