O God, who through Saint Romuald renewed
the manner of life of hermits in your Church,
grant that, denying ourselves and following Christ,
we may merit to reach the heavenly realms on high.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
“The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it.” ~ Flannery O’Connor
“There can be no perfect virtue, none that bears fruit, unless it be exercised by means of our neighbor.” ~St. Catherine of Siena
“True love is without limits but it knows how to limit itself to encounter the other, to respect the other’s freedom. We go to Mass every Sunday and celebrate the Eucharist together and the Eucharist is like the “burning bush” in which the Trinity humbly dwells and communicates itself; because of this the Church placed the feast of “Corpus Domini” after that of the Trinity.” ~Pope Francis, Trinity Sunday Angelus, June 15, 2014
Sundays too my father got up early
and put his clothes on in the blueblack cold,
then with cracked hands that ached
from labor in the weekday weather made
banked fires blaze. No one ever thanked him.
I’d wake and hear the cold splintering, breaking.
When the rooms were warm, he’d call,
and slowly I would rise and dress,
fearing the chronic angers of that house,
Speaking indifferently to him,
who had driven out the cold
and polished my good shoes as well.
What did I know, what did I know
of love’s austere and lonely offices?
Almighty and everlasting God, who hast given unto us thy servants grace, by the confession of a true faith, to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity, and in the power of thy Divine Majesty to worship the Unity: We beseech thee that thou wouldst keep us steadfast in this faith and worship, and bring us at last to see thee in thy one and eternal glory, O Father; who with the Son and the Holy Spirit livest and reignest, one God, for ever and ever. Amen
“One of humanity’s greatest weaknesses is setting a limit to God’s power and goodness.” ~Fr. Solanus Casey, OFM, Cap.
“Actions speak louder than words; let your words teach and your actions speak. We are full of words but empty of action, and therefore are cursed by the Lord since He Himself cursed the fig tree when He found no fruit but only leaves.” ~St. Anthony of Padua, Franciscan Friar, Doctor of the Church
“To be a witness does not consist in engaging in propaganda, nor even in stirring people up, but in being a living mystery. It means to live in such a way that one’s life would not make sense if God did not exist.” ~Emmanuel Cardinal Suhard quoted in Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art by Madeleine L’Engle
One of the advantages of being an atheist is that you worship yourself.