(Statue of St. Teresa of Avila at her birthplace. She is shown contemplating the Infinite.)

We had talked a while back about meditating each day...taking some thought about God or the spiritual life, and taking the time to really dwell on it. The benefits of this daily practice are almost limitless.

"Let not, therefore, him, [or her 😇] who is of good will become over-anxious, because of the unsteadiness of his thoughts, but let him while he prays, peacefully do what he can, and persevere humbly and patiently in his prayer; for thus will he be most pleasing to God. Respecting this Our Lord once said to St. Gertrude, that when any one fixes his mind and his thoughts piously on God, in prayer, meditation or contemplation, he presents as it were before the throne of His Glory, a mirror of marvelous splendor, in which the Lord, the Giver of all Good, beholds with delight His own image. And when his ever-wandering thoughts or other hindrances make it difficult for him to do this, the more earnestly and patiently he labors the fairer and more resplendent does that mirror appear in the sight of the adorable Trinity and of all the Saints."

~ Consoling Revelations collected by the Ven. Benedictine Abbot Blosius (1506-1566)

This statue stands in Valinhos, the place where Our Lady appeared in August, 2017

to the three children of Fatima.

"Jesus wishes to make use of you to make me known and loved. He wants to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart. I promise salvation to those who embrace it, and those souls will be loved by God like flowers placed by me to adorn His throne."

~ Our Lady's words to Lucia dos Santos, at Fatima, on June 13, 1917.

Valinhos is a quiet, bucolic nook, near the village of Aljustrel where the children lived. The gentle silence of a few chirping birds and rustling branches lends itself to meditation on the beautiful words of Our Lady....

Baby Girl in Heaven

My only sister went to Heaven 28 years ago today, in her baptismal innocence. (She was almost two years old.) My heart aches today for all those who have lost a loved one. I was reading a spiritual book about Our Lord and His Love for us, and came across this quote today:

"Our Lord, in speaking to St. Gertrude of a certain devout and amiable virgin, whose death had caused no small grief to the Saint's community, said, 'When any one of you wishes to have the departed yet with you because of the pleasure she gave by her sweet manners, and you then offer her up to My Will, you present to Me by so doing, a most fragrant lily, and I will in My Goodness repay it in a hundredfold manner.'"

~ Consoling Revelations collected by The Ven. Benedictine Abbot Blosius.

I came out of the church at the end of Mass today, and saw a little girl, about the right size, whose name is "Lily." I think Our Lord graciously accepted the "lily" I offered Him this morning...

"How good, how kind, Thou art to us, sweet Jesus!"

This brilliant golden room, in which the "Black Madonna" of Montserrat is enthroned, is called the Virgin's Chamber. It is meant to commemorate the little place in which Our Lady lived. The Monastery of Montserrat, in the mountains of Spain, was built in honor of the Annunciation.

St. Ignatius of Loyola made an all-night vigil over his sword and armor at the Monastery of Montserrat, before the "Black Madonna", and William Thomas Walsh writes, "in the spirit of the most exalted chivalry [he] resigned his sword forever -- resolved to devote himself thenceforth to holier pursuits."

Montserrat had been a place of pilgrimage for centuries before St. Ignatius, and continued after his death.

"As the ages rolled away, the fame of the miraculous image of Our Lady of Montserrat increased more and more. Pilgrims flocked in vast numbers from all parts of Europe to lay the homage of their devotion at Mary's Shrine. Those were the days of faith, and many were the privations and sufferings endured even by those of the highest rank to reach the favored spot, -- some trudging barefoot and bleeding over the hard rocks. Kings and queens esteemed themselves fortunate in making the pilgrimage, and carried with them, as votive offerings, lamps and vessels of gold and silver adorned with jewels...It would not be possible to enumerate the wonders wrought at this shrine. In all ages the sinful, the suffering, the sorrowful, have laid their woes at the feet of Our Lady of Montserrat, and none have ever gone away unheard or unaided."

~ William Thomas Walsh, The Apparitions and Shrines of Heaven's Bright Queen volume 1, 1904.

This stained-glass window now in the home of St. Ignatius of Loyola depicts his fall in battle (mentioned yesterday). He was considered a hero, and was treated well by both his opponents in battle and his own men.

Today is the feast of St. Peter in Chains. St. Ignatius of Loyola writes this of his early days at Loyola recovering from his cannon wounds:

"The doctors gave up hope of his recovery, and he was advised to make his confession. Having received the Sacraments on the eve of the feasts of Saints Peter and Paul, toward evening the doctors said that if by the middle of the night there were no change for the better, he would surely die. He had great devotion to St. Peter, and it so happened by the goodness of God that in the middle of the night he began to grow better. His recovery was so rapid that in a few days he was out of danger."

~ from the Autobiography of St. Ignatius of Loyola, 

dictated in the third person, finished in December, 1555.

This second stained-glass window in Loyola shows the death of St. Ignatius...showing the difference after his change of life. The standard under which he fights is shown in both windows. In the first, he is treated as a hero by men, and in the second, he is honored by angels!