Memorization for Knowledge and Prayer
What do you have committed to memory? Probably the ABCs, the multiplication tables, and at least a few of your passwords. Nowadays, when we can always consult the Internet for information, memorizing is sometimes viewed as outdated. Yet, our power to remember things is a boon. When I was a child, for each piano lesson I had to memorize a piece of music. (Now it’s difficult to master even one!) We marvel at those musicians who play long pieces without looking at a score. In the spiritual life, memorizing is helpful. We can still recite the Catholic prayers we learned at our mother’s knee—and perhaps the Baltimore Catechism answers. This common knowledge helps when we pray as a group or discuss the truths of our faith. Memorizing Scripture has value too. (more…)
Prayer for Lost Objects
Last week I lost my good umbrella, the compact one that pops upon immediately when you press a button. I’ve had it for many years, and I miss it. This is not the most valuable thing I’ve lost. I suppose the umbrella is in a special universe “lost and found” room along with my mysteriously missing driver’s license and my ID tag. Losing anything is annoying, not to mention sometimes expensive. Searching high and low for a lost item eats up valuable time. Most irritating is when you can’t find the car keys and then, when you know you’re going to be late, you discover them right under your nose. Then there are the times when you put something in a safe place and then forget where that place is. Do you ever clean a room, rearranging objects, and then when something is not where it’s been forever, you can’t remember where you moved it to? We have various ways of turning to heaven for help during such frustrating times.
The most popular remedy is to turn to Saint Anthony. There’s even a rhymed prayer to him. One version is “St. Anthony, St. Anthony, come around. Something is lost and can’t be found.” More sophisticated prayers to this saint can be found on the Internet. Why St. Anthony? Supposedly he taught a course on the psalms to novices. One of the novices decided to leave the community and took with him St. Anthony’s Psalter. This was especially distressful for Anthony because his book was marked up with his class notes. Eventually the novice changed his mind and returned to the community, bringing the Psalter back with him.
A friend of mine prays the Creed when she loses something. Some people turn to their deceased moms or dads, counting on them for help in death as in life. A few say that this strategy is unfailing. In some cases after prayer, an object will unexplainable appear in a totally unexpected place, or, more puzzling, in a place we had searched a hundred times before.
There is a way to lose things that is not stressful: not realizing you’ve lost them until someone returns them to you!
Losing material objects is not that bad when compared to losing your mind or your soul.
When have you been successful is regaining a lost object? What was your strategy?
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…)
