Showing posts with label Spirituality. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Spirituality. Show all posts
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Friday, December 31, 2010
Father James Martin, SJ: 12 things I wish I had known when I was 25...
from huffingtonpost.com
For a lark yesterday, on my 50th birthday, I Tweeted 12 things that I wish I had known at 25. Or more accurately, 12 things that, had I put them into action, would have made my life a lot easier. Some are bits of advice that wisdom figures have told me and took years to sink in. Others are the result of some hard knocks. A few are insights from the great spiritual masters that I've adapted for my own life. Maybe a few will help someone you know who's 25. Maybe one or two will help you.
1. First up: Stop worrying so much! It's useless. (I.e. Jesus was right.)
2. Being a saint means being yourself. Stop trying to be someone else and just be your best self. Saves you heartache.
3. There's no right way to pray, any more than there's a right way to be a friend. What's "best" is what works best for you.
4. Remember three things and save yourself lots of unneeded heartache: You're not God. This ain't heaven. Don't act like a jerk.
5. Your deepest, most heartfelt desires are God's desires for you. And vice versa. Listen. And follow them.
6. Within you is the idea of your best self. Act as if you were that person and you will become that person, with God's grace.
7. Don't worry too much about the worst that can happen. Even if it happens, God is with you, and you can handle it. Really.
8. You can't force people to approve of you, agree with you, be impressed with you, love you or even like you. Stop trying.
9. When we compare, we are usually imagining someone else's life falsely. So our real-life loses out. I.e. Compare and despair.
10. Even when you finally realized the right thing, or the Christian thing, to do, it can still be hard to do. Do it anyway.
11. Seven things to say frequently: I love you. Thank you. Thank you, God. Forgive me. I'm so happy for you! Why not? Yes.
12. Peace and joy come after asking God to free you -- from anything that keeps you from being loving and compassionate.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Are looking for more in your spiritual journey?.. consider the Benedictine Oblate program.
What are Benedictine Oblates?
Oblates of Saint Benedict are Christians seeking to enrich their way of life and deepen their spirituality for life's journey. Oblates shape their lives by living the wisdom of Christ as interpreted by St. Benedict seeking God by striving to become holy in their chosen way of life. The role of Oblates is to live in the world, to become holy in the world, to do what they can to bring the world to God by being witnesses of Christ by word and example to those around them.
Seeking God In Everyday Life. Part 1
Seeking God In Everyday Life. Part 2
Oblate Spirituality
Benedictine Oblates of Saint Meinrad seek God in association with the monastic community there. As individuals and as members of a body, they grow in love of God, neighbor, and self. With the Rule as their guide, Oblates adopt values that are part of the very fabric of Christian spirituality, such as, spending time daily reflecting on the Sacred Scriptures; cultivating an awareness of the presence of God in silence; devoting time to the praise of God. An acquaintance with these and other Christian values presented in the Rule of St. Benedict enables Oblates to attain that special peace and joy that Christ came to bring and promised to all who follow him.
How to Become an Oblate
The only requisites for admission to the Oblates of St. Benedict are an upright character and the earnest desire for spiritual advancement according to the Christian ideas set forth in the Rule of St. Benedict. The minimum age for admission is 15. An oblate can belong to only one monastery.
If you should have any questions concerning the Oblate Program at Saint Meinrad, please ask Deacon Gerry, or contact Father Meinrad Brune:
Father Meinrad Brune, OSB
Director of Benedictine Oblates
Saint Meinrad Archabbey
200 Hill Drive
St. Meinrad, IN 47577
Phone: (812) 357-6817
Fax: (812) 357-6325
E-mail: oblates@saintmeinrad.edu
Please include your full name, address and telephone number.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
What do we do with broken things?
Throw it out? Store it? Attempt to use it? Mend it?
If someone took a quick inspection of my closets, basement, and garage, it would reveal an accumulation of broken things. Some people are obsessed with keeping such stuff--my late husband, in particular--in the event that it might be useful someday. On the other hand, I tend to be an impulsive thrower-outer especially if something is broken. It seems more trouble than it's worth to fix it.
The older we become, the more broken things of the spirit and emotions we accumulate. Such intangibles hurt even more than a broken arm. People move and places change. Landmarks disappear. Our roots are severed—parents are gone along with our childhood memories. When our children grow up and leave home, we feel that distance and time have broken off our branches.
