Daily Meditations Archives - Page 201 of 361

Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Great Lent: Light, Fire and Flame. If You Think You Can Go It Alone

03/13/2018

Light, Fire and Flame Love in its nature makes a human being like God, as far as is possible for a human being. The soul is intoxicated by the effects of it. Its characteristics are a fountain of faith, an abyss of patience, an ocean of humility. Love is the complete repudiation of any unkind thought about one’s neighbour, since, ‘Love thinks no evil.’ (1 Cor. 13:5] Love, unchangeable tranquility and our adoption as children

Monday of the Fourth Week of Great Lent: Loving your Neighbour in Need. Make your Love as Big as the World.

03/12/2018

Loving your Neighbour in Need A brother asked an aged monk: ‘There are two brothers: one of them leads a life of solitude six days a week and does much penance, while the other is dedicated to the service of the sick. Which of the two is behaving in the way that is more acceptable to God?’ The old man answered him: ‘The brother who is always making a retreat would never attain the heights

Friday of the Third Week of Great Lent: We are all Begging to have God. We Cannot but Love God.

03/09/2018

We are all Begging to have God It is natural to look for beauty and to love it, even though the idea of what is beautiful varies between one person and another. Now, what is more marvelous than the divine beauty? What can you think of that is more likely to give pleasure than the magnificence of God? What desire could be more ardent, more irresistible than the thirst which God inspires in the soul

Thursday of the Third Week of Great Lent: Persevering is More Important than Beginning. Hunger for Righteousness.

03/08/2018

Persevering is More Important than Beginning Jerome said: ‘Christians will not be asked how they began but rather how they finished. St Paul began badly but finished well. Judas’s beginning was praiseworthy but his end was despicable. ‘Many start the climb but few reach the summit.’ Gregory said: ‘The value of good work depends on perseverance. ‘You live a good life in vain if you do not continue it until you die.’ Isidore said: ‘Our

Wednesday of the Third Week of Great Lent: Sobriety, the Guardian of the Spirit. Let your Soul keep a Good Look-Out.

03/07/2018

Sobriety, the Guardian of the Spirit Sobriety is a guardian of the spirit. It stands on guard day and night at the gates of the heart, to sort out the thoughts that present themselves, to listen to their suggestions and to observe their intrigues. In the first place, control the imagination strictly: it is the only route by which Satan can slip thoughts into the mind to deceive it. Then preserve in your heart a

Tuesday of the Third Week of Great Lent: To Rise You Must Go Downward. Have You Ever Seen the Snow Catch Fire?

03/06/2018

To Rise You Must Go Downward Origen said: ‘If you are not humble and serene, it is impossible for the grace of the Holy Spirit to dwell in you.’ Augustine said: ‘God humbled himself: human beings should blush to be proud.’ Gregory the Great said: ‘The more humility aims at the depths, the higher it climbs on the path to the summit. ‘Humility in listening to the Word of God makes the path ready for

Monday of the Third Week of Great Lent: Obedience is the Child of Trust. If You Think You Are Humble that Means You Are Not.

03/05/2018

Obedience is the Child of Trust Obedience is the complete renunciation of one’s own soul, demonstrated, however, by actions. More exactly, it is the death of the senses in a living soul. Obedience is a freely-chosen death, a life without cares, danger without fears, unshakeable trust in God, no fear of death. It is a voyage without perils, a journey in your sleep. Obedience is the burial of the will and the resurrection of humility.

Friday of the Second Week of Great Lent: Uphold the Living Rather than Hold the Dead. Patience is our Martyrdom.

03/02/2018

Uphold the Living Rather than Hold the Dead A monk, seeing two men carrying a dead body on a stretcher, said to one of them: ‘Are you holding the dead? Go and uphold the living!’ An old monk received a visit from some thieves one day: ‘We’ve come to strip your cell.’ He answered: ‘My children, all you like to take is yours.’ The thieves cleared the place out and left. They forgot, however, a

Thursday of the Second Week of Great Lent: The New People are a People of Children. Gentleness, the Face of Love.

03/01/2018

The New People are a People of Children Paul shows great wisdom when he says: ‘We never sought glory from people, whether from you or from others, though we might have made demands as apostles of Christ. But we were babes among you.’ [1 Thess. 2:7] A child is charming, gentle, simple-minded, without cunning or hypocrisy, in short, straightforward in thought and speech. He is therefore the personification of simplicity. A child has a sensitive

Wednesday of the Second Week of Great Lent: Weighing up our Actions. Simplicity a Name for God.

02/28/2018

Weighing up our Actions The Abbot Germanus said: ‘We are perfectly convinced that the right judgment of our thoughts is the spring and the root of all the virtues. But we would like to know how to acquire that judgment, and also how it is possible to recognize its authenticity, that is to say, whether it comes from God.’ The Abbot Moses replied: ‘Only by humility can true judgment be acquired. And the first test