Archive for December, 2009

“When I was young, of course I rightly wanted to do great things for God. As my vocation was to be a contemplative nun, I suppose I meant I wanted to be able to pray like St. Clare. Well, without that desire I should have got nowhere. I most certainly wanted to help others by my prayer–and I took it for granted that I should know I was doing so.

Now I am old, I know that it is his action, not mine. I can only pray the prayer God gives me to pray–and if he does not give me any prayers, that does not really matter–he can use even that. I now view ‘waste of time’ differently. It is not the intrinsic value of how I am occupied that is important. It is the attitude with which I am living. Brooding on what happened yesterday or worrying about how I am going to be able to cope tomorrow, these are wasted time. It is today I am at peace to love and serve the Lord.”

Elsie Felicity in The Monastic Way, ed. by Hannah Ward and Jennifer Wild (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 2006) 194.

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. Colossians 3:1-2

You should realize that you are walking on the edge of a sharp sword, that you are standing on the edge of a precipice with a ravine on either side. Do not let your thoughts be upset by things here on earth, but keep your mind’s gaze on “Jerusalem which is above” (Galatians 4:26). Think of what is above, and not of what is on earth. Ensure that you let go of everything which belongs to this world.

Babai the Great (d. 628) Letter to Cyriacus 55 in the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture vol. IX, ed. by Peter Gorday (Downers Grove: IVP, 2000) 46.

Let nothing disturb thee,
Let nothing dismay thee;
All things pass:
God never changes.
Patience attains
all that it strives for.
He who has God,
Finds he lacks nothing:
God alone suffices.

Week 41 in A Celtic Prayer for Every Week.
(Iona, Scotland).

“You owe it to yourself.

This is the proverb of the one who clutches the good things–money, time, pleasures–tightly to oneself, surrendering nothing. The reward system is built in and functions smoothly. The consumer mentality, on this principle, plays into the hand of the myriad industries eager to cater to every desire and turn a profit. The ego is at the center of the world, firmly ensconced, like a spider jealously guarding its web and drawing everything in.

What this mentality reveals is greed, that most profound and insatiable desire of the human heart. But hidden deep within the damning dictum is the echo of Augustine’s cry: ‘Our hearts are made for you, O Lord, and they are restless until they rest in you.’ Nothing so reveals the true destiny of the human spirit as this insatiable quest for more and more. This most powerful of all human instincts leads, if we will but lift our eyes, toward Infinite Love which we do, indeed, ‘owe’ to ourselves.”

Hilary Ottensmeyer in The Monastic Way: Ancient Wisdom for Contemporary Living: A Book of Readings, ed. Hannah Ward and Jennifer Wild (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 2006) 191.

A slave by birth and a hairdresser by trade, St. Pierre Toussaint (1776-1863) came to New York from his native Haiti just after the Revolutionary War. He was a man of remarkable humility, grace and generosity; it was said of him that no finer gentlemen ever walked the face of the earth.

Saint Pierre’s Deathbed Prayer: “God is with me, I want nothing on the earth.”

Woodeene Koenig-Bricker in Prayers of the Saints (New York, HarperCollins, 1996) 55.

In the morning, when I rise
In the morning, when I rise
In the morning, when I rise, give me Jesus

Give me Jesus,
Give me Jesus,
You can have all this world,
But give me Jesus

When I am alone
When I am alone
When I am alone, give me Jesus

Give me Jesus,
Give me Jesus,
You can have all this world,
But give me Jesus

When I come to die
When I come to die
When I come to die, give me Jesus

Give me Jesus,
Give me Jesus,
You can have all this world,
You can have all this world,
You can have all this world,
But give me Jesus

Song Name: Give Me Jesus
Artist Name: Fernando Ortega
Album: Hymns of Worship
Songwriter: Fernando Ortega
Release Date: February 2, 2003
Label: Word Entertainment

Saint Vincent Pallotti, the son of a Roman grocer, devoted his entire life to helping ordinary people grow in holiness. To that end, he organized schools for shoemakers, joiners, gardeners, tailors, coachmen, and young workers, saying, “Holiness is simply to do God’s will, always and everywhere.”

“Not the intellect, but God;
not the will, but God;
not the soul, but God;
not taste, but God;
not touch, but God;
not the heart, but God;
not the body, but God;
not food or drink, but God;
not clothing, but God;
not repose in bed, but God;
not riches, but God;
not distinctions, but God…
God in all and always.”

Saint Vincent Pallotti (1795-1850)

Woodeene Koenig-Bricker in Prayers of the Saints (New York: HarperCollins, 1996) 38-39.

“Lord, it is not always easy for us to give you thanks. Teach us, we pray. Teach us to thank you when we would rather grumble. Teach us to see all that we have as gifts from you. Forgive our ungratefulness. May our first and last thoughts be mixed with thanks.” G.K. Chesterton (1874-1936)

G.K. Chesterton in Advent and Christmas Wisdom from G.K. Chesterton, The Center for the Study of C.S. Lewis and Friends (Ligouri, MO: Ligouri, 2007) 47.