Minute Meditations

Seekers, pilgrims, disciples; all are wayfarers who find themselves stumbling along the stony path toward integrity. They are people trying to live into life’s lessons by taking hard-earned insights to heart and turning them into habits. Whether they perceive it as troublesome, disturbing, inspiring, or consoling, seekers embrace everyday wisdom by adopting a receptive attitude, cultivating a learning heart, and approaching life as novices; for whom each experience is welcomed anew. In some Buddhist circles this has been called the Beginner’s Mind. Christians might simply call it cultivating a disciple’s heart.

—from the book Wandering and Welcome: Meditations for Finding Peace by Joseph Grant

A preference for light and beauty is one of the reasons St. Francis is attractive to us and why he was so successfully a peacemaker in his own time. It is why today his town of Assisi has been the site of peace conferences and prayer meetings to promote peace. St. Francis is seen as the gentle saint who shows us that the way to peace and justice is the way Christ has shown us in the Gospels, namely, the way of the love of God, which is THE way; and its companion is the way of love of our neighbor as ourselves. This basic Gospel truth is the message of the Gospel St. Francis finally was able to hear in the Gospel he lived and preached. He learned that if we put those two commandments in precisely that order, we easily see how and when we sin in departing from the truth and in hurting our neighbor. All truth is from God, and God’s truth is that we are to love God, and loving God will show us how to love our neighbor. Living the Gospel must start with embracing this basic Gospel truth. Only then will we, too, begin to hear the Voice of God…. It is only necessary to be true to oneself; and if it is called for, to speak our own understanding of what the truth is without denigrating others. Peace is achieved more effectively by trying to bring out the best, not pointing out the worst, in others. And we bring out the best in others by being ourselves peaceful. Our own peaceful presence will do more than trying to persuade others that we are right and they are wrong.

—from Surrounded by Love: Seven Teachings from Saint Francis by Murray Bodo

Is there a method for cultivating mindfulness? Yes, there are many methods. The one I have chosen is gratefulness. Gratefulness can be practiced, cultivated, learned. And as we grow in gratefulness, we grow in mindfulness. Before I open my eyes in the morning, I remind myself that I have eyes to see, while millions of my brothers and sisters are blind—most of them on account of conditions that could be improved if our human family would come to its senses and spend its resources reasonably, equitably. If I open my eyes with this thought, chances are that I will be more grateful for the gift of sight and more alert to the needs of those who lack that gift.

—from the book The Way of Silence: Engaging the Sacred in Daily Life

Whenever we speak about love, we are speaking about relationship. Bonaventure wrote that love is the gravity of the soul; it is what pulls us toward God. We could also say that love is the glue of the universe; it is what constantly holds everything together even when things fall apart. It is simply impossible to think of love sitting on an island all alone. Love likes company. Love means going out to the other for the sake of the other.

—from the book The Humility of God: A Franciscan Perspective  by Ilia Delio, OSF

Gratefulness strengthens a sense of belonging. There is no closer bond than the one which gratefulness celebrates, the bond between giver and thanks-giver. Everything is gift. Grateful living is a celebration of the universal give-and-take of life, a limitless “yes” to belonging.

—from the book The Way of Silence: Engaging the Sacred in Daily Life

We all wrestle with some internal governor prescribing some need for moderation or temperance, which translates, “It’s time to put the kibosh on all manner of joy or ecstasy or elation or, God forbid, wholeheartedness.” Here’s the deal: When we give way to any such shackling measure, we put a lid on our passion and our spirit, and we short-circuit the bounty and generosity that would spill from our heart. This all begs the question: What is the reason we internalize this script, and how does it procure its power? In other words…why do we allow ourselves to live so small?

—from the book This Is the Life: Mindfulness, Finding Grace, and the Power of the Present Moment by Terry Hershey

Joy goes beyond happiness. Joy is the happiness that does not depend on what happens. It springs from gratefulness. When we begin to take things for granted, we get sucked into boredom. Boredom is deadly. Yet, everything within us longs for “life, life in fullness” (John 10:10). The key to life in fullness is gratefulness.

—from the book The Way of Silence: Engaging the Sacred in Daily Life

The dark meets each person in unique ways, and our individual thresholds assume varying forms. Each one is significant. When a life experience calls into question the things you’ve formerly known and believed, the moment can be decisive. From my own journey, I vividly remember times of sheer confusion when I didn’t know if I was being overcome by the dark, or by a great love. Then the wondering, too deep for words, if they were in fact the same.

—from the book Stars at Night: When Darkness Unfolds As Light by Paula D'Arcy

The Church has given us the gift of the saints to show that God does great things in people’s lives. The saints, after all, were ordinary people, too. They needed to call on the Lord for help.

By actively praising God and giving thanks, our hearts will find the resting place that we so desire. Saint Teresa of Avila said this:
“Let nothing disturb you,
Let nothing frighten you.
All things are passing away:
God never changes.”

—from the book Praise God and Thank Him: Biblical Keys to a Joyful Life by Jeff Cavins