31 March 2022
If in the few minutes that we have during the times of private prayer,
we do nothing else but merely make ourselves aware of the God who is already
making Himself present to us, that experience in itself is profound prayer; it
is fruitful prayer; it is even the beginnings of mystical prayer.
Armand M. Nigro
When We Sin
30 March 2022
We should be displeased with ourselves when we commit sin, for sin is displeasing to God. Sinful though we are, let us at least be like God in this, that we are displeased at what displeases him.
Saint Augustine
We should be displeased with ourselves when we commit sin, for sin is displeasing to God. Sinful though we are, let us at least be like God in this, that we are displeased at what displeases him.
Saint Augustine
The Holy Spirit
29 March 2022
The Holy Spirit does not speak to a soul that is distracted and garrulous. He speaks by His quiet inspirations to a soul that is recollected, to a soul that knows how to keep silence.
Saint Faustina
The Holy Spirit does not speak to a soul that is distracted and garrulous. He speaks by His quiet inspirations to a soul that is recollected, to a soul that knows how to keep silence.
Saint Faustina
Imitate God
28 March 2022
Imitate God. Remember God is all good, and don’t let yourself indulge in pride, envy, schisms, and other sins that fight against the spirit. These lead to decadence. Instead, be like newborn babies. Be people of integrity. Never be duplicitous. Why? Remember that the Lord said in Leviticus to His loyal friends that they were to be holy because He was holy. The Lord has blessed you for many years. He’s shown you treasure hidden in a field, and you’ve enjoyed it for such a long time. With your joy you bought God’s priceless treasure, the best pearls and gems. Remember that—without a doubt—if you respect these jewels as you should, they’ll always stand before the face of God, praying for you and begging for the salvation of your body and soul.
Elisabeth of Schönau (1129-1165)
Imitate God. Remember God is all good, and don’t let yourself indulge in pride, envy, schisms, and other sins that fight against the spirit. These lead to decadence. Instead, be like newborn babies. Be people of integrity. Never be duplicitous. Why? Remember that the Lord said in Leviticus to His loyal friends that they were to be holy because He was holy. The Lord has blessed you for many years. He’s shown you treasure hidden in a field, and you’ve enjoyed it for such a long time. With your joy you bought God’s priceless treasure, the best pearls and gems. Remember that—without a doubt—if you respect these jewels as you should, they’ll always stand before the face of God, praying for you and begging for the salvation of your body and soul.
Elisabeth of Schönau (1129-1165)
On Our Struggles
27 March 2022
We should not despair when we struggle but see no progress, remaining continuously at zero. All people earn zeros with their human strength, some more and some less. Christ, seeing our small human effort, places the number one before our zeros, and thus they acquire value and we can detect some improvement. Thus, we must not despair, but hope in God.Saint Paisos the Athonite
Trust and Obedience
26 March 2022
Complete trust in God – that’s what holy humility is. Complete obedience
to God, without protest, without reaction, even when some things seem difficult
and unreasonable.
Saint Porphyrios
On Self
25 March 2022
We must not count on ourselves, because even if we know what kind of person we are today, we do not know what we will be tomorrow. Nobody must rejoice in the security of their own good deeds. As long as we are still experiencing the uncertainties of this life, we do not know what end may follow…we must not trust in our own virtues.
Saint Gregory the Great
We must not count on ourselves, because even if we know what kind of person we are today, we do not know what we will be tomorrow. Nobody must rejoice in the security of their own good deeds. As long as we are still experiencing the uncertainties of this life, we do not know what end may follow…we must not trust in our own virtues.
Saint Gregory the Great
The Repenting Sinner
24 March 2022
The Lord greatly loves the repenting sinner and mercifully presses him to His bosom: “Where were you, My child? I was waiting a long time for you.” The Lord calls all to Himself with the voice of the Gospel, and his voice is heard in all the world: “Come to me, my sheep. I created you, and I love you. My love for you brought Me to earth, and I suffered all things for the sake of your salvation, and I want you all to know my love, and to say, like the apostles on Tabor: Lord, it is good for us to be with You.”
