Forgotten Truths To Set Faith Afire!

(Photo©Michael Seagriff) [We need to examine our conscience daily]. That the general examination of conscience produces its full effect, namely self-knowledge and self-reform, it should consist of five parts, namely: thank God for His benefits; ask grace to know and root out our sins; demand an account of our souls concerning thoughts, words, actions and omissions, from the time of our last examination to the present; implore God's pardon for our trespasses; and make a firm purpose of amendment.   In the general examination the different thoughts and actions since our last general examination are reviewed.   How we have acquitted ourselves in: our duties to God (prayers and exercises of piety); our duties toward our neighbor (kindness, charity, obedience and truth); our duties toward ourselves (patience, humility, temperance, purity, duties of our state [in life]). This general examination is ended by asking pardon of God and promising Him that we shall do better in the...

A blast from the past:    (Source: Wikimedia Commons ) As a Lay Dominican, I promised to engage in a consistent and serious study of my Faith, to ponder and chew on those Truths and to share the fruits of my contemplation with others - all for the glory of God and for the salvation of souls. In a very limited and inadequate way, I have tried to use my writing and this blog to achieve those goals. The Blessed Dominican whom we commemorate today,  Blessed John of Fiesole (more popularly referred to as Fra Angelico) shared the fruits of his contemplation, not so much through words, but through the magnificent works of art that flowed from his reflection and through the paint brushes God so skillfully guided. One would be hard pressed to gaze upon these treasures without obtaining a greater understanding and appreciation for the great Truths of our Faith. Oh, how satisfying  his work is to souls hungry to be nourished!

  Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament should be the center of every parish and the epicenter of every religious community.   Indeed, the Eucharist is to be the center of the universal Church and of all humanity.   Why? [Pope] Paul VI says, “Because beneath the veil of the Eucharistic elements is contained the Invisible Head of the Church, the Redeemer of the world, the center of all hearts, through whom all things are and through whom we exist.” [ Mysterium Fidei , note 68].   Never before have we had such need of invigorating our faith in the Real Presence and putting that faith into practice.   Only Christ on earth can overcome the powers of evil that God in His mysterious providence has allowed to penetrate our day.  Father John A. Hardon, S.J.