Category: catholic

Medjugorje Message: July 25, 2009

Our Lady’s message from Medjugorje on July 26, 2009. Mary calls us all to a life of prayer. Sometimes the simplest message is often the hardest to carry out. After all, how much time do you spend in prayer every day? Or better yet, do you make your entire life a living prayer where you put God first above all other things?

Medjugorje Mary Statue

Our Lady‘s message on July 25, 2009 is short and simple:

Dear children! May this time be a time of prayer for you. Thank you for having responded to my call.

That’s it.  Of course, the simplest message is often the hardest to carry out.  After all, how much time do you spend in prayer every day?  Do you think you could stand before God and honestly tell Him that you spent enough of your life in prayer?  Or better yet, do you make your entire life a living prayer where you put God first above all other things?  I know that I have a tendency to isolate my faith where I set aside some time for God but then go about my day focused (or obsessed over) other things.

So ask yourself, do you make your entire life about loving God and having His love shine forth through you in all that you do?  Or is there a disconnect between your prayers and how you live your life?  Let us remember that prayer is more than just reciting an “Our Father” or “Hail Mary.”  It is a time for us to talk to God and learn how we can incorporate His will into our lives.  May our prayers bare fruit by living as God calls us to live.

Rosary Meditation: The Fifth Sorrowful Mystery

Today’s rosary meditation is The Fifth Sorrowful Mystery — The Crucifixion. After suffering through the scourging, being mocked with a crown of thorns, and carrying a cross, Jesus died alongside two criminals. Jesus’ crucifixion is the ultimate example that we are all called to follow God’s plan even in the face of great difficulty. As imitators of Christ, we cannot ignore or avoid God’s will when we find ourselves in difficult situations.

The Crucifix and Calvary (#109)
Image by Christopher Chan via Flickr

Today’s rosary meditation is The Fifth Sorrowful Mystery — The Crucifixion.  After suffering through the scourging, being mocked with a crown of thorns, and carrying a cross, Jesus died alongside two criminals.  People seeing Jesus on the cross were puzzled because He saved others, but couldn’t save Himself (Matthew 27:42).  They wanted Him to perform one more miracle so that they would believe in Him forgetting all the miracles He had already performed and that His largest miracle, conquering death and opening the gates of Heaven, was yet to come.

I feel that Jesus’ crucifixion is the ultimate example that we are all called to follow God’s plan even in the face of great difficulty.  Jesus, being the son of God, could have easily put an end to His suffering any time He wanted.  And yet, He suffered and died horribly.  Why?  Because Jesus practiced what He preached.  His entire ministry revolved around the principles of sacrifice, redemptive suffering, charity, forgiveness, and having faith in God’s plan for us.  And when the time came for His crucifixion, Jesus did not ignore His teachings in order to save his earthly body.   When Jesus taught that we must “take up our cross” in order to gain salvation, He knew full well those words also applied to Him.  Therefore,  as imitators of Christ, we cannot ignore or avoid God’s will when we find ourselves in difficult situations.

Jesus’ crucifixion, while extreme, highlights a situation we find ourselves in all the time.  How often do we try to ignore God’s plan for us because following it causes difficulty or suffering?  How many times do we feel the urge to tell a little lie in order to avoid punishment?  How much easier is it to drown ourselves in drugs or alcohol when times are difficult?  How much simpler is it to “go with the crowd” and not stick out even when the crowd is not living morally?  But God calls us to have faith in His plan despite our situation.  Jesus loved and forgave those who tortured or abandoned Him on the cross because God’s way is one of unconditional forgiveness.  We often try to make excuses for our shortcomings, but in the end we must understand that we are called to live as Jesus taught us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week without exception.   The last time I checked, Jesus did not say “love thy neighbor EXCEPT when he is really, really annoying.”