Saint Silouan the Athonite
The Lord greatly loves the repenting sinner and mercifully presses him to His bosom: “Where were you, My child? I was waiting a long time for you.” The Lord calls all to Himself with the voice of the Gospel, and his voice is heard in all the world: “Come to me, my sheep. I created you, and I love you. My love for you brought Me to earth, and I suffered all things for the sake of your salvation, and I want you all to know my love, and to say, like the apostles on Tabor: Lord, it is good for us to be with You.”
Saint Silouan the Athonite
Seeking the Kingdom of God
23 March 2022
If you truly seek this treasure, this kingdom where God alone reigns, you will find it. Your heart, if it is totally surrendered to God, is itself this treasure, that very kingdom you long for and are seeking.
Jean-Pierre de Caussade (1675-1751)
If you truly seek this treasure, this kingdom where God alone reigns, you will find it. Your heart, if it is totally surrendered to God, is itself this treasure, that very kingdom you long for and are seeking.
Jean-Pierre de Caussade (1675-1751)
On Morning Prayer
22 March 202
Never forget that it is at the beginning of each day that God has the necessary grace for the day ready for us. He knows exactly what opportunities we shall have to sin, and will give us everything we need if we ask him then. That is why the devil does all he can to prevent us from saying our morning prayers or to make us say them badly.Saint John Vianney
Singing From the Heart
21 March 2022
Better to sing one Psalm with feeling, than to recite a hundred with a
wandering mind. But if you haven’t yet received the grace of singing from your
heart, do not give up hope. Be constant in your practice, and one day He who
gave you the desire for the prayer of the heart will give you that prayer
itself.
Saint Romuald of Ravenna
Without Temptations
20 March 2022
Without temptations, it is not possible to learn the wisdom of the Spirit. It is not possible that Divine love be strengthened in your soul. Before temptations, a man prays to God as a stranger. When temptations are allowed to come by the love of God, and he does not give in to them, then he stands before God as a sincere friend. For in fulfilling the will of God, he has made war on the enemy of God and conquered him.
Saint Isaac of Syria
Without temptations, it is not possible to learn the wisdom of the Spirit. It is not possible that Divine love be strengthened in your soul. Before temptations, a man prays to God as a stranger. When temptations are allowed to come by the love of God, and he does not give in to them, then he stands before God as a sincere friend. For in fulfilling the will of God, he has made war on the enemy of God and conquered him.
Saint Isaac of Syria
Christ
19 March 2022
Christ gave us his flesh to eat in order to deepen our love for him. When we approach him, then, there should be burning within us a fire of love and longing… The wise men paid homage to Christ’s body even when it was lying in a manger… They only saw Christ in a manger, they saw nothing of what you now see, and yet they approached him with profound awe and reverence. You see him, not in a manger but on an altar, not carried by a woman but offered by a priest; and you see the Spirit bountifully poured out upon the offerings of bread and wine.
Saint John Chrysostom
Christ gave us his flesh to eat in order to deepen our love for him. When we approach him, then, there should be burning within us a fire of love and longing… The wise men paid homage to Christ’s body even when it was lying in a manger… They only saw Christ in a manger, they saw nothing of what you now see, and yet they approached him with profound awe and reverence. You see him, not in a manger but on an altar, not carried by a woman but offered by a priest; and you see the Spirit bountifully poured out upon the offerings of bread and wine.
Saint John Chrysostom
Truth and Understanding
17 March 2022
All truth and understanding is a result of a divine light which is God.
Saint Augustine
All truth and understanding is a result of a divine light which is God.
Saint Augustine
Render Your Heart
16 March 2022
To receive this blessing, all you have to do is let your heart break. Let it crack open. Let it fall apart so that you can see its secret chambers, the hidden spaces where you have hesitated to go. Your entire life is here, inscribed whole upon your heart’s walls: every path taken or left behind, every face you turned toward or turned away, every word spoken in love or in rage, every line of your life you would prefer to leave in shadow, every story that shimmers with treasures known and those you have yet to find. It could take you days to wander these rooms. Forty, at least. And so let this be a season for wandering for trusting the breaking for tracing the tear that will return you to the One who waits who watches who works within the rending to make your heart whole.
Jan Richardson
To receive this blessing, all you have to do is let your heart break. Let it crack open. Let it fall apart so that you can see its secret chambers, the hidden spaces where you have hesitated to go. Your entire life is here, inscribed whole upon your heart’s walls: every path taken or left behind, every face you turned toward or turned away, every word spoken in love or in rage, every line of your life you would prefer to leave in shadow, every story that shimmers with treasures known and those you have yet to find. It could take you days to wander these rooms. Forty, at least. And so let this be a season for wandering for trusting the breaking for tracing the tear that will return you to the One who waits who watches who works within the rending to make your heart whole.
