Ask Jim to Pray

Pray for Jon and Family

2011-01-03T15:42:00.001-05:00

Please pray for Jon, his ex-wife Cindy and their two children who live in Missouri.

Resurrection

2010-09-26T19:24:00.005-04:00

If you want to witness the resurrection, then be it.

For this is the condition for witnessing anything.

--RUMI

Time for Silence

2010-08-16T04:00:00.003-04:00

We all need time for silence, to reflect and to pray.

Mother Teresa

Speak Gracious Words Every Day

2010-07-22T08:03:00.002-04:00

Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you know how you should respond to each one.

Colossians 4:6

Jesus Will Deliver You

2010-07-13T06:22:00.002-04:00

Jesus will deliver you from your unruly passions, your selfishness, your unfaithfulness, your self-deception. Just ask him to do it. Don't wait for intense feelings of remorse and regret to motivate you; they may never come. Don't wait for a time when you are ready to give up your sin; you may never "want" to. If you are comfortable with your sin and feel powerless before it, tell the Lord. Ask him for the power to change. Throw yourself before the source of mercy.

And then change. Take the grace the Lord gives and simply turn away from your sin and turn toward the Lord in holiness.

Source: Let the Fire Fall by Michael Scanlan, T.O.R. with James Manney, Page 124

God's Guidance

2010-07-07T07:42:00.000-04:00

God often guides us through the words of loving friends.

Holiness never goes out of style, declares Pope Benedict XVI

2010-07-06T04:00:00.001-04:00

The Pope especially highlighted the importance of silence to finding God, and the fact that faith is a gift and the lasting power of holiness.

Prayer and Encouragement

2010-07-05T04:00:00.001-04:00

Pray for and write a note to encourage someone who is ill.

Love Others

2010-07-04T03:47:00.000-04:00

Love others as you find them, not as you wish they were.

Coincidence or God's Plan

2010-04-09T04:00:00.002-04:00

"It is God who brings people into our lives. It is no random thing or coincidence who comes along. So we had best pay attention to the people who come along in our lives. They are meant to enhance us as a person. How that is to happen is unique to each person and based on their circumstances and situations. But every person we come into contact with daily was planned by God for us. So we have to realize that God is involved with our process of becoming the person He calls us to be."

By Anthony Buono

Daily Life Review - Day 10

2010-03-12T09:24:00.002-05:00

How often today did I practice almsgiving equally with money and/or a listening heart?

A Series of Daily Questions from "Finding Spiritual Renewal, Fulfillment and Delight in our busy lives" by Rev. Paul G. Mast

Daily Life Review - Day 9

2010-03-11T06:22:00.003-05:00

What did I notice about spiritual growth when I diffused stress by smiling back at it?

What happened when I shared that with someone?

A Series of Daily Questions from "Finding Spiritual Renewal, Fulfillment and Delight in our busy lives" by Rev. Paul G. Mast

Daily Life Review - Day 8

2010-03-10T04:00:00.002-05:00

How was my inner life nurtured by praying for a change of heart rather than changing God's mind?

A Series of Daily Questions from "Finding Spiritual Renewal, Fulfillment and Delight in our busy lives" by Rev. Paul G. Mast

Daily Life Review - Day 7

2010-03-09T14:06:00.004-05:00

What new insight did I learn abut Sabbath living by fasting from gossip?

A Series of Daily Questions from "Finding Spiritual Renewal, Fulfillment and Delight in our busy lives" by Rev. Paul G. Mast

Daily Life Review - Day 6

2010-03-08T04:00:00.002-05:00

How was I more fulfilled when I paused before speaking in order to discern my words?

A Series of Daily Questions from "Finding Spiritual Renewal, Fulfillment and Delight in our busy lives" by Rev. Paul G. Mast

Daily Life Review - Day 5

2010-03-07T12:37:00.004-05:00

What did I notice when I used asked God to "slow me down" as a way to free me from the stress of speed and deadlines?

