“It is what comes out of the mouth that defiles”

[powerpress=”daily-scripture”]

an excerpt from today’s reflection by Don Schwager:

 Which is more important to God – clean hands or a clean mind and heart? The Scribes and Pharisees accused Jesus’ disciples of breaking their ritual traditions. They were concerned with avoiding ritual defilement, some no doubt out of fear of God, and others out of fear of pleasing other people. Jesus points his listeners to the source of true defilement – evil desires which come from inside a person’s innermost being. Sin does not just happen or force itself upon us. It first springs from the innermost recesses of our thoughts and intentions, from the secret desires which only the individual soul can conceive.

Only God can change our hearts and make them clean and whole through the power of the Holy Spirit. Like a physician who probes the wound before treating it, God through his Word and Spirit first brings to light our sinful condition that we may recognize sin for what it is and call upon God’s mercy and pardon. The Lord is every ready to change and purify our hearts through his Holy Spirit who dwells within us. His power and grace enables us to choose what is good and to reject what is evil. Do you believe in the power of God’s love to change and transform your heart?

“Lord Jesus, fill me with your Holy Spirit and make my heart like yours. Strengthen my heart and my will that I may I choose to love what is good and to hate what is evil.”

for the full reflection visit : Daily Reading and Meditation

“Take heart, it is I; have no fear.”

[powerpress=”daily-scripture”]

an excerpt from today’s reflection by Don Schwager:

This dramatic incident on the sea of Galilee revealed Peter’s character more fully than others.  Here we see Peter’s impulsivity — his tendency to act without thinking of what he was doing.  He often failed and came to grief as a result of his impulsiveness.  In contrast, Jesus always bade his disciples to see how difficult it was to follow him before they set out on the way he taught them.  A great deal of failure in the Christian life is due to acting on impulse and emotional fervor without counting the cost.  Peter, fortunately in the moment of his failure clutched at Jesus and held him firmly.  Every time Peter fell, he rose again.  His failures only made him love the Lord more deeply and trust him more intently. The Lord keeps watch over us at all times, and especially in our moments of temptation and difficulty. Do you rely on the Lord for his strength and help? Jesus assures us that we have no need of fear if we trust in Him and in his great love for us. When calamities or trials threaten to overwhelm you, how do you respond? With faith and hope in God’s love, care and presence with you?

“Lord, help me to trust you always and to never doubt your presence and your power to help me.  In my moments of doubt and weakness, may I cling to you as Peter did.  Strengthen my faith that I may walk straight in the path you set before me, neither veering to the left nor to the right”. 

 

for the full reflection visit : Daily Reading and Meditation

“Toward the Gleam” is a fantastic novel written by T. M. (Tom) Doran!  I love the adventure, but also the philosophical discussions which take place in the context of the story.

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Just don’t take my word for it, here is what our friend Joseph Pearce had to say:

“The works of Tolkien and Lewis continue to inspire new generations of writers, most of whom are not worthy to bask in the reflected glory of their mentors. T. M. Doran is a noble and notable exception. Towards the Gleam rises above the level of parody or pastiche to reach the heights that few writers have achieved. Although it basks in the reflected glory of The Lord of the Rings and conveys inklings of That Hideous Strength, it does not merely reflect the light that Tolkien and Lewis have shone; it refracts it in exciting new directions, toward the gleam of the glorious light that is the source of all great literature.”

For more information on “Toward the Gleam” go to ignatius.com

Episode 2 -Baptism:  Born from Above– The importance of the name we are given at baptism.  The role and significance of godparents.

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Deacon James Keating, PhD, the director of Theological Formation for the Institute for Priestly Formation, located at Creighton University, in Omaha, Nebraska.

Deacon Keating takes a careful look at the Baptismal Rite and offers prayerful reflection and insight to help us live out the faith and nurture the domestic church.

