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Category Archives: Fortitude (Courage)
What use is spiritual pain?
There’s a t-shirt that you see on athletes, particularly runners, that says on the back: Pain is just weakness leaving the body. What if that was essentially true of spiritual pain? Spiritual pain is just our bondage to selfishness leaving … Continue reading
Posted in Beatitudes, Fortitude (Courage), Gifts of the Holy Spirit, Mourning, Purification, Suffering, Wisdom
Tagged Freedom
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It will be amazingly beautiful
In this moment of pain the Lord said to me, “The wonderful end to your story is visible and present to me. I see the whole thing and it’s beautiful. You are not yet in a position to see it. … Continue reading
Posted in Beatitudes, Faith, Fifth Sorrowful Mystery, First Glorious Mystery, Fortitude (Courage), Gifts of the Holy Spirit, Glorious Mysteries, Hope, Poor in Spirit, Power of God, Prayer, Purification, Rosary, Sorrowful Mysteries, Suffering, Theological Virtues
Tagged Freedom, Humility, Trust
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Merton on facing despair
The desert is the home of despair. And despair, now, is everywhere. Let us not think that our interior solitude consists in the acceptance of defeat. We cannot escape anything by consenting tacitly to be defeated. Despair is an abyss … Continue reading
A way in which we are all like Jesus without even trying
St. Paul writes that Christ Jesus was a man like us in all things but sin. Obviously, our point of greatest dissimilarity to Christ is our sinfulness. Conversely, because we all live in a fallen world, we all suffer the … Continue reading
Posted in Beatitudes, Fifth Sorrowful Mystery, Fortitude (Courage), Gifts of the Holy Spirit, Hope, Hunger & Thirst for Righteousness, Peacemakers, Persecuted for the sake of Righteousness, Poor in Spirit, Power of God, Rosary, Show Mercy, Spirit of the World, Suffering, The Meek, Theological Virtues
Tagged Mercy, Trust
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Completing the circle of mercy
There are two obvious lessons of mercy we need to learn: to seek forgiveness from God and to extend forgiveness to our brother. They are linked in the Lord’s Prayer, such that the first will not happen without the second. … Continue reading
Posted in Beatitudes, Counsel, Eucharist, Faith, Fear of the Lord (Reverence), Fortitude (Courage), Gifts of the Holy Spirit, Grace, Hope, Hunger & Thirst for Righteousness, Love, Peacemakers, Persecuted for the sake of Righteousness, Poor in Spirit, Sacraments, Show Mercy, Theological Virtues
Tagged Forgiveness, Mercy, Peace
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Pay attention to God’s absolute majesty–you need it
If only we knew how to listen, we would hear God telling us: “I am so powerful that even evil obeys me. I can get the evil in your life–even your evil–to work for good. But not without your cooperation. … Continue reading
Christ’s suffering is a lasting gift to humanity
The suffering of Christ on the cross is both a “once and for all” event and a reality that transcends space and time. If one who has faith in Christ enters into suffering, facing it squarely, straight on, he experiences … Continue reading
Posted in Beatitudes, Fifth Sorrowful Mystery, Fortitude (Courage), Gifts of the Holy Spirit, Grace, Mourning, Persecuted for the sake of Righteousness, Poor in Spirit, Power of God, Rosary, Show Mercy, Sorrowful Mysteries, Suffering, The Meek, Understanding
Tagged Humility, Mercy, Prayer
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Edith Stein: Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross
“The surrender of the soul to God is the highest achievement of its freedom.” “Only the person who renounces self-importance, who no longer struggles to defend or assert himself, can be large enough for God’s boundless action.” “I felt that … Continue reading
Posted in Beatitudes, Counsel, Faith, Fear of the Lord (Reverence), First Joyful Mystery, First Sorrowful Mystery, Fortitude (Courage), Gifts of the Holy Spirit, Grace, Joyful Mysteries, Poor in Spirit, Power of God, Rosary, Sorrowful Mysteries, Suffering, Theological Virtues
Tagged Freedom, Humility, Simplicity, Trust
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White martyrdom: bearing with others
We are all recipients of an infinite mercy we didn’t deserve and can’t pay back. We can only pay it forward by extending a fraction of the mercy we have received to a fellow undeserving human being. Constantly. And thus … Continue reading
Posted in Beatitudes, Counsel, Fear of the Lord (Reverence), Fortitude (Courage), Gifts of the Holy Spirit, Grace, Hunger & Thirst for Righteousness, Love, Mourning, Peacemakers, Persecuted for the sake of Righteousness, Piety (Fidelity), Poor in Spirit, Pure of Heart, Show Mercy, Suffering, The Meek, Theological Virtues
Tagged Forgiveness, Generosity of spirit, Humility, Mercy
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Feel honored, even if it seems odd
If God sends you trials and burdens in which you have no choice but to bear them patiently with love or else break faith with God, be flattered. God thinks highly of you. He has privileged you with the opportunity … Continue reading
The Still Point 