December 1

Daily Thought from the Saints

"Be a Catholic: When you kneel before an altar, do it in such a way that others may be able to recognize that you know before whom you kneel."

— St. Maximilian Kolbe

Daily Scripture Verse

"Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud, be gracious to me and answer me! Thou hast said, “Seek ye my face.” My heart says to thee, “Thy face, Lord, do I seek.” Hide not thy face from me. Turn not thy servant away in anger, thou who hast been my help. Cast me not off, forsake me not, O God of my salvation!"

Psalm 27:7-9

Daily Meditation

"'As God hath distributed to every man, as the Lord hath called every one, so let him walk.' No one can do better with his life than that; no one can put it to a better use. Any life must be perfect in proportion as it does what it was made to do. There are many lives that are brilliant failures; they strive after many things that they were never intended to do and fail in that one thing. It seems strange that a reasonable being should never ask himself why he was put upon earth, or that it should not occur to him that the reason must be found in the will of his Creator ...  At the end of the day of our earthly life, we have to answer to our Maker whether we have been employed about our own work or about His, whether we have even made an effort to find out what He would have us do. A life that is inspired by such a motive is sure to be a success, for of this we may be absolutely certain: that each of us can fulfill in our life that for which we were created. We cannot be sure that we have the gifts needed for any other purpose ... For God, in creating us, equipped us for the work for which He created us. We have every gift of nature and of grace, of mind and body that is needed for this work."

— Fr. Basil Maturin

Daily Catholic Wisdom

Sometimes, we can see the will of God. Sometimes we know exactly what he is asking of us. More often, God seems distant and quiet. Regardless, our respond should be the same. It should be that of Mary—‘Fiat!’ ‘Yes!’ ‘Thy will be done!’

—Mike Pacer
from the book “The Three Comings of Christ”

A Prayer from Notre Dame University

Rev. Herbert Yost, C.S.C.

Lord, help us recognize your presence in a church or chapel, even a private room, where we can sit or kneel and quietly reflect on your goodness and mercy. Help us to know the richness of prayer offered from the heart. Grant us courage in the face of difficulties, faith in the presence of doubt and uncertainty, and confidence in your strengthening grace. Let us not miss these gifts by indifference and merely routine words. Amen.

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

Daniel 7:13-14

Reading

As the visions during the night continued, I saw one like a Son of man coming, on the clouds of heaven; when he reached the Ancient One and was presented before him, the one like a Son of man received dominion, glory, and kingship; all peoples, nations, and languages serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not be taken away, his kingship shall not be destroyed.

Meditation

Jesus fulfills this prophecy about the ‘one like the Son of man.’ He is like us, for even while remaining fully God, He became also fully human. And as a human being, He has come into the presence of the Eternal Father and has received eternal ‘dominion, glory, and kingship,’ after conquering sin and death on the cross. All human beings are now called to share in His everlasting reign by believing in Him and living by His grace in uprightness.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, let me share in Your reign by conforming myself to You in everything. In Your Name I pray. Amen.

Contemplation…