Got crazy? I do.

The call to holiness is accepted and can be cultivated only in the silence of adoration before the infinite transcendence of God: “We must confess that we all have need of this silence, filled with the presence of him who is adored: in theology, so as to exploit fully its own sapiential and spiritual soul; in prayer, so that we may never forget that seeing God means coming down the mountain with a face so radiant that we are obliged to cover it with a veil (cf. Ex 34:33); in commitment, so that we will refuse to be locked in a struggle without love and forgiveness. All, believers and non-believers alike, need to learn a silence that allows the Other to speak when and how he wishes, and allows us to understand his words”.

Message of July 25, 2011 

“Dear children! May this time be for you a time of prayer and silence. Rest your body and spirit, may they be in God’s love. Permit me, little children, to lead you, open your hearts to the Holy Spirit so that all the good that is in you may blossom and bear fruit one hundred fold. Begin and end the day with prayer with the heart. Thank you for having responded to my call.”

to LET.GO.OF.MY.OWN.DESIRES.

it’s hard. but worth it.

to any and all non-Christians, people who were looking into Christianity but are not anymore, and people who were Christians and have since left the faith because of poor examples of what it means to be a Christian.

I am sorry if you ever felt like you were belittled or had your head talked off during a discussion (or argument, rather) in which you did not have any background or previous knowledge of. That’s not fair. I have been on the receiving end of of those conversations many a time, and it does not feel good.

You can’t tell someone that they aren’t good enough - because the truth of the matter is, none of us are. But through Jesus’ death and resurrection, we ARE good enough. All of us. Just because someone won’t recognize the saving truth of Jesus or doesn’t agree with you doesn’t give you license to treat them poorly.

Souls will be saved through LOVE, not through arrogance and pride.

to keep the noise of the world drowned out, and to constantly interiorly cling to the tranquil love of Jesus.

“Why should anyone be shattered by the thought of hell? It is not compulsory for anyone to go there. Those who do, do so by their own choice, and against the will of God, and they can only get into hell by defying and resisting all the work of Providence and grace. It is their own will that takes them there, not God’s… Our weakness should not terrify us: it is the source of our strength.”

- Thomas Merton

“Who knows how many souls are depending on your perseverance in this monastery? Perhaps God has ordained that there are many in the world who will only be saved through your fidelity to your vocation. You must remember them if you are ever tempted to leave. And you probably will be tempted to leave. Remember all those souls in the world. You know some of them. Others you may never know until you meet them in heaven. But in any case, you did not come here alone…”

This is an excerpt from Thomas Merton’s autobiography. Not only is this true for him, but it applies to all Christians, everywhere and in every vocation. God has ordained a plan for you. He has given you specific talents and abilities, he has placed certain people in your life, and causes certain people to cross paths with you for a reason. It truly is a matter of [spiritual] life and death that you remain faithful to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Even when you feel weak, when you feel that it won’t make a difference either way, or whether you are comfortable or not. 

It is a burden that should be born of love.

Do it for God. Do it for souls.

so in love with Jesus Christ and the gift of the Catholic Church. Its not even funny. Undeserving, but very thankful. 

“[Christ’s suffering] lives and develops as the body of Christ, the Church, and in this dimension every human suffering, by reason of the loving union with Christ, completes the suffering of Christ. It completes that suffering just as the Church completes the redemptive work of Christ. The mystery of the Church - that body which completes in itself also Christ’s crucified and risen body - indicates at the same time the space or context in which human sufferings complete the sufferings of Christ.” - Blessed Pope John Paul II, Salvifici Doloris

ummm… i’m re-reading this encyclical and it’s blowing my mind. again.

To suffer means to become particularly susceptible, particularly open to the working of the salvific powers of God, offered to humanity in Christ. In him God has confirmed his desire to act especially through suffering, which is man’s weakness and emptying of self, and he wishes to make his power known precisely in this weakness and emptying of self.