A Series of Daily Questions from "Finding Spiritual Renewal, Fulfillment and Delight in our busy lives" by Rev. Paul G. Mast

Daily Life Review - Day 4

2010-03-06T05:53:00.003-05:00

What happened when I pondered God wanting me to be contented and not exhausted?

A Series of Daily Questions from "Finding Spiritual Renewal, Fulfillment and Delight in our busy lives" by Rev. Paul G. Mast

Daily Life Review - Day 3

2010-03-05T08:29:00.002-05:00

How did I feel when I paused just to delight in the gift of my life?

A Series of Daily Questions from "Finding Spiritual Renewal, Fulfillment and Delight in our busy lives" by Rev. Paul G. Mast

Daily Life Review - Day 2

2010-03-04T04:00:00.001-05:00

---How often did I rest my eyes just long enough to recycle my inner life?

A Series of Daily Questions from "Finding Spiritual Renewal, Fulfillment and Delight in our busy lives" by Rev. Paul G. Mast

Daily Life Review - Day 1

2010-03-03T06:04:00.003-05:00

---When did I pause to notice my breathing as much as I focused on working?

A Series of Daily Questions from "Finding Spiritual Renewal, Fulfillment and Delight in our busy lives" by Rev. Paul G. Mast

Our Spiritual Journey

2010-03-02T07:31:00.002-05:00

Our spiritual journey involves leaving something behind. It involves letting go, trusting that what we love will somehow be okay without our being there.

Pilgrimage from the very beginning, and of its very nature, involves surrender---surrender to a power beyond ourselves, a power we trust in, a power we are both leaving behind to care for those we love and that at the same time is drawing us away from them to another place that will help us better relate and love.

Your Will Be Done

2010-03-01T04:00:00.002-05:00

What shall I say now, Lord, in the midst of my distress?

May Your will be done, for I well deserve to be afflicted and oppressed. I must bear it--and with patience--until the storm has passed and things grow better.

From "The Imitation of Christ" by Thomas A. Kempis

Praying In Secret

2010-02-24T06:10:00.002-05:00

"We need to take more seriously Jesus' words that asceticism and private prayer are to be done "in secret," behind closed doors, so that the face we show in public will radiate health, joy, calm, and love for the good things that God, whom prayer and asceticism brings us closer to, has made."

The Cross and It's Merits

2010-02-09T06:53:00.000-05:00

Don't forget the work upon the Cross ... Salvation, Forgiveness, Healing, Eternal Life are all ours!

A New Vision for a New Year

2009-12-22T04:00:00.002-05:00

Now it's one thing to question the value of the computer or the telephone, but it's another thing altogether to question the power of God to work in our lives.

So as we prepare to begin the year 2010, let's put aside any doubts we may have about the Lord. Let's believe that he does want to do a great work in our lives and that he really does want to open our eyes to the spiritual realities all around us.

From: "The Word Among Us"

Two Sides of Sympathy

2009-12-20T19:10:00.003-05:00

What has happened to that double side of sympathy which is the basis of the Christian philosophy of life: "Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep"?

It has been said that the wounded deer sheds tears, but it belongs only to man to weep with those who weep and by sympathy to divide another's sorrows and double another's joys.

Fulton J. Sheen

Bearing With the Defects of Other

2009-12-11T07:51:00.001-05:00

There will always be defects in ourselves or others which we cannot correct. These we must simply tolerate until God in His goodness sees fit to change things. After all, this may be the best possible way to prove our patience, without which our good qualities are not worth much.

From the Imitation of Christ by Thomas A. Kempis

Hope

2009-12-03T04:00:00.002-05:00

In the end, what counts is not how many times we have succeeded or failed, but how we have begun again after a failure. That take hope!

Archbishop Fulton Sheen reminds us that there are no plains in our spiritual life, only hills and valleys, and the key to growth in holiness is not to lose hope when in the valley.

Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan

In Thanksgiving, Give Praise to the Lord

2009-11-26T06:54:00.003-05:00

Hallelujah!

Praise God in his holy sanctuary; give praise in the mighty dome of heaven.

Give praise for his mighty deeds, praise him for his great majesty.

Give praise with blasts upon the horn, praise him with harp and lyre.

Give praise with tambourines and dance, praise him with flutes and strings.

Give praise with crashing cymbals, praise him with sounding cymbals.

Let everything that has breath give praise to the LORD! Hallelujah!

Psalm 150

About Ourselves

2009-11-25T08:46:00.003-05:00

The greatest untapped reservoir of energy in the universe is the depths of our own souls. Though we live with self for a lifetime, we seem to know other persons better, at any rate, we judge them more often than we do ourselves, and we analyze them better than ourselves.

Fulton J. Sheen

Reverence at Prayer

2009-11-24T11:51:00.003-05:00

..........It is far more important that we present our pleas to God with the utmost humility and purity of devotion. We realize that we will be heard for our pure and sorrowful hearts, not for the numbers of our spoken words. Our prayer must be heartfelt and to the point. Only divine inspiration should lengthen it............

From "The Rule of St. Benedict"

In God Alone Is Rest for My Soul

2009-11-23T04:00:00.001-05:00

We may not perhaps quite realise what trusting to God on the human journey means.

This trust is in fact the most radical leap of all.
The Psalm says:
'Whoever trusts in the Lord is like Mount Zion, unshakable, firm-set for ever' (Ps. 125:1).
And that's true, absolutely true.
Trust casts out fear, makes faith easier, gives a thrust to hope.
Trust in God helps you to feel near him, to see him as the solution to all problems, even the most abstruse.
Trust is the greatest joy in our relationship with God.
Whoever, trusts in God has already covered the hardest part of the journey.
He is now in sight of Jericho; victory is at hand.
A victory filled with delight and boundless love.
God, you are my God, I can count on you.

From Journey Without End by Carlo Carretto

Insight Into Holy Living

2009-11-22T07:50:00.002-05:00

How true it is that the more holy the life, the more mysterious it becomes by its apparent simplicity and lowliness.

From The Joy of Full Surrender by Jean-Pierre de Caussade

The Lord Upholds Me

2009-11-17T05:27:00.005-05:00

R. The Lord upholds me.
O LORD, how many are my adversaries!
Many rise up against me!
Many are saying of me,
“There is no salvation for him in God.”

R. The Lord upholds me.
But you, O LORD, are my shield;
my glory, you lift up my head!
When I call out to the LORD,
he answers me from his holy mountain.

R. The Lord upholds me.
When I lie down in sleep,
I wake again, for the LORD sustains me.
I fear not the myriads of people
arrayed against me on every side.

R. The Lord upholds me.

Ps 3:2-3, 4-5, 6-7

How God Communicates

2009-11-16T05:31:00.002-05:00

God speaks to souls through words uttered by pious people, by sermons or good books, and in many other such ways.

Sometimes He calls souls by means of sickness or troubles, or by some truth He teaches them during prayer, for tepid as they may be in seeking Him, yet God holds them very dear.

St. Teresa of Avila

A Prayer for Today

2009-11-15T06:47:00.000-05:00

Lord, help us to answer your call to bring your light into the world in the ways you choose for us.

Amen.

What Is Sunday for You

2009-11-15T04:00:00.001-05:00

God of love, you remind us that we are not made for the Sabbath, but the Sabbath is made for us.

I seek rest to be renewed in the joy of those words.

Rev. Paul G. Mast

Do I Love My Neighbor

2009-11-14T09:44:00.002-05:00

Christ does not want you to feel the least hatred, resentment, anger or rancour towards anyone in any way or on account of any transitory thing whatsoever.

This is proclaimed throughout the four Gospels.

