Pondering Tidbits of Truth - April 19, 2018

Pondering Tidbits of Truth is my simple and inadequate way of providing nuggets of spiritual wisdom for you to chew on from time to time.

 St. Teresa of Avila

“The  excessive multiplication of vocal prayers (even aside from time of mental prayer) can likewise impede growth. There are people who get into a set habit of adding litany upon litany, devotion upon devotion, to the point where they leave little or no time for God to give what He wants to give. They do not understand contemplation, and they think that unless they are vocalizing, they are not praying.” 

(From Fire Within)

Worth Revisiting - Feeling Incomplete?

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Monday Musings - Feeling Incomplete?

(Originally published on March 12, 2018)

“I feel so incomplete,” the Pastor announced at the end of Mass.

The parish we had visited during a recent trip (not the one depicted below) had been holding Stations of the Cross during Lent in their newly constructed Church even though the physical Stations of the Cross had not yet arrived or been mounted on the Church walls.

“The Stations are coming,” Father assured his congregation. “We won’t be looking at empty walls much longer.”

I understood that sentiment and how having the physical Stations would enhance that prayerful devotion.

But…

Eucharistic Reflection - Be Convinced

(Image Source: Wikimedia Commons)

"Be convinced that the Lord is waiting for you to open your hearts to him in prayer. He wants to meet you personally and to enter into a dialogue with you. This conviction will fill you with an urgent desire to seek periods of silence in your daily life where you have the space to be drawn into union with God in prayer.

In this regard I should like to commend to you the practice of Eucharistic Adoration...Adoration draws us away from external distractions into a growing communion with Jesus present in the Blessed Sacrament. Encourage your friends to join in this practice."

Archbishop Antonio Mennini

Eucharistic Reflection - What Do We Find?

Older people who adore the Lord find refreshment in the living water of Christ's presence. Young people in adoration find that Christ guides them, fills them with purpose, and calls them to holiness and vocation.

(Image Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Kneeling before Christ in the Eucharist, the hopeless find hope. The weak find strength. Captives find freedom. The afflicted find comfort. The mourning find consolation. The lonely find friendship. Sinners find mercy.

Kneeling before Christ in the Eucharist, all of us find love. And love is what we are longing for. Before Christ in the Eucharist - love made visible - each one of us discovers that the enduring, satisfying, life-giving answer to the questions of our lives is Love: love poured out from Jesus, and love poured out from us in the world, as missionaries of Christ's Salvation.

(From A Pastoral Letter on Adoration of the Most Holy Eucharist by Bishop James Conley)

A Painful and Upsetting Truth

Let's be frank: If we really believe that Jesus Christ is truly and  substantially present, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in the tabernacles of our Churches, we would be there with Him. We would do everything in our power to spend some time with Him and to encourage others to do so as well. 

But we don't really believe this essential Truth. We have abandoned our Loving Lord to his prison-tabernacle and locked the doors of His Churches so that even the few drawn to be with Him are unable to get in.

Stop for a moment and ponder this shocking reality from our Lord's perspective. Is this anyway to treat the Son of God? Of course it isn't.

Go visit and comfort our abandoned and forgotten Lord. Bring  a copy of  Stirring Slumbering Souls - 250 Eucharistic Reflections with you and let the wisdom it contains draw you into His loving embrace and Presence. Enlist is His army of Adorers. Let Him change you and the world!

Here is a sample of what others have recently said about Stirring Slumbering Souls:

"I''m still reading Slumbering Souls and wanted to thank you for reawakening my adoration and love of Jesus. - Patricia Grant

“Thank you so much for sharing this beautiful gem with me. I feel like every single Catholic should read it and have a copy and then share it with someone who isn’t and then we would be all set in this world. Such richness here and it stirs up so much in the soul." - Anne Costa

 "Love your Stirring Slumbering Souls. Beautiful, inspiring work."- Patricia Casey Vanderloo

"I absolutely LOVED this book. The saints' quotes about the Eucharist were so profound. The author did a fantastic job getting inspirational quotes from so many different sources. I didn't want to put this book down and have purchased it as gifts for several friends." - An Amazon review by Janeen

 Stop what you are doing and go visit Him!