there is still time...

"There is still time for endurance, time for patience, time for healing, time for change. Have you slipped? Rise up. Have you sinned? Cease. Do not stand among sinners, but leap aside."
                                                                                                                                            - St Basil
 

God's Gentle Work

Feel the sorrow in your heart when you apologize, but also feel the gratitude when you give thanks for God's gentle work inside your heart as he continually labors to make you more Christ-like, day by gently day.

— from Fast, Pray, Give

God is so good...to me, and you, all the time!!!

Think First

A peaceful attitude can go a long way toward living the message of the Gospel. If we think (and pray) before we speak or act, we will save ourselves and others a great deal of misunderstanding and heartache.

— from Lent with St. Francis

Draw Closer to God

What we do for Lent is far less important than why we do it. The time-honored traditions of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are less to benefit us than to draw us closer to God and improve the lives of those around us.

— from Lent with St. Francis

Eternal Gain

Heavenly Father, help me to see that the earthly goods are nothing when compared to the eternal treasures you long to give us. Thank you for this earthly journey, meant to lead us all to our true home with you in heaven!

— from Lenten Reflections

Divine Discipline... and intentional Charity

Lord, whatever I've decided to give up for Lent, let me use that small sacrifice to remind me of the continual self-denial you call me to. And most of all, let me remember the reason for your call to be able to participate in your divine life!
— from Lenten Reflections

Lord, please fill my heart with Your infinite LOVE during this Lenten journey...
and that I remember to reach out in charity to many, in an intentional and loving way...
no matter what the cost to self might be.

It is not enough to 'give-up' doing or self-denial...
it is crucial for my growth in You, that I become intentional in seeking to do more good
in a world that is often blinded by fear and evil...

For You promised to be with me always, until the end of time...
Amen.

Model for Humility

The model for humble living is Jesus Christ,
who refused to cling to divine status;
possessed a deep reverence for and patience with others;
reflected an interior silence and self-possession;
and was willing to forgive.

— from Making Sense of God

Administrative or Spirit?

"The more administrative machinery we construct, be it the most modern, the less place there is for the Spirit, the less place there is for the Lord, and the less freedom there is. It is my opinion that we ought to begin an unsparing examination of conscience on this point at all levels in the Church."

- Pope Benedict XVI

Stay quiet with God...a little while longer today...

"If a tiny spark of God's love already burns within you, do not expose it to the wind, for it may get blown out.... Stay quiet with God. Do not spend your time in useless chatter.... Do not give yourself to others so completely that you have nothing left for yourself."
                                                                                                     - St. Charles Borromeo
 

Everything is a gift from God...

Todo es don de Dios.

Y sólo reconociendo esta dependencia vital del Creador,

encontraremos libertad y paz.

Everything is a gift from God. And only by recognizing this vital dependence of the Creator,

we will find freedom and peace.

     Benedicto XVI: @Pontifex_es

Open to Grace

The Holy Spirit is the vehicle by which we leave off the old self bound by sin, slavery, fear and egoism, and embrace the new, open to grace and freedom and love.

— from Making Sense of God

Helping, Not Judging

Just as there are people who will not eat today without help, through no fault of their own, there are people who will never make it to heaven without a great deal of help. Judging them is not our business. Our role is to help whomever we can without criticism.

— from Make Room For God