St. Maximo the Confessor

How To Love

2009-11-08T06:38:00.002-05:00

"Let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth."

1 John 3: 18

What Is The Will Of God

2009-11-07T04:00:00.000-05:00

The basic principle is that each should recognize both his need of all the others and his obligation to serve all the others.

The will of God will begin to come clear once this fundamental truth has been accepted and understood.

But unless we recognize that we are members of one body and that we have vital obligations and responsibilities toward other members who live by the same life-principle, we will never understand the love of God.

Thomas Merton

True Charity

2009-11-06T09:36:00.000-05:00

True charity consists in putting up with all one's neighbor's faults, never being surprised by his weakness, and being inspired by the least of his virtues.

St. Therse of Lisieux

Proper Mourning Is A Blessing

2009-11-05T07:49:00.004-05:00

Perhaps the greatest spiritual and psychological challenge for us once we reach mid-life is to mourn our deaths and losses. Unless we mourn properly our hurts, our losses, life's unfairness, our shattered dreams, our radical inconsummation, and all the life that we once had but that has now passed us by, we will live either in an unhealthy fantasy or an ever-intensifying bitterness.

Fr. Ronald Rolheiser

Show Your Love Now

2009-11-04T11:58:00.002-05:00

We save our best compliments and flowers for the funeral.

However, Jesus challenges us to anoint each other while we are still alive: Shower those you love with affection and flowers while they are alive, not at their funerals.

Fr. Ronald Rolheiser

Can We Know/Do God's Will Without Prayer?

2009-11-03T07:23:00.004-05:00

The process of discovering God's will is called discernment, and it is a noble and sacred enterprise. One phenomenon essential to discerning God's will and then obeying it is prayer. If obedience is predicated upon listening to God, then we had better listen hard, and that comes in prayer.

Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan

To Be A Good Counselor

2009-11-01T06:43:00.006-05:00

One of the wisest of sayings is that of one of the most learned men who ever lived. Thomas Aquinas: "Contemplata aliis tradere" --"We deliver to others those things upon which we have mediated."

Fulton J. Sheen

About Our Prayer

2009-10-31T08:03:00.002-04:00

When we pray, be prepared to be surprised!

How Do We Respond To The Sermon On The Mount

2009-10-29T07:17:00.002-04:00

Humanly speaking, we could interpret the Sermon on the Mount in a thousand different ways. But Jesus knows only one possibly: simple surrender and obedience. He does not want it to be discussed as an ideal; he really means us to get on with it.

Bietrich Bonhoeffer

A Divided Heart?

2009-10-27T17:16:00.003-04:00

Remain close to Jesus in life and in death, committing yourself to His faithful keeping. When all others fail you, He will help you.

However, your Beloved is of such a nature that He will not accept a divided heart; but will have it for Himself alone and will reign there as a king on his throne.

From the Imitation of Christ by Thomas A. Kempis

Struggle Against Sin

2009-10-25T04:00:00.001-04:00

With the passage of time, if we persevere in following Christ our Teacher, we feel less and less burdened by the struggle against sin, and we enjoy more and more the divine light which pervades all creation.

Christopher West

To He Who Thirsts

2009-10-24T06:52:00.001-04:00

"Come." Let the one who thirsts come forward, and the one who wants it receive the gift of the life-giving water.

Rev 22: 17

Keep Holy the Sabbath

2009-10-22T07:05:00.002-04:00

If you hold back your foot on the Sabbath
from following your own pursuits on my holy day;

If you call the sabbath a delight,
and the Lord's holy day honorable;

If you honor it by not following your ways,
seeking your own interests, or speaking with malice--

Then you shall delight in the Lord;
and I will make your ride on the heights of the earth;

I will nourish you with the heritage of Jacob, your father,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

Isaiah 58: 13-14

Cleanse Me Lord

2009-10-20T07:28:00.002-04:00

Cleanse me with hyssop, that I may be pure; wash me, make me whiter than snow.

