Have you ever been to a conference, a retreat, a youth group night, where someone gives a talk about the Call to Holiness each of us has, and leave feeling like a complete failure?
Yeah, me too. It seems we hear these talks repeatedly and sometimes - when you feel like you're doing well - you're like YEAH this is awesome!! So true! God is so good! etc... Other times -when struggling with your faith - you're like uh yeah, I've heard this, but I just can't seem to do it, to get there, to be at that point. And we find it frustrating and actually take it out on the person giving the talk (in our heads that is...)
Over the last week or so I've read these gospel passages that have a similar theme, similar plot line and 3 important lessons. Mt 20:1-16, Mt 21:28-32, and Lk 15:11-32, and for good measure, from the Old Testament: Ezekiel 18: 25-28. I encourage to look up these verses and spend time reading & reflecting on them.
A big overarching common theme we see is someone who turns from the Lord (or a metaphorical character representing God), or say no to his desire, but in the end they return, they choose the Lord, they say yes to God. And from these parables there are 3 take aways.
1. God's mercy and readiness to forgive.
In Luke the Father see the lost son returning from far away and begins to run towards him to embrace him, to greet him, fully ready to welcome him back into the royal family - giving a robe and throwing him a party. The Father (God) greets the lost son (us) already having forgiven him and showing him unconditional love. The Father does this for us - we are his girls; his daughters.
In Mt 20 we see God's mercy. The owner of the vineyard gave the same pay to the men who worked 8 hours as he did to the ones who worked 1 hour. In this way his mercy is shown, particularly to those men who looked all day and found none, until this owner took them in and cared for them. We search endlessly through things of this world working to be fed, to be sustained, and the Lord has mercy on us, and gives us what we need.
In Mt. 21 we see a son who tells the father, no I will not go do as you ask(aka I will not be obedient). However, the son later changes his mind and does the work of the Father. This is us. This is me at some point every day. This morning I sat back in my bed to pray, and I knew it was a bad idea today. I knew I should have sat at my desk, but I didn't listen to my body and I sat back in my bed so I fell asleep praying and then my morning got thrown off because I fell back asleep during my prayer and ended up being late (or rather right on time...) for clinical this morning. We all have moments throughout our day where the Lord gives us little nudges to choose him - we also have big moments, like breaking up with a significant other and knowing we should do it for a long time but choosing not to because we fear the unknown. But the thing is God is a god of mercy and compassion. In this passage it says tax collectors and prostitutes are making it into the Kingdom of Heaven - why is that? Because they eventually recognize their wrong and change their mind, change their path and follow the Lord (see Lk 7:36-50).
2. His patience with his children.
In each of these, especially the 1st and 3rd, there is a time of God waiting for the child to return, to realize their error and return to him. This is because God gave us free will. And he is patient with us, in waiting for us to realize his goodness and choose his will, his way - to come to know He is the way, the truth, and the life
3. He is victorious!
On Sunday I was talking with some women about why the Lord allows some bad things to happen, and why he lets sin happen especially in certain areas of life. And our discussion ended with the fact that if He allows us to fall here, then he must be victorious over it. He would not have given us free will here if he were not greater than the darkness we are fighting.
So have hope! Have courage! have faith! have confidence in our God! Start small. Be patient with yourself, and those around you. Trust in his victory from the cross & resurrection.
I started this off talking about those moments when we feel like a complete failure in regards to living our faith, and then I went on talking about ways to combat the challenges we face. I don't point these things out because I'm perfect at them...I'm not. I make mistakes. I still struggle. I slept through my morning prayer time today - I fall. The people who we hear give talks, they fall, I'm sure of it. Dust yourself off, pick yourself back up, and get back on the bandwagon. Perhaps you phone a friend, Jesus didn't go at it alone - he had the apostles. The apostles didn't go at this alone, they had each other - and the many other disciples (followers) of Jesus. He doesn't expect you to go at it alone. Take it day by day. It comes with time. Daily prayer is a daily battle. Living virtue is a daily battle. God is merciful, he is compassionate. He is patient. He is victorious. Praise be!
