WORDS HAVE POWER

Bro John Anthony

If you can recall words that hurt you, you can probably also recall words that sustained you, encouraged you, lifted you up. Words have power, power to create and power to destroy, power to bless and power to curse, power to heal and power to hurt.

-Br. David Vryhof
Society of Saint John the Evangelist

Bro John Anthony posted in St. Cuthbert's Cottage

IT IS ALL RIGHT

Bro John Anthony

Faith gives us the power to see life very clearly, to admit that sometimes it seems all wrong and still to know that, somehow, it is all right.

–Br. David Vryhof
Society of Saint John the Evangelist

St Cuthbert's Cottage

...INTO THE VERY HEART OF GOD

Bro John Anthony

11:44am Jun 15

When we talk of Jesus making intercession for us to the Father, it’s not Jesus ‘talking’ to God about us or for us, it is Jesus being intimately close to His Father and carrying us whom He loves on His heart, and into the very heart of God.

-Br. Geoffrey Tristram
Society of Saint John the Evangelist

Bro John Anthony posted in St. Cuthbert's Cottage

HOLY TENSION

Bro John Anthony

10:24am Jun 10

Most of us prefer easy answers. But here we are invited to live in a place of holy tension, depending on God’s grace to show us when tolerance and patience towards others is called for, and when we are being called to noncooperation and resistance in the face of evil.

-Br. David Vryhof
Society of Saint John the Evangelist

Bro John Anthony posted in St. Cuthbert's Cottage

THE VISITATION

Visitation - Albertinelli, Mariotto -Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

Luke 1:39-49

 In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leapt in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leapt for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.’

 And Mary said,
‘My soul magnifies the Lord,
   and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,
for he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant.
   Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
   and holy is his name.

Bro John Anthony posted in St. Cuthbert's Cottage

 We honor Mary because she took an active part in God’s plans. She was a consenting partner. Elizabeth recognizes this when she says “Blessed are you among women” – blessed not only because she has been chosen to be the mother of our Lord, but, Elizabeth goes on to say, “Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.” Mary is praised by Elizabeth because she believed.

 -Br. Geoffrey Tristram Society of Saint John the Evangelist

Image from the Web Gallery of Art.

THE GIFT OF COMPASSION

A person who, in your judgment, is irritating, disdaining, unacceptable, frightening, is probably a person who needs help, perhaps is crying for help. If you know enough to be irritated by them, you likely also know enough to help them, certainly not to hurt them more. Draw from the grace of your own memory about rescuing, saving them, through the gift of compassion.

-Br. Curtis Almquist
Society of Saint John the Evangelist

Bro John Anthony posted in St. Cuthbert's Cottage

GOD'S REVELATION HAPPENS NOW

Presume that God’s revelation is happening all along the way, not just in “sacred” moments but in every moment, every day. Practice attentiveness.

-Br. Curtis Almquist
Society of Saint John the Evangelist

Bro John Anthony posted in St. Cuthbert's Cottage

KINDNESS

Don’t ever be afraid to be tender. Kindness is what saves lives and gives love to the dead of spirit and the dark of heart. Human warmth is the key to happiness. It will melt the hardest of hearts—even our own.
Sr. Joan Chittister, OSB

Bro John Anthony posted in St. Cuthbert's Cottage

GOD'S JUDGMENT IS LOVE

We have already been judged by God, and the nature of that judgment is that it is a judgment of love. In God’s judgment we need saving and we are worth saving, and we cannot do it ourselves. In God’s judgment we need to be rescued.

-Br. David Vryhof
Society of Saint John the Evangelist

Bro John Anthony posted in St. Cuthbert's Cottage

FROM THE RUBBLE OF YOUR PAST

Your past, whatever it is, will provide the firm foundation for your life. Even if there’s rubble, the rubble will be reformed into an edifice far stronger and more beautiful than you could have ever imagined.

-Br. Curtis Almquist
Society of Saint John the Evangelist

Bro John Anthony posted in St. Cuthbert's Cottage

CHRIST'S PRESENCE

Bro John Anthony

10:28am May 4

Knowing Christ to be present and active within us is the true reward. Our service to others, our generosity, are the manifestation of the life of God, the love of God, the generosity of God active within us. What could be a better reward than God within us?

-Br. Mark Brown
Society of Saint John the Evangelist

Bro John Anthony posted in St. Cuthbert's Cottage

CALLED BY GOD

Bro John

9:48am Apr 24

Being called by God is no easy thing. But knowing that you have been called, and knowing what God is calling you to, is even more difficult.

-Br. James Koester
Society of Saint John the Evangelist

St Cuthbert's Cottage on Facebook

LIVING COMPASSIONATELY

Bro John

We can take the radical step of moving toward God and creating a better world by living compassionately. This is the good news.

-Br. Eldridge Pendleton   
Society of Saint John the Evangelist

From St Cuthbert's Cottage  on Facebook.