Let me hear sounds of joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice.

Turn away your face from my sins; blot out all my guilt.

A clean heart create for me, God; renew in me a steadfast spirit.

Psalm 51: 9-12

Do Not Worry!

2009-10-19T05:57:00.000-04:00

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you--you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear?' For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. "So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today's trouble is enough for today.

Matthew 6:25-34

Our Thoughts

2009-10-18T06:06:00.001-04:00

For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he....

Proverbs 23:7

On the Love of Solitude and Silence

2009-10-04T06:02:00.002-04:00

Seek a convenient time to search your own conscience, meditating on the benefits of God.

From the Imitation of Christ by Thomas A. Kempis

Sin

2009-09-27T07:06:00.003-04:00

Who can detect heedless failings?
Cleanse me from my unknown fault.

But from willful sins keep your servant;
let them never control me.

Then shall I be blameless,
innocent of grave sin.

Psalm 19: 13-14

Hope

2009-09-15T04:00:00.000-04:00

"Hope is the virtue that keeps us going when we are tempted to think that Jesus is asleep....."

Quote from unnamed person in "Called to be Holy" by Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan

Godly Versus Ungodly

2009-09-14T04:00:00.002-04:00

All human beings may be divided into two moral categories only, the godly and the ungodly.

St Maximos the Confessor

Prayer of the Great and Divine Arsenios

2009-09-13T04:00:00.000-04:00

"My God, do not abandon me. I have done nothing good before Thee, but grant me, in Thy compassion, the power to make a start."

Angelic Life on Earth

2009-09-12T04:00:00.001-04:00

He who loves God lives the angelic life on earth, fasting and keeping vigils, praying and singing psalms and always thinking good of every man.

Stillness

2009-09-11T08:09:00.000-04:00

He who is not attracted to worldly things cherishes stillness.

A Prayer Against Evil Thoughts

2009-09-09T09:51:00.001-04:00

My Lord Jesus, I beseech You not to go far from me, but come quickly and help me, my God; for evil thoughts and worldly fears have risen up against me to harass my soul. How shall I break them down? How shall I pass through them unarmed?

Man's Value

2009-09-03T12:34:00.003-04:00

No man is worthless to God. All of us are called to share in the kingdom of heaven--each with his own vocation: in his home, his work, his civic duties and the exercise of his rights.

Mgr Escriva'

Effort Versus Effect

2009-09-02T12:03:00.003-04:00

When an idea imposes itself on the mind...all conscious efforts the subject makes in order to counteract it are not merely without the desired effect, but will actually go in the opposite direction and intensify it...with the result that the dominate idea is reinforced. Charles Baudouin

St. Paul writes knowingly of the problem: "I do not understand what I do. For what I do I do not want to do, but what I hate to do...I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. Rom. 7:15-17

J. Heinrich Arnold

God Is In Us

2009-08-31T06:11:00.003-04:00

God is in us, at the bottom of our soul,
always, always listening to us there,
and asking us to chat a little with him.
From time to time lower your eyes towards your chest,
recollect yourself a quarter of a minute, and say:
"You are there, my God, I love you."

Charles de Foucauld

Who Can Pray

2009-08-30T08:17:00.001-04:00

Only the humble can pray, for prayer presumes we need someone and something.

Bishop Fulton Sheen

The Spiritual Journey

2009-08-25T05:27:00.003-04:00

The journey does not consist in recreations, experiences and spiritual feelings, but in the living, sensory and spiritual, exterior and interior death of the cross.

St. John of the Cross (Ascent, II.vii.11)

More to Life.......

2009-08-17T04:00:00.002-04:00

There is more to life than merely increasing its speed.

