Daily Thought from the Saints
"We must faithfully keep what we have promised. If through human weakness we fail, we must always without delay arise again by means of holy penance, and give our attention to leading a good life and to dying a holy death. May the Father of all mercy, the Son by his holy passion, and the Holy Spirit, source of peace, sweetness and love, fill us with their consolation”!
— St. Colette
Daily Scripture Verse
"Let love be sincere; hate what is evil, hold on to what is good love one another with mutual affection; anticipate one another in showing honor. Do not grow slack in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the holy ones, exercise hospitality."
Romans 12:9-13
Daily Meditation
"Others, again, seeing their own imperfections, become angry with themselves with an impatience that is not humble. They are so impatient with their shortcomings as if they would be saints in one day. Many of these make many grand resolutions, but, being self-confident and not humble, the more they resolve, the more they fall, and the more angry they become; not having the patience to wait for God’s time; this is also opposed to spiritual meekness. There is no perfect remedy for this but in the dark night. There are, however, some people who are so patient, and who advance so slowly in their spiritual progress, that God wishes they were not so patient."
— St. John of the Cross
Daily Catholic Wisdom
It is impossible to be just to the Catholic Church. The moment men cease to pull against it they feel a tug towards it. The moment they cease to shout it down they begin to listen to it with pleasure. The moment they try to be fair to it they begin to be fond of it.
—G. K. Chesterton
from his book “The Catholic Church and Conversion”
Daily Journey with the Pope
“We all have the temptation to wear a mask, even in front of ourselves. Forgetfulness of God’s presence in our life goes hand in hand with ignorance of ourselves – ignoring God and ignoring ourselves – ignorance of our personality traits and our deepest desires… Indeed, very often it can happen that erroneous convictions about reality, based on past experiences, strongly influence us, limiting our freedom to strive for what really matters in our lives… Prayer and self-knowledge enable us to grow in freedom… They are basic elements of Christian existence, precious elements for finding one’s place in life.”
Pope Francis
A Prayer
Rev. Steve Gibson, C.S.C.
Protect us from egos that seek glory over God's love of others; give us wisdom to realize that all that really matters is honoring your will. Strengthen us this day so we sidestep the temptation of earthly applause just to appear a little more important to the detriment of doing what is truly important. Amen.
The Abbot’s Daily Lectio Divina - John 10:27-30
Abbot Austin Murphy, O.S.B., St. Procopius Abbey, Lisle, IL
Reading
[Jesus said:] “My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.”
Meditation
If we belong to Christ, no one can separate us from Him and from sharing in His eternal life. In other words, Christ is at work to keep us united to Himself and, since no one is stronger than our Lord, no one can rend us from Him. We of course must cooperate with Him. Yet Christ even works within us to overcome any sinful resistance within us to being united to Him. So, we can be quiet and trust in the Lord that He will keep us united to Himself.
Prayer
Keep me united to Yourself, Lord Jesus. Amen.
Contemplation…