Adapted from Sr. Marie Gabrielle’s talk, “A Thousand Times Happy” St. Joan of Arc signed the paper. It is a scary thought. After bravely running away from home to follow God’s will, persuading the king by miraculous means to hand … Continue reading
Category: Spiritual Life
The Fear of the Future and the Wound of Anxiety
Adapted from Sr. Marie Gabrielle’s talk, “A Thousand Times Happy” Many people seem to think that the future itself is a monster worth fearing. I find this interesting because the future cannot hurt us, having no real existence outside our own … Continue reading
Only the Best
Don’t take the biggest cookie; just take the one that is closest to you on the plate. — Mom NOTWITHSTANDING this seemingly sage advice from my mother, it is my considered opinion that the cookie one ought to reach for … Continue reading
The Fear of Having to Change
Adapted from Sr. Marie Gabrielle’s talk, “A Thousand Times Happy” The most famous missionary of all time after St. Paul, St. Francis Xavier, arrived in Japan as you would expect him to: poor, humble, meek, unassuming. And they ignored him. … Continue reading
This Jubilee Year, Heap Coals of Fire Upon Your Enemies’ Heads
Anno Domini 2025 is a Jubilee Year, proclaimed to be so by His Holiness, Pope Francis in his May 9, 2024 Bull of Intinction, Spes Non Confudit. It began on Christmas Eve, 2024, and will conclude on the Feast of … Continue reading
Self-Sufficiency as the Death of Love: A Meditation on Why God Allowed the Fall
Quotes Worth Contemplating for the Feast of Sts. Adam and Eve (Christmas Eve) According to Dom Mary Eugene Boylan, self-sufficiency is the death of love: [T]he waywardness of weakness and the faults of frailty can be forgiven by love precisely … Continue reading
The Fear of Difficulties
Adapted from Sr. Marie Gabrielle’s talk, “A Thousand Times Happy” Fear sabotages happiness as few other things can. Happiness is a contentment that we experience in the contemplation of the good, the true, the beautiful. That is Aristotle’s definition that … Continue reading
The Sweet Fruits of Failure
Quotes Worth Contemplating for the Feast of St. Rose Philippine Duschesne No one in his right mind sets out to grow mealy apples. If you plant an apple tree and take the time to fertilize it, prune it, keep the … Continue reading
By No Means Incompatible
Excerpted from Sr. Marie Gabrielle’s talk, “A Thousand Times Happy” The expression “a thousand times happy” might not be immediately familiar to you out of context, so allow me to put it in context: “Happy, a thousand times happy, is … Continue reading
By It He Reigns
Quotes Worth Contemplating for Christ the King We know that Christ is the King of Love, and that His Reign is a Reign of Love. We know that love, like fire, must be fed continuously else it will mellow, cool, … Continue reading
To Obtain These Graces During the Year
Quotes Worth Contemplating for October, the Month of the Holy Rosary (Taken from The Whole Truth About Fatima by Frere Michel de la Sainte Trinite, Vol. I, pp. 296-301) We recall that on May 13, Lucy asked the apparition: “And … Continue reading
Padre Pio: Patron Saint of Spiritual Adoption
To adopt someone spiritually means to commit yourself before God to loving and praying for him in a special way. There are no hard and fast rules for this form of private devotion; it is certainly not a required element … Continue reading
Prayer of Consecration to the Admirable Child Mary
Quotes Worth Contemplating for September 8 Prayer of Consecration to the Admirable Child Mary by St. John Eudes It would be well to renew this Consecration every year on the day on which it was made, and on the eighth … Continue reading
Don’t Just Say It: Savor It
Our Lady is such a good Mother. She knows we want to become saints. She knows that if we are not proactively doing something towards that end, we feel as though nothing is being done. So She gives us something … Continue reading
The Joy of Unanswered Prayers
Quotes Worth Contemplating for August 28 St. Joachim and St. Ann before the conception of Our Lady; France before the Advent of St. Joan of Arc; the prophets of the Israelite nation before the coming of the Messias. They waited. … Continue reading
