Daily Thought from the Saints
"The human soul has so much likeness to God its creator that I surely know of no other way by which one can more easily mount to a knowledge of God than from reflection on one's own soul."
— St. Robert Bellarmine
Daily Scripture Verse
"So for one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, it is a sin."
James 4:17
Daily Meditation
"Let us pass on now to the other question—namely, what you can do to strengthen your resolutions and make them succeed? There is no better mean than to put them into practice. But you say that you are still so weak that, although you often make strong resolutions not to fall into the particular imperfection of which you want to cure yourself, no sooner does the occasion present itself than down you go. Shall I tell you why we are still so weak? It is because we will not abstain from food that does not agree with us. It is as if a person who wished to be free from pains in the stomach were to ask a physician what he should do. The doctor replies, 'Do not eat such and such food, because it brings you pain'; and yet the person will not abstain from it. We do the same. For example, we should like to love reproof, and yet we obstinately cling to our own opinions. That is foolishness. You will never be strong enough to bear reproof courageously while you are nourishing yourself with the food of self-esteem. I wish to keep my soul recollected, and yet I will not restrain all sorts of idle thoughts: the two things are incompatible. Ah! How much I wish that I could be steadfast and regular in my religious exercises; at the same time I wish not to find them so trying—in fact, I want to find the work done for me. That cannot be in this life, for we shall always have to labor."
— St. Francis de Sales
Daily Catholic Wisdom
If we want a love message to be heard, it has got to be sent out. To keep a lamp burning, we have to keep putting oil in it.
—Mother Teresa
Daily Journey with the Pope
“I would like to ask all of you for a special prayer, for Pope Emeritus Benedict, who in silence is sustaining the Church. Lets us remember him -he is very ill- asking the Lord to comfort him, and sustain him in this witness of love for the Church, until the end."
Pope Francis
A Prayer
Rev. Thomas McNally C.S.C.
Lord, the prophet Simeon saw you and knew at once that you were the Messiah, the Promised One. He foresaw that you would be a light to the nations, and the glory of the people of Israel. But he also knew that you would be rejected by many. Protect us, Lord, so that we may never reject you or your message of salvation. Amen.
The Abbot’s Daily Lectio Divina
Abbot Austin Murphy, O.S.B., St. Procopius Abbey, Lisle, IL
1 John 2:1-3
Reading
My children, I am writing this to you so that you may not commit sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous one. He is expiation for our sins, and not for our sins only but for those of the whole world. The way we may be sure that we know him is to keep his commandments.
Meditation
The proclamation of the good news is an announcement of mercy from God. Even if we sin, we have Jesus to intercede for us and expiate our sin. But the greater mercy, in that it builds on this one, is that when the good news is believed, this gives us the hope and love that enable us to avoid sin. We then live in joyful expectation of everlasting life, in which there will be no want, but only overflowing fullness.
Prayer
Lord, may I turn to You after I sin, in order to receive forgiveness, and may I turn to You, in order not to sin in the first place. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Contemplation…