before she had fully opened.” —St. Thérèse of Lisieux
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed are thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
But above all bless your Maker, who fills you with his good gifts.
—Sirach 32:13 (NRSV)
“Humble and continuous prayer, founded on knowledge of oneself and of God, is the best way for any creature to receive a taste of the truth. Following the footprints of Christ crucified, and through humble and unceasing prayer, the soul is united with God.”—St. Catherine of Siena
Bring me close to You today, Lord, my Creator, my Savior.
Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.
—1 John 3:18 (NRSV)
“[St. Francis of Assisi] was a Lover. He was a lover of God and he was really and truly a lover of men; possibly a much rarer mystical vocation. A lover of men is very nearly the opposite of a philanthropist; indeed the pedantry of the Greek word carries something like a satire on itself. A philanthropist may be said to love anthropoids. But as St. Francis did not love humanity but men, so he did not love Christianity but Christ.” —G. K. Chesterton
Show me who to love today, Lord. Remind me to see You in the faces of people I meet.
If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
—1 Corinthians 13:1 (NRSV)
“Can you see what point [St. Paul] is making when he begins by exalting the gift, and then to what extent afterward he lowers and casts it down? For he doesn’t simply say, ‘I am nothing,’ but instead he says, ‘I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal,’ a senseless and inanimate thing. What does he mean by a clanging cymbal? He emits a sound, but at random and in vain, and for no good purpose. Beautiful speech that profits nothing also counts you as one giving impertinent trouble, an annoying and even wearisome kind of person. Do you see how a person who is void of love is similar to things that are inanimate and senseless?” —St. John Chrysostom
Show me how to love with Your love, today, Lord.
[Jesus said,] “[I]f you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.”
—Matthew 17:20b–21 (NRSV)
“You should believe everything you hear about Antony. He performed extraordinary works, and you have until now only heard about the least remarkable ones. For even I do not know everything about him, and I will not be able to tell you accurately everything about his exceptional character.” —St. Athanasius
God, make my life a blessing to people today.
[Jesus said,] “[W]henever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret.” —Matthew 6:6a (NRSV)
During a time of intense persecution of Christians, “St. Paul the First Hermit fled to the mountainous regions of the desert … making a virtue of necessity. He came at last to a rocky mountain, at the foot of which was a small cave. Removing the stone that blocked the cave’s entrance, he began to explore more eagerly. Inside, he found a large room, open to the sky and covered by the spreading branches of a palm tree…. Paul fell in love with the dwelling as if God had offered it to him. He spent the rest of his life there in prayer and solitude. The palm tree provided him with food and clothing. In case anyone should think this impossible, I call Jesus and the holy angels to witness that in some parts of the desert I have seen monks, one enclosed for thirty years, living on barley bread and muddy water. Another monk survived in an old well, living on five dried figs a day. These things will appear incredible only to those who do not believe that everything is possible for those who believe.” —St. Jerome
I will find my own “mountain” or “cave” this year, as I recommit myself to a life of prayer.
[Jesus said,] “[W]hoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.”
—Luke 18:17 (NRSV)
“I understood that Our Lord’s love is revealed as well in the simplest soul who doesn’t resist His grace in anything, as in the most sublime of souls. In fact, since the essence of love is to bring oneself low, if every soul were like the souls of the holy Doctors who have shed light on the Church through the clarity of their doctrine, it seems that God wouldn’t come down low enough by coming only as far as their great hearts. But He created the child who doesn’t know anything and only cries weakly.” —St. Thérèse