Showing posts with label prayer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label prayer. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
Monday, April 9, 2012
So Much Noise
Driving back to school after a break filled with lots of food and sleep, I had the windows rolled down and the radio blasting, naturally. There was a lot of noise. Noise from the semi's. Noise from the wind. Noise from the radio being turned up super loud. 'By Your Side' by Tenth Avenue North was playing, one of my favorite songs, and in the song when it goes: .
As the words "I love you" are practically being shouted out over all the noise (like I said my radio was turned up), I realized how often God, our Father in heaven, who loves us so much is constantly trying to shout over all the noise in our lives I love you
The past couple weeks, I've been in a dry spell in my prayer. Whenever this happens, it causes me to question my faith, and makes living my life so much more challenging. I often feel as if the Lord is saying to me: "I love you, is that not enough?"
We allow noise to distract. Everything in life is a choice and sometimes we make poor choices, for example: instead of praying, I'm going to go watch this movie, that will influence me to sin because it's filled with sex, alcohol, and partying. I'm not saying all movies are bad. I'm not saying watching movies is a bad activity. There are very good movies out there. What I'm getting at is the when there are times when we know we need to pray, but that takes effort because prayer hasn't been fruitful, and living a Christian life hasn't been easy - and then, in the struggle we choose the easier option, to lay and watch a movie until we fall asleep, ignoring our struggle & our pain, when maybe we should be talking to God and trying to sort out the problem.
So what am I even getting at here? Well, I suppose it's that we need less noise. We are so busy, and there is much noise. I look at my life and every night of the week I typically have something, of some form going whether it's a meeting, work, homework or dinner with a friend - my life is in a constant 'go' state. There is a lot of noise - especially when I need times of silence, I typically fill it with noise. Like my 20 minute drive to work - this could easily be time used for praying a rosary, but I typically fill the silence with music blasting away trying to forget my stresses of school.
Therefore, I encourage you, my dear friends to embrace silence, to take advantage of opportunities to be silent. I desire for all of us to be living for the Kingdom of God, loving each person exactly where they are at for who they are (that will be continued in another post). I want all of us to know the love of God, and to be able to live in peace & love.
"Pray, hope, and don't worry" -Padre Pio
God bless!
Cause I, I love you
I want you to know
That I, I love you
I'll never let you go
As the words "I love you" are practically being shouted out over all the noise (like I said my radio was turned up), I realized how often God, our Father in heaven, who loves us so much is constantly trying to shout over all the noise in our lives I love you
The past couple weeks, I've been in a dry spell in my prayer. Whenever this happens, it causes me to question my faith, and makes living my life so much more challenging. I often feel as if the Lord is saying to me: "I love you, is that not enough?"
We allow noise to distract. Everything in life is a choice and sometimes we make poor choices, for example: instead of praying, I'm going to go watch this movie, that will influence me to sin because it's filled with sex, alcohol, and partying. I'm not saying all movies are bad. I'm not saying watching movies is a bad activity. There are very good movies out there. What I'm getting at is the when there are times when we know we need to pray, but that takes effort because prayer hasn't been fruitful, and living a Christian life hasn't been easy - and then, in the struggle we choose the easier option, to lay and watch a movie until we fall asleep, ignoring our struggle & our pain, when maybe we should be talking to God and trying to sort out the problem.
So what am I even getting at here? Well, I suppose it's that we need less noise. We are so busy, and there is much noise. I look at my life and every night of the week I typically have something, of some form going whether it's a meeting, work, homework or dinner with a friend - my life is in a constant 'go' state. There is a lot of noise - especially when I need times of silence, I typically fill it with noise. Like my 20 minute drive to work - this could easily be time used for praying a rosary, but I typically fill the silence with music blasting away trying to forget my stresses of school.
Therefore, I encourage you, my dear friends to embrace silence, to take advantage of opportunities to be silent. I desire for all of us to be living for the Kingdom of God, loving each person exactly where they are at for who they are (that will be continued in another post). I want all of us to know the love of God, and to be able to live in peace & love.
"Pray, hope, and don't worry" -Padre Pio
God bless!
Friday, March 9, 2012
Breathe
This past week I've lost count of how many people have said this has been the week from hell for them. Whether it's failing an exam, having more exams than you know how to study for, having a car getting broken into, a sprained ankle, headaches, sickness, etc. it has been a rough week. And really, in Ohio it seems have been a rough couple weeks between tornadoes and high school shootings, and I'm probably forgetting a few things - life has not been easy.
