Daily Thought from the Saints
"Apart from the cross, there is no other ladder by which we may get to heaven."
— St. Rose of Lima
Daily Scripture Verse
"Teach me thy way, O Lord, that I may walk in thy truth; unite my heart to fear thy name. I give thanks to thee, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify thy name for ever. For great is thy steadfast love toward me; thou hast delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol."
Psalm 86:11-13
Daily Meditation
"The queen bee never settles in her hive without being surrounded by her swarm, and charity never takes possession of the heart without bringing in her train all other virtues, exercising them and bringing them into play as a general his troops. But she does not call them forth suddenly, all at once, nor in all times and places. The good man is like a tree planted by the water-side that will bring forth its fruit in due season, because when a soul is watered with charity, it brings forth good works seasonably and with discretion."
— St. Francis de Sales
Daily Catholic Wisdom
Where ordinary women have achieved remarkable things for God and the Church, it has been because God loved them enough to become human like them—to share with them the life of His divine and human Son, through His Jewish mother, Mary, in real, historical time.
—Bronwen McShea
from her book, “Women of the Church: What Every Catholic Should Know”
A Prayer from Notre Dame University
Rev. Paul Kollman, C.S.C.
God Almighty, having just yesterday commemorated the passion of Jesus your Son, we continue in this Holy Week to learn of the mixture of friendship and betrayal, of intimacy and hypocrisy, that marked those final days of your Son’s earthly ministry. Help us to be attentive to Christ these days as we remember his forthcoming suffering and death. May we imitate Jesus’ own attentiveness, courage, and faithfulness. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Abbot’s Daily Lectio Divina
Abbot Austin Murphy, O.S.B., St. Procopius Abbey, Lisle, IL
Isaiah 42:1-4
Reading
Thus says the LORD: Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am pleased, upon whom I have put my spirit; he shall bring forth justice to the nations, not crying out, not shouting, not making his voice heard in the street. A bruised reed he shall not break, and a smoldering wick he shall not quench, until he establishes justice on the earth; the coastlands will wait for his teaching.
Meditation
That God’s servant does not cry out nor shout indicates a moral authority that speaks more effectively than bluster. It is the very witness of this servant’s life that conveys the justice, that is, the righteousness, of God. This servant will testify to that righteousness in a way that speaks to the depths of a person, and that has the power to change the person in his or her depths. Christ is this servant.
Prayer
Almighty God, may I listen to Your Son’s words and let them mold my soul. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Contemplation…