Daily Thought

Thankful For God's Many Blessings Disciple Open my heart to your law, Lord, and teach me to walk in your commandments. Give me the grace to know your will and to remember reverently and diligently all your blessings, the general as well as the particular ones, so that I may always thank you adequately. I realize and I confess that I am incapable of properly thanking you. I am not worthy of the blessings you have granted me. While I consider your majesty, my spirit faints before your greatness. All that we have in soul and body, all that we possess exteriorly and interiorly of the natural or supernatural order, are your gifts, which celebrate your generosity, mercy, and goodness. We have received all good things from you. Although some have received more, others less, all these gifts are yours. Without you not even the least of it would be possible. One who has received more cannot claim the glory, nor could such a one raise himself above others, nor insult those blessed with...

Lent Is About Increasing Christian Joy! Dear Brothers and Sisters, This year the Lord grants us, once again, a favorable time to prepare to celebrate with renewed hearts the great mystery of the death and resurrection of Jesus, the cornerstone of our personal and communal Christian life. We must continually return to this mystery in mind and heart, for it will continue to grow within us in the measure that we are open to its spiritual power and respond with freedom and generosity. The paschal mystery as the basis of conversion  Christian joy flows from listening to, and accepting, the Good News of the death and resurrection of Jesus. This kerygma sums up the mystery of a love “so real, so true, so concrete, that it invites us to a relationship of openness and fruitful dialogue” (Christus Vivit, 117). Whoever believes this message rejects the lie that our life is ours to do with as we will. Rather, life is born of the love of God our Father, from his desire to grant us life ...

Transform Evil By The Power Of Love You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also …” (Mt 5:38–39). To understand this text correctly, we must keep in mind that the Old Testament principle “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” (Ex 21:24; Lev 24:20; Dt 19:21) is far from being a canonization of vengeance; on the contrary, its purpose is to substitute the principle of justice for the principle of vengeance.… Justice must be safeguarded; but its safeguarding must not degenerate into vengeance.… Jesus does not reject the principle of equality as a legal norm, but his purpose here is to open to men a new dimension of his own character. An absolute and rigid justice becomes a circulus vitiosus, a cycle of retaliations from which there is no escape. In his dealings with us, God has broken through this circle. We are unjust before God; we have turn...

Lighten Up LEARN TO LAUGH at yourself more freely. Don't take yourself or your circumstances so seriously. Relax and know that I am God with you. When you desire My will above all else, life becomes much less threatening. Stop trying to monitor My responsibilities-things that are beyond your control. Find freedom by accepting the boundaries of your domain. Laughter lightens your load and lifts your heart into heavenly places. Your laughter rises to heaven and blends with angelic melodies of praise. Just as parents delight in the laughter of their children, so I delight in hearing My children laugh. I rejoice when you trust Me enough to enjoy your life lightheartedly. Do not miss the Joy of My Presence by carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders. Rather, take My yoke upon you and learn from Me. My yoke is comfortable and pleasant; My burden is light and easily borne. A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. -PROVERBS 17:22 She i...

Everything For God's Glory Health is God's great gift, and we must spend it entirely for Him. Our eyes should see only for God, our feet walk only for Him, our hands labor for Him alone; in short, our entire body should serve God while we still have the time. Then, when He shall take our health and we shall near our last day, our conscience will not reproach us for having misused it. St. John Bosco

Not By Heroic Deeds I strive for the greatest perfection possible in order to be useful to the Church .... I have come to understand how great an influence I have on other souls, not by any heroic deeds, as these are striking  in themselves, but by small actions like a movement of the hand, a look, and many other things too numerous to mention, which have an effect on and reflect in the souls of others, ... (Diary, 1475)  Reflection   Every hive needs worker bees. Not glamorous or heroic, just insects that, day after day, get the job done. That venture out, gather pollen, and return with it. "Saving" souls can sound both glamorous and heroic. "Touching" souls ... is what most of us are called to do. Day after day. A look of kindness. A word of support. A silent prayer.  Prayer   I want to get better at thinking small, Lord. At thinking local. At seeing those who walk among me so hungry for the look, the word, or the prayer that will transform the...

Deeper Life In The Holy Spirit Let us never hesitate to ask for the help of the divine Physician, any more than we should hesitate to go to earthly physicians. "Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved; for you are my praise" (Jer 17: 14).  Dr. Bob Sawyer, M.D., is a retired ear, nose, and throat specialist in Baltimore. He had been used by God to heal on a natural level for decades, but he did not realize the supernatural power that was also available to him in Christ. A few years ago, he began praying for more grace to overflow in his life. He recounts:  I'd been asking the Lord to make his presence in me palpable to the people around me, that even when I step on an elevator they would somehow sense God. Not that they would be drawn to me, but that they would simply become more aware of God. One morning the chief nurse in surgery came and said, "There's a nurse friend of mine who has a brain tumor. Would you mind praying wit...