Mark Neilsen > Quotes

“But those who visit harm on the innocent will pay for those crimes, one way or another.”
― Mark Neilsen, Living Faith - Daily Catholic Devotions, Volume 30 Number 3 - 2014 October, November, December

“Then and now, Jesus witnesses that ours is a God who seeks us out and whose kingdom proclaims: Pay attention to what is lost. Be tender to all that is broken, fragile and wounded in our world. Sr. Chris Koellhoffer, I.H.M.”
― Mark Neilsen, Living Faith Advent: Daily Catholic Devotions

“Lent beckons us to “rouse ourselves,” to remind ourselves that, simply put, we are creatures, that we are not God. Homily, 3/5/14 Lord,”
― Mark Neilsen, Pope Francis: Living Lent with Passion: Encouragement and Daily Prayers

“I have been with you wherever you went… 2 Samuel 7:9”
― Mark Neilsen, Living Faith - Daily Catholic Devotions, Volume 30 Number 3 - 2014 October, November, December

“He Dwells Among Us He was not the light, but came to testify to the light. John 1:8 John the Baptist knew his place. He recognized how insignificant he was in comparison to the One whom he announced. At the same time, John also valued his own significance. He accepted the tremendous calling that was his, to be trusted as a messenger of the Light. And isn’t that true for each of us? We, too, are not the Christ, but we are filled with his love and light. Like John, we are also entrusted with announcing Christ’s coming among us. Each thought, word and deed of ours that contains love becomes a messenger announcing the presence of the Holy One. Thus it is that all through Advent we can proclaim, without any egotistical fanfare, that the Promised One is among us. Our patience, generosity, understanding, forgiveness, all these—and other choices we make to be persons of love—quietly declare the Word who became flesh is dwelling among us. Sr. Joyce Rupp, O.S.M. Isaiah 61:1-2, 10-11 • Luke 1:46-50, 53-54 • 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24 • John 1:6-8, 19-28”
― Mark Neilsen, Living Faith Advent: Daily Catholic Devotions

“But Jesus overturns the Pharisees’ religiosity with the single word “servant.” A servant 1) carries burdens for others, 2) shines attention on others and 3) seeks to disappear.”
― Mark Neilsen, Living Faith: Lenten Devotions for Catholics: Lent 2015

“For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. Luke 9:24”
― Mark Neilsen, Living Faith: Lenten Devotions for Catholics: Lent 2015

“love is an honor and a privilege—and that it comes with a price. When we love deeply, we make ourselves vulnerable to deep pain. And this is the finest pain of all, a sacrifice of the highest order. God will equip us to love like this, and God will comfort us when it hurts. Kristin Armstrong”
― Mark Neilsen, Living Faith - Daily Catholic Devotions, Volume 30 Number 4 - 2015 January, February, March

“Fasting makes sense if it questions our security, and if it also leads to some benefit for others, if it helps us to cultivate the style of the Good Samaritan, who bends down to his brother in need and takes care of him. 3/5/14”
― Mark Neilsen, Pope Francis: Living Lent with Passion: Encouragement and Daily Prayers

“Today marks the last day of the calendar year. Many of us will celebrate this event with friends, food and partying. Some parishes offer an alternative way to commemorate the coming of the New Year: prayer in church before the Blessed Sacrament. Others of us will opt for sleep. However we celebrate, when the clock strikes midnight (unless we’re already in bed), we will bid farewell to 2014 and welcome in 2015. But before this year ends, let us take a few minutes today to thank God for the obvious blessings of 2014: our loved ones, our spiritual growth, the challenges we faced and worked through, the love we received and bestowed this past year. And let us entrust the painful and ambiguous events of 2014 to God’s love and mercy. Then let us ask God for the grace to live the coming year well, ready and eager to receive grace upon grace from our good God. God of all time, thank you for the graces of this past year and for the graces yet to come.”
― Mark Neilsen, Living Faith - Daily Catholic Devotions, Volume 30 Number 3 - 2014 October, November, December

“Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1”
― Mark Neilsen, Living Faith - Daily Catholic Devotions, Volume 30 Number 4 - 2015 January, February, March

“Have I strayed from my intention to live my faith well? Is the path from my heart to the heart of Christ a straight and steady one?”
― Mark Neilsen, Living Faith - Daily Catholic Devotions, Volume 30 Number 4 - 2015 January, February, March

