7 Catholic Things that Caught My Eye Today

Last updated on: July 27, 2015 at 6:22 pm by Kathryn Jean Lopez

7 Catholic Things that Caught My Eye Today 2015-07-27T18:22:21-05:00 Kathryn Jean Lopez

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1. They call the Liturgy of the Hours the prayer of the Church. I sometimes wish we could all spend morning and evening moments truly together in prayer — Christians wherever we found ourselves. With the kind of reflections it provides — Saint Caesarius of Arles today is a prime example — day after day, we would have to be changed. We would have to be living differently — living as St. Paul instructed just yesterday, talking every bit as much to us as to the Ephesians:

Brothers and sisters:
I, a prisoner for the Lord,
urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received,
with all humility and gentleness, with patience,
bearing with one another through love,
striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace:
one body and one Spirit,
as you were also called to the one hope of your call;
one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
one God and Father of all,
who is over all and through all and in all.

Here’s Saint Caesarius of Arles:

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. My brothers and sisters, sweet is the thought of mercy, but even more so is mercy itself. It is what all men hope for, but unfortunately, not what all men deserve. For while all men wish to receive it, only a few are willing to give it.

How can a man ask for himself what he refuses to give to another? If he expects to receive any mercy in heaven, he should give mercy on earth. Do we all desire to receive mercy? Let us make mercy our patroness now, and she will free us in the world to come. Yes, there is mercy in heaven, but the road to it is paved by our merciful acts on earth. As Scripture says: Lord, your mercy is in heaven.

There is, therefore, an earthly as well as heavenly mercy, that is to say, a human and a divine mercy. Human mercy has compassion on the miseries of the poor. Divine mercy grants forgiveness of sins. Whatever human mercy bestows her on earth, divine mercy will return to us in our homeland. In this life God feels cold and hunger in all who are stricken with poverty; for, remember, he once said: What you have done to the least of my brothers you have done to me. Yes, God who sees fit to give his mercy in heaven wishes it to be a reality here on earth.

What kind of people are we? When God gives, we wish to receive, but when he begs, we refuse to give. Remember, it was Christ who said: I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat. When the poor are starving, Christ too hungers. Do not neglect to improve the unhappy conditions of the poor, if you wish to ensure that your own sins be forgiven you. Christ hungers now, my brethren; it is he who deigns to hunger and thirst in the persons of the poor. And what he will return in heaven tomorrow is what he receives here on earth today.

What do you wish for, what do you pray for, my dear brothers and sisters, when you come to church? Is it mercy? How can it be anything else? Show mercy, then, while you are on earth, and mercy will be shown to you in heaven. A poor person asks you for something; you ask God for something. He begs for a morsel of food; you beg for eternal life. Give to the beggar so that you may merit to receive from Christ. For he it is who says: *Give and it will be given to you.*It baffles me that you have the impudence to ask for what you do not want to give. Give when you come to church. Give to the poor. Give them whatever your resources will allow.

2. Today’s Mass readings. Give thanks to the Lord for He is good.

3. Have we forgotten how to look?

4. Via Diana von Glahn:

Do not grieve over the temptations you suffer. When the Lord intends to bestow a particular virtue on us, He often permits us first to be tempted by the opposite vice. Therefore, look upon every temptation as an invitation to grow in a particular virtue and a promise by God that you will be successful, if only you stand fast.
– St. Philip Neri

5. If you do not subscribe to Magnificat, you are missing the likes of this:

"He who wants to win the world for Christ must have the courage to come in conflict with it." (Blessed Titus Brandsma)

— Fr James Bradley (@FrJamesBradley) July 27, 2015

Humility is above all a recognition of the glory of God // Dietrich von Hildebrand, Transformation in Christ

— Sr. Theresa Aletheia (@pursuedbytruth) July 27, 2015

A little more visual:

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Don’t Let Friday Pass You By without Praying! 10 Catholic Things that Caught My Eye Today.

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