Daily Thought from the Saints
"Have patience with all things, but chiefly have patience with yourself. Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections, but instantly set about remedying them, every day begin the task anew."
— St. Francis de Sales
Daily Scripture Verse
"For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at last he will stand upon the earth; and after my skin has been thus destroyed, then from my flesh I shall see God."
Job 19:25-26
Daily Meditation
"Let us not fancy that if we cry a great deal we have done all that is needed—rather we must work hard and practice the virtues: that is the essential—leaving tears to fall when God sends them, without trying to force ourselves to shed them. Then, if we do not take too much notice of them, they will leave the parched soil of our souls well watered, making it fertile in good fruit; for this is the water which falls from Heaven. ... I think it is best for us to place ourselves in the presence of God, contemplate His mercy and grandeur and our own vileness and leave Him to give us what He will, whether water or drought, for He knows best what is good for us; thus we enjoy peace and the devil will have less chance to deceive us."
— St. Teresa of Avila
Daily Catholic Wisdom
What are you grateful for? What items would you place in the laundry basket and lift up to the Lord in a hymn of praise and thanks? Ingratitude, entitlement, and resentment will always seek a higher place and never be satisfied, while thankfulness happily takes the lowest place because it realizes how much has already been given.
—Bishop Donald Hying
from his book, “Love Never Fails”
A Prayer
Rev. William Simmons, C.S.C.
Lord Jesus, you prayed for the mercy shown by the Father, and promised to protect us so that we may be one as you and the Father are one. Look not at our faults and failures, and grant us your forgiveness and your mercy. Give us strength to call upon you, and may we all be one in faith, service, courage, and truth. Amen.
The Abbot’s Daily Lectio Divina
Abbot Austin Murphy, O.S.B., St. Procopius Abbey, Lisle, IL
John 17:17-19
Reading
[Jesus said, praying to the Father:] “Consecrate them in the truth. Your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world. And I consecrate myself for them, so that they also may be consecrated in truth.”
Meditation
Consecration means being set apart for holiness. Jesus consecrates Himself through His death and resurrection, for this sets Him apart from the world and brings His humanity into the holiness of heaven. If we remain united to Him through faith, hope, and love, then even while in the world, we are not of it. That is, by remaining in Him, we are set apart from the world’s ways so as to live in His truth. We are thus consecrated by His consecration.
Prayer
Lord, may my ways not be the world’s ways but Yours. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Contemplation…