Daily Thought from the Saints
"The devotion to the Eucharist is the most noble, because it has God as its object; it is the most profitable for salvation, because it gives us the Author of Grace; it is the sweetest, because the Lord is Sweetness Itself."
— Pope St. Pius X
Daily Scripture Verse
"Hearken to me, you who pursue deliverance, you who seek the Lord; look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the quarry from which you were digged."
Isaiah 51:1
Daily Meditation
"I've appointed the Devil to tempt and to trouble My creatures in this life [St. Catherine of Siena reports that Our Lord said to her]. I've done this, not so that My creatures will be overcome, but so that they may overcome, proving their virtue and receiving from Me the glory of victory. And no one should fear any battle or temptation of the Devil that may come to him, because I've made My creatures strong, and I've given them strength of will, fortified in the Blood of My Son. Neither the Devil nor any other creature can control this free will, because it's yours, given to you by Me. By your own choice, then, you hold it or let it go if you please. It's a weapon, and if you place it in the hands of the Devil, it right away becomes a knife that he'll use to stab and kill you. On the other hand, if you don't place this knife that is your will into the hands of the Devil—that is, if you don't consent to his temptations and harassments—you will never be injured by the guilt of sin in any temptation. Instead, you'll actually be strengthened by the temptation, as long as you open the eyes of your mind to see My love, and to understand why I allowed you to be tempted: so you could develop virtue by having it proved. My love permits these temptations, for the Devil is weak. He can do nothing by himself unless I allow him. So I let him tempt you because I love you, not because I hate you. I want you to conquer, not to be conquered, and to come to a perfect knowledge of yourself and of Me."
— St. Catherine of Siena
Daily Catholic Wisdom
If you desire a closer, more intimate relationship with Jesus—if you desire your spiritual life to grow more profoundly and go far beyond the humdrum existence of a Christian who is just going through the motions—then step back with me and consider what it means to follow Jesus intentionally as a DISCIPLE.
—Edward Sri
from his book “Into His Likeness”
Daily Journey with the Pope
"Returning to the fountainhead of the love of the Father and to the missions of the Son and the Holy Spirit does not close us up in spaces of static personal tranquillity. On the contrary, it leads us to recognize the gratuitousness of the gift of the fullness of life to which we are called, this gift for which we praise and thank God. This gift is not only for us, but rather it is to be given to others. And it also leads us to live ever more fully what we have received, by sharing it with others, with a sense of responsibility and travelling together along the roads, very often the tortuous and difficult ones of history, in vigilant and industrious expectation of its fulfilment. Let us ask the Lord for this grace, to take in hand this Christian vocation and to give thanks to the Lord for what he has given us, this treasure. And to try to communicate it to others."
Pope Francis
A Prayer from Notre Dame University
Rev. Paul Kollman, C.S.C.
Almighty and ever-living God, the words of Jesus your Son scandalized some of those who first heard them, and he was accused of blasphemy. Centuries later, we still seek to live within the outlandishness of Christ’s promises—promises so deep and abiding that they conquer all sin and death. Make us fearless in proclaiming the truths that set us free. You live and reign forever and ever. Amen.
The Abbot’s Daily Lectio Divina
Abbot Austin Murphy, O.S.B., St. Procopius Abbey, Lisle, IL
John 6:66-69
Reading
As a result of this, many of his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him. Jesus then said to the Twelve, “Do you also want to leave?” Simon Peter answered him, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.”
Meditation
As thinking beings, we continually build and maintain a system of ideas that is for understanding reality and knowing how to act. But sometimes Jesus’ teaching clashes with the system of ideas that we have built. Then we can reject His teaching and no longer follow Him. Or we can realize that our system of ideas is faulty and that we need Jesus to teach us how to see things as they are. Then, we build our ideas around what Jesus teaches.
Prayer
God, may I allow Jesus’ teaching to knock down whatever is faulty in my thinking and may I build my ideas on the solid ground of His teaching. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Contemplation…