A Fire of Love and Gratitude

“If we but paused for a moment to consider attentively what takes place in this Sacrament of the Eucharist, I am sure that the thought of Christ’s love for us would transform the coldness of our hearts into a fire of love and gratitude.” ~St. Angela of Foligno

July 18: Memorial of St Camillus

O merciful God, who have wonderfully fashioned us in your own image, and have made our bodies to be temples of the Holy Spirit, sanctify, we pray you, our doctors and nurses and all those whom you have called to study and practice the arts of healing the sick and the prevention of disease and pain. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen

St. Camillus, pray for us.

Working for the Glory of God

“We are placed in our different ranks and stations, not to get what we can out of them for ourselves, but to labor in them for Him. As Christ has worked, we too have but to labor in them for Him. As Christ has His work, we too have ours; as He rejoiced to do his work, we must rejoice in ours also.” ~St. John Neumann

Christ, Be Our Light

O God, who show the light of your truth to those who go astray, so that they may return to the right path, give all who for the faith they profess are accounted Christians the grace to reject whatever is contrary to the name of Christ and to strive after all that does it honor. 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

July 15: Feast of St. Bonaventure

If you learn everything except Christ, you learn nothing. If you learn nothing except Christ, you learn everything.” ~St. Bonaventure

St. Bonaventure, pray for us.

 

From Fearful Clinging to Fearless Play

“To live a spiritual life we must first find the courage to enter into the desert of our loneliness and to change it by gentle and persistent efforts into a garden of solitude. The movement from loneliness to solitude, however, is the beginning of any spiritual life because it is the movement from the restless senses to the restful spirit, from the outward-reaching cravings to the inward-reaching search, from the fearful clinging to the fearless play.” ~Fr. Henri J.M. Nouwen, Reaching Out: The Three Movements of the Spiritual Life

A Child’s Heart, A Grown-Up’s Head

“As St. Paul points out, Christ never meant that we were to remain children in intelligence: on the contrary. He told us to be not only ‘as harmless as doves’, but also ‘as wise as serpents’. He wants a child’s heart, but a grown-up’s head. He wants us to be simple, single-minded, affectionate, and teachable, as good children are; but He also wants every bit of intelligence we have to be alert at its job, and in first-class fighting trim.” ~C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

Cultivate Silence

“Nothing will make us discover God better than his silence inscribed in the center of our being. If we do not cultivate this silence, how can we find God?” ~Robert Cardinal Sarah, The Power of Silence

July 11: Feast of St. Benedict

O God, who made the Abbot Saint Benedict an outstanding master in the school of divine service, grant, we pray, that, putting nothing before love of you, we may hasten with a loving heart in the way of your commands. 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.

St. Benedict, pray for us.

No Selfishness

“Solomon prayed for prudence and wisdom so that he might govern God’s people rightly. Because his request was unselfish, God granted what he sought. When we pray, we should make sure that our desires are not motivated by selfishness. We should only want those gifts that help us most to serve others.” ~Rev. Jude Winkler, Daily Mediations with the Holy Spirit