Daily Thought from the Saints
"No one can make excuses, because anyone can love God; and he does not ask the soul for more than to love him, because he loves the soul, and it is his love."
— Blessed Angela of Foligno
Daily Scripture Verse
"We know that we belong to God, and the whole world is under the power of the evil one. We also know that the Son of God has come and has given us discernment to know the one who is true. And we are in the one who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life."
1 John 5:19-20
Daily Meditation
"The vow of poverty is a generous renunciation and detachment from the heavy burden of temporal things. It is an alleviation of the spirit, it is a relief afforded to human infirmity, the liberty of a noble heart to strive after eternal and spiritual blessings. It is a satiety and abundance, in which the thirst after earthly treasures is allayed, and a sovereignty and ownership, in which a most noble enjoyment of all riches is established. All this, my daughter, and many other blessings are contained in voluntary poverty, and all this the sons of the world are ignorant and deprived of, precisely because they are lovers of earthly riches and enemies of this holy and opulent poverty."
— Ven. Mary of Agreda
Daily Catholic Wisdom
A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.
—Isaiah 11:1
A Prayer from Notre Dame University
Rev. Kajubi Henry Senteza, C.S.C.
Lord Jesus Christ, you chose to be born among us, and you became like us in every way but sin. As a merciful and faithful high priest, you make atonement for our sins. Help us to hear your word every day, and in listening to you, may we come to the knowledge of what is good and true. Stir your spirit within us to practice what we discern from your word. We ask this in your name. Amen.
The Abbot’s Daily Lectio Divina
Abbot Austin Murphy, O.S.B., St. Procopius Abbey, Lisle, IL
Luke 1:41-42
Reading
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?”
Meditation
Mary’s presence communicates to Elizabeth and to John the Baptist in her womb the coming of the Lord Jesus. Christ radiates through Mary to others. We are to imitate Mary in this regard. Christ should be so alive within us, that our presence communicates Christ to others. The way we conduct ourselves, our bearing, what we say, what we do—all should present the good news of Christ to others in a concrete way.
Prayer
May the ongoing presence of Mary in my life continue to communicate to me that Christ is near. In His Name I pray. Amen.
Contemplation…