Franciscan Quote of the Day

If we exalt money, status, or sex above the Word of God, we are living in idolatry. Every time we inwardly submit to the strongholds of fear, bitterness, and pride, we are bowing to the rulers of darkness. Each of these idols must be smashed, splintered, and obliterated from the landscape of our hearts.

~ Francis Frangipane via Flowing Faith

The first question which the priest and the Levite asked was: “If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?” But… the good Samaritan reversed the question: “If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?”

~Martin Luther King, Jr.  (hat tip to Elaine Althouse Potts)

Loving Father,

Help us remember the birth of Jesus,

that we may share in the songs of the angels,

the gladness of the shepherds,

and worship of the wise men.

Close the door of hate

and open the door of love all over the world.

Let kindness come with every gift

and good desires with every greeting.

Deliver us from evil by the blessing

which Christ brings,

and teach us to be merry with clear hearts.

May the Christmas morning

make us happy to be thy children,

and Christmas evening bring us to our beds

with grateful thoughts,

forgiving and forgiven,

for Jesus’ sake.

Amen.

Let us not cheat ourselves of all this power, glory, blessedness by bartering the enjoyment of all eternal things for a brief season of pleasure that cannot last.

~Nemesius of Emesa, via A Catholic Cappuccino, Please! Catholic Blog

Obedience is not an act of coercion, it is letting go, surrendering oneself to the ocean of the goodness of God.”

~Pope Benedict XVI,  General Audience, December 5, 2012 via Look in the Mirror – “Whats wrong with the world? I am.”.

[His] grandfather believed—or sometimes believed, and always maintained—that every object on Earth was created by God with the capacity to impart to the attentive student some virtue or grace.

~Nick Harkaway, Angelmaker