Daily Thought

Going Deeper Lectio Luke 9:57–62 Meditatio “But he replied.…” How often do I want to respond to a new or deeper invitation from the Lord to follow him but feel that something holds me back? Maybe he wants me to follow him in greater humility, or through a more constant practice of patience. Maybe he is asking me to let go of the anxiety that can make me try to control everything, or to let go of a bad habit that impedes a more vital relationship with him. I battle with the voices that say: “I want to, but not yet.” “Yes, but I’ve got some things pending.” “Thanks for the invitation, but I need to think about it more.” Luke presents us with Jesus’ personal invitation to follow him today, now! Jesus doesn’t talk around his demands, but clearly tells us what discipleship will entail: living with detachment, insecurity, and the readiness for a total giving of ourselves for the sake of the kingdom. It’s a large task. It’s a call that demands living as Jesus did, in total dep...

Pope John Paul I & The Redeeming Quality of Humor Ostensus non datus : he was shown to us, not given. We might well say that of Pope John Paul I, whose winning smile made the world look and listen. The Italians called him, with much love, “Il Papa del sorriso” (the smiling Pope), and the whole world followed suit. We can surmise something of his spiritual way from the letters contained in the delightful book Illustrissimi, which, in its simplicity, its quiet humor, its greatness, we have inherited as a testament. Especially moving is the letter to Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, with whom he had so deep an interior affinity. He says to her: “Unfortunately I can live and dispense love only in the small coin of everyday life—but then there is that person whose television is too loud, who makes so much noise, or who is so uncouth; then I have to try to understand him, to keep calm and to smile, and this will be true love without all the rhetoric.” And he tells us a brief parable that re...

Faith Opens The Window To The Holy Spirit Faith opens a “window” to the presence and working of the Spirit. It shows us that, like happiness, holiness is always tied to little gestures. “Whoever gives you a cup of water in my name will not go unrewarded”, says Jesus (cf. Mk 9:41). These little gestures are those we learn at home, in the family; they get lost amid all the other things we do, yet they do make each day different. They are the quiet things done by mothers and grandmothers, by fathers and grandfathers, by children. They are little signs of tenderness, affection and compassion. Like the warm supper we look forward to at night, the early lunch awaiting someone who gets up early to go to work. Homely gestures. Like a blessing before we go to bed, or a hug after we return from a hard day’s work. Love is shown by little things, by attention to small daily signs which make us feel at home. Faith grows when it is lived and shaped by love. That is why our families, our homes, ...

 Joy of the Saints & The Sorrow of the Worldly To the worldling the idea of finding joy in frugality is absurd, for to him joy is nothing more nor less than sense pleasures. He knows nothing deeper, nothing more lofty. And sense pleasures can be unceasingly multiplied only with money, abundant money, the more the better. But deep down, though he kicks the heels of his spirit in a refusal to face it, the worldling does know that sense pleasures bring happiness to no one. He knows that something is radically missing in his own life. The cartoons in his slick magazines show that he knows that the wealthy are bored to death in the dullness of their cocktail parties. There is a sprinkle of pleasure here and there, and it is de rigueur to put on a brave front and a superficial smile, even though one feels the gnawing emptiness aching in his heart. The worldling will not face his colossal inner blah. He multiplies experiences in an unending and desperate attempt to numb his spir...

Growing Closer To The Master Lectio Luke 8:19–21 Meditatio “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it.” At first glance, we may find these words of Jesus baffling. Does he really mean that those who act on God’s word are closer to him than his own blood relations? Pondering this raises the question: what is the word of God and what does it mean to act on it? Jesus was sent by the Father to redeem humanity from sin and to teach the way of salvation. Jesus redeemed us once and for all, but each of us is free to accept salvation and order our lives according to it. We have a choice. Jesus saved us, but we have to want that salvation and to live as people who are redeemed. We can do that by following Jesus’ teachings. His teachings are not rules imposed upon us to make life difficult, but are invitations to find happiness. The human person’s most basic desire is for happiness, and Jesus’ commandments lead us on the way to find it. ...

A Cure During Confession One day, the playwright Luigi Antonelli told a journalist of his extraordinary cure through the intervention of Padre Pio. His doctors had found a cancer covering the area between his ear and his shoulder. They had spoken to him about having an operation. He went to a surgeon and asked him, “How much time have I got left?” The surgeon replied, “With the operation six months, and without it, three months.” “All right,” said Antonelli, “I’ll have the operation. I can’t turn down an extra three months of life!” And he would have undergone the operation had not one of his friends advised him to go to San Giovanni Rotondo and see Padre Pio. Perhaps the priest would ask the Lord to cure him without the operation. Antonelli reflected on this, then said, “Why not?” He set out for San Giovanni, and when he arrived went immediately to the little church and attended Padre Pio’s Mass. Afterward, he went to confession. What happened during this confession? Antone...

Hearing the Voice of the Lord "I WILL hear what the Lord God will speak in me.” Blessed is the soul who hears the Lord speaking within her, who receives the word of consolation from His lips. Blessed are the ears that catch the accents of divine whispering, and pay no heed to the murmurings of this world. Blessed indeed are the ears that listen, not to the voice which sounds without, but to the truth which teaches within. Blessed are the eyes which are closed to exterior things and are fixed upon those which are interior. Blessed are they who penetrate inwardly, who try daily to prepare themselves more and more to understand mysteries. Blessed are they who long to give their time to God, and who cut themselves off from the hindrances of the world. Consider these things, my soul, and close the door of your senses, so that you can hear what the Lord your God speaks within you. “I am your salvation,” says your Beloved. “I am your peace and your life. Remain with Me and you wi...