Let us recall those times in our lives when we did not follow God’s will because it seemed too difficult.  Let us remember when we ignored His plan out of fear of suffering and pray that we can show more resolve in the future.  May we remember that all earthly suffering is temporary and is a minuscule when compared to the infinite joy and happiness of Heaven we gain by following Christ.  It’s true that many people have a much tougher road and a much heavier cross to bear than others.  But we must have faith that God never gives us a larger burden than we can handle.  So we should pray, not only that we have find our innate strength to imitate Jesus’ unconditional love and sacrifice, but that others can find that same God-given, moral fortitude as well.

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Pace Your Prayer Life

One of the main themes of my website is that prayer can be likened to exercise. Any good fitness instructor will tell you that you need to rest periodically so you can regain energy and avoid injury. Likewise, make sure your prayer routine includes time to rest so that you don’t experience spiritual burnout.

brush drawing on blue primed paper

One of the main themes of my website is that prayer can be likened to exercise.  Like physical exercise, prayer requires an earnest and consistent effort for noticeable results.  In physical exercise, you will never get into good shape if you only do one push-up.  Likewise, throwing out a “Hail Mary” once a month really won’t get you very connected to your faith.  However, you also want to be careful not to go to the other extreme and wear yourself out.  Any good fitness instructor will tell you that you need to rest periodically so you can regain energy and avoid injury.  Likewise, make sure your prayer routine includes time to rest so that you don’t experience spiritual burnout.

When I say you should take prayer rests that does not mean that you can go and sin your heart out or stop prayer entirely.  Much like how an athlete shouldn’t devour an entire cheesecake on a rest day, taking a break from your usual prayer routine does not give you license to sin.  When I say rest, I mean changing or lightening your prayer routine in order to restore spiritual energy and gain new perspective.  There are many ways to add variety to your prayers to break you out of your routine.  For example, try reading the Bible, praying the rosary,  listening to Catholic radio, saying different prayers, or just setting aside some personal “quiet” time for reflection and meditation.  Maybe there is a friend or family member who is going through a hard time whom you should call or visit.

My aim is to pray two rosary mysteries every day during my commute to and from work.  I started out trying to pray all four mysteries, but I found that I just do not have the focus and attention for that at this point in my life.  Instead of praying earnestly, I ended up just repeating words while think about other things.  Even two mysteries can be a stretch at times as my mind has a tendency to wonder.  When I’m not up to giving the rosary a 100% effort, I turn my attention to other activities like listening to ETWN or reading Catholic news websites.  Often, when I resume my usual routine after a one-day break I’m more focused and can meditate on each mystery from a new perspective.  Maybe I read or heard something on my rest day that I then integrate into my meditations.  By taking a little rest, I get much more out of subsequent prayers.

Let’s remember that life is a long journey and we should pace ourselves in all aspects of our lives.  You can’t win a marathon by trying to sprint 26 miles.  Doing so would lead to exhaustion, injury, and discouragement.  Not only would you not win, chances are you won’t even cross the finish line.  Likewise, you should pace your spiritual life and build up your spiritual “muscle.”  There are times for intense prayer and meditation and there are times for lighter reflection and learning.  How do you know the appropriate mix?  Just listen to your spiritual fitness instructors — Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the saints, and the choir of angels in Heaven.  They will let you know when it is time to step up your efforts or take a breather.

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Medjugorje Message: June 25, 2009

The message from Mary at Medjugorje on June 25 calls on all of us to “convert in joy” so that we may be brought closer to God’s love. Despite the challenges and hardship in converting our hearts from a worldly one to a Heavenly one, we shouldn’t forget the joy that comes in being in God’s grace.

Medjugorje (16)

The June 25, 2009 message from our Mother Mary at Medjugorje:

Dear children! Rejoice with me, convert in joy and give thanks to God for the gift of my presence among you.  Pray that, in your hearts, God may be in the center of your life and with your life witness, little children, so that every creature may feel God’s love. Be my extended hands for every creature, so that it may draw closer to the God of love. I bless you with my motherly blessing. Thank you for having responded to my call.

