Daily Thought from the Saints
"Have caution in not allowing yourself to be struck down by adversity nor becoming vain by prosperity."
— St. Clare of Assisi
Daily Scripture Verse
"The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; he is their refuge in the time of trouble. The Lord helps them and delivers them; he delivers them from the wicked, and saves them, because they take refuge in him."
Psalm 37:39-40
Daily Meditation
"Do you know what it is to be truly spiritual? It is for men to make themselves the slaves of God—branded with His mark, which is the Cross. ... Unless you make up your minds to this, never expect to make much progress, for as I said humility is the foundation of the whole building and unless you are truly humble, Our Lord, for your own sake, will never permit you to rear it very high lest it should fall to the ground. Therefore, sisters, take care to lay a firm foundation by seeking to be the least of all and the slave of others, watching how you can please and help them, for it will benefit you more than them. Built on such strong rocks, your castle can never go to ruin. I insist again: your foundation must not consist of prayer and contemplation alone: unless you acquire the virtues and praise them, you will always be dwarfs; and please God no worse may befall you than making no progress, for you know that to stop is to go back—if you love, you will never be content to come to a standstill."
— St. Teresa of Avila
Daily Catholic Wisdom
No human life is perfectly free from sorrow. Instead of fighting against suffering as if it has no right to be in our lives, we need to find a way to integrate it into our life story.
—Mark Giszczak
from his book, “Suffering: What Every Catholic Should Know”
A Prayer from Notre Dame University
Rev. Thomas C. Bertone, C.S.C.
Loving God, Christ promised his disciples the gift of the Spirit who would guide them to all truth. In these often confusing and difficult times, many “truths” are spoken. Open us up to the gifts of your Spirit to be able to discern your truth so that we may more faithfully speak it to others and embrace it more fully in our own lives. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Abbot’s Daily Lectio Divina
Abbot Austin Murphy, O.S.B., St. Procopius Abbey, Lisle, IL
John 16:14-15
Reading
[Jesus taught the disciples,] “[The Spirit of truth] will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you. Everything that the Father has is mine; for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine and declare it to you.”
Meditation
These few words indicate the perfect communion of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Everything the Father has is the Son's and, thus, the divine nature is not only the Father's but also the Son's. Since both possess the one divine nature, They are both one God even while being distinct Persons. The Spirit, too, perfectly shares in the divine nature and thus He can share God's blessings with us. So, the Three are one God, while also being distinct Persons.
Prayer
Increase my love for You, the one God in Three, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Contemplation…