Daily Thought from the Saints
"Where there is no obedience there is no virtue, where there is no virtue there is no good, where there is no good there is no love, where there is no love, there is no God, and where there is no God there is no Paradise."
— St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina
Daily Scripture Verse
"The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks justice. The law of his God is in his heart; his steps do not slip."
Psalm 37:30-31
Daily Meditation
"A sculptor who wishes to carve a figure out of a block uses his chisel, first cutting away great chunks of marble, then smaller pieces, until he finally reaches a point where only a brush of hand is needed to reveal the figure. In the same way, the soul has to undergo tremendous mortifications at first, and then more refined detachments, until finally its Divine image is revealed. Because mortification is recognized as a practice of death, there is fittingly inscribed on the tomb of Duns Scotus, Bis Mortus; Semel Sepultus (twice died, but buried only once). When we die to something, something comes alive within us. If we die to self, charity comes alive; if we die to pride, service comes alive; if we die to lust, reverence for personality comes alive; if we die to anger, love comes alive."
— Fulton J. Sheen
Daily Catholic Wisdom
You are my Father and my Savior. I place my soul in Your hands. I desire that my last moment be united with that of Your death and that the last beat of my heart be an act of pure love for You. Amen.
—St. Pius X
quoted in Nicolas Diat’s book “A Time to Die”
A Prayer from Notre Dame University
Rev. Matt Fase, C.S.C.
God of wonder and might, the glory of your presence is beyond our understanding, yet you continue to reveal yourself to us in countless ways. May we who seek to draw close to you, be open and ready to your revelations, so that we may recognize Jesus in our lives. When we see him, give us the grace to listen well.
The Abbot’s Daily Lectio Divina
Abbot Austin Murphy, OSB, St. Procopius Abbey, Lisle, IL
Daniel 7:13-14
Reading
As the visions during the night continued, I saw one like a Son of man coming, on the clouds of heaven; when he reached the Ancient One and was presented before him, the one like a Son of man received dominion, glory, and kingship; all peoples, nations, and languages serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not be taken away, his kingship shall not be destroyed.
Meditation
Jesus fulfills this prophecy about the ‘one like the Son of man.’ He is like us, for even while remaining fully God, He became also fully human. And as a human being, He has come into the presence of the Eternal Father and has received eternal ‘dominion, glory, and kingship,’ after conquering sin and death on the cross. All human beings are now called to share in His everlasting reign by believing in Him and living by His grace in uprightness.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, let me share in Your reign by conforming myself to You in everything. In Your Name I pray. Amen.
Contemplation…