• Embed Doc
  • Copy Link
  • Readcast
  • Collections
  • CommentGo Back
Download
 
The glory of friendship is not the outstretched hand, nor the kindly smile, nor the joy of companionship; it is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when he discovers that someoneelse believes in him and is willing to trust him with his friendship.- Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Whatever you do, do it with joy. Then you do good and you do it well. If, instead, youact with sadness, even if through it you do good, it is not you who do it.” St Augustine
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by themoments that take our breath away.“Do not allow yourselves to be offended by the imperfect while you strive of theperfect.” - St. Augustine (the liturgy documents -226)
“Faith is not a thing one loses, we merely cease to shape our lives by it” – bernanos (Fr.Murphy)
Following are the pieces from Hildegarde that I promised you.1.
 
Be ablaze with enthusiasm! Let us be an alive burnt offering for the Kingdom of God. 2.
 
 You are a spark from God's brilliance.Sparks emerge from God like the rays of the sun.God has established us as living, burning sparks.Fan your spark into a flame that can light the flame for others.
MASTURBATIONBut perhaps the most penetrating description of the habit of masturbation is in a letter of C.S. Lewis, quoted by Leanne Payne in
The Broken Image:
"For me the real evil of masturbation would be that it takes an appetite which, in lawful use, leads the individualout of himself to complete (and correct) his own personality in that of another (andfinally in children and even grandchildren) and turns it back, sends it back into the prisonof himself, there to keep a harem of imaginary brides. And this harem, once admitted,works against his ever getting out and really uniting with a real woman. For the harem isalways accessible, always subservient, calls for no sacrifices or adjustments, and can beendowed with erotic and psychological attractions which no real woman can rival . "3This quotation can be applied to women as well as men, expressing the meaning of masturbation as a personal flight from reality into the prison of lust.It does not surprise me at all that few people claim fatherhood for themselves. The painsare too obvious, the joys too hidden. And still, by not claiming it I shirk myresponsibility as a spiritually adult person. Yes, I even betray my vocation. Nothing lessthan that! But how can I choose what seems so contrary to all my needs? A voice says tome, “Don’t be afraid. The Child will take you by the hand and lead you to fatherhood.”…they not only need me to be their father, but also show me how to be a father for them. –p. 138 Return of the Prodigal Son (Henri J.M. Noewen)
 
“If the angels were capable of envy, they would envy us for 2 things: 1 is the receiving of Holy Communion. And the other is suffering.” – Faustina (divine mercy)"For verses are not as people imagine,simply feelings...they are experiences.For the sake of a single verse, one must seemany cities, men and things, one must knowthe animals, one must feel how the birds flyand know the gesture with which littleflowers open in the morning."-Rainer Maria RilkeIf you could only see what you are missing – Luzar All we know of heaven (Remy Rougeau)“These things were extraordinary. But where they miraculous? In a sense, all of lifeswims and glitters. If a miracle was prodigious, something highly unlikely to occur in thenatural course of events, then blossoms, incense, singing, and books were notsupernatural. If miracles were the result of an incredible combination of natural factors providentially arranged, all of life was miraculous.”
"But when the Invisible, having clothed Himself in the flesh, becomes visible, then represent the likeness of Him who has appeared... When He who having been the con substantial Image of the Father, emptiedHimself by taking the form of a servant (Phil. 2:6-7), thus becoming bound in quantity and quality, having taken on the carnal image, paintand make visible to everyone Him who desired to become visible. PaintHis birth from the Virgin, His baptism in the Jordan, Histransfiguration on Mount Tabor... Paint everything with words and withcolors, in books and on boards."
 First Treatise
, cap, 8. Pg 94: 1237D - 1240A: and
Third Treatise
, cap. 8 94: 1328D. By Saint Johnof Damascus.
"No one could describe the Word of the Father But when Hetook flesh from you, O Theotokos, He consented to bedescribed, And restored the fallen image to its former state by uniting it to divine beauty. We confess and proclaim oursalvation in word and images."
By Saint Theophanes.
"
T
he Son of God became the Son of Man so that man also might become the son of God."
St. Irenaeus of Lyons.
 
"
S
imilarly, through His image, we contemplate the physical appearance of the Christ, Hismiracles and His passion. This contemplation sanctifies our sight and, thereby, our soul.We consider ourselves fortunate and we venerate this image by lifting ourselves, as far as possible. beyond this physical appearance to the contemplation of divine glory."
Third Treatise,
cap. 12, Pg 94: 1333 and 1336. By saint John of Damascus.“Seriousness is not a virtue… It is really a natural trend or lapse into taking one’s self gravely… It is easyto be heavy: hard to be light. Satan fell by the force of gravity… A characteristic of the great saints is their  power of levity. Angels can fly because they can take themselves lightly.” G.K. Chesterton, from his
Orthodoxy
(from the article Henri J. M. Nouwen “Circus Diary – Part I: Finding theTrapeze Artist in the Priest.” P. 13 of New Oxford Review)Because of this, the Psalmist concludes by inviting the faithful "to cultivate the 'fear of the Lord,' the beginning of wisdom," the Holy Father added. "Fear and terror are notconcealed under this term, but earnest and sincere respect, which is the fruit of love,genuine and active adherence to the liberating God." (Benedict Zenit)
True "compassion" leads to sharing another's pain; it does not kill the person whosesuffering we cannot bear.
"True compassion leads to sharing another's pain; it does not kill the person whose suffering we cannot bear."
Pope John Paul II: Evangelium Vitae, 1995 
I find my happiness in pastoral work. It is for this that I am a bishop, and not towrite books, still less to pay court to the great, or to waste my time among therich. It is true...that this is not the way to become acardinal, but if one could become a saint, would it not be better still?
- Saint Eugene
 Leave nothing undared for the Kingdom of God.
- Saint Eugene
 Learn who you are in the eyes of God.
- Saint Eugene
 
“Letters To A Young Poet” 
(excerpt)How should we be able to forget those ancient myths that are at the beginning of all peoples, the myths about dragons that at the last moment turn into princesses; perhaps allthe dragons of our lives are princesses who are only waiting to see us once beautiful and brave. Perhaps everything terrible is in its deepest being something helpless that wantshelp from us.So you must not be frightened, if a sadness rises up before you larger than any you have
of 00

Leave a Comment

You must be to leave a comment.
Submit
Characters: ...
You must be to leave a comment.
Submit
Characters: ...