Daily Thought from the Saints
"Faith and love are like the blind man’s guides. They will lead you along a path unknown to you, to the place where God is hidden."
— St. John of the Cross
Daily Scripture Verse
"Because he cleaves to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name. When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will rescue him and honor him."
Psalm 91:14-15
Daily Meditation
"Therefore, when God gives spiritual comfort, receive it with thanksgiving, but know that it is the bounty of God, not thy merit. Be not puffed up, be not overjoyed, nor vainly presume, but rather be the more humble for this gift and the more cautious and fearful in all thine actions; for this hour will pass away and temptation will follow. When comfort shall be taken away from thee, do not presently despair; but wait with humility and patience for the heavenly visit, for God is able to restore thee a greater consolation. This is no new thing, nor strange to those who have experienced the ways of God: for the great saints and ancient prophets have often felt this kind of variety."
— Thomas à Kempis
Daily Catholic Wisdom
Of old, God the incorporeal and uncircumscribed was never depicted. Now, however, when God is seen clothed in flesh, and conversing with men, (Bar. 3.38) I make an image of the God whom I see. I do not worship matter, I worship the God of matter, who became matter for my sake, and deigned to inhabit matter, who worked out my salvation through matter. I will not cease from honoring that matter which works my salvation.
- St. John of Damascus
“Three Treatises on the Divine Images: Apologia Against Those Who Decry Holy Images”
A Prayer
Rev. Drew Clary, C.S.C.
Loving God, we give thanks for the way you entrust your work to us and let us share in your mission of bringing about your Kingdom. You send us among wolves wielding nothing but peace. Bring peace to the troubled parts of our lives so that we can more and more depend on it and then begin to witness it to others. We ask that you continue to call more people to join us in your work. Amen.
The Abbot’s Daily Lectio Divina
Abbot Austin Murphy, O.S.B., St. Procopius Abbey, Lisle, IL
Luke 10:1-3
Reading
At that time the Lord appointed seventy-two others whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit. He said to them, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest. Go on your way; behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves.”
Meditation
What is the significance of the disciples being sent ahead of the Lord? It suggests that in some way the manifestation of Christ will come after the preaching of these disciples. Perhaps sometimes that is all our witness to Christ can accomplish. That is, in certain cases people are not open to receiving Christ, but we can give witness in such a way that we help them become more open, so that they may eventually accept Him.
Prayer
Help me to prepare the way for others to receive Your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Contemplation…