Thought for Today

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Have patience, lay aside a bit that anxious care of yourself, and have no fear that anything will be wanting to you.
For if you trust in God, He will take care of you and everything necessary for your perfection.
No one who hoped in Him and in His Providence has ever been disappointed**.**
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- Saint Francis de Sales

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ADVERSITY, STRUGGLES, TRIALS
AND TEMPTATIONS
  • “Imitation of Christ,” by Thomas A. Kempis
    -------- Bk. 3, Chapter 30
The Voice of Christ

If you think aright and view things in their true light, you
should never be so dejected and saddened by adversity, but rather rejoice and give thanks, considering it a matter of special joy that I afflict you with sorrow and do not spare you.

“As the Father hath loved Me, so also I love you,” I said to My disciples, and I certainly did not send them out to temporal joys but rather to great struggles, not to honors
but to contempt, not to idleness, but to labors, not to rest but
to bring forth much fruit in patience.
Do you, My child, remember
thesewords.
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CONTEMPLATION
“Contemplation is life itself, fully awake, fully alive, fully aware that it is alive. It is spiritual wonder.”
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Thomas Merton​
 
The entire life of a good Christian is in fact an exercise of holy desire. You do not yet see what you long for, but the very act of desiring prepares you, so that when he comes you may see and be utterly satisfied.
– St. Augustine
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The Spirit in the hearts of little children

My 7 year old grandson on the afternoon of September 11, 2001, as we walked home from school in Phoenix, Arizona where I was visiting from Australia, my home

Of the terrorists…“Grandma, I don’t think anybody is ever really bad. I think sometimes people make terrible mistakes. And if they’re really sorry, they can still go to heaven.”

He wasn’t going to a Christian school, and his parents weren’t raising him in Christian Catholic faith. It was, I am certain, the Holy Spirit in his little heart. We had called by the Blessed Sacrament chapel earlier, en route to his home, when he stopped at the statue of an angel dedicated to aborted children. "Grandma, he had said, “This statue is for children. Could we please pray for the children on the planes.” Apart from his comment, “I’m glad Grandpa wasn’t on one of the planes” as had been the grandfather of a child in his class, he said nothing more about that awful event. For the next few days after homework he drew multiple windows on sheets of computer paper, and stuck them together to make towers. Then he would announce that he was a scientist doing research in the tower basements to help humankind. I shared that awful time with my American family and friends, (touched by the solidarity of Americans and the world) and for me, the shining example of God’s Spirit of love was in a little child, who wasn’t, and still isn’t, baptised. (Please God, someday he will choose to be.)
 
Thank you for this moving story, Trishie “out of the mouths of babes” huh! …Blessings and regards…Barb:)
 
When we find ourselves being carried away by anger or tempted by some other passion, let us reflect on what privileges we have been granted, what Spirit it is whose presence we enjoy, and this thought will check in us those unruly passions.
*-- St John Chrysostom *
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The following is not a recommendation to abandon set prayer times, rather it indicates that there are different ways of praying and attention to one’s duties for the love of God is one of them, along with set prayer times…and how, when and where God may choose to communicate Himself is very much up to God. It could be said that the fruit of Brother Lawrence’s prayer was made manifest to him (a special Grace I think) as he went about his daily duties.
Not all of us will, perhaps even ever, be in some way conscious of God’s Presence and hence God’s Will for our lives and transcending any consolation or gift, is God’s Will or the Giver of Gifts. “Seek The God of Consolations, not the consolations of God” …taken from “Cloud of Unknowing”.
Brother Lawrence noted:
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When outward business diverted him a little from the thought of
GOD, a fresh remembrance coming from GOD invested his soul, and so inflamed and transported him that it was difficult for him to contain himself. That he was more united to GOD in his outward employments, than when he left them for devotion in retirement.
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Code: 
 - Third Conversation
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"Sayings of Light and Love,"
by St. John of the Cross (jottings
from his notebooks)
62. Because the virtues you have in mind do not shine in your neighbor, do not think that your neighbor will not be precious in God’s sight for reasons that you have not in mind.
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…good reason not to reflect on the lack of virtue or virtues that I can see, but on the virtue or virtues that are hidden from me and I cannot see and in every single person…
 
blessedstar said:
Barb, here’s something I posted in another thread, but it fits in here and says in other words what you have said, so I don’t know why I am posting it other than I am saddened that people cannot see their ‘little whte martyrdom’ upheld by the Saints of the ‘Red Martyrs in the Blood of Jesus’: Even in the smallest of acts the greatness of God’s love may be contained and so these smaller acts are no small act to carry out and offer to God.

