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**”The devotion to the Eucharist is the most noble, because it has God as its object; it is the most profitable for salvation, because it gives us the Author of Grace; it is the sweetest, because the Lord is Sweetness Itself.”
— Pope St. Pius X
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From In Need of Mercy by Richard Rohr
When we are too smug and content, we really have little need for the Gospel, so we make Christianity into pious devotions that ask nothing of us and do nothing for the world. We are never in need of forgiveness because we have constructed a world that allows us to always be right and “normal.” We are highly insulated from the human situation. When we are self-sufficient, our religion will be corrupt because it doesn’t understand the Mystery of how divine life is transferred, how people change, how life flows, how we become something more, and how we fall into the great compassion.
Only vulnerable people change. Only vulnerable people change others. Jesus presented us with an icon of absolute vulnerability, and said, “Gaze on this until you get the point. Gaze on this until you know what God is like!” That demanded too much of us, so we made the cross instead into a juridical transaction between Jesus and God (“substitutionary atonement theory”), which in great part robbed the cross of its deep transformative power.
A lawyer who joined the Catholic Church and then became a Franciscan said to me one day, “You know, this Church is harder and harder for me to understand. We claim to have the perfect medicine, the healing power to restore and renew hearts and souls, but we seem to say in the same breath, ‘But make sure you don’t really need it! Because if you really need it, you are a less than ideal member!'”
Too often it seems forgiveness, reconciliation, compassion, and healing are mere concessions, carefully doled out, to those unfortunate sinners and outsiders, instead of the very path of salvation itself. Thank God, we live in a time where we have a Pope who is shouting mercy from the housetops–for everybody who needs it and wants it. Desire is the only pre-requisite. Some cardinals and bishops who apparently don’t think they need mercy are very stingy and regulatory in handing it on to others. What does not come around, does not go around, it seems.
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Do not be frightened at seeing the greatness of the aim proposed…those who love do not feel the burden.
-St. Magdalene of Canossa
-from Sisterhood of Saints
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Start being brave about everything, driving out darkness and spreading light as well. Don’t look at your weakness, but realize that in Christ crucified you can do everything.
-St. Catherine of Siena
-from Sisterhood of Saints
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Blessed are You, Lord, God of all creation!
The secret of happiness is to live moment by moment and to thank God for all that he, in his goodness, sends to us day after day.
-St. Gianna Beretta Molla
-from Sisterhood of Saints
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“Cheerfulness strengthens the heart and makes us persevere in a good life. Therefore the servant of God ought always to be in good spirits.”
— St. Philip Neri
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“True strength is not found in being stubborn or arrogant. It is found in allowing the Holy Spirit to dwell in one’s heart so that one might be open to the Spirit’s promptings. It is that Spirit Who frees us from our selfishness, for the Spirit reminds us that God is supposed to be the center of who we are and what we do.”
— Rev. Jude Winkler, OFM
- Lord has won for us!
Many blessings on you all… Not long to go now…
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Today is a day of quiet waiting. An ancient homily for today says, “The whole earth keeps silence because the King is asleep.” Such is the truth. Such is the fear. Such is the hope.
-from Sacred Silence
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“O man, when the world hates you and is faithless toward you, think of your God, how he was struck and spat upon. You should not accuse your neighbor of guilt, but pray to God that he be merciful to you both.”
— St. Nicholas of Flue
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In the midst of a world that seems hopeless, the Cross appears as a sign that God’s love, forgiveness and mercy overcomes all evil.
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“Apart from the cross, there is no other ladder by which we may get to heaven.”
— St. Rose of Lima
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“I urge you with all the strength of my soul to approach the Eucharistic Table as often as possible. Feed on this Bread of the Angels from which you will draw the strength to fight inner struggles.”
— Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati
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“If I knew nothing…if I had been taught nothing…still, the Great Being would know me. And would walk with me all my days, waiting for my heart to awaken. And whether or not I was aware of it, that same God who loved into being the petal of the smallest flower, the glacier, the deer, the rock, the galaxies of stars, would know the deepest part of me.”
-from The Divine Spark
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“God loves us and wants to have a close relationship with us. In fact, he loves us so much that he took an extraordinary step in order to make that possible: He became one of us.”
-from Find a Real Friend in Jesus
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“Compassion continues the Incarnation by allowing the Word of God to take root within us, to be enfleshed in us. The Incarnation is not finished; it is not yet complete for it is to be completed in us”
-Richard Rohr
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Contemplating the Lord’s Paasion
“True reverence for the Lord’s passion means fixing the eyes of our heart on Jesus crucified and recognizing in him our own humanity.” See more
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Collect, Wednesday of Holy Week
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It’s a good idea to reflect regularly on the wonderful qualities of Our Lord—his great power, unconditional love, approachability, and so on. Let’s not take the Lord of the universe, our Redeemer and Savior, for granted!
-from Find a Real Friend in Jesus
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“We ought to speak, shout out against injustices, with confidence and without fear. We proclaim the principles of the Church, the reign of love, without forgetting that it is also a reign of justice.”
— Blessed Miguel Pro
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In our relationship with the Lord, we sometimes think that it’s not necessary to express our love for him. After all, he knows everything, so why bother? Even though he is all-knowing, he enjoys hearing the words “I love you.” Getting into the habit of saying those words will draw you closer to him.
-from Find a Real Friend in Jesus
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“If the mystery of evil is unfathomable, then the reality of Love poured out through [Jesus] is infinite, reaching even to the tomb and to hell.”
–Pope Francis
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Windows Toward the World 
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