Jan Richardson
Forgiveness Has Risen
15 March 2022
Let no one mourn that he has fallen again and again: for forgiveness has risen from the grave!
Saint John Chrysostom
Let no one mourn that he has fallen again and again: for forgiveness has risen from the grave!
Saint John Chrysostom
Prayerful Silence
14 March 2022
In prayerful silence you must look into your own heart. No one can tell you better than yourself what comes between you and God. Ask yourself. Then listen!
Johannes Tauler (c. 1300-1361)
In prayerful silence you must look into your own heart. No one can tell you better than yourself what comes between you and God. Ask yourself. Then listen!
Johannes Tauler (c. 1300-1361)
Our Daily Sanctification
13 March 2022
The way to our personal sanctification should daily lead us to the cross. This way is not a sorrowful one, because Christ himself comes to our aid, and in his company there is no room for sadness.
Saint JosemarÃa Escrivá
The way to our personal sanctification should daily lead us to the cross. This way is not a sorrowful one, because Christ himself comes to our aid, and in his company there is no room for sadness.
Saint JosemarÃa Escrivá
Peace
12 March 2022
In all the paths on which people journey in this world they will find no peace until they draw near to the hope which is in God.
Saint Isaac of Syria (7th Century)
In all the paths on which people journey in this world they will find no peace until they draw near to the hope which is in God.
Saint Isaac of Syria (7th Century)
There is No Life Without Christ
11 March 2022
I sometimes ask visitors: “Do you have any children?” “Yes,” they answer as many have sons and daughters. “And what do you want them to be in their lives?” I ask them then. One says he wants his son to be an engineer - it seems to be his vocation. Another says he wants his daughter to marry someone rich and important. I ask them: “So do you really think your children will be happy that way?” “Sure they will,” they reply confidently. They never want to try and help their children gain Christ. They are sure that money can buy everything. But all the riches of this world are not enough to buy you Christ. And without Christ, there is no life, no salvation.
St Barsanuphius of Optina
I sometimes ask visitors: “Do you have any children?” “Yes,” they answer as many have sons and daughters. “And what do you want them to be in their lives?” I ask them then. One says he wants his son to be an engineer - it seems to be his vocation. Another says he wants his daughter to marry someone rich and important. I ask them: “So do you really think your children will be happy that way?” “Sure they will,” they reply confidently. They never want to try and help their children gain Christ. They are sure that money can buy everything. But all the riches of this world are not enough to buy you Christ. And without Christ, there is no life, no salvation.
St Barsanuphius of Optina
For Better Things
10 March 2022
Our Lord did not ask us to give up the things of earth, but to exchange them for better things.
Blessed Fulton Sheen
Our Lord did not ask us to give up the things of earth, but to exchange them for better things.
Blessed Fulton Sheen
8 March 2022
What does Jesus Christ do in the Eucharist? It is God who, as our Savior, offers himself each day for us to his Father’s justice. If you are in difficulties and sorrows, he will comfort and relieve you. If you are sick, he will either cure you or give you strength to suffer so as to merit Heaven. If the devil, the world, and the flesh are making war upon you, he will give you the weapons with which to fight, to resist, and to win victory. If you are poor, he will enrich you with all sorts of riches for time and eternity. Let us open the door of his sacred and adorable Heart, and be wrapped about for an instant by the flames of his love, and we shall see what a God who loves us can do.
Saint John Vianney
What does Jesus Christ do in the Eucharist? It is God who, as our Savior, offers himself each day for us to his Father’s justice. If you are in difficulties and sorrows, he will comfort and relieve you. If you are sick, he will either cure you or give you strength to suffer so as to merit Heaven. If the devil, the world, and the flesh are making war upon you, he will give you the weapons with which to fight, to resist, and to win victory. If you are poor, he will enrich you with all sorts of riches for time and eternity. Let us open the door of his sacred and adorable Heart, and be wrapped about for an instant by the flames of his love, and we shall see what a God who loves us can do.