I** was very sad to read in my Parish bulletin a moaning complaint about the recent beatifications of those martyrs of the faith. The person complaining was saying what does this have to do with married life or looking after children and why do all Saints have to be martyrs or religious. I was very saddened that this person had not seen the martyrdom of daily life in all the little things we do and translated these heroic Saint’s beatification to bring meaning to their 'pots and pans ’ of daily life. Rather they had seen fit to publish this rant and critise the Beatification process. This ‘red’ martyrdom serves to sanctify in prayer the ‘white’ martyrdom of our daily Living Prayer in all its smallness. To pray to these martyrs and ask for the intercession for the spirit of martyrdom in serving another even if it is to get up in the middle of the night when we are very tired to go to a crying child and find they had had a bad dream and settle them down again, then we will see our little acts are washed in the blood of these Saints and in the blood of Christ Jesus in Whom the courage to die for faith was found.**

In the Living Prayer of my life
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Who said all saints were martyrs or religious? One who comes to my mind is Anna Marie Taigi - a housewife. I’m not sure if she’s been canonized yet, but she’s already been beatified, which is one step from sainthood. Her body can be viewed in a Church in Rome. Just the first example who came to mind.
 
Conservative said:
Who said all saints were martyrs or religious? One who comes to my mind is Anna Marie Taigi - a housewife. I’m not sure if she’s been canonized yet, but she’s already been beatified, which is one step from sainthood. Her body can be viewed in a Church in Rome. Just the first example who came to mind.
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Hi Conservative…we have hundreds of saints who were laypeople and at the end of the year the parents of St. Therese will be “Blesseds” and on the road to canonization. I did start a thread in Spirituality not all that long ago and many lay people saints were posted …Barb:)
 
BarbaraTherese said:
“Sayings of Light and Love,” by St. John of the Cross (jottings
from his notebooks)
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Hi Barb I like that and it fits well with the thread about "How does Contemplation fit into the Consecration to Jesus through Mary? " from my perspective that is.

Godbless
 
littleone said:
Hi Barb I like that and it fits well with the thread about "How does Contemplation fit into the Consecration to Jesus through Mary? " from my perspective that is.

Godbless
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To strive to follow the Little Way of St. Therese is a sure and safe path to holiness…the detached and disinterested soul is always in Peace and can sight God’s Will in all things regardless and is at Peace in that Will of God…detachment and disinterest does not mean “to despise” the world which is created by God and loved by Him as His Own Creation…
“all is well, all is well and all manner of things will be well” (Julian of Norwich)…

God Bless you also…Barb:)
Psalm 33
15 Turn away from evil and do good: seek after peace and pursue it.** 16 The eyes of the Lord are upon the just: and his ears unto their prayers. 17 But the countenance of the Lord is against them that do evil things: to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. 18 The just cried, and the Lord heard them: and delivered them out of all their troubles. 19 The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a contrite heart: and he will save the humble of spirit. 20 Many are the afflictions of the just; but out of them all will the Lord deliver them.
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First Epistle, St. Peter
Chapter 3
10 For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile.
11 Let him decline from evil, and do good: let him seek after peace and pursue it: 12 Because the eyes of the Lord are upon the just, and his ears unto their prayers: but the countenance of the Lord upon them that do evil things. 13 And who is he that can hurt you, if you be zealous of good? 14 But if also you suffer any thing for justice’ sake, blessed are ye. And be not afraid of their fear, and be not troubled. 15 But sanctify the Lord Christ in your hearts, being ready always to satisfy every one that asketh you a reason of that hope which is in you.
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What will separate us from the love of Christ? Will anguish, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword? No, in all these things we conquer overwhelmingly through him who loved us.

~ St. Paul, Romans 8:35,37
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Most of our troubles arise from unreal causes. They are the effects of exaggerations, or inordinate desires, or mistaken view of honor or duty. Would we only be willing to see things as they are, and be willing to be just what we are, we should find more good in the world, and in creation, than some religious writers would be willing to acknowledge.

~ Father Isaac Hecker, Servant of God,
founder of the Missionary Society of St. Paul the Apostle (1819 - 1888)
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