Birthday Gift Via the Bible
We believe that God co
mmunicates with us through Sacred Scripture. His word, which is living and effective, can speak to us personally in many ways. When I was in the novitiate, one day the novice director explained that the Scripture readings for the Eucharist on our birthday contain a special message for us from God. My heart sank. My birthday is July 29, the feast day of St. Martha. If you recall, when Jesus was a guest at her house, he chided Martha for fussing preparing a meal while her sister, Mary, sat at his feet absorbed in him and his teachings. I figured that each day on my birthday I would hear God him say to me, “Kathleen, Kathleen, you are busy about many things. Stop being a workaholic and pay more attention to me.” That scolding would be my birthday gift from God. But I wasn’t entirely correct. (more…)
Deny Yourself? A Disciple’s Requirement
This week I directed a Bible study on next Sunday’s readings. The Gospel passage, Matthew 16:21–27, includes statements that Jesus made about discipleship. Doing research on these gave me new insight into the meaning of “deny yourself.” I thought I’d share this with you. First some background. All the statements explain what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. But they also are an unfolding of how to live by the greatest commandment, “Love God with your whole heart and soul, your mind and all your strength.” The first statement is “Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow me.” (more…)
Mary’s Visitation in Honor of the Assumption
On the feast of the Assumption, the Gospel was the Visitation. I thought it fitting to share the reflection I wrote for our SND Associates this year:
Imagine suddenly becoming pregnant with the Messiah, the Savior of the World. What would you do afterwards? Any ordinary woman would probably seal herself in the house, taking care that nothing would endanger her or the miracle baby growing within her. But Mary, the Blessed Virgin, was no ordinary woman. She dared to venture out on an errand of mercy. When the Angel Gabriel delivered God’s message to Mary that she was the woman chosen to be the Mother of God, he had a postscript. Her cousin Elizabeth, who was childless and too old to conceive now, was also miraculously pregnant. Why did God reveal this to Mary? Because God knew he could depend on her to respond to someone in need. And she did. Mary’s compassionate heart impelled her to be with Elizabeth during her last three months of pregnancy. In fact, the Gospel specifies that Mary went to help Elizabeth “in haste.” (more…)
Pope Francis’ Recipe for Happiness
Bloggers sometimes invite others to write a “guest blog.” This week my blog is “written” by Pope Francis and consists of his ten secrets to happiness, which he gave during an interview. His items have been criticized for being too humanist (because they don’t refer to God) and too non-gospel (because one of them discourages proselytizing. What do you think?
Live and let live.
‘The Romans have a saying, which can be taken as a point of reference. They say: ‘Campa e lascia campà’ (Live and let live). That’s the first step to peace and happiness. Move forward and let others do the same.”
Give of yourself to others.
“People need to be open and generous towards others….If you withdraw into yourself, you run the risk of becoming egocentric. And stagnant water becomes putrid.”
“Proceed calmly” in life.
“In Don Segundo Sombra [a novel] there is a very beautiful thing, a man who looks back on his life. He says that in youth he was a rocky stream that carried everything ahead; As an adult, he was a running river, and that in old age, he felt movement, but it was “remansado” [dammed; ie, slowed, quiet]. I would use this image of the poet and novelist Ricardo Güiraldes, the last adjective ‘remansado,’ the ability to move with kindness and humility, calmness of life.”
Enjoy leisure; be available to your family.
“People’s time is swallowed up, so they can’t share it with anyone. Take pleasure in reading, creating art and having fun…Consumerism has brought us anxiety. Even though many parents work long hours, they must set aside time to play with their children; work schedules make it complicated, but you must do it.”
Take Sundays off.
“People nowadays work too hard and miss the chance to enjoy life. Sunday is for family.”
Create jobs for young people.
“I read the other day, but I do not telegraph it as a scientific fact, that there were 75 million young people under the age of 25 unemployed. Youth should be taught skilled work, which would allow them the ‘dignity of bringing home the bacon.’ ”
Protect and respect nature.
“When, for example, you want to make use of a mining method that extracts more than other methods, but it contaminates the water, it doesn’t matter….And so they go on contaminating nature. I think it’s a question that we do not face: humanity, in the indiscriminate use and tyranny over nature, is it committing suicide?”
Don’t be so negative.
“When we talk behind somebody’s back, we are paying attention to the negative, which proves we have low self-esteem: This means, ‘I feel so low that instead of picking myself up I have to cut others down.’ Letting go of negative things quickly is healthy.”
Don’t proselytize; respect the beliefs of others.
“We can inspire others through witness so that one grows together in communicating. But the worst thing of all is religious proselytism, which paralyzes. ‘I am talking with you in order to persuade you.’ No. The church grows by attraction, not proselytizing.”
Work for peace.
“We are living in a time of many wars and ‘the call for peace must be shouted. Peace sometimes gives the impression of being quiet, but it is never quiet, peace is always proactive.”
Short Prayers for Everyday Spirituality
When I entered the convent, a custom prompted us to think of God all day long. Every hour a bell rang over the PA, and we prayed a lengthy ” hour prayer.” This is no longer done, and it has never been done in regular homes as far as I know. Yet, we are still to fulfill St. Paul’s exhortation to “pray always.” How can we do this amidst packing lunches, chauffeuring, cooking, working, and the sundry other things that pack our days and absorb our minds? One trick is to sprinkle short one-line prayers throughout the day. These “arrow prayers” are said to pierce the heavens.
Not only do short prayers serve to keep us mindful of God, they can be powerful. In the Gospels, Jesus brought about miracles with very few words: “Peace, be still” and storms were calmed; “Stand up, take up your mat, and walk” and paralytics were cured; and “Lazarus, come forth” and a dead man walked out of his tomb.
I must admit my most frequent short prayer is “Help.” Others are the short prayers we probably learned in Catholic school, such as “My God, I love you”;”Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on me”; “Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make my heart like yours”; and “Jesus, Mary, Joseph.”
We can pray these prayers whenever we think of it or when there is a lull in our activities. Some people use a crutch and associate something with the prayer. For example, after I learned that Thomas Merton was electrocuted by a fan, I began to pray “Jesus, Mary, Joseph” whenever I plugged a cord into an outlet! One woman prays an aspiration whenever she touches a doorknob—not because it’s dangerous, but because it is her chosen cue to say a prayer. Other situations that might call for a short prayer are getting into a car (Angel of God), taking a test or going for an interview (Holy Spirit, inspire me), hearing a siren (God, protect them), or passing a cemetery (Eternal rest . . .).
Nowadays the most popular short prayer is the Jesus Prayer, “Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” The Catechism states that just the name “Jesus” is a prayer. It’s a beautiful and effective one. By the way, when we hear this name used profanely, we might immediately offer the short prayer, “Praised be the name of Jesus.”
Most of us have the practice of calling on St. Anthony of Padua when we’ve lost something. But we can also speak to other saints during the day, in particular, our patron saint, for example, “St. Catherine, pray for me.”
A lovely prayer is to say “God bless you” and not only when someone sneezes.
What short prayers are part of your life or your family’s life? When do you pray them?
