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Showing posts from June, 2019

Daily Thought for June 19, 2019

St. Catherine of Siena On Trusting In God We worry about our lives ultimately because we do not really trust God. This point, which Jesus makes in the Sermon on the Mount, was echoed in the dialogue God had with St. Catherine of Siena: “Why do you not put your trust in me your Creator? Because your trust is in yourselves. Am I not faithful and loyal to you? Of course I am.… But it seems they do not believe that I am powerful enough to help them, or strong enough to aid and defend them against their enemies, or wise enough to enlighten their understanding, or merciful enough to want to give them what is necessary for their salvation, or rich enough to enrich them, or beautiful enough to give them beauty, or that I have food to feed them or garments to re-clothe them. Their actions show me that they do not believe it.

Daily Thought For June 16, 2019

The Grace of Revelation    In His goodness and wisdom God chose to reveal Himself and to make known to us the hidden purpose of His will (see Eph. 1:9) by which through Christ, the Word made flesh, man might in the Holy Spirit have access to the Father and come to share in the divine nature (see Eph. 2:18; 2 Peter 1:4). Through this revelation, therefore, the invisible God (see Col. 1:15, 1 Tim. 1:17) out of the abundance of His love speaks to men as friends (see Ex. 33:11; John 15:14–15) and lives among them (see Bar. 3:38), so that He may invite and take them into fellowship with Himself. This plan of revelation is realized by deeds and words having an inner unity: the deeds wrought by God in the history of salvation manifest and confirm the teaching and realities signified by the words, while the words proclaim the deeds and clarify the mystery contained in them. By this revelation then, the deepest truth about God and the salvation of man shines out for our sake in Chr...

Daily Thought For June 12, 2019

Hope 1 Peter 1:21: "Through him [Christ] you have come to trust in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are set on God." But the uncertainty of my future sometimes clouds all hope.       Padre Pio's assurance: "A soul who trusts in the Lord and places all its hope in him has nothing to fear. The enemy of our salvation is always around us to snatch from our hearts the anchor that is to lead us to salvation, by which I mean trust in God our Father. Let us keep a firm hold on this anchor and not relinquish it for a single moment."       "Hope in God and expect everything that is good from him. Don't dwell on what the enemy presents to you ... stop thinking of it and turn to God. Bend your knee before him and with the greatest humility say this short prayer, 'Have  mercy on me a poor weakling.”       "I am oppressed by the uncertainty of my future, but I cherish the lively...

Daily Thought For June 11, 2019

Jesus Most Compassionate & Tender James 5:11: "You have heard of the endurance of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful." But weakness and fatigue threaten to keep me from enduring like Job.        Padre Pio's assurance: "I feel very weak, it is true, but I am not afraid on this account, for will Jesus not see my anguish and the weight that oppresses me? He has told us by the mouth of the royal prophet that, 'As a father has compassion for his children, so the Lord has compassion for those who fear him. For he knows how we were made; he remembers that we are dust.' The Lord then consoles me and causes me to 'boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses.'        "I am glad to have to manifest all the gratuitous favors which Jesus has bestowed on my soul.       "I fully recognize that there is nothing in me capable of attracting the gaze of this most tender Je...

Daily Thought For June 8, 2019

St. Augustine's Prayer To The Holy Spirit Breathe in me, O Holy Spirit, That my thoughts may all be holy. Act in me, O Holy Spirit, That my work, too, may be holy. Draw my heart, O Holy Spirit, That I love but what is holy. Strengthen me, O Holy Spirit, To defend all that is holy. Guard me, then, O Holy Spirit, That I always may be holy.

Daily Thought For June 6, 2019

A Great Outlook Remember the past with gratitude.  Live the present with enthusiasm.  Look forward to the future with confidence. St. John Paul II

Daily Thought For June 5, 2019

How The Holy Spirit Helps Us Focus This light totally changed my way of thinking. When the Communists put me in the hold of the boat, the Hai-Phong, along with 1500 other prisoners and moved us to the North, I said to myself, "Here is my cathedral, here are the people God has given me to care for, here is my mission: to ensure the presence of God among these, my despairing, miserable brothers. It is God's will that I am here. I accept his will". And from that minute onwards, a new peace filled my heart and stayed with me for thirteen years. Cardinal Francis Xavier Nguyên Van Thuân

Daily Thought For June 4, 2019

Great Words of Encouragement For Some Graduates However, true happiness ultimately requires careful and continued care of the soul—not some ghost in the machine, but the whole human being: body, soul, and spirit. Care for, and cultivation of, the soul is undoubtedly grounded in nature. But it is finally perfected by the triune God who creates and redeems, who reveals himself in Scripture and in the person of our incarnate Lord, Jesus Christ. You must never forget that there is no true happiness without attention to our souls. One last piece of advice. Be open to human greatness in all its forms: remember the great saints, not just St. Francis or Mother Teresa but also the holy and spirited Joan of Arc, the wise and learned Thomas Aquinas, and the prudent, principled, and courageous Thomas More. (“In my Father’s house are many mansions,” as the Gospel of St. John tells us.) Learn to admire great statesman such as Cicero, Washington, Lincoln, and Churchill, men who fought for free ...

Daily Thought For June 1, 2019

An Important Reminder In An Age of Toxic Social Media Respect for the reputation of persons forbids every attitude and word likely to cause them unjust injury. He becomes guilty: — of rash judgment who, even tacitly, assumes as true, without sufficient foundation, the moral fault of a neighbor; — of detraction who, without objectively valid reason, discloses another’s faults and failings to persons who did not know them; — of calumny who, by remarks contrary to the truth, harms the reputation of others and gives occasion for false judgments concerning them. To avoid rash judgment, everyone should be careful to interpret insofar as possible his neighbor’s thoughts, words, and deeds in a favorable way: Every good Christian ought to be more ready to give a favorable interpretation to another’s statement than to condemn it. But if he cannot do so, let him ask how the other understands it. And if the latter understands it badly, let the former correct him with love. If that doe...