Daily Thought from the Saints
"O Sacred Heart of Jesus, fountain of eternal life, Your Heart is a glowing furnace of Love. You are my refuge and my sanctuary."
— St. Gertrude the Great
Daily Scripture Verse
"At present we see indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then face to face. At present I know partially; then I shall know fully, as I am fully known. So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love."
1 Corinthians 13:12-13
Daily Meditation
"The Eucharist is alive. If a stranger who knew nothing about the Eucharist were to watch the way we receive, would he know this? When you and I approach the Eucharist, does it look like we believe we are about to take into our bodies the living person, Jesus Christ, true God and true man? How many times, Lord, have I forgotten that the Eucharist is alive! As I wait in line to receive you each day, am I thinking about how much you want to unite yourself with me? Am I seeing your hands filled with the graces you want to give me? Am I filled with awe and gratitude that you love me so much as to actually want to come to me in this incredibly intimate way? Or am I distracted, busy with other thoughts, preoccupied with myself and my agendas for the day? How many times, Jesus, have I made you sad, mindlessly receiving you into my body, into my heart, with no love and no recognition of your love? How many times have I treated you as a dead object? The Host that we receive is not a thing! It’s not a wafer! It’s not bread! It’s a person – He’s alive!"
— Vinny Flynn
Daily Catholic Wisdom
To appear as losers among the strong and powerful; to be no match when aggressive voices raise their pitch; to forsake the parry and thrust of argumentative exchanges; to seem slow and plodding and unclever—there can be spiritual advantages for the life with God in forfeiting one’s dignity.
—Fr. Donald Haggerty
from his book, “Contemplative Enigmas”
A Prayer from Notre Dame University
Rev. Vincent Nguyen, C.S.C.
God, the greatest gift we can give you is being merciful to our sisters and brothers. In order to forgive, however, we have to let go of the pain we hold. Letting go of those hurts is a hard sacrifice—help us to die to ourselves willingly so that we can live in your mercy. Amen.
The Abbot’s Daily Lectio Divina
Abbot Austin Murphy, O.S.B., St. Procopius Abbey, Lisle, IL
John 6:61-64
Reading
Many of the disciples of Jesus who were listening said, "This saying is hard; who can accept it?" Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring about this, he said to them, "Does this shock you? What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the Spirit that gives life, while the flesh is of no avail. The words I have spoken to you are the Spirit and life."
Meditation
Teachers present things that their students do not at first understand, but must learn. To learn, students accept a teaching as true and then work to see its truth. So too with Christ our Teacher. He speaks words that we do not at first understand, but must accept in faith and wrestle with, in order to understand eventually if only in the next life. This is faith seeking understanding. And we have the Spirit to help us find the truth.
Prayer
Lord, may I always believe in the words of Your Son and the word that is Your Son, so that I may grow in my understanding of you and Your ways. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Contemplation…