Brothers and Sisters in Christ: Please keep your prayers two upcoming retreats that I will be giving in Canada this coming May. Rachel’s Vineyard in Kelowna, British Columbia and in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan have both scheduled follow-up retreats for their past retreatants in which I will be introducing them to the spirituality of our Confraternity of […]
St. John Chrysostom on Prayer
Prayer and converse with God is a supreme good: it is a partnership and union with God. As the eyes of the body are enlightened when they see light, so our spirit, when it is intent on God, is illumined by his infinite light. I do not mean the prayer of outward observance but prayer […]
Elizabeth Leseur: Her Lenten resolution
In asking God this Lent for a spirit of retreat, I resolved to pray, suffer, and act in union with God’s will, for God’s glory alone. May his will be done in me, for me, in my whole life, and by me in regard to my neighbor and many others. To live spiritually hidden; to […]
St. Faustina: Desire to love God perfectly
I want to love You as no human soul has ever loved You before; and although I am utterly miserable and small, I have, nevertheless, cast the anchor of my trust deep down into the abyss of Your mercy, O my God and Creator! In spite of my great misery I fear nothing, but hope […]
St. Thomas on Humility
“If you seek an example of humility, look on the Crucified. Although He was God, He chose to be judged by Pontius Pilate and to suffer death…. The Master chose to die for His servant; the Life of the Angels suffered death for man.” St. Teresa of Avila famously said that the three most important […]
Random reflections on a recent retreat
About a week ago, I was privileged to work another Rachel’s Vineyard retreat for healing the wounds of abortion. This was my sixth RV retreat, and the fifth in which I served as the team priest. What a privilege it is to witness again the healing power of God’s grace and mercy! Whenever we start […]
Sanctity, the Only Real Power
From Abbot Anscar Vonier, O.S.B. (died 1906): It is a certain truth that if God in his providence exterminated every evil deed at once, killed every evil-doer, the final sum of goodness would be less. We have our Lord’s own words for it; there would be diminution. Goodness itself, sanctity itself, is fostered by the […]
St. Bernard: In the Wounds of Our Savior
Where can the weak find a place of firm security and peace, except in the wounds of the Savior? Indeed, the more secure is my place there the more he can do to help me. The world rages, the flesh is heavy, and the devil lays his snares, but I do not fall, for my […]
His Mercy Endures Forever
It is good to be able to tell the story of Jesus Christ and His Loving Mercy toward me, because He rescued me from total self destruction. This really is the story of His saving Love and Mercy, the power of intercessory prayer, and the Hope there is for everyone in Christ. I am assured […]
Our Lady of Guadalupe
On December 12th, the Church celebrates the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of the Americas. Why would the appearance of the Blessed Virgin Mary to a poor Indian man in Mexico all the way back in 1531 A.D. be so important that she has been declared the patroness of the Americas? When the […]