Gandhi

The Secret of Sanctity

2009-08-16T14:17:00.002-04:00

Every day for some moments.....close your eyes to the things of sense and your ears to the noises of the world, in order to enter into yourself. There, in the sanctity of your baptized soul, the temple of the Holy Spirit, say: "O Holy Spirit, beloved of my soul, I adore you. Enlighten me, guide me, strengthen me, console me....Let me know your will." If you do this, your life will flow serenely, even in the midst of trials. This submission to the Holy Spirit is the secret of sanctity.

From "Called to be Holy" by Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan

A Refuge

2009-08-14T07:27:00.001-04:00

"I am the Lord, a refuge on the day of distress."

Nahum 1:7

God's Wish

2009-08-12T14:16:00.001-04:00

It is God's wish that we grow in our faith.

Mother Teresa

Realism

2009-08-11T04:00:00.001-04:00

The optimist is a happy fool, whereas the pessimist is an unhappy one.

Both, unfortunately, are fools.

The realist, on the other hand, is no fool and can be a happy person.

G. K. Chesterton

The Happiness of God

2009-08-10T07:36:00.002-04:00

The great solid foundation of the spiritual life is to give oneself to God....in such a way that the good pleasure of God makes all our joy, and his happiness, glory and being become our sole good.

Jean-Pierre de Caussade

Love Your Neighbor

2009-08-09T04:00:00.001-04:00

For the person who does not show kindness and love towards his brother 'does no know God, for God is love' (1 John 4 :8), as John the son of thunder and beloved disciple of Christ proclaims; and he adds that if Christ, the Saviour of all, 'laid down His soul for us, then we ought to lay down our souls for our brethren' (1 john 3 : 16).

St. Theodoros the Great Ascetic

About Love

2009-08-08T04:00:00.001-04:00

If 'love is long-suffering and kind' (1 Cor. 13 : 4), a man who is fainthearted in the face of his afflictions and who therefore behaves wickedly toward those who have offended him, and stops loving them, surely lapses from the purpose of divine providence.

St. Maximos the Confessor

Healing of the Soul

2009-08-07T04:00:00.000-04:00

The soul is healed by being with children.

Fyodor Dostoevsky

Nature and Grace - Lesson #18

2009-08-06T04:00:00.003-04:00

Grace is a supernatural light and a special gift of God. It is the proper mark of the elect and a pledge of eternal salvation. It lifts a man above the things of earth to the love of heavenly things, making a spiritual man of a worldling.

The more nature is kept down and overcome, the more grace fills a man's soul, and through new daily visitations the soul is formed more and more to the image of God.

From "The Imitation of Christ" by Thomas A. Kempis

This lesson concludes this series on Nature and Grace

Nature and Grace - Lesson #17

2009-08-05T04:00:00.001-04:00

Nature wants to know secrets and is avid for news, wants to appear in public and to try out new things. She likes to be noticed and to do sensational things to win approval.

Grace cares nothing for the novel or curious, for she knows that all this springs fro our old corruption, since there is nothing new or lasting upon earth.

Grace teaches us to control our senses, to shun all vain pleasure and outward show, and humbly to hide anything that might win men's admiration. In all knowledge and in all actions, grace seeks not only spiritual profit, but, above all, the praise and honor of God, that He may be blessed in His gifts, which He freely bestows through His love.

From "The Imitation of Christ" by Thomas A. Kempis

Nature and Grace - Lesson #16

2009-08-04T04:00:00.004-04:00

Nature refers all things to herself and all her striving is for herself.

But grace refers all things back to God, who is their Source. Grace is not presumptuous and attributes no good to self; neither does grace argue or prefer her own opinions, but submits to Eternal Wisdom.

From "The Imitation of Christ" by Thomas A. Kempis

Nature and Grace - Lesson #15

2009-08-03T04:00:00.003-04:00

As soon as trouble and want appear, nature is quick to complain.

Grace gladly bears, poverty with constancy.