But, is this really new? Does it not often seem like times are hard?
This week was rough for me because it was busy. I had extra 'stuff' going on in my week that I don't normally have. I have a sprained ankle, am training for a half marathon, and can't run (running is just one of my stress relievers). I have an exam next Friday in O-chem that I basically have to get an 80, which is stressful, I've never had to think about what I get on an exam.. I did not understand my O-chem homework last night, I was to the point of tears I was so frustrated with it. Then I went to One Gospel, an event in Columbus where college students gather together, hear a talk, and praise God. It forced me to stop in the busyness of my week and focus on God. I had been so busy my prayer life got put on the side burner. Normally, I take about 30 minutes and spend time in prayer, but I didn't take that time. There were times when I could have, but chose not to, especially since my normal time was disrupted by various activities or distractions.
Today was a good day. I was still filled with joy from last night, where my brothers and sisters placed so much laughter and joy in my life, they lifted me up in a way they probably didn't realize. However, when I had to sit down and finish my o-chem homework I was like man, I'm not going to get the percentage I need on this to get all 10 points, and every point counts in this class, and I don't know why I'm even bothering because I'm just going to get stuck. Well, I started in, and the first problem stumped me. I was like okay - I need to get out of this attitude because doing it will help me because it is practice and will help me for the exam, even if I don't do well now, it will help me in the long run. So I continued on. The last two problems actually went well. I got both of them right on the first time, and ended up getting me to the points I needed to get full credit for the assignment. Sweet.
So I'm sitting here thinking to myself, wow that was sweet. If we just stop for a second, take a breath and trust that Jesus will take care of it, things will come together.
This week may have been 'the week from hell' but if we remember to take a deep breath and renew our trust in the Lord, all things will come together and his will shall be done.
I can also apply this to my running adventure on Sunday when my ankle became inflamed, I was given a chance to contemplate the grace of God, specifically with the metaphor of a river, and last night we sang a song called The River Flows. The lyrics are below. It explains it all : )
Basically, if you feel like your in a week or even a day or maybe a month 'from hell' stop, turn yourself towards God and trust in His love and mercy!
God bless!
But, is this really new? Does it not often seem like times are hard?
This week was rough for me because it was busy. I had extra 'stuff' going on in my week that I don't normally have. I have a sprained ankle, am training for a half marathon, and can't run (running is just one of my stress relievers). I have an exam next Friday in O-chem that I basically have to get an 80, which is stressful, I've never had to think about what I get on an exam.. I did not understand my O-chem homework last night, I was to the point of tears I was so frustrated with it. Then I went to One Gospel, an event in Columbus where college students gather together, hear a talk, and praise God. It forced me to stop in the busyness of my week and focus on God. I had been so busy my prayer life got put on the side burner. Normally, I take about 30 minutes and spend time in prayer, but I didn't take that time. There were times when I could have, but chose not to, especially since my normal time was disrupted by various activities or distractions.
Today was a good day. I was still filled with joy from last night, where my brothers and sisters placed so much laughter and joy in my life, they lifted me up in a way they probably didn't realize. However, when I had to sit down and finish my o-chem homework I was like man, I'm not going to get the percentage I need on this to get all 10 points, and every point counts in this class, and I don't know why I'm even bothering because I'm just going to get stuck. Well, I started in, and the first problem stumped me. I was like okay - I need to get out of this attitude because doing it will help me because it is practice and will help me for the exam, even if I don't do well now, it will help me in the long run. So I continued on. The last two problems actually went well. I got both of them right on the first time, and ended up getting me to the points I needed to get full credit for the assignment. Sweet.
So I'm sitting here thinking to myself, wow that was sweet. If we just stop for a second, take a breath and trust that Jesus will take care of it, things will come together.
This week may have been 'the week from hell' but if we remember to take a deep breath and renew our trust in the Lord, all things will come together and his will shall be done.
I can also apply this to my running adventure on Sunday when my ankle became inflamed, I was given a chance to contemplate the grace of God, specifically with the metaphor of a river, and last night we sang a song called The River Flows. The lyrics are below. It explains it all : )
Basically, if you feel like your in a week or even a day or maybe a month 'from hell' stop, turn yourself towards God and trust in His love and mercy!
