A Quote from Saint Teresa of Avila

“God has been very good to me, for I never dwell upon anything wrong which a person has done, so as to remember it afterwards. If I do remember it, I always see some other virtue in that person.”

May God grant us the eyes and heart of a saint.

Too Little, Too Late

This evening's gospel was the parable of the servant who owed 10,000 talents. In his homily, Father Valentine remarked that the souls in hell can never repay the debt they owe our heavenly Father, at which point an enraged young man stormed out of Mass, tearing up his worship aid and bulletin as he went.

Was he outraged at the suggestion that our actions in this life have eternal consequences? Was he offended at the suggestion that he himself had to forgive or face the consequences? I wanted to ask him, and hear what he had to say, and reason with him, but I was too slow. It took me a few minutes to get myself out of the pew and after him, and by then he was long gone.

For the Repose of my Mother's Soul

O God, Who hast commanded us to honor our father and our mother,
in Thy mercy have pity on the soul of my mother, and forgive her her trespasses,
and make me to see her again in the joy of everlasting brightness.
Through Christ our Lord. Amen. [source]

Sorrowful Mysteries

For you today I pray the Sorrowful Mysteries:
The Agony in the Garden
The Scourging at the Pillar
The Crowning with Thorns
The Carrying of the Cross
The Crucifixion

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Dear Rebecca,

Please forgive the times I treated you with coldness or cruelty. I sorrow for the grief I brought to you. For those moments, and every moment when I did not act towards you as I should, I pray that you and God will forgive me.

May God free us both from our sins, and let us live in Him, always choosing the good and avoiding the evil. May God bless you always.

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O God, whose property it is ever to have mercy and to spare : we humbly entreat Thee, on behalf of the soul of thy handmaid Rebecca, whom Thou bid on Friday to pass out of this world, that Thou wouldst not deliver her into the hands of the enemy, nor forget her forever, but command her to be taken up by the holy Angels, and to be borne to our home in paradise, that as she had put her hope and faith in Thee, she may not undergo the pains of hell, but may possess everlasting joys. Through our Lord. Amen.

Harbouring Rancour

Resentment is linked with rancour. When the intellect forms the image of a brother's face with a feeling of resentment, it is clear that it harbours rancour against him. 'The way of the rancorous leads to death' (Prov. 12:28. LXX), because 'whoever harbours rancour is a transgressor' (Prov. 21:24. LXX).

If you harbour rancour against anybody, pray for him and you will prevent the passion from being aroused; for by means of prayer you will separate your resentment from the thought of the wrong he has done you. When you have become loving and compassionate towards him, you will wipe the passion completely from your soul. If somebody regards you with rancour, be pleasant to him, be humble and agreeable in his company, and you will deliver him from his passion.

St. Maximos the Confessor
Third Century on Love (from the Philokalia)

(Septuagint links here)