Fr. Thomas Petri OP

Dominican friar & theologian. Papal Missionary of Mercy.

I post on:
• Catholic doctrine (clear, faithful, practical)
• Prayer & the spiritual life
• Liturgy & life in the Church
• Culture in the light of the Catholic faith
• Occasional reflections from priestly life

Follow for fidelity, clarity, and insight into the Catholic faith.

Pope Leo spoke these words Saturday evening at a prayer vigil in Uruguay. You can hear notes of St. John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI. This is the joyful truth:

“Be saints!  Do not settle for a merely decent life or for a habitual faith, content with doing only the essential.  Do not give God only a part of yourselves — give yourselves completely!  Saints are men and women who overflow with the abundance of life in Christ.  They are free and authentic people whose lives make it attractive to say a resounding ‘yes’ to love, truth and happiness.  Do not be afraid, then, to aspire to holiness.  Christ did not call us to mediocrity; he called us to a new and full life like his own.”

Okay, @BuffaloBills. You have one job tonight.

Our retreat ended well. I had my hands full afterwards and placed my water bottle In that gap between the two windshield and hood. Didn’t remember it was out there until I had drive several miles and it slid to the other side as I was getting on the interstate.

Retreats are great. But they can also be exhausting (which is a good thing).

I’m leading a retreat today for the women of our parish. We begin with Mass and the sacristy of the retreat center has an automatic bell system. This note is on the display and I’m pretty sure it’s not good to wait for the bells to decay.