God bless!
From the throne of God and from the Lamb the river flows.
Life redeeming, ever healing, age to age it goes.
No more sun, the Holy One – our light that ever shines.
Crystal clear, the river here, will swell our hearts to join the cry!
Life redeeming, ever healing, age to age it goes.
No more sun, the Holy One – our light that ever shines.
Crystal clear, the river here, will swell our hearts to join the cry!
Awake, O sleeper, rise to life, and Christ will give you light!
Lift your head – behold the river.
He mounts his throne to shouts of praise; be opened heaven's gates.
Enter in, O King of Glory!
Lift your head – behold the river.
He mounts his throne to shouts of praise; be opened heaven's gates.
Enter in, O King of Glory!
"Come!" the Spirit calls, and with the bride the Spirit cries:
"Souls that thirst can drink their fill of water without price.
Blest are those who wash their robes to gain the tree of life.
Face to face with endless grace, lift up your hearts to hear the cry!"
"Souls that thirst can drink their fill of water without price.
Blest are those who wash their robes to gain the tree of life.
Face to face with endless grace, lift up your hearts to hear the cry!"
Awake, O sleeper, rise to life, and Christ will give you light!
Lift your head – behold the river.
He mounts his throne to shouts of praise; be opened heaven's gates.
Enter in, O King of Glory!
Lift your head – behold the river.
He mounts his throne to shouts of praise; be opened heaven's gates.
Enter in, O King of Glory!
O King of Glory!
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Joy Joy Joy Joy Down in my Heart
Joy. That is what this world lacks. We need joy in our days.
How can we be joyful when:
I tell you my brother's and sisters, joy comes from Jesus.
It seems every saint I read about was known for being joyful. St. John of the Cross was a man who loved humor, and loved making people laugh. He was greatly welcomed by those who knew him. He was misunderstood, rejected, imprisoned, and suffered greatly in his life; however, he remained joyful. In St. Therese's little way, she knew the love of Jesus, and she knew suffering, yet she remained joyful.
Mother Teresa was known for being joyful in her time on this earth. Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing." (Mother Teresa). Cardinal Dolan, who was just made a Cardinal was recently made a Cardinal is known for his joy. Both Bl. Pope John Paul II and our current Pope Benedict XVI are men of joy. These are just a few examples.
How can we be joyful when:
- there's tornadoes
- car accidents
- school shootings
- exams
- sickness
- death
- ingratitude
- ungratefulness
- rush
- impatience
- hate
- rejection
- misunderstanding
- headaches
- feelings worthless
- lack of motivation
- lust
- sin
- and more...
I tell you my brother's and sisters, joy comes from Jesus.
It seems every saint I read about was known for being joyful. St. John of the Cross was a man who loved humor, and loved making people laugh. He was greatly welcomed by those who knew him. He was misunderstood, rejected, imprisoned, and suffered greatly in his life; however, he remained joyful. In St. Therese's little way, she knew the love of Jesus, and she knew suffering, yet she remained joyful.
Mother Teresa was known for being joyful in her time on this earth. Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing." (Mother Teresa). Cardinal Dolan, who was just made a Cardinal was recently made a Cardinal is known for his joy. Both Bl. Pope John Paul II and our current Pope Benedict XVI are men of joy. These are just a few examples.
Practicals: Being Joyful Amidst Trial -
- prayer
- surrender to the Lord
- Christian community
- Giving thanks
- Counting your blessings
I've hit the point of realizing we need to be joyful, but how can I be joyful all the time, or even half of the time?
Reading One Thousand Blessings, I've learned that by counting my blessings, and being thankful for the food on the table, a roof over my head, a family who loves me, the opportunity to get an education, opportunity to serve people, a job - in seeing each of these as a gift from God I rejoice, for the Lord has abundantly blessed me.
"Rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, persevere in prayer" -Romans 12:12
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Prayer for Students
Here's a prayer for students, preparing to study, by St. Thomas Aquinas - just in time for the end of the semester or quarter :)
Creator of all things,
true source of light and wisdom,
origin of all being,
graciously let a ray of your light penetrate
the darkness of my understanding.
true source of light and wisdom,
origin of all being,
graciously let a ray of your light penetrate
the darkness of my understanding.
