St Laurence, who joked “turn me over, I’m done on this side” while being burned Avoid worry, anxiety, uneasiness about anything. “The devil’s boiling pot” expresses this state of mind; one trouble ended, another crops up to take its place; the soul never at rest; there is no peace, no calm, and also no real holiness. COMMENT: The saints always tended to be at peace, even in the midst of …
Virtues
December 16, 2015
God has many gifts to bestow upon us, but none more precious than time. Yet how we abuse this royal gift! How little we think of it! How we despise these golden moments, moments whose true value we shall not really prize till alas! too late – when time shall be no more to us. COMMENT: Time is a precious gift. When it comes to time, every one is, in …
December 15, 2015
Fr Doyle wrote the following in his diary on this day in 1916: Since I became chaplain I have grown very lazy and unmortified, the cause of much unpleasantness and remorse to me. My excuse is that my present life is so hard and repugnant that I need these little indulgences. Then I think of Blessed Charles Spinola, for example, amid the horrors of his prison, practicing great austerities, fasting …
December 13, 2015
If there is any certain mark of the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit in the soul, if there is any visible pledge of future happiness destined for man, assuredly it is lightness of heart and joy of spirit. On some souls the black clouds of despondency and gloom never settle, sorrow may touch them with her sable wings, grief may blanch the hair and early care rob the step …
December 13, 2015
St Maravillas of Jesus I want to be generous with God and to refuse Him nothing. I do not want to say, “I will go just so far and no farther.” COMMENT: Today is the feast of St Maria Maravillas of Jesus, a Discalced Carmelite who died in 1974 and was canonised in 2003, making her canonisation one of the fastest in the Church. Despite this, she is unfortunately little …
December 11, 2015
“Let the mercies of the Lord give glory to Him.” (Psalm 106: 21). Jesus during His mortal life practised many virtues; but none is more conspicuous, none appeals more strongly to us, than His infinite mercy, His tender forgiveness of all injuries. A vile sinner is brought before Him, her very mien proclaims her crime. “Have none condemned thee? Neither shall I. Go, sin no more.” Magdalen, the bye-word …
December 8, 2015
I want you to make a greater effort to see the hand of God in everything that happens, and then to force or train yourself to rejoice in His holy will. For example, you want a fine day for some reason and it turns out wet. Don’t say, “Oh, hang it!” but give our Lord a loving smile and say: “Thank You, my God, for this disappointment.” This will help …
December 7, 2015
He has been tugging at my heart for so many years, urging me in so many ways to give myself wholly to Him, to give all and refuse Him nothing. I dread lest now I shall again refuse Him – perhaps it is the last time He will ask me to do what He wants. COMMENT: Perhaps this will be our last Advent. Perhaps some of us will not even …
December 6, 2015
You must trust entirely in our Lord. He alone can help you. Give God His time. Be generous with Him and He will be so with you. COMMENT: The effectiveness of a message is often determined by the credibility of the person delivering it. Toothpaste companies try to feature dentists in their ads. Similarly, ads for household cleaning products will feature busy housewives who seem concerned for the welfare of …
December 5, 2015
It is scarcely necessary to state that deliberate sin in any shape or form utterly destroys the interior life and even gives a loathing and disgust for its practice. It is not so evident that deliberate imperfections, and for religious repeated violation of rule, have the same result. These are the “little foxes,” attractive and apparently harmless creatures, which must be hunted down and destroyed…if the vineyard is not …
December 2, 2015