Oblate Program at Belmont Abbey, NC

Tag: repentance

Psalm 51(50): Have mercy on me, O God!

1. For the fourth time during our reflections on the Liturgy of Lauds, we hear proclaimed Psalm 51[50], the famous Miserere. Indeed, it is presented anew to us on the Friday of every week, so that it may become an oasis of meditation in which we can discover the evil that lurks in the conscience and beg the Lord… Read More ›

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Psalm 51(50): Where sin abounded, grace was more abundant!

1. Every week, in the Liturgy of Lauds for Friday, we pray Psalm 50, the Miserere, the pentitential Psalm, that is so much beloved, sung and meditated upon. It is a hymn raised to the merciful God by the repentant sinner. We have already had the chance in a previous catechesis to give a general overview of this great… Read More ›

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In ‘Review’ of Life, Bad Events Disappear after Repentance

There is nothing of this earth worth a hurtful word. When we die, we will relive what we thought, said, and did. Take it from RaNalle Wallace, who nearly died in 1985 during the crash of a small plane in Utah. We are always careful with near-death accounts. There are often elements that we have… Read More ›

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Psalm 51(50): Against you alone have I sinned

1. We have just heard the Miserere, one of the most famous prayers of the Psalter, the most intense and commonly used penitential psalm, the hymn of sin and pardon, a profound meditation on guilt and grace. The Liturgy of the Hours makes us pray it at Lauds every Friday. For centuries the prayer has risen to heaven… Read More ›

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The Delusions Which the Devil Suggests to Sinners

Let us imagine a young man who has fallen into grievous sins, which he has already confessed, and who is restored to the friendship of God. The devil again tempts him to relapse; the young man resists for a while, but in consequence of the delusions suggested by the enemy, he begins to vacillate. “Tell… Read More ›

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UK youth create Advent video calendar

London, England, Dec 21, 2014 / 01:00 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- This Advent, young Catholics in the UK are using video media to challenge their peers to “engage in the life and rhythm of the Church” and seek a deeper relationship with Christ. Made for Glory, a by-the-youth, for-the-youth faith initiative in the UK, has been… Read More ›

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Thou hast mercy upon all, O Lord

There is confidence everywhere in Ash Wednesday, yet that does not mean unmixed and untroubled security. The confidence of the Christian is always a confidence in spite of darkness and risk, in the presence of peril, with every evidence of possible disaster. Let us emend for the better in those things in which we have… Read More ›

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God’s Holiness Makes Us Uncomfortable

There is a third human reaction to God’s holiness. It is an evil reaction; it rises from man’s contradictory nature and consists of a feeling of discomfort, irritation, and rebelliousness. A strange manifestation! One is inclined to ask how this can come about if God is the moving Spirit and essence of the universe, and… Read More ›

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Repentance, baptismal renewal, daughter of hope

Nothing equals or excels God’s mercies. Therefore, he who despairs is committing suicide. A sign of true repentance is the acknowledgment that we deserve all the afflictions, visible and invisible, that come upon us, and ever greater ones. Repentance is the renewal of baptism. Repentance is a contract with God for a second life. A… Read More ›

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Poison in your heart: the memory of insults

The memory of insults is the residue of anger. It keeps sins alive, hates justice, ruins virtue, poisons the heart, rots the mind, defeats concentration, paralyzes prayer, puts love at a distance, and is a nail driven into the soul. If anyone has appeased his anger, he has already suppressed the memory of insults, while… Read More ›

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