What grabbed me in this message is that Mary is asking us to “convert in joy.”  This echoes the Third Luminous Mystery of the rosary where Jesus calls on us to work towards a converted spirit.  Conversion is an important cornerstone of our faith as this theme appears in Jesus’ words, the saints’ teachings, and Mary’s messages.  However, when I think about conversion, I typically see it as our struggle to transform our wicked ways into God’s ways.  I tend to focus on the effort to pray more, to go to Confession, to be more compassionate, and do all the other little things to imitate Christ.  I concentrate on the act of conversion while overlooking why I need to have a converted spirit so that I can receive the benefits of being in God’s grace.

There is much joy in converting our worldly hearts toward God.  Think of the joy that comes when starting any large project.  I know I feel a sense of joy and excitement when I start a new endeavor such as a large home improvement task or a large programming project at work.  Yes, these projects will have their challenges and won’t always be pleasant.  In the middle of a difficult project we can lose that joy we initially felt and just feel consumed by the obstacles and setbacks.  However, we are typically rewarded for our efforts whether it be a nice, clean home or knowing that our hard work improved some one’s life.  The same can be said about our spiritual life.  Converting our ways to be more like Jesus’ ways may be difficult but the end result of having God’s grace will be well worth the effort.  After all, if we can feel a sense of joy and accomplishment after cleaning and organizing our home, imagine the joy that comes when we clean and organize our souls!  May we listen to our Heavenly Mother and convert in joy by making God the center of our lives so that He may draw us closer to His love.  If we can do this, I think we will see that it was time and energy well spent.

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Close Encounter of the Papal Kind

Buona sera! That is Italian for “Good Evening.” I got used to saying that phrase quite often during my two-week trip to Italy. I’m back now and I thought I would share the highlight of the vacation. My wife and I attended Mass on Pentecost Sunday, in St. Peter’s Basilica, lead by Pope Benedict XVI on our first-year wedding anniversary.

Pope Benedict giving a blessing

Buona sera!  That is Italian for “Good Evening.”  I got used to saying that phrase quite often during my two-week trip to Italy.  I’m back now and I thought I would share the highlight of the vacation.  My wife and I attended Mass on Pentecost Sunday, at St. Peter’s Basilica, lead by Pope Benedict XVI on our first-year wedding anniversary.  I wish I could say that I planned this all especially for our anniversary, but it was mostly a lucky coincidence of being in the right place at the right time.  However, I can’t think of a better way of spending our anniversary than attending a Papal Mass at the literal center of the Catholic Church.

This experience was very energizing and felt like a small pep rally for my soul.  It definitely fell more on the electrifying side rather than a deeply spiritual one.  It is difficult to have a deeply solemn and meditative experience when you are in St. Peter’s Basilica with thousands of other people, many of whom are there to watch a good show, listen to a symphony, and take pictures rather than pray.  That being said, the grandeur of the ceremony appealed to another side of my spirituality — my excitement and joy of being a member of the Catholic Church.  Throughout the Mass all I could think about was how great it is that this is my Church, my traditions, and my faith and I couldn’t be prouder to be a Catholic.

The excitement of the entire ceremony can be summarized in seeing The Holy Father walk down the isle only ten feet away from us.   As he walked by, staff in hand, I could really feel the presence of the Holy Spirit that surrounds him.  I felt a sense of excitement and pride coming so close to someone whose very smile radiates a joy that can only come by fully embracing the Faith.  Despite all the burdens and responsibility of his position, Pope Benedict XVI really looks like he is at ease with the monumental task God has given him.  This reminded me of Mary at the Annunciation where She accepted God’s Will despite the worldly burdens it would bring.

It’s safe to say that God calls most of us to much lighter service than what He asked of Mary and what He asks of the Pope.  So if they have the strength to say yes to God, and do it with a smile, then I’m confident that any one of us can accept God’s calling and do our small part with joy.

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The Rosary: Speaking God’s Language

In my previous post I shared a video expressing the joy of praying the rosary. The video quotes several excuses and criticisms people often have about praying the rosary. The one that really struck a cord with me was, “that I always pray the same thing.” However, prayer is not only about the words, but it is also about setting aside time to focus on our relationship with God.