Saint John Vianney
Spiritual Exercise
7 March 2022
“this is a spiritual exercise, which is so foreign to us. nobody in their right mind, in the world, would come to church on sunday, and monday, and tuesday, and wednesday, and thursday, and friday, and saturday, and sunday. unless, of course, we believe that what we do here matters. unless, of course, we believe, as the canon said, that, ‘judgment stands at the door.’ it would be easy for the world to say, ‘what you’re doing is crazy!’ but we’re here tonight because we know that we are not yet who God wants us to be.”
Father Joshua Genig
“this is a spiritual exercise, which is so foreign to us. nobody in their right mind, in the world, would come to church on sunday, and monday, and tuesday, and wednesday, and thursday, and friday, and saturday, and sunday. unless, of course, we believe that what we do here matters. unless, of course, we believe, as the canon said, that, ‘judgment stands at the door.’ it would be easy for the world to say, ‘what you’re doing is crazy!’ but we’re here tonight because we know that we are not yet who God wants us to be.”
Father Joshua Genig
Fearing Sin
6 March 2022
There is only one thing to be feared and that is sin. Everything else is beside the point.
Saint John Chrysostom
There is only one thing to be feared and that is sin. Everything else is beside the point.
Saint John Chrysostom
On Prayer
5 March 2022
To mutter something with the lips is not praying if one’s heart is not joined to it. To speak it is necessary first to have conceived interiorly what we wish to say. There is first the interior word, and then the spoken word, which causes what the interior has first pronounced to be understood. Prayer is nothing other than speaking to God. Now it is certain that to speak to God without being attentive to Him and to what we say to Him is something that is most displeasing to Him…God tests more the heart of the one who prays rather than the words pronounced by one who prays.
Saint Francis de Sales
To mutter something with the lips is not praying if one’s heart is not joined to it. To speak it is necessary first to have conceived interiorly what we wish to say. There is first the interior word, and then the spoken word, which causes what the interior has first pronounced to be understood. Prayer is nothing other than speaking to God. Now it is certain that to speak to God without being attentive to Him and to what we say to Him is something that is most displeasing to Him…God tests more the heart of the one who prays rather than the words pronounced by one who prays.
Saint Francis de Sales
On Grace
4 March 2022
Grace looks to eternal things and does not cling to those which are temporal, being neither disturbed at loss nor angered by hard words, because she has placed her treasure and joy in heaven where nothing is lost.
Thomas à Kempis
Grace looks to eternal things and does not cling to those which are temporal, being neither disturbed at loss nor angered by hard words, because she has placed her treasure and joy in heaven where nothing is lost.
Thomas à Kempis
Seek the Greatest Good
3 March 2022
To seek the greatest good is to live well, and to live well is nothing other than to love God with the whole heart, the whole soul, and the whole mind: It is therefore obvious that this love must be kept whole and uncorrupt, that is temperance; it should not be overcome with difficulties, that is fortitude, it must not be subservient to anything else, that is justice; it must discriminate among things so as not to be deceived by falsity or fraud, that is prudence.
Saint Augustine
To seek the greatest good is to live well, and to live well is nothing other than to love God with the whole heart, the whole soul, and the whole mind: It is therefore obvious that this love must be kept whole and uncorrupt, that is temperance; it should not be overcome with difficulties, that is fortitude, it must not be subservient to anything else, that is justice; it must discriminate among things so as not to be deceived by falsity or fraud, that is prudence.
Saint Augustine
Ash Wednesday
2 March 2022
So let us be marked not for sorrow. And let us be marked not for shame. Let us be marked not for false humility or for thinking we are less than we are but for claiming what God can do within the dust, within the dirt, within the stuff of which the world is made and the stars that blaze in our bones and the galaxies that spiral inside the smudge we bear.
Jan Richardson
So let us be marked not for sorrow. And let us be marked not for shame. Let us be marked not for false humility or for thinking we are less than we are but for claiming what God can do within the dust, within the dirt, within the stuff of which the world is made and the stars that blaze in our bones and the galaxies that spiral inside the smudge we bear.
Jan Richardson
Pleasing?
1 March 2022
Before doing anything, pray and think:
Would this be wise and pleasing to God?
St. Nikon of Optina
Before doing anything, pray and think:
Would this be wise and pleasing to God?
St. Nikon of Optina
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