“There are those who seek knowledge for the sake of knowledge; that is Curiosity.
There are those who seek knowledge to be known by others; that is Vanity.
There are those who seek knowledge in order to serve; that is Love.”
― Bernard of Clairvaux, whose feast day we celebrate today.
Let us walk the narrow bridge;
loving God, loving others and following the Lord’s commandments;
never judging but leading by example and through prayer.
What is the name of this bridge?
Faith.
Where does this bridge lead?
To heaven, where our Lord Jesus Christ,
the angles and saints,
and our family and friends
who have walked this bridge before
joyously await our arrival.
Today is the feast day of Saint Maximillian Mary Kolbe. Maximillian lived a life honoring Mary; and with Mary, he praised and worshiped the Lord.
Priest, publisher and evangelist; Maximillian is most known for his resistance to the Nazi’s and his offering of his life in lieu of a fellow prisoner in Auschwitz. After saving the man’s life, Maximillian and nine others were lead to a cell where they were to die by starvation and dehydration. The guards were amazed that instead of hearing the groans of the dying, they heard songs and prayers from the cell. Eventually the Nazi’s killed Maximillian with an injection of carboxylic acid.
"Never be afraid of loving the Blessed Virgin too much. You can never love her more than Jesus did.” Saint Maximillian Mary Kolbe
As Christians, we are also called “to accept the world as a sacrament of communion, as a way of sharing with God and our neighbors on a global scale. It is our humble conviction that the divine and the human meet in the slightest detail in the seamless garment of God’s creation,” Pope Francis quoting the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, Laudato Si’, par. 9
Today is the feast day of the St. Edith Stein. Edith was born in 1891 to a devout Jewish family but at an early age became an atheist. Edith was an excellent student getting her PhD in Philosophy in 1915. Edith was always grasping for the truth which lead her to the Christian faith. In 1922 after reading the autobiography of St Teresa of Avila, Edith exclaimed, “That is the truth.” Shortly afterward Edith was baptized and joined the Church. She became an educator, a lecturer and a writer. Then in 1933 she joined the order of Carmel making her final vows as a nun in 1938. Edith’s life was cut tragically short as she was killed by the Nazi’s in Auschwitz on August 9, 1942.
May we always follow Edith’s example and grasp for the truth.
“Amen, I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” Mathew 17:20
What is this type of faith?
Is it the trust that the apostles had in the Lord by praising their Lord Jesus Christ even if it meant their death? Billions have since put their faith in the Lord.
Is it the trust that Saint Francis of Assisi had in the Lord by leaving wealth to live a life of poverty, love of nature and love of others? Many hundreds of thousands have since followed his example.
Is it the trust that Saint Teresse of Lisieux had in the Lord by living a simple life and giving to those around her in the smallest of actions each and every day? Today hundreds of thousands follow the example of the “Little Flower”.
Is it the trust that Saint Teresa of Calcutta had in the Lord by serving the poorest of the poor? Today 4,500 sisters have Missions of Charity in over 133 countries.
Faith can move mountains!
Today is the feast day of the Transfiguration of the Lord, may we always listen to Him.
Mark 9: 2, 3, 7 Jesus took Peter, James and John, and lead them up a high mountain apart by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became a dazzling white.... Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them; then from the cloud came a voice, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.”
"The universe unfolds in God, who fills it completely. Hence, there is a mystical meaning to be found in a leaf, in a mountain trail, in a dewdrop, in a poor person’s face." Pope Francis, Laudato Si’, Par. 233
"It should constantly be our care to see God's presence in everything, and not only to raise our minds to him when we are in prayer." St. Ignatius Loyola - who's feast day we commemorate today.
Visit us at www.anaturewalkwithGod.com
"When we fail to acknowledge as part of reality the worth of a poor person, a human embryo, a person with disabilities - to offer just a few examples - it becomes difficult to hear the cry of nature itself; everything is connected." Pope Francis, Laudato Si', Par 117
"The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a person took and sowed in a field. It is the smallest of all the seeds, yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants....and the birds of the sky come to dwell in its branches." Matthew 13: 31-32
Today is the feast day of Saint James, fisherman, apostle, martyr and "Son of Thunder". We get a glimpse of the sense of humor of our Lord by his naming of the passionate Galilean fishermen, St. James and his brother, St. John, the "Sons of Thunder."
For more information on St James I suggest the following quick read http://newtheologicalmovement.blogspot.com/2012/07/why-did-jesus-call-sts-james-and-john.html )
Today is the feast day of Saint Mary Magdalene. This Great Egret reminds me of the jubilation Mary Magdalene must have felt when she came back from the tomb and said to the disciples "I have seen the Lord". John 20:18
May we find the peace that resides in our Lord Jesus Christ, the one that restores our soul.
Psalm 23: 1-3 The LORD is my shepherd; there is nothing I lack. In green pastures he makes me lie down; to still waters he leads me; he restores my soul.
"Since everything is interrelated, concern for the protection of nature is also incompatible with the justification of abortion." Pope Francis, Laudato Si', Paragraph 120
"For indigenous communities, land is not a commodity, but a gift from God, a sacred place." Pope Frances, June 2015
Today is the feast day of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, native American, Christian and Saint. St. Kateri often meditated on the dignity of baptism and was powerfully moved by God's love for all people. Each day St. Kateri Tekakwitha would find a place in the woods where she would sit and pray.
“With the work of my hands I shall always earn what is necessary and what is left over I’ll give to my relatives and to the poor. If I should become sick and unable to work, then I shall be like the Lord on the cross. He will have mercy on me and help me, I am sure.” St. Kateri Tekakwitha, 1656-1680
For more information on St. Kateri Tekakwitha go to http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/SaintofDay/
This weathered tree, seemingly pointing at heaven's gate, reminds me of Father Augustus Tolton.
+ Born a slave
+ Son of Peter Paul Tolton, one of the 180,000 black men that joined the Union Army...
+ Son of Mary Jane Tolton who risked everything to escape slavery with her three children
+ Man of faith who found peace in the Church despite prejudice from people both outside and within the Church
+ Ordained a priest at St. John Lateran Basilica in Rome
+ Father Tolton then served as the first black priest in the United States.
Father Theodore Warning spoke the following of Father Tolton and his mother.
"They lived in a poorly furnished but very clean house. The meals were simple affairs. Father Tolton, his mother and I sat at a table having an oil cloth cover. A kerosene lamp stood in the middle. On the wall directly behind Father Tolton's place hung a large black rosary. As soon as the evening meal was over, Father Tolton would rise and take the beads from the nail. He kissed the large crucifix reverently. We all knelt on the bare floor while the Negro priest, in a low voice, led the prayers with deliberate slowness and with unmistakable fervor."
Father Augustus Tolton died on July 9, 1897 at the age of 43. To learn more about Father Augustus Tolton please visit "Father Augustus Tolton - Cause for Cannonization" at http://www.toltoncanonization.org/default.htm
"Spiritual life demands that you never turn back or stop going forward; but rather that, as soon as you taste it, you make progress day by day and, forgetting what lies behind, strain forward to what lies ahead." -- Saint Anthony Mary Zaccaria
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." from the Declaration of Independence of The United States of America
"Our openness to others, each of whom is a "thou" capable of knowing, loving and entering into dialogue, remains the source of our nobility as human persons." Pope Francis, Laudato Si, Paragraph 119