Take from me the double darkness
in which I have been born,
an obscurity of sin and ignorance.
in which I have been born,
an obscurity of sin and ignorance.
Give me a keen understanding,
a retentive memory, and
the ability to grasp things
correctly and fundamentally.
a retentive memory, and
the ability to grasp things
correctly and fundamentally.
Grant me the talent
of being exact in my explanations
and the ability to express myself
with thoroughness and charm.
of being exact in my explanations
and the ability to express myself
with thoroughness and charm.
Point out the beginning,
direct the progress,
and help in the completion.
direct the progress,
and help in the completion.
I ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Amen.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
God Knows...
I was talking to a friend tonight and she was telling me how she was currently able to truly trust in the Lord, in this time when she feels blind and unsure of what's going on. And I was talking to her about moving into college and adjusting, yet still finding time for prayer and the like.
My friend told me " I know he's got everything taken care of now. I have this natural trust to the cross" Which I then told her this was what she needed right now and God knew that this was what she needed. He was providing for her by giving her the graces she needed to trust in his love and mercy.
And I realized how God is working in my life, within my personal relationship with him. Right now, I need to learn to lean more on him. I've always leaned on my friends, and youth group, but I need to learn to rely more on my God for my strength and my support. Obviously, I need my friends because Jesus doesn't ask us to live this life on our own, but to live it with others, all striving to reach holiness together; however, there are times in our lives when we must learn and grow on our own. God has given me a deep desire for prayer, to deepen my relationship with Christ, to love him, and come to know him more fully. Even more so, he has given me time and opportunity to pray and to spend time with him.
Therefore, I want to remind my readers - God knows. He knows what we're going through. He knows what we need. He knows how to provide exactly what we need of him.
May we always trust in the Lord and remember that he knows exactly what we need and how to provide for us.
As we adjust to new school schedules, and falling back into the rhythm of craziness and life - may our lives and hearts be focused on seeking to know the Lord more intimately.
God bless.
My friend told me " I know he's got everything taken care of now. I have this natural trust to the cross" Which I then told her this was what she needed right now and God knew that this was what she needed. He was providing for her by giving her the graces she needed to trust in his love and mercy.
And I realized how God is working in my life, within my personal relationship with him. Right now, I need to learn to lean more on him. I've always leaned on my friends, and youth group, but I need to learn to rely more on my God for my strength and my support. Obviously, I need my friends because Jesus doesn't ask us to live this life on our own, but to live it with others, all striving to reach holiness together; however, there are times in our lives when we must learn and grow on our own. God has given me a deep desire for prayer, to deepen my relationship with Christ, to love him, and come to know him more fully. Even more so, he has given me time and opportunity to pray and to spend time with him.
Therefore, I want to remind my readers - God knows. He knows what we're going through. He knows what we need. He knows how to provide exactly what we need of him.
May we always trust in the Lord and remember that he knows exactly what we need and how to provide for us.
As we adjust to new school schedules, and falling back into the rhythm of craziness and life - may our lives and hearts be focused on seeking to know the Lord more intimately.
God bless.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
May You Be Mine
May you be my Savior
O Lord, my God
I cling to you
Rescue me
From my sin
Fill me with your love
In times of change
May you be my rock
On which I stand firm
In times of distress
May you be the calm
Reigning in my heart
In times of worry
May you be the one
In whom I trust
In times of fear
May you bring me peace
To trust in you
In all trials of life
May you be my strength
My Lord and my God.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Our Lady of Peace, Pray for us.
There has been so much stress in my life lately. I have a job. I'm moving out in 2 days. Two of my closest friends are leaving for ministry in 2 days and I won't see them until December. I'm trying to figure out all this loan stuff and paying for school. My car is in the shop, I'm driving my mom's car, and my mom has a rental - which is just really annoying. My room looks kind of like a tornado ran through it. I won't be home all day tomorrow until Thursday morning, which is the day I leave, so I need to finish packing tonight. And that's not even all of it.