Our roles in life change with the ever-circling years. Our self-worth and influence feel fractured. Can we afford to cry over such breaks? Is it worthwhile to waste today's priceless limited time gazing in the rear view mirror of yesterday?
Why should we apply band-aids to broken things of our past when God has brand new adventures available to us?
Broken things are space-wasters of the spirit that clutter our heart-garages and mental-attics. The Holy Spirit is the Great Motivator, the Eternal Prompter; He draws us, pushes us, and impels us to keep moving on to new things instead of hugging broken things. "Behold, the former things have come to pass, now I declare new things; before they spring forth, I proclaim them to you" (Isaiah 42:9).
Sometimes the Lord deliberately severs our roots to pull us out of the hardened soil of the familiar that prevents us from stretching and growing to our full potential. As maturing Christians, let's not allow memories to become ponderous anchors for our life ships to hold us back from sailing over the wide ocean of what God has prepared for us.
When we leave a broken relationship behind, precious though it may have been—or painful—just over the horizon may be a surprising new relationship. A broken job or broken health may motivate us to unfold wings we've never tried before. Broken things are part of God's intensive care for us. He intends them for our good.
God's marching order regarding broken things is, "One thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:13,14).
Sunday, October 24, 2010
LOL..Laugh Out Loud...a foretaste of what awaits us in heaven
Post from The Integrated Catholic Life Blog begins...
G. K. Chesterton once said, “Angels fly because they take themselves lightly.” What a beautiful concept; realizing that it is not us, but God that carries the weight of the world, thus making us free from the gravitational pull of our own importance.
When I am in the company of great men and women of faith, I am often “awe” struck by their quick wit and sense of humor. I can only think that it is their humility, their absolute faith that God is so much bigger than they, that allows them to surrender entirely to His mercy and at the same time do so with a smile. There truly is a “lightness” to one who knows that he is nothing and God is everything. For those who believe they are everything, seldom wear such a smile of contentment.
As a society, we often look to God during times of trial and suffering, and although this is good, for sometimes God’s mercy is packaged in such a way that we are forced to stand up and take notice, at times it leads us to believe that happiness and laughter are separate from our relationship with our Creator.
Laughter is endearing. It is said to “be the shortest distance between two people.” (See, that right there is funny, following a quote by Chesterton with one by Victor Borge… Now, if I could only find a Nipsey Russell quote…) But, Mr. Borge has made a very accurate statement. There is something about laughing with another person that draws us closer to that person, establishes a sense of trust and builds a sense of confidence.
Just think of Sarah’s reaction as God informs Abraham that Sarah, in her old age, will bear a child. The second she laughs, she is drawn closer to God. In fact, He delights so in her humanity, which He created, He instructs them to name the child Isaac, the Hebrew word for laughter. Just think of how Sarah’s confidence in God grew as the child in her womb grew, and how her trust in the Lord intensified as the pains of labor intensified and she bore a son.
Genuine laughter cannot be forced. It is something so true and so real. It is something that shows us the Holy Spirit is working deep within us, at the sight of our innermost emotions. Think about the inner warmth you feel as you find yourself doubled over and tears flowing from your eyes in laughter. That passionate response of happiness that encompasses both body and soul can only be a mere foretaste of the happiness that awaits us in heaven.
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Tragedy leads young woman to RCIA
The article begins:
Life was rolling along right on schedule for Tamara Mack early last year. She and Harvey, her husband, had a nice new house on an acre of land near Leipsic, Delaware. She was pregnant, meeting her personal timeline to have a baby by age 30.
“I thought, ‘Perfect. I’m 29 and I’m going to have a baby,’” she said. “Life was going great, as we had planned.”
Her plan took a nightmarish turn in early April 2009. Mack was full term with her son, already named Harvey III and nicknamed Tré by his parents. During an exam she saw panic on her doctor’s face. He could not detect the baby’s heartbeat.
An ultrasound showed the baby was not moving. At 3:18 a.m. April 9, Mack delivered her stillborn son.
“I was numb,” she recalled. “I think I was in disbelief. Harvey was just heartbroken.”
Her son’s death triggered a series of events that drew Mack to the Catholic faith.
Friday, September 3, 2010
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