Daily Thought from the Saints
"You change your life by changing your heart."
— St. Benedict of Nursia
Daily Scripture Verse
"He said to them, "Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned.""
Mark 16:15-16
Daily Meditation
"Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on: you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently he starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of – throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself."
— C. S. Lewis
Daily Catholic Wisdom
Hard hearts are softened by softness, not hardness; by failure, not by success; by weakness, not by power.
—Peter Kreeft
from his book “The Man Who Left His Mark: How Mark’s Gospel Answers Modern Questions”
Daily Journey with the Pope
“When I encounter the Lord in prayer, I become joyful. Each one of us becomes joyful, a beautiful thing. Sadness, or fear, on the other hand, are signs of distance from God… Those who turn away from the Lord are never happy, even though they have an abundance of possessions and possibilities at their disposal.”
Pope Francis
A Prayer
Members of the Holy Cross Novitiate
Lord Jesus, you showed your overwhelming mercy in the parable of the good Samaritan. May we also be granted this same generosity of spirit so that we can extend your grace to our brothers and sisters in need. We ask this in your most holy name. Amen.
The Abbot’s Daily Lectio Divina - Luke 10:40-42
Abbot Austin Murphy, O.S.B., St. Procopius Abbey, Lisle, IL
Reading
Martha, burdened with much serving, came to [Jesus] and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister [Mary] has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me.” The Lord said to her in reply, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.”
Meditation
‘There is need of only one thing.’ What is this one needed thing? It can be understood as God or as a loving focus on God—something that Mary displays by sitting attentively at the feet of Jesus. With this loving focus on and attentiveness to God, even our work becomes more calm and well ordered. It is then done for the love of God and with the hope of leading us more deeply into the life of God.
Prayer
May I set my heart on attaining You, so that all that I do brings me and others closer to You. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Contemplation…