De La Mennais Brothers: Making Jesus Christ better known and loved by young people

Here’s a recent devotional from Liz Milani (The Practice Co devotional app - https://www.thepracticeco.com) on the theme of inner peace and fulfilment, making use of the famous prayer by St. Teresa of Avila which is one of my favourites.   The Apostle Paul wrote to his friends and said: "Wake up from your sleep, Climb out of your coffins..."* Like me, maybe you've heard this screamed from pulpits and social media platforms like a battle cry, a condemnation, a strike on your record or on that of others. But that's not what it is at all. It's the simple reminder of what's important. Wake up. Wake up. Friend, wake up. Life is happening all around you, and while you will be asleep to some of what is going on, if you live with an open heart and open hands and open eyes, all will be revealed in time - you will wake up, and you will continue to wake up your whole life long. You will experience a million tiny revelations that will collectively and continuously ...

  Another great devotional from Liz Milani (The Practice Co devotional app - https://www.thepracticeco.com) on the theme of gratitude in a time of trial. I made a note of this post when first reading it back in April. It's sentiments still very much apply today.         HOW TO SEE IN THE DARK - Part 7 When you feel like you can't see the way forward, or that your current experiences are murking up the water making it hard to make decisions and to know what to do, gratitude will clear the way, it will open your eyes, it will help you see in the dark. And these are dark times. Whether its COVID-19, job and income loss, a sense of hopelessness, relationship heartache, chronic pain, anger, frustration... whatever it is that is clouding your judgement, tightening your heart - sometimes the way forward is hard to see for all the mess and clamour of life. There is so much happening on so many different levels, it's natural and easy to feel overwhelmed and ...

I've been storing up draft blog posts for a while without getting round to editing and publishing them. I feel quite guilty about that, actually. So, apologies for what is now going to be a slew of posts appearing in the next day or two. Thanks Sr. Silvana for the kick up the derrière!! Here's the Liz Milani devotional that I wanted to share on the topic of loving oneself as well as others. Lots of sound spiritual wisdom here. I'm not sure which is more challenging, loving yourself or loving others. Loving your Self often gets labelled as conceited, or arrogant, or self-indulgent. Then there's the idea running around that your Self is wicked and not to be trusted, and how could you possibly love your Self that needs saving from itself? (we'll talk about this in a series to come, but for now, I'll say this: The Christ doesn't save you FROM yourself or from hell; The Christ saves you TO yourself which is a heavenly place to live from.) Loving others is fra...

DVO App Here's a DVO devotion from last year that seeks to explain the meaning of the words "holy" and "sacred" and I think does it rather well. March 3, 2016 He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of His own purpose and grace... 2 Tim 1:9 (NIV) Vocation - Part 3 Holy means "sacred and set apart." Isa 63 says, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory..." God is holy. 1 Pet 1:15 says, ...

Here's the first of a selection of devotions from those lovely people at DVO that I have found spiritually nourishing in recent weeks. This first one takes the same approach to vocation as I do when taking to pupils in school, using as a starting point that which fires us up, about which we are passionate. January 5, 2017 Before you saw the light of day, I had holy plans for you. Jer 1:5 (MSG) MOVING FORWARD - PART 4 What makes you come alive? What do you find yourself dreaming about? Or gravitating to whenever you have spare time? What brings you joy? What makes your blood boil? What would get you out of bed in the middle of the night? Before you or I had any material form, somehow we existed in the heart and imagination of God. He said to Jeremiah, "Before I shaped you in the womb, I knew all about you. Before you saw the light of day, I had holy plans for you: A prophet to the nations—that's what I had in mind for you." Jeremiah 1:5 (MSG) T...

DVO App October 20 Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me." Matt 16:24 Take up your cross - Part One "We will never create anything more powerful or significant than our lives." Erwin McManus. I posted this quote on Instagram a few months back, and I copped a little heat for it. Someone said that they felt this was the most selfish statement they had ...

DVO App This isn't the first reflection to try and understand the position that the eldest son finds himself in, but it does manage to get to the heart of the question of family dysfunction in a fresh way, I feel. October 17 He was angry and refused to go in. ...

In honour of Vocation Sunday tomorrow here's an excellent post from DVO app. March 1 He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of His own purpose and grace... 2 Tim 1:9 (NIV) Vocation - Part 1 What's your calling? Growing up in church this question was bandied about almost as much as "how are you today?" The urgency of the way in which it was always asked made me nervous. What IS my calling? Am I called? Am I one of th...

DVO App Another DVO reflection on how faith that is tested can become stronger, purer and more authentic. October 8 These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold… ...

DVO App There's a lot of wisdom in this post from the good people over at PktFuel , creators of the DVO app. September 2 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on tow...

DVO App Here's another lovely reflection, this time on friendship, from the makers of the DVO iPhone app. May you all be blessed with the kind of friendships it describes. August 3 One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. Proverbs 18:24 (NKJ...

  The following devotion from the people at the DVO/Pocket Fuel iOS app ( http://dvoapp.com/pQLWbpsT3d ) chimes with the teaching given by Rend Collective in relation to their latest album ("The Art Of Celebration" - see earlier posts). Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! Philippians 4:4 (NLT) PHILIPPIANS 4 SERIES - PART 1 Joy is that one emotion we could all do with more of! But often we mistake joy as a result of good fortune when, in fact, it is a choice to be happy... Because 'joy' is a choice! In fact, every emotion we experience is a choice. Do me a favour for the next 5 minutes and pretend you are a successful millionaire. Make sure that every person you encounter knows about your success, accomplishments and wealth. With it, you have the ability to bless and help lots of people. Immerse yourself in the vision of this experience. What does it look like? What does it feel like? Does it feel good? Of course it does! Note that even thoug...