January 12

Daily Thought from the Saints

"If you learn everything except Christ, you learn nothing. If you learn nothing except Christ, you learn everything."

— St. Bonaventure

Daily Scripture Verse

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge him,and he will make straight your paths."

Proverbs 3:5-6

Daily Meditation

"Man will not consent to drive away the money-changers from the temple of his soul until he realizes that it is a Holy of Holies—not a house of traffic, but in very truth the house of God. We thus reach two striking conclusions: There cannot be entire dependence upon the Holy Spirit's guidance, which is the true meaning of living in Christ, without complete self-renunciation. There cannot be complete self-renunciation without the constant underlying spirit of faith, without the habit of interior silence, a silence where God is dwelling. Many do not see the connection between thoughts about the King and the service of the King; between the interior silence ... and the continual detachment ... If we look closer, it will be seen that there is a strong, close, unbreakable link between the two. Find a recollected person, and he will be detached; seek one who is detached, and he will be recollected. To have found one is to have discovered the other ... Anyone who tries, on a given day, to practice either recollection or detachment cannot ignore the fact that he is doing a double stroke of work."

— Raoul Plus, S.J.

Daily Catholic Wisdom

To keep the word of Jesus, that is the sole condition of our happiness, the proof of our love for Him. But what, then, is this word?... It seems to me that the word of Jesus is Himself… He, Jesus, the Word, the Word of God!

—Saint Thérèse of Lisieux
quoted in the book “Saint Thérèse of Lisieux: Living on Love”

Daily Journey with the Pope

Brothers and sisters, if we are to welcome God and his peace, we cannot stand around complacently, waiting for things to get better. We need to get up, recognize the moments of grace, set out and take a risk. Rather than standing around, thinking and hoping that things will change, we should instead ask ourselves: “This year, where do I want to go? Who is it that I can help?” So many people, in the Church and in society, are waiting for the good that you and you alone can do, they are waiting for your help.

Today, amid the lethargy that dulls our senses, the indifference that paralyzes our hearts, and the temptation to waste time glued to a keyboard in front of a computer screen, the shepherds are summoning us to set out and get involved in our world, to dirty our hands and to do some good. They are inviting us to set aside many of our routines and our comforts in order to open ourselves to the new things of God, which are found in the humility of service, in the courage of caring for others.

Pope Francis

A Prayer

Rev. John Pearson, C.S.C.

Protect us, Lord, from thinking that our healing depends on the strength and frequency of our prayers. Help us remember and proclaim to the world by our lives that through your Son you will it now and always that we be made and remain clean of heart and spirit. We make this prayer in Jesus’ name. Amen.

The Abbot’s Daily Lectio Divina
Abbot Austin Murphy, O.S.B., St. Procopius Abbey, Lisle, IL

Mark 1:40-43

Reading

A leper came to Jesus and kneeling down begged him and said, “If you wish, you can make me clean.” Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand, touched him, and said to him, “I do will it. Be made clean.” The leprosy left him immediately, and he was made clean.

Meditation

The leper believes that Jesus can heal him. Do we believe that Jesus can heal us of our sins? Do we believe that He can even heal us of those stubborn, habitual sins from which we have such a hard time breaking free and into which we repeatedly fall? He can do this and, therefore, let us believe that He can do so.

Prayer

May I put aside all doubts, O God, and firmly believe—since it is true—that You can heal me of my sins through Your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Contemplation…