This morning it took all I had to get out of bed, it took all I had in me to hold myself together. Then I remembered something a friend told me once. "The sooner we accept the fact that we are imperfect the sooner we will be at peace. It's Christ who is strong, not us." Thus I paused for a moment. Actually, I was driving to Walmart, but I started thinking about all the stress I was feeling - I was feeling stressed when I couldn't find anything to listen to on the radio, which is what sent up a red flag. Therefore, I turned off the radio and pulled out a rosary. I prayed my rosary - the sorrowful mysteries are today - and asked for graces and peace in this stressful time. During the fourth mystery I prayed for the graces to carry my cross, with the help of God, and for the graces to not try carrying it on my own, but to carry it with the help God is offering me. I prayed for the graces to remember that I am his weak little lamb, and he will carry me. It is Christ who is strong, not me. When I finished that rosary, I was more at peace. I was able to be calm.
This is not the first time something like this has happened. Our Lady, Mary, Queen of heaven & earth will always give us the graces we need. Our lady is truly a Queen of Peace. She sees we need her help, and automatically comes to our aid.
May we always come to Mary, our Mother and our Queen. I also believe we should look to her as our Lady of Consolation as well as our Lady of Peace because they are so closely linked.
Our Lady of Consolation, Pray for us!
Our Lady of Peace, Pray for us!
This morning it took all I had to get out of bed, it took all I had in me to hold myself together. Then I remembered something a friend told me once. "The sooner we accept the fact that we are imperfect the sooner we will be at peace. It's Christ who is strong, not us." Thus I paused for a moment. Actually, I was driving to Walmart, but I started thinking about all the stress I was feeling - I was feeling stressed when I couldn't find anything to listen to on the radio, which is what sent up a red flag. Therefore, I turned off the radio and pulled out a rosary. I prayed my rosary - the sorrowful mysteries are today - and asked for graces and peace in this stressful time. During the fourth mystery I prayed for the graces to carry my cross, with the help of God, and for the graces to not try carrying it on my own, but to carry it with the help God is offering me. I prayed for the graces to remember that I am his weak little lamb, and he will carry me. It is Christ who is strong, not me. When I finished that rosary, I was more at peace. I was able to be calm.This is not the first time something like this has happened. Our Lady, Mary, Queen of heaven & earth will always give us the graces we need. Our lady is truly a Queen of Peace. She sees we need her help, and automatically comes to our aid.
May we always come to Mary, our Mother and our Queen. I also believe we should look to her as our Lady of Consolation as well as our Lady of Peace because they are so closely linked.
Our Lady of Consolation, Pray for us!
Our Lady of Peace, Pray for us!
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Our Lady of Consolation, Pray for us!
Monday and Tuesday of this week I had the pleasure of going to Cedar Point and to a shrine honoring Mary, Our Lady of Consolation. It was such a beautiful trip because on Monday we were crazy and had fun riding roller coasters and hanging out, but there was just constant noise between the number of people, music, and of course ROLLER COASTERS!!!! And then Tuesday was quiet. We celebrated the mass, had lunch, had an hour of quiet reflection to just wander about the shrine & it's accompanying park, and closed with an hour of Eucharistic adoration. Such a beautiful day. For our Holy hour, our youth minister, Dan DeMatte, gave a brief reflection on our Lady. He talked about how we tend to seek comfort and consolation in this world. A few examples in my life -
When I'm feeling down in the dumps I will eat chocolate, potato chips, candy, ice cream, etc. - thinking it will comfort me.
When I'm feeling exhausted I will sit in front of the television and watch a pointless, meaningless movie - think it will console me
When my body is really sore from 3 hours of sand volleyball, after being at camp for a week and going to Cedar Point - I just want to lounge and do nothing productive what so ever - which falls into aimlessly staring at the television or sleeping for a ridiculous amount of time.
I'm positive there are many other examples in every person's life, these are just a few to help get my point across.
Something Dan told us to do was rather than seeking our comfort and consolation in food or television or the internet/computer we should seek consolation and comfort from Mary.
Mary is our mother. She loves us as her own children. She desires for us to be peaceful, calm, and rested; capable to serve the Kingdom. If we seek her out when we're feeling neglected in our group of friends instead of stewing in our anger, we will be 1. more pleasing to God 2. feel 1000x better than if we stewed in our anger or sought consolation in food/television/computer.
