By Dom Prosper Gueranger 

The past four weeks seems to have been but a preparation for the intense grief of the Church during these two. She knows that men are in search of her Jesus, and that they are bent on His death. Before twelve days are over, she will see them lay their sacrilegious hands upon Him. She will have to follow Him up the hill of Calvary; she will have to receive His last breath; she must witness the stone placed against the sepulchre where His lifeless Body is laid. We cannot, therefore, be surprised at her inviting all her children to contemplate, during these weeks, Him who is the object of all her love and all her sadness. 

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Beloved, I wish I could share the video below with the entire world and every soul in it. I agree with every word and am so very grateful for the passion and urgency with which it was said. Please, whether you are a layman, priest, bishop or cardinal, and whatever your sentiments may be toward Michael Voris, I beg you to watch this talk, to share it with all you know, and, most of all, to live its message. Here at the Daughters of Mary, Mother of Israel’s Hope, we are praying with you and for you to “hold nothing back from God” even as we strive to do the same.

God bless you and grant you the grace to “offer up” Oreo cookies – and, with them, your entire life.

Mother Miriam of the Lamb of God, O.S.B.

The following reflection from the Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis, we have taken from the wonderful and faithful Timman at The Saint Louis Catholic, which he, in turn, has taken from, in his words, from the venerable Fisheaters blog:

Meditation on Death

Chapter 23 of “The Imitation of Christ”
By Thomas á Kempis (d. A.D. 1471)

Very soon the end of your life will be at hand: consider, therefore, the state of your soul. Today a man is here; tomorrow he is gone. (I Machabees 2:63) And when he is out of sight, he is soon out of mind. Oh, how dull and hard is the heart of man, which thinks only of the present, and does not provide against the future! You should order your every deed and thought, as though today were the day of your death. Had you a good conscience, death would hold no terrors for you; (Luke 12:37) even so, it were better to avoid sin than to escape death. (Wisdom 4:16) If you are not ready to die today, will tomorrow find you better prepared? (Matthew 24:44) Tomorrow is uncertain; and how can you be sure of tomorrow? Of what use is a long life, if we amend so little? Alas, a long life often adds to our sins rather than to our virtue!

Would to God that we might spend a single day really well! Many recount the years since their conversion, but their lives show little sign of improvement. If it is dreadful to die, it is perhaps more dangerous to live long. Blessed is the man who keeps the hour of his death always in mind, and daily prepares himself to die. If you have ever seen anyone die, remember that you, too, must travel the same road. (Hebrews 9:27)

Each morning…

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