From "The Imitation of Christ" by Thomas A. Kempis

Nature and Grace - Lesson #14

2009-08-02T04:00:00.005-04:00

Nature enjoys having a crowd of relatives and friends, prides herself on the family tree and a distinguished background. Nature flatters the rich and caters to those in power and approves those who share the same opinions as herself.

But grace behaves differently, for she loves even her enemies, and does not boast of having a large circle of friends. She cares not for rank or birth unless joined with greater virtue. She favors the poor rather than the rich; and has more in common with the simple and the innocent than with the influential.

From "The Imitation of Christ" by Thomas A. Kempis

Nature and Grace - Lesson #13

2009-08-01T08:04:00.002-04:00

Nature does everything for personal profit, never doing any work for nothing, but always looking for repayment--at least in equal amount, if not better, or else for praise and favor--and longs to have her deeds and words highly valued.

On the other hand, grace seeks no temporal reward nor any other compensation in payment, but only God Himself. Grace will have no more of the necessities of life than that which serves to obtain everlasting life.

Nature and Grace - Lesson #12

2009-07-31T16:47:00.002-04:00

Nature gladly receives exterior comfort to gratify the senses.

Grace seeks comfort only in God, finding delight in the Sovereign Good beyond all things visible.

Nature and Grace - Lesson #11

2009-07-30T09:32:00.003-04:00

Nature is inclined to seek creatures, to the love of her own flesh, to idle pastimes and to unnecessary running about.

Grace draws men toward the love of God and virtuous living, renounces all created things, flees the world, despises the lusts of the flesh, restrains all useless wanderings, and avoids as much as possible appearing in public.

From "The Imitation of Christ" by Thomas A. Kempis

Nature and Grace - Lesson #10

2009-07-27T04:00:00.000-04:00

Nature is greedy and gladly takes rather than gives, and clings possessively to private possessions.

But grace is kind and unselfish, avoids self-interest, is content with little, and rightly judges that it is more blessed to give than to receive.

From "The Imitation of Christ" by Thomas A. Kempis

Nature and Grace - Lesson #9

2009-07-26T04:00:00.001-04:00

Nature focuses her attention on worldly matters, is elated by material gains, is downcast by losses, and is cut to the quick by a sharp word.

Grace is intent upon things eternal, is not worried by the loss of things, nor grieved by the unkind word; for her treasure and joy are in heaven, where nothing is lost.

From "The Imitation of Christ" by Thomas A. Kempis

Nature and Grace - Lesson #8

2009-07-25T04:00:00.002-04:00

Nature surrounds herself with rare and costly things and looks down upon what is coarse and cheap.

Grace takes joy in humble and simple things, does not disdain hard things, nor refuses to be clad in poor clothing.

Nature and Grace - Lesson #7

2009-07-24T04:00:00.000-04:00

Nature craves ease and idleness.

But grace cannot be idle and gladly embraces toil.

From "The Imitation of Christ" by Thomas A. Kempis

Nature and Grace - Lesson #6

2009-07-23T04:00:00.000-04:00

Nature fears rebukes and contempt.

Grace is happy to suffer them for the Name of Jesus.

From "The Imitation of Christ" by Thomas A. Kempis

Nature and Grace - Lesson #5

2009-07-22T04:00:00.000-04:00

Nature looks for honor and respect.

Grace refers all honor and reverence to God.

From "The Imitation of Christ" by Thomas A. Kempis

Nature and Grace - Lesson #4

2009-07-21T04:00:00.001-04:00

Nature always looks to her own advantage, considering what gain she can derive from another.

But grace is not concerned with her own profit, but with what may benefit others.

From "The Imitation of Christ" by Thomas A. Kempis

Nature and Grace - Lesson #3

2009-07-20T04:00:00.004-04:00

Nature dies hard and is not easily overcome or repressed. Never under her own accord will she be subject to obedience.

But grace studies how to be mortified to both the world and the flesh, desires to be overcome and under obedience, and seeks not her own liberty, nor to dominate any creature. Grace always wants to live under God's direction, and for His sake to place herself humbly under every human creature.

