Fruit of the Spirit: Patience

“Patience is the virtue which makes us accept for love of God, generously and peacefully, everything that is displeasing to our nature, without allowing ourselves to be depressed by the sadness which easily comes over us when we meet with disagreeable things,” writes Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen, O.C.D in Divine Intimacy.
Because all [...]

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New Life in Christ

A must-read by Archbishop Charles J. Chaput:
New Life in Christ: What it Looks Like, What it Demands

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Rejoice Always

Today is Gaudete Sunday – Rejoice Sunday, and the second Mass reading really spoke to my heart this morning. The reading is 1 Thes 5:16-24.

Brothers and sisters: Rejoice always.
If you are walking in obedience to the Lord, you will rejoice always, as joy is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit. If [...]

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Placing our growth in His hands

For those who find in themselves anxiety and impatience when it comes to their spiritual growth, Magnificat magazine has a gem of a meditation of the day from Father Jean-Pierre de Caussade, who was a highly respected spiritual director in the 1700s. 
Father de Caussade writes, “I experience impetuous desires of acquiring the gift of prayer, humility, [...]

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I’d Rather Stay Here

My grandmother had not attended a church for most of her life, so it came as a surprise to me when she told my mom she wanted to become Catholic at age 75 in 2003.
Memaw had a stroke in 2002, and instead of healing from that stroke, the damage continues daily. She was initially able [...]

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The Greatest of These is Love

If ye love not each other in daily communion how can ye love God whom ye have not seen?
(From the Shaker hymn, “More Love,” based on 1 John 4:20)
One test of our growth in the spiritual life is if we have love of neighbor, since love for neighbor grows along with our love of God. [...]

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When I’m Found in the Desert Place

Often when we decide to take our faith more seriously after being away from God, we experience feelings of peace and joy that motivates us to continue living the Christ life.

We can also find that these feelings of Heaven on earth last only a short while before they fade or disappear completely. And many [...]

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How do I love Thee?

In prayer earlier this week, I was trying to come up with a way to tell God how much I love Him, and I quickly found that words were inadequate for expressing what I wanted to say. To my surprise, out of my mouth came a prayer that I am convinced I did [...]

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If You Love Me

What does it mean to really love God?  Does it mean we have to have warm, fuzzy feelings for Him, to say we love Him, to show up at Church?  Jesus gives us the answer:
If you love me, you will keep my commandments.  John 14:15
How well we keep God’s commands is a measure of how [...]

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Humility

Many years ago I encountered the Litany of Humility, written by Rafael Cardinal Merry del Val (1865-1930), Secretary of State for Pope Saint Pius X.  Everything in my being recoiled at the petitions in that prayer, because it asks God to give me the opposite of what I wanted.   I think I even said it [...]

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