Therefore, I encourage you to seek out our Lady. Mary desires to pour out graces on our souls. She desires to love us as the children we are. Next time you are in need of comfort and consolation turn Mary, our queen and our Mother. You can say a Hail Mary, or simply say Our Lady of Consolation, pray for us. Call on Mary, and you will receive grace!
Mary, Our Lady of Consolation, Pray for us!
When I'm feeling down in the dumps I will eat chocolate, potato chips, candy, ice cream, etc. - thinking it will comfort me.
When I'm feeling exhausted I will sit in front of the television and watch a pointless, meaningless movie - think it will console me
When my body is really sore from 3 hours of sand volleyball, after being at camp for a week and going to Cedar Point - I just want to lounge and do nothing productive what so ever - which falls into aimlessly staring at the television or sleeping for a ridiculous amount of time.
I'm positive there are many other examples in every person's life, these are just a few to help get my point across.
Something Dan told us to do was rather than seeking our comfort and consolation in food or television or the internet/computer we should seek consolation and comfort from Mary.
Mary is our mother. She loves us as her own children. She desires for us to be peaceful, calm, and rested; capable to serve the Kingdom. If we seek her out when we're feeling neglected in our group of friends instead of stewing in our anger, we will be 1. more pleasing to God 2. feel 1000x better than if we stewed in our anger or sought consolation in food/television/computer.
Therefore, I encourage you to seek out our Lady. Mary desires to pour out graces on our souls. She desires to love us as the children we are. Next time you are in need of comfort and consolation turn Mary, our queen and our Mother. You can say a Hail Mary, or simply say Our Lady of Consolation, pray for us. Call on Mary, and you will receive grace!
Mary, Our Lady of Consolation, Pray for us!
Saturday, June 25, 2011
I Need a Vacation...
The past 3 weeks of my life have been absolutely nuts! My house was under construction. I had a grad party. I went on a training retreat to be a counselor for camp. My mom had surgery. And, my younger brother got in a car accident. Plus some of a social life on top of that, and trying to get everything completed that I need to be truly set to go to Capital in August. Therefore, I need a vacation.
I was visiting with a dear friend the other night. We talked about my life and it's craziness, especially with my brother's accident and mom's surgery all happening in the same day. Which both occurred about 48 hours after my graduation party. She gave me these wonderful words of wisdom, and I think it's easy to forget this in the business of summer. I was told to relax and take some time to myself, be sure I keep praying and refuel. She told me I'm stretched as thin as I can go, if I stretch anymore, I'll bust. Which is unbelievably true.
My reason for posting today and my advice for you today is - during the hustle and bustle of summer, remember to take some you time.
Read a good book. Take a hot bubble bath. Take a long run. Do your nails, or better yet go get them done. Get a massage. Lay out in the sun, at a beach for a while. Whatever helps you relax! Be sure you get to mass, at least on Sunday, if not more. And most importantly, don't place God on the back burner. Remember to pray. Remember, Christ is truly where your energy comes from - so be sure to spend time with Him, so you can have the energy and motivation to continue in the hustle and bustle of summer, and not break!. Be sure to take that personal vacation every once in a while!
I was visiting with a dear friend the other night. We talked about my life and it's craziness, especially with my brother's accident and mom's surgery all happening in the same day. Which both occurred about 48 hours after my graduation party. She gave me these wonderful words of wisdom, and I think it's easy to forget this in the business of summer. I was told to relax and take some time to myself, be sure I keep praying and refuel. She told me I'm stretched as thin as I can go, if I stretch anymore, I'll bust. Which is unbelievably true.
My reason for posting today and my advice for you today is - during the hustle and bustle of summer, remember to take some you time.
Read a good book. Take a hot bubble bath. Take a long run. Do your nails, or better yet go get them done. Get a massage. Lay out in the sun, at a beach for a while. Whatever helps you relax! Be sure you get to mass, at least on Sunday, if not more. And most importantly, don't place God on the back burner. Remember to pray. Remember, Christ is truly where your energy comes from - so be sure to spend time with Him, so you can have the energy and motivation to continue in the hustle and bustle of summer, and not break!. Be sure to take that personal vacation every once in a while!
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