From "The Imitation of Christ" by Thomas A. Kempis

Nature and Grace - Lesson #2

2009-07-19T04:00:00.003-04:00

Nature indeed is wily and betrays many through her deceits and crafty ways, and has always self as her end.

On the other hand, grace walks with simplicity, turning aside from all that appears evil. She employs no deceits, but does all unaffectedly, purely for God, in Whom she rests.

From "The Imitation of Christ" by Thomas A. Kempis

Nature and Grace - Lesson #1

2009-07-18T17:31:00.003-04:00

Carefully observe the actions of nature and grace, for both move in opposite directions and in such subtle ways as to be indistinguishable except by the spiritually enlightened.

All men long after goodness and pretend there is some good in what they say or do; that is why many are deceived by an apparent goodness.

From "The Imitation of Christ" by Thomas A. Kempis

Seeking God

2009-07-16T16:09:00.003-04:00

Sometimes we actually seek God before the union occurs. We think we begin the process because we are aware of our own activities, but fail to perceive what God is already doing.

Make no mistake about it, God always acts first, whether we notice it or not. Unless God unites with us there is nothing we can do to unite with God. Before we make any decision regarding these things, God is already present and active. It is when he responds to our response, assisting us where we are weak, that we first notice him entering our hearts. At other times God helps us into closer union without allowing us to observe what is happening.

From Living Love, A Treatise On The Love Of God by St. Francis De Sales

Footprints

2009-07-14T08:33:00.002-04:00

During your times of trial and suffering,

when you see only one set of footprints,

it was then that I carried you!

From "Footprints" author Unknown

Hungry for God

2009-07-10T08:27:00.003-04:00

You tell me that you feel more than usually starved for Holy Communion....Humble yourself as much as you can, my daughter, and warm yourself inside with the holy love of Christ crucified, so that you can spiritually digest this heavenly food as you should....

But what do you think this means, digesting Jesus Christ spiritually? People who have a good digestion feel their whole body strengthened as the food distributes itself evenly to every part of them. In the same way, my daughter, people who have good spiritual digestion feel that Jesus Christ who is their food penetrates to every part of their soul and of their body and communicates himself to them.

St. Francis de Sales in a letter to Jane de Chantal

A Personal Inventory

2009-07-09T09:01:00.002-04:00

You and I must open ourselves to the question: What is life for? We should get right down into the fabric of our daily lives. What am I doing? Is my life a series of deadlines...metings...clearing my desk...answering phones...moving from one crisis to the next?

Do I look forward to the stretch of life that is ahead of me? To next week? to the coming year? Is mine a hand-to-mouth existence? Is it a matter of "getting by"?

When I wake up in the morning, is my first reaction: "Good morning, God!" or "Good God, morning!"? Am I in a survival contest? Do I feel Trapped? Am I just hanging on? Am I asking: How much longer can I take this?

Supernatural Peace, the Sweet Reward

2009-07-07T08:42:00.003-04:00

Our senses may suffer so intensely at times, as to make us feel that we have lost supernatural peace, the very core of happiness. But this is not true, so long as we endeavor to unite ourselves with the Holy Will of God, even though our efforts may seem poor and ineffective. In the supernatural sense of the term, nothing else is essential to real peace and happiness, except the sincere desire and continued effort to comply with the good pleasure of God in everything.

From "The Holy Will of God" by Fr. Leo Pyzalski, C.SS.R.

Acts Persistently Repeated Beget.....

2009-07-06T07:46:00.004-04:00

We know the law of human nature: acts produce habits; habits breed dispositions; dispositions form the will; and the rightly-formed will is character.

It is not otherwise in the work of grace. Acts, persistently repeated, beget habits and dispositions, and these strengthen the will, He who works both to will and to do comes with His mighty power and Spirit.

From Humility by Andrew Murray