The Desert Fathers, Sunday, February 27, 2011

Poemen said, ‘To be on guard, to meditate within, to judge with discernment: these are the three works of the soul.

Sayings of the Desert Fathers, Benedicta Ward

Listening to Tradition, Saturday, February 26, 2011

A Tabernacle

To love, suffer, and pray, always with the joy that comes from Jesus. Fiat! Deo gratias! I want to be Eucharistic, a hidden apostle of the divine heart. To practice complete, confident, and loving abandonment. To go to God through the cross, through the heart of Jesus, under the tender protection of Mary, my Mother. May I welcome whatever the future holds. Since it comes from the heavenly Father and the one Friend. As the future arrives, it will bring its own graces. Until then and even afterward, I must remember that “today’s trouble is enough for today” (Mt 6:34), and that I can work and suffer for others and for the glory of God only today.

Finally, inner depths, where he comes in communion, wonderfully uniting himself to us, making himself our guest, our friend, our spiritual food, living on in us spiritually after the actual presence has ceased; this is the tabernacle of his heart, the place of his delights, his repose and his joy. Oh, how I long to be for him at the same time a heaven, a tabernacle, and this appearance under which he comes to me! From beneath this veil where my Savior hides, I will let him shine forth, drawing those he wants to save.

Elisabeth Leseur, was a married lay woman (†1914).  Her cause for canonization is in progress.

Founders Friday, Friday, February 25, 2011

Image via Wikipedia

All see, and most admire, the glare which hovers round the external trappings of elevated office. To me there is nothing in it, beyond the lustre which may be reflected from its connection with a power of promoting human felicity.

George Washington, letter to Catherine Macaulay Graham, January 9, 1790

Wacky Wednesday, Wednesday, February 23, 2011, Who's on first?

It's Wednesday, we've made it half way through the week, it's time to relax and enjoy a laugh.  This is one of the most famous comedy skits of all time, from Abbott and Costello.

Presidents Day Holiday

At least one cat has taken the idea of a day off seriously. Happy President's Day.

In celebration of the day, here's a quote from John Adams.

"I Pray Heaven to Bestow The Best of Blessing on THIS HOUSE, and on ALL that shall hereafter Inhabit it. May none but Honest and Wise Men ever rule under This Roof! "
John Adams, letter to Abigail Adams, November 2, 1800

The Desert Fathers, Sunday, February 20, 2011

Image via Wikipedia

The Lord's Day is a mystery of the knowledge of the truth that is not received by flesh and blood, and it transcends speculations. In this age there is no eighth day, nor is there a true Sabbath. For he who said that `God rested on the seventh day,' signified the rest of our nature] from the course of this life, since the grave is also of a bodily nature and belongs to this world. Six days are accomplished in the husbandry of life by means of keeping the commandments; the seventh is spent entirely in the grave; and the eighth is the departure from it.

St. Isaac of Syria, The Ascetical Homilies.I

Farthers Friday, Friday, February 18, 2011

Image by cliff1066™ via Flickr

"I have examined all religions, as well as my narrow sphere, my straightened means, and my busy life, would allow; and the result is that the Bible is the best Book in the world. It contains more philosophy than all the libraries I have seen."


John Adams, December 25, 1813 letter to Thomas Jefferson