“For he shall rescue the poor man when he cries out, and the afflicted when he has no one to help him. Psalm 72:12”
― Mark Neilsen, Living Faith Advent: Daily Catholic Devotions

“Gracious God, I can talk myself out of a generous impulse by saying, “What’s the point?” A few coins to a panhandler, a listening ear to a chronic complainer or a word of encouragement to a grieving friend seem so inadequate in the face of need. Yet you ask love from us, not efficiency or effectiveness. Help me to see a brother or a sister rather than a statistic, and help me respond with a more generous heart. Amen.”
― Mark Neilsen, Pope Francis: Living Lent with Passion: Encouragement and Daily Prayers

“Our Daily Epiphanies You shall be radiant at what you see… Isaiah 60:5 Two people can experience the same event very differently. One might “see” God’s hand at work while another may not. For example, one will curse his bad luck upon having a car accident, while the other will give thanks that God saved him from serious injury. In the end, some will have experienced their lives as a succession of little miracles, and they will count themselves blessed. Others will judge that life has been unfair and cheated them. The difference is typically in the eye of the beholder. If we have eyes to see the daily epiphanies in our lives, we will end up with grateful and joyful hearts. If we do not, we can easily become angry and dissatisfied. Let’s begin this day with a prayer: “Lord, give me the eyes today and every day to see your generous and merciful hand at work.” May every day be for us an epiphany of the Lord. Msgr. Stephen J. Rossetti Msgr. Rossetti is a priest of the Diocese of Syracuse, clinical associate professor at the Catholic University of America and visiting professor at the Gregorian University in Rome. He is author of numerous books, including his latest, Letters to My Brothers: Words of Hope and Challenge to Priests from Ave Maria Press.”
― Mark Neilsen, Living Faith - Daily Catholic Devotions, Volume 30 Number 4 - 2015 January, February, March

“to get up every day and pay attention, watching for the directional signs and fellow travelers that God puts into our lives.”
― Mark Neilsen, Living Faith - Daily Catholic Devotions, Volume 30 Number 4 - 2015 January, February, March

“The ‘Grace’ of Leprosy Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean. Luke 5:12 It can get a little discouraging these days, particularly for us priests. Our societies have become so secular, that not only do many people not go to Church, they do not even think about God…at all. I find it astounding. Where do they plan to spend eternity? The problem today is that few even ask such a question. I suspect it was not so different in Jesus’ day. In today’s gospel, who was it that searched Jesus out and “pleaded with him”? It was not the well off; it was a poor leper. He was a suffering outcast doomed to a miserable death. The leper was given the great “grace” of recognizing his need for Jesus. I would never wish such a ghastly disease on anyone. But I do hope that all of us come to know our need for God and, like the leper, plead with Jesus to heal us. Msgr. Stephen J. Rossetti”
― Mark Neilsen, Living Faith - Daily Catholic Devotions, Volume 29 Number 4 - 2014 January, February, March

“Our True Needs Do you call this a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord? Isaiah 58:5 In this chapter the prophet Isaiah chastises the people for using their fast to put on a “spiritual show.” Afflicting themselves and lying in the ashes are today’s equivalent of moaning and groaning, whining about our self-imposed deprivation or our fatigue from good deeds, just to position ourselves in the holiest light. This is not the intended spirit behind a fast. A fast should be a quiet, private matter between us and God. Sometimes we fast from nourishment to remind ourselves that our sustenance and fulfillment are found in God. Our hunger reminds us of our truest need, and we realign ourselves in communion with our Savior. But we can do other kinds of fasts as well. I have fasted from negative thinking, from judgment, from complaining, from materialism and from overscheduling—and have found these fasts to be incredibly edifying and healing. Fasting can be about deprivation, but not always. Sometimes we are blessed when we learn to starve the parts of ourselves that do not glorify God and feed the parts that do. Kristin Armstrong”
― Mark Neilsen, Living Faith: Lenten Devotions for Catholics: Lent 2015

“Lent is a fitting time for self-denial; we would do well to ask ourselves what we can give up in order to help and enrich others by our own poverty. Let us not forget that real poverty hurts: no self-denial is real without this dimension of penance.”
― Mark Neilsen, Pope Francis: Living Lent with Passion: Encouragement and Daily Prayers