Daily Thought from the Saints
"If you ate only one meal a week would you survive? It is the same for your soul. Nourish it with the Blessed Sacrament."
— St. André Bessette
Daily Scripture Verse
"Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins. Do not give heed to all the things that men say, lest you hear your servant cursing you; your heart knows that many times you have yourself cursed others."
Ecclesiastes 7:20-22
Daily Meditation
"We must beg God constantly in our prayers to uphold us by His hand; we should keep ever in our minds the truth that if He leaves us, most certainly we shall fall at once into the abyss, for we must never be so foolish as to trust in ourselves. After this I think the greatest safeguard is to be very careful and to watch how we advance in virtue; we must notice whether we are making progress or falling back in it, especially as regards the love of our neighbor, the desire to be thought the least of all and how we perform our ordinary, everyday duties. If we attend to this and beg Our Lord to enlighten us, we shall at once perceive our gain or loss."
— St. Teresa of Avila
Daily Catholic Wisdom
Above all, during the months immediately preceding the birth of her child, the mother should keep close to God, of whom the infant she bears within her is the image, the handiwork, the gift, and the child. She should be for her offspring, as it were, a temple, a sanctuary, an altar, a tabernacle. In short, her life should be, so to speak, the life of a living sacrament, a sacrament in act, burying herself in the bosom of that God who has so truly instituted it and hallowed it, so that there she may draw that energy, that enlightening, that natural and supernatural beauty which He wills, and wills precisely by her means, to impart to the child she bears and to be born of her.
—St. Zélie Guérin Martin
A Prayer from Notre Dame University
Rev. Thomas Jones, C.S.C.
Heavenly Father, you love your Son Jesus and give everything and everyone over to him. May you make of us an everlasting gift to you so that we may always be grateful and sing your praises with joy-filled hearts. Amen.
The Abbot’s Daily Lectio Divina
Abbot Austin Murphy, O.S.B., St. Procopius Abbey, Lisle, IL
Acts 5:29-32
Reading
But Peter and the apostles said in reply, “We must obey God rather than men. The God of our ancestors raised Jesus, though you had him killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as leader and savior to grant Israel repentance and forgiveness of sins. We are witnesses of these things, as is the Holy Spirit that God has given to those who obey him."
Meditation
The Holy Spirit is said to bear witness. Our witness is external, through words and actions, but the Spirit witnesses within. Just so, we cannot convert people, for that is an interior work of God’s Spirit. But we can put before people's outward gaze words and actions that resonate with the movement of the Spirit within them. It is our responsibility to give an external witness that helps people hear what the Spirit is saying within them.
Prayer
Almighty God, may I listen to Your Holy Spirit within me, so that I may say and do the things that will help others to hear the witness of Your Spirit within them. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Contemplation…