Stranded on the Mainland: Inner Pilgrimage and Living Alone as a Spiritual Path:

"Until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into the one who is the head, into the Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love" (Ephesians 4:13-16) . When I was a kid my parents would measure how much my brother and I had grown by making pencil marks on the inside of the front door at our cottage.  Many parents have done, and I hope will continue to do this little ritual of growth for their kids. Last week I arrived a bit early for a visit at the Sist...

"A light shone in the darkness and the darkness did not overcome it" (John 1:5).  Recently, I picked the passage below randomly from Saint Faustina's diary.  It fit perfectly with my situation of needing to decide which was the better of two possible options?  I love when that happens!  Here is the passage: "If one does not know what is better, one must reflect, consider and seek advice, because one must not act with an uncertain conscience.  When uncertain, say to yourself:  What ever I do will be good.  I have the intention of doing good.  The Lord God accepts what we consider good, and the Lord God also accepts and considers it as good.  One should not worry if, after some time, one sees that these things are not good.  God looks at the intention with which we begin, and will reward us accordingly"  (The Diary of Saint Maria Faustiina Kowalska, p317, 800). Actually, twice in the past week I have opened Faustina's diary to the e...

"Obscurity and sincerity seem to go together in the spiritual life. The "masked contemplative" is one whose contemplation is hidden from no one so much as themself." (Th omas Merton, The Inner Experience, p64).   royal-present.com   I'm thinking of St.Therese of Lisieux's roses! Amen.    

"Gods mercy is a sweet melody that brings harmony to our lives."  --St. Faustina On New Years Eve, I posted a blog with a YouTube link starring one of my favourite singer song-writers, Jimmy Buffett, singing Old Lang Syne .  If you watch, you may notice like I did how the stage lights look like the rays of light in St. Faustina's painting of Divine Mercy . Cb  Amen   pixabay.com https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=84vC8dbvnes

"May the splendour of your majesty, O Lord, we pray, shed its light upon our hearts, that we may pass through the shadows of this world and reach the brightness of our eternal home." (Quote taken from the Collect for the Epiphany of the Lord, New... Saint Joseph Sunday Missal Prayerbook and Hymnal for 2022). Today is the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord. It is also the Feast of St. Basil, one of the patron saints of my parish, St. Basil's at the University of Toronto. In my Christmas Eve post, I promised I would post talks by fathers Richard Rohr and Thomas Keating on maturing Christianity.  Here it is:  https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=LWWW3JHAs9c There is also an amazing talk by Thomas Keating on Love under the picture and PS. Happy Joyful Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord! Amen unsplash  PS Fr. Thomas Keating on Love    https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=KVp95vidC2w