Today’s Reflection

Humility is perpetual quietness of heart. It is to have no trouble. It is never to be fretted, or vexed, or irritated, or disappointed. It is to expect nothing, to wonder at nothing that is done to me, to feel nothing done against me. It is to be at rest when nobody praises me. And…

Look at the trees of the forest. See how sturdy andbeautiful they are, how tall they grow, and how smooth is their bark. Yet when we plant a garden, we prefer other kinds of trees, such as pomegranate and olive trees. This is because we want trees that bear fruit. We are the trees which…

If Christ be not risen, our faith is in vain. (I Corinthians 15:14) But he is risen. The tomb is empty. . .It is the emptiness that matters. He is not here. He has risen. All the chambers of my heart, of my being, need to be emptied, even of beautiful images, of holy images,…

The best preparation I can make for death is to live the reality of the paschal mystery as fully and as deeply as possible in union with Christ, because Christ will re-live that mystery in me at the hour of my death. If I am following the spirituality of the Paschal mystery, I expect to…

In heaven, everything will be spring as far as beauty is concerned, autumn as far as enjoyment is concerned, summer as far as love is concerned. There will be no winter; but here winter is necessary to exercise self-denial and a thousand other little but beautiful virtues which are exercised at times of sterility. –…

What does poverty of spirit mean? It is my awareness that I cannot save myself, that I am basically defenseless, that neither money nor power will spare me from suffering and death. . .Poverty of spirit is my awareness that I need God’s help and mercy more than I need anything else. Poverty of spirit…

Let us always keep before our eyes the fact that here on earth we are on a battlefield, and that in Paradise we shall receive the crown of victory; that this is a testing-ground, and the prize will be awarded up above; that we are now in a land of exile, while our true homeland…

Loving Jesus means preferring him to everything else, longing to know him more and more, trying to be one with him all our lives in thought and action, loving our brothers in complete selflessness, and finally, and this is perhaps the surest sign, loving the cross and seeing the value of the suffering, self-sacrifice, and…

God has called you into existence. He wanted to, he meant you to exist. He shaped a life for you, an environment, an education, circumstances, natural gifts, an eternal destiny. You were the subject of his loving forethought, no less deliberately than if you had been the only thing he had created. If God created…

Let us every day do our best to advance in God, and to be sparing with the transitory possessions we are going to leave behind us in this world. Let us pay attention to Abraham’s faith, because he was also our father. Let us imitate his devotion and faith. We are Christians, and strangers on…