Busy as a….

Sep1

“Accustom yourself continually to make many acts of love,
for they enkindle and melt the soul.”
St. Teresa of Avila
Teresa of Jesus

We must know that one of the weapons that the devil uses most commonly
to prevent souls from advancing toward God is precisely to try to make
them lose their peace and discourage them by the sight of their faults.
Father Jaques Philippe

(busy bee / Julie Cook/ 2022)

“I realize as never before that the Lord is gentle and merciful;
He did not send me this heavy cross until I could bear it.
If He had sent it before, I am certain that it would have discouraged me..
I desire nothing at all now except to love until I die of love.
I am free, I am not afraid of anything, not even of what I used to dread most of all…
a long illness which would make me a burden to the community.
I am perfectly content to go on suffering in body and soul for years,
if that would please God.
I am not in the least afraid of living for a long time;
I am ready to go on fighting.”
St. Therese of Lisieux, p. 122
An Excerpt From
The Story of a Soul

(busy bee / Julie Cook/ 2022)

be peace loving…

Apr30

“Be peace-loving.
Peace is a precious treasure to be sought with great zeal.
You are well aware that our sins arouse God’s anger.
You must change your life, therefore, so that God in his mercy will pardon you.
What we conceal from men is known to God.
Be converted, then, with a sincere heart.
Live your life that you may receive the blessing of the Lord.
Then the peace of God our Father will be with you always.”
St. Francis of Paola

(tiger swallowtail / Julie Cook / 2021)

“How many souls might reach a high degree of sanctity if properly
directed from the first.
I know God can sanctify souls without help,
but just as He gives the gardener the skill to tend rare and delicate plants
while fertilizing them Himself,
so He wishes to use others in His cultivation of souls.
What would happen if the gardener were so clumsy that he
could not graft his trees properly, or knew so little about
them that he wanted to make a peach tree bear roses?”
St. Therese of Lisieux, p. 64
An Excerpt From
The Story of a Soul

humility of the heart

Oct16

“Love proves itself by deeds, and how shall I prove mine? …
I can prove my love only by scattering flowers, that is to say,
by never letting slip a single little sacrifice, a single glance, a single word;
by making profit of the very smallest actions, by doing them all for love.
I want to suffer and even rejoice for love, for this is my way of scattering flowers.”
St. Therese of Lisieux, p. 4-5
An Excerpt From
The Story of a Soul

(wildflowers at the beach /Julie Cook / 2020)

“The true reason for which God bestows so many graces upon the humble is this,
that the humble are faithful to these graces and make good use of them.
They receive them from God and use them in a manner pleasing to God,
giving all the glory to Him, without reserving any for themselves…
It is certainly true that he who is humble is also faithful to God,
because the humble man is also just in giving to all their due, and above all,
in rendering to God the things that are God’s; that is,
in giving Him the glory for all the good that he is,
all the good that he has and for all the good that he does;
as the Venerable Bede says:
‘Whatever good we see in ourselves, let us ascribe it to God and not to ourselves.’
To give thanks to God for all the blessings we have received and are continually
receiving is an excellent means of exercising humility,
because by thanksgiving we learn to acknowledge the Supreme Giver of every good.
And for this reason it is necessary for us always to be humble before God.
St. Paul exhorts us to render thanks for all things and at all times:
‘In all things give thanks.’ (1 Thess. 5:18).
‘Giving thanks always for all things.’ (Eph. 5:20).
But that our thanksgiving may be an act of humility it must not only come
from the lips but from the heart, with a firm conviction that all good comes
to us through the infinite mercy of God.”
Rev. Cajetan da Bergamo, p. 87-8
An Excerpt From
Humility Of Heart