“EVERY man naturally desires knowledge; but what good is knowledge without fear of God? Indeed a humble rustic who serves God is better than a proud intellectual who neglects his soul to study the course of the stars. He who knows himself well becomes mean in his own eyes and is not happy when praised… Read More Still so much to strive for. Thank God for This Day.
How to pray in moral anguish. Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalene shows the way, “O Truth, light of my soul, do not permit the darkness to frighten me. You have allowed me to walk in it, and now I am in obscurity. But even from the darkness, even from there, I have loved You.… Read More Do not permit the darkness to frighten me.
“Let Us Make Good Use of Time“. By Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen, O.C.D. 1. Time passes and does not return. God has assigned to each of us a definite time in which to fulfill His divine plan for our soul; we have this time and shall have no more. Time ill spent is… Read More Time Passes and Does Not Return
Aridity and Spiritual Progress By Father Gabriel of St Mary Magdalene, O.C.D. Even without the presence of other causes, it is possible to pass from a state of sensible spiritual fervor to one of absolute aridity. This happens by the direct work of God which makes it impossible for the soul to pray with the help of… Read More If God invites the soul by means of aridity…
“Never be entirely idle; but either be reading, or writing, or praying or meditating or endeavoring something for the public good.”— Thomas a Kempis, 15th century
“Everything which comes to pass has been foreseen by God from all eternity, and has been willed or at least permitted by Him“. ”Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” (Prov. 19:21) Fr. Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange “Nothing comes to pass either in the material or in the spiritual… Read More Garrigou-Lagrange: Everything Which Comes to Pass Foreseen…
“LORD JESUS CHRIST, Who revealed the infinite mercy of Thy SACRED HEART in saying, Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you (Matt. 5:44), and again, Bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you (Luke 6:28): Give me, I beseech Thee, grace to obey these commandments of Thine and to… Read More Beginning Again. A Prayer of Forgiveness, Reparation, and Penitential Love.
Cannot all the waters of the seven seas wash this blood clean from my hand? — Lady Macbeth Friends: It used to be that people escaped admitting their own guilt by blaming it on capitalism, communism, lack of soft drink parlors, Grade B milk, and naughty ductless glands. Now a new psychology arises to blame… Read More Morbidity, the Denial of Guilt, and Forgiveness. Archbishop Fulton J Sheen.
Alas, it’s been a tough winter here in New England where I live. A couple of weeks ago, while shoveling some of our winter snow, I slipped on hidden ice and took an impressive fall. I immediately knew my right shoulder was likely broken. For about ten minutes I was alone on my back on… Read More A Last Things Podcast
“Failure is a better teacher than success.” Variants of this old saying have been attributed to a number of different people over the years. It has also been the rallying cry of sports teams, working professionals, academics, entrepreneurs and almost anyone else who has struggled, failed and been determined to come back stronger. People make… Read More 7 Famous Sinners and What We Can Learn From Them
The value of sufferings in Christ By Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen, O.C.D. O Jesus Crucified, teach me the science of the Cross. 1. The Passion of Jesus teaches us in a concrete way that in the Christian life we must be able to accept suffering for the love of God. This is a… Read More Personal knowledge of the Cross
By Fr. Gabriel of St Mary Magalene, 1953 Grant, O Lord, that by Your grace I may persevere unto the end. 1. To become a saint, it is not enough to be courageous and patient and to practice the other virtues for a few days or a few months, or even for a few years.… Read More Perseverance
Divine Intimacy by Father Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen, O.C.D. It Is Worth It’s Weight in Spiritual Gold. It is not ordinary. It does not allow us to evade the Cross, yet it does not leave us discouraged and without abundant spiritual comfort. On every page we are lifted up and shown the way to… Read More An Incomparable Book for Our Time. Divine Intimacy.
St. Bernard declared forcefully, “[You may say] I have committed a great sin. My conscience will be troubled but I will not despair because I remember the wounds of my Lord. For indeed, He was wounded for our iniquities. What sin is there so deadly that it cannot be remitted through the death of Christ?… Read More Never to despair
Galatians 2:20. “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalene, who died… Read More Reparation
Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalene writes, “The Blessed Virgin teaches us to believe in our vocation to sanctity, to divine intimacy. We did believe in it when God revealed it to us in the brightness of interior light, and the words of His minister confirmed it; but we should also believe in it when… Read More Mary’s Faith
Overcoming Dark Emotions. St. Francis de Sales’ wrote, “The persons for whom I write are those only who are determined not to commit any fault deliberately, though many [fall into] them through surprise, inadvertence, and weakness, notwithstanding their resolution. It usually happens that such persons are astonished and troubled at their faults, conceive a false… Read More Discouraged?
On Confession, by Fr.Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalene, OCD. “Penance is the sacrament of Christ’s Precious Blood in which God — according to the eloquent words of St. Catherine of Siena — “has bathed us in order to cleanse the face of our souls from the leprosy of sin.” If mortal sin only is the… Read More On Confession. By Fr.Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalene, OCD.
Patience in Penance. Fourteen Years the Abbot spent on Overcoming One Fault. “Love demands a complete inner transformation – for without this we cannot possibly come to identify ourselves with our brother… And this involves a death of selfishness In the Verba Seniorum [Words of the Elders] we read of Abbot Ammonas, who spent fourteen… Read More Perseverance, Patience, Penance.
By Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalene, O.C.D O my Savior, Word of God, how can I doubt that You are coming upon earth to save and sanctify me? Why do I not go to You with complete, loving confidence, when You have spared nothing to show me Your infinitely merciful love? Your Incarnation, Your… Read More The Greater Interior Silence of Advent
Catholic Critique 