Daily Thought from the Saints
"A word or a smile is often enough to put fresh life in a despondent soul."
— St. Therese of Lisieux
Daily Scripture Verse
"I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world."
John 6:51
Daily Meditation
"The beatitude of the saints is immutable, like that of the Son of God. . . Add ages to ages; multiply them equal to the sand of the ocean or the stars of heaven; exhaust all numbers, if you can, beyond what the human intelligence can conceive, and for the elect there will be still the same eternity of happiness. They are immutable, and this immutability excludes weariness and disgust. The life of an elect soul is one succession, without end, of desires ever arising and ever satisfied, but desires without trouble, satiety or lassitude. The elect will always see God, love God, possess God and always will wish to see Him, love Him and possess Him still more. This beatitude is the end destined for all; God has given us time only in order to merit it, being and life only to possess it. Reflect seriously on this great truth, and ask yourself these three questions at the foot of the crucifix: What have I done hitherto for heaven? What ought I to do for heaven? What shall I do henceforward for heaven?"
— St. Ignatius of Loyola
Daily Catholic Wisdom
Let us love not in word or speech, but in truth and action.
- St. Margaret of Scotland
Patron of large families, widows, and learning
A Prayer from Notre Dame University
Rev. Herbert Yost, C.S.C.
Zaccheus, a small little plump man, climbed a tree where he could see Jesus. Jesus looked up: “Come down, Zaccheus, I want to stay at your house today.” Salvation is here. Forgiveness is offered. Love and mercy are given even to the public sinner. Lord, look on our hopes in the midst of our occasional failures. Offer your forgiveness and invite yourself to be in our hearts today. Amen.
The Abbot’s Daily Lectio Divina
Abbot Austin Murphy, O.S.B., St. Procopius Abbey, Lisle, IL
Luke 17:20-21
Reading
Asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God would come, Jesus said in reply, "The coming of the Kingdom of God cannot be observed, and no one will announce, 'Look, here it is,' or, 'There it is'. For behold, the Kingdom of God is within you."
Meditation
The kingdom of God will be wonderful to see when it’s fully established among human beings. Naturally, we want to see it and, so, we look for it. Since it’s not yet fully established, we look for the first rays of its coming. Jesus tells us that we should not look for this outside of us as something observable with our eyes. Rather, we should look for it within ourselves. We have in us a sense of truth, justice, and love and there we see the first rays of the kingdom.
Prayer
Lord, help me to consult and live by the truth which I can sense interiorly. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Contemplation…