Verse of the Day
"When my soul was embittered, when I was pricked in heart, I was stupid and ignorant; I was like a brute beast toward you. Nevertheless I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me with honor. Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire other than you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."
Psalm 73:23-24
The Cross
The Cross is that beneficent water that not only purifies me, but provides the nourishment for the virtues in me. It makes them grow in me. And then it leaves me, when it brings me back to Eternal Life.
T H E B E A U T I F U L H E A R T
One day a young man was standing in the middle of town proclaiming that he had the most beautiful heart in the whole valley. A large crowd gathered and they all admired his heart for it was perfect. There was not a mark or a flaw in it. Yes, they all agreed it truly was the most beautiful heart they had ever seen. The young man was very proud and boasted more loudly about his beautiful heart.
Suddenly, an old man appeared at the front of the crowd and said, "Why your heart is not nearly as beautiful as mine." The crowd and the young man looked at the old man's heart. It was beating strongly, but full of scars, it had places where pieces had been removed and other pieces put in, but they didn't fit quite right and there were several jagged edges. In fact, in some places there were deep gouges where whole pieces were missing.
The people stared - how can he say his heart is more beautiful, they thought?
The young man looked at the old man's heart and saw its state and laughed.
"You must be joking," he said. "Compare your heart with mine, mine is perfect and yours is a mess of scars and tears." "Yes," said the old man, "Yours is perfect looking but I would never trade with you. You see, every scar represents a person to whom I have given my love - I tear out a piece of my heart and give it to them, and often they give me a piece of their heart which fits into the empty place in my heart, but because the pieces aren't exact, I have some rough edges, which I cherish, because they remind me of the love we shared. Sometimes I have given pieces of my heart away, and the other person hasn't returned a piece of his heart to me. These are the empty gouges - giving love is taking a chance. Although these gouges are painful, they stay open, reminding me of the love I have for these people too, and I hope someday they may return and fill the space I have waiting. So now do you see what true beauty is?"
The young man stood silently with tears running down his cheeks. He walked up to the old man, reached into his perfect young and beautiful heart, and ripped a piece out. He offered it to the old man with trembling hands. The old man took his offering, placed it in his heart and then took a piece from his old scarred heart and placed it in the wound in the young man's heart.
It fit, but not perfectly, as there were some jagged edges. The young man looked at his heart, not perfect anymore but more beautiful than ever, since love from the old man's heart flowed into his. They embraced and walked away side by side.
How sad it must be to go through life with a whole heart.
WASH DAY
Monday
Wash Day
Lord, help me wash away all my selfishness and vanity, so I may serve you
with perfect humility through the week ahead.
Tuesday
Ironing Day
Dear Lord, help me iron out all the wrinkles of prejudice I have collected
through the years so that I may see the beauty in others.
Wednesday
Mending Day
O God, help me mend my ways so I will not set a bad example for others.
Thursday
Cleaning Day
Lord Jesus, help me to dust out all the many faults I have been hiding in
the secret corners of my heart.
Friday
Shopping Day
O God, give me the grace to shop wisely so I may purchase eternal happiness
for myself and all others in need of love.
Saturday
Cooking Day
Help me, my Savior, to brew a big kettle of brotherly love and serve it with
clean, sweet bread of human kindness.
Sunday
The Lord's Day
O God, I have prepared my house for you. Please come into my heart so I may
spend the day and the rest of my life in your presence.
-- Author Unknown
The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass
The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass gives boundless honor to the Most Blessed Trinity because it represents the passion of Jesus Christ and because through the Mass we offer God the merits of Our Lord's obedience, of His sufferings and of His Precious Blood. The whole of the heavenly court also receives an accidental joy from the Mass.
Several doctors of the Church—together with St. Thomas Aquinas—tell us that, for the same reason, all the blessed in Heaven rejoice in the communion of the faithful because the Blessed Sacrament is a memorial of the passion and death of Jesus Christ, and that by means of it men share in its fruits and work out their salvation" (St. Louis de Montfort).
March 15 - Jesus Calling
Listen to the love song that I am continually singing to you. I take great delight in you. I rejoice over you with singing. The voices of the world are a cacophony of chaos, pulling you this way and that. Don’t listen to those voices; challenge them with My Word. Learn to take mini breaks from the world, finding a place to be still in My Presence and listen to My voice.
There is immense hidden treasure to be found through listening to Me. Though I pour out blessings upon you always, some of My richest blessings have to be actively sought. I love to reveal Myself to you, and your seeking heart opens you up to receive more of My disclosure. Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
“The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.”
—Zephaniah 3:17
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”
—Matthew 7:7