John Paul II’s words to the world, “Do not be afraid,” echo the words of Jesus. These words reveal something of the Pope’s awareness of the precariousness of life and the need for a compass, which is the Lord . . .Our lives are small. It was Moses to whom God spoke, from a small wind. The wind has been silent a long time . . . The winds may seem overwhelming and beyond our control to calm them. But it is then and perhaps only then, that the wind will speak again, calming all about us, and urging us to move on and not be afraid. We will need to be still and listen – listen with the heart. The heart – a small thing. It does not occupy much space but holds something of the eternal. It guides us through what is necessarily vast and of mystery. Like a compass, it contains all directions and yet points to the One that is necessary.
– Father James Behrens, O.C.S.O.

Pray, Hope and Don’t Worry: True Stories of Padre Pio Book I is now an audiobook that is available on Audible. Click on the link below for more information:
Pray, Hope, and Don;t Worry: True Stories of Padre Pio Book 1

God is always wanting to come closer to us, and in his eyes the whole of our span of mortal life is meant to make us accustomed to his nearness. God loves us and love is always humble and respectful; it will not force itself upon the beloved. . .All that has gone before is an attempt to show how, in our ordinary daily lives we should respond to God, surrendering to his loving concern for us and his loving will to give himself. It is not a part-time thing, it covers and must cover the whole span of our lives. It is the beginning on earth of our life in heaven. It is prayer: God incessantly giving himself, man opening himself to this gift.

– Sister Ruth Burrows, O.C.D.

What we are trying to do is to realize that, while we are on earth, faith places us in the heat of battle. We are in a permanent struggle, a constant choice between Jesus Christ and that which in the world, remains hostile to God. This struggle is to accomplish within ourselves the Church’s own vocation. On the earth, the Church is made for fighting. By her vocation, she wages war against evil. By her mission, she stands on the front lines against evil. By her office, she delivers from evil . . . The place that Christian hope assigns to the Church, to us, is that narrow ridge, that borderline, at which our vocation requires that we choose, every day and every hour, to be faithful to God’s faithfulness to us.

– Madeleine Delbrel

It is in time that I am able to do good to my neighbor, that I am able to love and help him. . . It is only along the path of my passing days that I am able to meet the suffering soul and to give a word of comfort and hope. Time is valuable, because it offers me the possibility to do good. Certainly upright Christian sentiment, knowledge, love and praise of God will continue in eternity, but they will be proportional to our knowledge, love and praise in time. . .Time is valuable because it offers me the possibility to prepare myself for eternity.

– Father Gerardo di Flumeri

Little by little we are able to hear the still, small voice in the hurricane, the earthquake, or the fire. God is hidden in difficulties. If we can find him there, we will never lose him. Without difficulties, we do not know the power of God’s mercy and the incredible destiny he has for each of us. We must be patient with our failures. There’s always another opportunity unless we go ashore and stay there. A no-risk situation is the biggest danger there is. To encounter the winds and the waves is not a sign of defeat. It is a training in the art of living, which is the art of yielding to God’s action and believing in his love no matter what happens.

-Father Thomas Keating, O.C.S.O.

I ask thee, O God, not for the goods of this world, for pleasures, for honors. Give me, by the merits of thy Passion, O my Jesus, a constant sorrow for my sins. Enlighten me and make me know the vanity of worldly goods and how much you deserve to be loved. Separate me from all attachment to the world and bind me entirely to thy love, so that from now on my will may neither seek nor desire anything but what you will. Give me patience and resignation in infirmities, in poverty, and in all those things which are contrary to my self-love. Make me gentle toward those who despise me. Give me a holy death. Give me your holy love. And above all, I pray to you to give me perseverance in your grace until death. Never permit me to separate myself from you again. And I also ask of you the grace always to have recourse to you and to invoke your aid in all my temptations. Amen

– St. Alphonsus Liguori

Precisely because our secular milieu offers us so few spiritual disciplines, we have to develop our own. We have, indeed, to fashion our own desert where we can withdraw every day, shake off our compulsions, and dwell in the gentle healing presence of our Lord. Without such a desert we will lose our own soul while preaching the gospel to others, but with such a spiritual abode, we will become increasingly conformed to him in whose name we minister . . . Solitude is its own end. It is the place where Christ remodels us in his own image and frees us from the victimizing compulsions of the world. Solitude is the place of our salvation.

– Henri Nouwen

Trials are not only good for us, but necessary for our spiritual growth, especially if endured with the right disposition. During hard times, God helps us see that control is really an illusion. We’re not in charge. Our lives don’t even belong to us. We would cease to exist if the Holy Spirit stopped actively sustaining our existence, even for one second . . . God is more responsible for our lives than we are. Our job is to listen, humble ourselves, work hard and not get in his way.

– Anonymous

Prayer is a gift. It is a gift because Christian prayer is based on our knowing the Lord Jesus Christ and on our having the power of the Holy Spirit that will stir and anoint us, and move through us in prayer. Prayer is based on our being part of the Body of Christ and standing with Jesus in prayer . . . We should desire prayer. We should thirst for it, seek after it, make decisions for it and repent when we don’t live up to those decisions. The gift of prayer is given to us so we can be in union with God. Prayer can transform our mind and inspire us so that in no situation, do we give way to discouragement or depression. Prayer is meant to be the assurance that we cannot be overcome. In all circumstances we can say, ‘I belong to God. I’m royalty. I have the first pledge of my inheritance. Regardless of what happens to me, I am in the company of the saints and the apostles and I am destined to live forever.’ Because of our prayer life, we are victorious.

– Father Michael Scanlan, T.O.R.

For most people, daily life in the secular world is the place where transformation in Christ is worked out. Like the Pharisee, one can be in religious life and not be transformed. So, what is it that makes the difference between the daily transformed life and the religious untransformed life? It’s the hidden action of the Kingdom of God that works not so much through external circumstances as through a radical change in our attitudes. This is what transformation is. It is not going on pilgrimage or entering a special state of life. It is how we live where we are and what we do with those circumstance.

– Father Thomas Keating, O.C.S.O.