From the Baptismal Rite for Children:

From the earliest times, the Church, to which the mission of preaching the Gospel and of baptizing was entrusted, has baptized not only adults but children as well. Our Lord said:

‘Unless a man is reborn in water and the Holy Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of
God.’ The Church has always understood these words to mean that children should not
be deprived of baptism, because they are baptized in the faith of the Church, a faith proclaimedfor them by their parents and godparents, who represent both the local Church and the whole society of saints and believers: ‘The whole Church is the mother of all and the mother of each.’

 To fulfill the true meaning of the sacrament, children must later be formed in the faith in
which they have been baptized. The foundation of this formation will be the sacrament
itself that they have already received. Christian formation, which is their due, seeks to lead them gradually to learn God’s plan in Christ, so that they may ultimately accept for themselvesthe faith in which they have been baptized.

How can this be accomplished?  What is the role of the parents, the godparents, the minister of baptism, the Church? These and other questions are reflected upon in “Baptism: Born from Above with Deacon James Keating”.

For more information on the “Institute of Priestly Formation” and for other material available by Deacon Keating, just click here

Don’t forget to pickup a copy of “Communion with Christ” , it is one of the best audio sets on prayer…ever!

Check out Deacon Keating’s “Discerning Heart” page

Fr. Solanus Casey…what an incredible life of humilty and faith.  “When Father Solanus Casey died in Detroit in 1957, all he left after 86 years on this earth were a small crucifix, an old pair of sandals, several religious pictures, a wooden statue of St. Anthony, some dog-eared religious books, a knot of heavily darned socks and a framed, 40-year-old picture of his family. But he left another rich legacy — a long list of curious “favors” to an equally long list of devoted believers.

Father Solanus Casey had come to Detroit to be a Capuchin friar. During his years as a priest he spent time in other states, but he began and ended his career in Detroit.”

To discover more about this ordinary man who did extraordinary things with the grace of God…just visit the Father Solanus Guild

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Also you may want to take a listen to the interview Bruce and I had with Joel Schorn who wrote about Fr. Solanus, Padre Pio and Blessed Andre  in “God’s Doorkeepers”

 

THE INTERIOR CASTLE

OR

THE MANSIONS

By

St. Teresa of Avila

St. Teresa’s introduction to the work:  [powerpress]

For all chapters of the audio book visit:  The Interior Castle audio page

For the pdf containing the complete text and footnotes click here

Translated from the Autograph of St. Teresa of Jesus by

The Benedictines of Stanbrook

Thomas Baker, London

[1921]

Dom Michael Barrett, O.S.B.

Censor Deputatuus

Nihil Obstat:

✠ Edward

Apostolic Administrator

Birmingham, Oscott.

February 24, 1921

THE INTERIOR CASTLE
OR
THE MANSIONS
By
St. Teresa of Avila

The First Mansions Chapter 1:  [powerpress]

For the pdf containing the complete text and footnotes click here

1. Plan of this book. 2. The Interior Castle. 3. Our curable self ignorance. 4. God dwells in the centre of the soul. 5. Why all souls do not receive certain favours. 6. Reasons for speaking of these favours. 7. The entrance of the Castle. 8. Entering into oneself. 9. Prayer. 10. Those who dwell in the first mansion. 11. Entering. 12. Difficulties of the subject.

Translated from the Autograph of St. Teresa of Jesus by
The Benedictines of Stanbrook
Thomas Baker, London [1921]
Dom Michael Barrett, O.S.B.Censor Deputatuus
Nihil Obstat:✠ Edward Apostolic Administrator Birmingham, Oscott.
February 24, 1921

THE INTERIOR CASTLE
OR
THE MANSIONS
By
St. Teresa of Avila

The First Mansions Chapter 2:  [powerpress]

