September 4

Daily Thought From The Saints

“If then we have Angels, let us be sober, as though we were in the presence of tutors; for there is a demon present also.”

— St. John Chrysostom

Daily Scripture Verse

“For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, ‘in returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.’”

Isaiah 30:15a

Daily Meditation

“I never found anyone so religious and devout as not to have sometimes a subtraction of grace, or feel a diminution of fervor. No Saint was ever so highly rapt and illuminated as not to be tempted sooner or later. For he is not worthy of the high contemplation of God who has not, for God’s sake, been exercised with some tribulation. For temptation going before is usually a sign of ensuing consolation. For heavenly comfort is promised to such as have been proved by temptation. To him that over cometh, saith the Lord, I will give to eat of the tree of life.”

— Thomas À Kempis

Daily Catholic Wisdom

We must know that we have been created for greater things, not just to be a number in the world, not just to go for diplomas and degrees, this work and that work. We have been created in order to love and to be loved.

—St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta

A Prayer from Notre Dame University

Rev. John Pearson, C.S.C.

Lord Jesus, we know that your rejection by your neighbors at Nazareth was the first whisper leading to the Cross. Help us to see you not just where we expect to, but to see you revealed in the most unlikely places and in the most unlikely people. We make this prayer in your name. Amen.

The Abbot’s Daily Lectio Divina
Abbot Austin Murphy, OSB, St. Procopius Abbey, Lisle, IL

Luke 4:24

Reading

And [Jesus] said, "Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place."

Meditation

The people in Jesus‘ native place thought they had Him figured out. We do this with people with whom we are familiar. We “figure them out“– their motives, abilities, personality traits, etc. We then confine them to our ideas about them, and are not able to notice them acting otherwise. Yet, God can communicate a prophetic word through the familiar people in our lives. And we, thinking that we have them “figured out,“ can fail to notice.

Prayer

Almighty God, open my ears to hear the messages that You speak to me through others, including through those whom I have become familiar. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Contemplation…