Gems from the Blogosphere

Happy Catholic shares the following excerpt from a book written by Paula Huston. It was too good not to pass along here:

"In the end, it was prayer that saved Teresa [of Avila] from herself. This despite the fact that her next twenty years were spent in a state of interior civil war: she could not let go of God or leave the convent, yet she could not let go of her quest to win the love and admiration and praise of others either. Once she resumed her efforts to pray, she did so assiduously, going off to the oratory for an hour or more each day, regardless of how distracted she might be or how empty the experience. She confesses that at times all she could think about was the hour being over and states that it took actual courage for her to devote this time to God, for it was often impossible for her to concentrate. She credits this perseverance in prayer with any growth in virtue that occurred in her over the years. God continued to act within her in spite of her strong personality simply because she gave him time to do so by meeting him in prayer each day."

By Way of Grace: Moving from Faithfulness to Holiness by Paula Huston

I gotta get me that book!

And if I thought that couldn't be topped, Penitens quotes from The Book:

"In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood. [Rejection of temptation is a kind of martyrdom and is the path to infinite joys.] So strengthen your drooping hands and your weak knees. Make straight paths for your feet, that what is lame may not be dislocated but healed."

In other words: keep praying! Meet Him in prayer and ask Him for strength. He promised us his yoke would be easy and the burden light...but that's only when He's holding the reins.