Charity

"Lack of charity dulls the intelligence so that it cannot know God and fails to understand the dignity of man. Love sharpens and focuses all our powers. Only charity -- love of God and love of our neighbor for God's sake -- prepares and disposes us to understand God and all that refers to him, so far as is possible for a finite creature."
--from In Conversation With God, Vol. 3 p. 174

Dwelling

To dwell in the Spirit of the Lord and to be receivers of the divine life is the ultimate goal of the spiritual life. Yet this goal is so close to us. It is within our souls. We need only to enter into the holiness of the Trinity dwelling within us and fully embrace it. It is the relationship which God yearns to have with each one of us. Let us turn our lives from all that is not of God and follow the way of holiness and be safe within his loving arms.
--taken from Magnificat, January, 23, 2010.

Discerning God's Will

The obligations of our state that fill each day enable the Christian to see clearly at each moment what God wants of him personally. Discerning and loving God's will in thosee duties will give us the strength we need to carry them out with perfection. We will find scope in them for exercising the human as well as the supernatural virtues.
God's will is also shown to us through those events that He in his omniscience permits, and which are always directed towards a greater good, if we remain more trustingly and more lovingly close to God our Father. There is a hidden providence behind each happening. Everything - even the things we don't understand, the very turn of events our wills starts off by resisting - is ordered and directed towards the good of all. omnia in bonum. In this life we will never fully understand the mysterious and baffling events that God allows to happen.

--from In Conversation with God, Vol 3, p.127

Nothing ordinary about Ordinary Time

Every Christian must be thoroughly convinced that his spiritual life can in no way be viewed as the quiet unfolding of an inconsequential life without any problems; rather it must be viewed as the scene of a constant and sometimes painful battle, which will not end until death--a struggle against evil, temptation and the sin that is in him. This combat is inevitable, but is to be understood as an extremely positive reality, because, as Saint Catherine of Siena says, "without war there is no peace"; without combat there is not victory. And this combat is, correctly viewed, the place of our purification, of our spiritual growth, where we learn to know ourselves in our weakness and to know God in His infinite mercy. This combat is the definitive place of our transfiguration and glorification.
--taken from Searching for and Maintaining Peace, page 9.

Do whatever He tells you

The evangelist in the telling of this gospel story leaves the details to us. He doesn't tell us if there were more people in attendance than usual or expected. Or if the people were thirstier than usual. Or if the hosts were too poor to obtain a sufficient quantity from the beginning. Or if in disclosing the entire story the reader would get distracted from the main point: Jesus 1st miracle.

Which miracle? The one of Jesus' obedience to His mother? Mary's care for the needs of others? The running out of wine just at this time? The miracle of Mary's awareness of her Son's abilities?

Mary's last recorded words, "do whatever he tells you," are good ones for us today. Do whatever He tells you and watch for the miracles.

True Friendship

"When Jesus returned to Capharnaum after some days, it became known that he was at home. Many gathered together so that there was no longer room for them, not even around the door, and he preached the word to them. They came bringing to him a paralytic carried by 4 men. Unable to get near Jesus because of the crowd, they opened up the roof above him. After theyhad broken through, they let down the mat on which the paralytic was lying. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Child, your sins are forgiven." Mark 2:1-5.

"Those men from Capharnaum were real friends to that poor fellow who could not reach the Master by himself. It is proper for the friend to do good to his friends, particularly to those who are in greatest need. There is no greater need than our need for God. So, the first sign of appreciation for our friends is that of bringing them closer and closer to Christ, the source of all good. We cannot be satisfied with their simply not doing evil, still less with them behaving badly. We must get them to aspire to the sanctity to which we have been called, all of us, and for which God will give them the necessary grace."
--taken from In Conversation with God, Vol. 3, page 29.

Even though we are back in ordinary time, this video continues to inspire.



Read the story of how Longfellow came to write the poem that became the song. See how God can work in the silence of your heart during the dark times to produce beauty when your faith weathers the storm.

He does will it.

The leper saw Jesus, he fell prostrate, pleaded with Him, and said, "Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean." Jesus stretched out His hand, touched him, and said, "I do will it. Be made clean." Luke 5:12-18.

One thing to note from today's Scritpure reading is that Jesus does the unexpected. He touches the unclean and makes it whole. And, secondly, as with the leper, he wants to touch that which is untouchable in us and make us whole. Will you let Him ?

St John speaks to the Lord

"Would that I could infuse into all hearts a burning love for you. What great glory would be given to you here on earth, if every heart were an altar on which every human will were laid in perfect conformity to your will to be consumed by the fire of your love." --St John Neuman (Magnificat Magazine 1-5-2010)