Hail Mary Full of Grace
Image by Raymond Brown via Flickr

In my previous post I shared a video expressing the joy of praying the rosary.  The video quotes several excuses and criticisms people often have about praying the rosary.  The one that really struck a cord with me was, “that I always pray the same thing.”  I not only hear this from others, but that thought often crosses my mind before I pray.  Sometimes the engineer in me wants to utter the equation, “(Our Father + (Hail Mary * 10) + Glory Be + Fatima Prayer)*5*4” and tell God to fill in the details.  Or I want to tell God that He already knows what I usually pray for so He can just take what I said yesterday and pretend I said it today.  As efficient as that may seem, it defeats the purpose of prayer.  For prayer is not only about the words, but it is also about setting aside time to focus on our relationship with God.

Think about your favorite movie.  Think about one that you’ve seen a hundred times and wouldn’t mind watching it a hundred times more.  I know that I can watch any “Star Wars” movie a countless number of times and still be thrilled (excluding “The Phantom Menace“).   I’m not sure why this is the case for certain movies.  Maybe there is a certain level of comfort viewing something that is familiar or invokes good memories.  In a very loose way, the same can be said about the rosary.  We should look forward with happy anticipation to pray the rosary although we recite the same prayers every time.  After all, praying the rosary is our time to talk to God.  And while the words may be the same, the way God reveals Himself to us is always different.  Praying the rosary, like a good movie, should be a time of peace and happiness.  After all, at the heart of the rosary is God and God is all good.

The rosary may be made of simple parts, but that does not mean that it is a mindless prayer.  The “Hail Mary” and “Our Father” prayers serve as a backdrop so that we can focus our hearts, minds, and souls on God.  Think of these simple prayers as the building blocks for deeper contemplation and meditation.  For example, professional swimmers must coordinate basic strokes in order to win a gold medal.  When they first start training, they focus on the mechanics of each individual stroke — their arm and leg placement, breathing, etc.  But over time those movements become second nature and they can concentrate on really pushing themselves to do better.  The same goes for prayer.  These relatively-simple prayers are the building blocks we need to form a deeper relationship with God.  The more we pray, the more receptive we become to hear how God wants us to live.

Through prayer, we bring forward all the important issues in our lives and place them before our Lord, Jesus Christ.  We have our whole day to focus on other tasks — work, family, friends, traffic, finances, daily chores, etc.  But praying the rosary is our time to concentrate on our relationship with God.  I’m not saying that work, family, and friends have no place in prayer.  Quite the contrary, they are an important part of prayer since we bring all our concerns from our daily lives and place them before God.  And when we pray earnestly, God speaks to us and provides us guidance.  He doesn’t make our problems magically disappear, but He will show us the way to handle them if we make ourselves receptive to His Word.

So let us pray the rosary with joy.  May we view the rosary as our chance to bring all our problems, concerns, and thanks before God.   If we really have faith knowing that our prayers go directly to God then we would never view fifty “Hail Mary” prayers (one mystery of the rosary) as too long or just mindless repetition.  For the rosary is the God’s language and we owe it to ourselves to learn it.

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You Are Not Alone

I saw this video the other day and thought that it was worth sharing. I was happy (and a tad envious) to see that it has been viewed over 130,000+ times and has a five-star rating. I hope that videos like this one and blogs like mine remind you that no one ever prays alone. God unites all of us as we either pray for someone or someone prays for us.

I saw this video the other day and thought that it was worth sharing.  I was happy (and a tad envious) to see that it has been viewed over 130,000+ times and has a five-star rating.  I hope that videos like this one and blogs like mine remind you that no one ever prays alone.  God unites all of us as we either pray for someone or someone prays for us.

Random Thought: Living God’s Word

Judas received the best spiritual teaching and guidance as one of Jesus’ apostles. And yet, he never took Jesus’ message to heart and betrayed Him. Remember that just listening to God’s Word isn’t the same as living God’s Word.

Judas received the best spiritual teaching and guidance as one of Jesus’ apostles.  And yet, he never took Jesus’ message to heart and betrayed Him.  Remember that just listening to God’s Word isn’t the same as living God’s Word.