For the pdf containing the complete text and footnotes click here

1. Effects of mortal sin. 2. It prevents the soul’s gaining merit. 3. The soul compared to a tree. 4. Disorder of the soul in mortal sin. 5. Vision of a sinful soul. 6. Profit of realizing these lessons. 7. Prayer. 8. Beauty of the Castle. 9. Self-knowledge 10. Gained by meditating on the divine perfections. 11. Advantages of such meditation. 12. Christ should be our model. 13. The devil entraps beginners. 14. Our strength must come from God. 15. Sin blinds the soul. 16. Worldliness. 17. The world in the cloister. 18. Assaults of the devil. 19. Examples of the devil’s arts. 20. Perfection consists in charity. 21. Indiscreet zeal. 22. Danger of detraction

Translated from the Autograph of St. Teresa of Jesus by
The Benedictines of Stanbrook
Thomas Baker, London [1921]
Dom Michael Barrett, O.S.B.Censor Deputatuus
Nihil Obstat:✠ Edward Apostolic Administrator Birmingham, Oscott.
February 24, 1921

“Martha said to Jesus, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day”

[powerpress=”daily-scripture”]

an excerpt from today’s reflection by Don Schwager:

What gives us hope and joy in the face of death? The loss of a loved one naturally produces grief and anguish of heart. When Martha, the sister of Lazarus and a close friend of Jesus, heard that Jesus was coming to pay respects for the loss of Lazarus, she immediately went out to meet him before he could get to her house. What impelled her to leave the funeral party in order to seek Jesus out? Was it simply the companionship and consolation of a friend who loved her brother deeply? Or did she recognize in Jesus the hope that God would restore life? Martha, like many Orthodox Jews, believed in the life to come. The loss of her brother did not diminish her hope in the resurrection. She even gently chides Jesus for not coming soon enough to save Lazarus from an untimely death. Jesus does something unexpected and remarkable both to strengthen her faith and hope in the life to come and to give her a sign of what he was to accomplish through his own death and resurrection. Jesus gave to her belief a new and profound meaning: He came from the Father to defeat sin and death for us and to restore life to those who believe in him. Jesus states unequivocally the he himself is the Resurrection and the Life. The life he offers is abundant life – life which issues from God himself. And eternal life – the fulness of life which knows no end. Do you seek the abundant life which Jesus offers to those who believe in him?

“Lord Jesus, you are the Resurrection and the Life. Strengthen my faith and hope in your promises that I may radiate the joy of the gospel to others.”

for the full reflection visit : Daily Reading and Meditation

This was filmed at Our Lady of Grace Capuchin Friary which is located in the Gargano Mountains at San Giovanni Rotondo. At times there is an atmosphere of playfulness redolent of the Fioretti of St Francis. At the end, they are obviously teasing him about the camera and he hits the cameraman with his cincture. We see him in the refectory and in the Church, and there are scenes of his brothers dealing with the massive postbag which he generated. Starting at 4’23” there is some footage of Padre Pio as celebrant at Tridentine Latin Mass.

THE INTERIOR CASTLE
OR
THE MANSIONS
By
St. Teresa of Avila

The Second Mansion Only Chapter:  [powerpress]

For the pdf containing the complete text and footnotes click here

1. Souls in the second mansions. 2. Their state. 3. Their sufferings. 4. They cannot get rid of their imperfections. 5. How God calls these souls. 6. perseverance is essential. 7. Temptations of the devil. 8. Delusion of earthly joys. 9. God alone to be loved. 10. Reasons for continuing the journey. 11. War fare of the devil. 12. Importance of choice of friends. 13. Valour required. 14. Presumption of expecting spiritual consolations at first. 15. In the Cross is strength. 16. Our falls should raise us higher. 17. Confidence and perseverance. 18. Recollection. 19. Why we must practise prayer. 20. Meditation kindles love.

Translated from the Autograph of St. Teresa of Jesus by
The Benedictines of Stanbrook
Thomas Baker, London [1921]
Dom Michael Barrett, O.S.B.Censor Deputatuus
Nihil Obstat:✠ Edward Apostolic Administrator Birmingham, Oscott.
February 24, 1921