My Advent Reflection - Choosing Devotions

It started with a reminder to my family that today was Friday Friday which meant Mass and Nocturnal Adoration.   Instead of the enthusiasm I always hope to hear, I heard groans and I saw the rolling of the eyes. To be honest with you, even though we try to be good practicing Catholics, my family is not exactly St. Therese's family.

The First Friday announcement triggered a family discussion on devotions.  My son shared with us his favorite and not so favorite devotions and my husband shared that he often prays during the day in a personal way without formal prayers.  I acknowledged that I would prefer to pray with my own words instead of all the devotional prayers that I pray daily.

However,  we sometimes need to pray formally or to perform certain devotions because we have responsibilities to our spiritual life like any other aspect of our lives.  The devotions that make up part of my daily life are important.  I cannot give them up merely because I find myself praying by rote.  I just need to focus more on these prayers.  We need to pray for those in need, conversion, the dying, for reparation, in thanksgiving, in adoration and so many other reasons.  Many times formal prayers like the Holy Rosary and the Divine Mercy Chaplet are the best ways of doing this. 

Our devotions are a personal thing that depend on our state of life.  Someone who is ill may not be able to attend daily Mass but can receive spiritual communion and can pray the Holy Rosary for so many intentions.

This Advent season I suggest that you take inventory of your devotions and see whether you need to make some changes.

My Advent Reflection - Stillness and Silence

It is only through our being still and listening intently that we will hear God speak to us.  He sometimes speaks in a whisper or very quietly to us.  We must therefore learn to listen for His gentle voice.

Not long ago I read an article in a National Geographic magazine about how darkness seems to have all but disappeared from the night sky.  It is through so much light pollution that a dark night is becoming a rarity.  We may not realize it but darkness is vital to the well being of the Earth's creatures.  Remember that it was on the very first day of creation, God separated the day from night.  He did not eliminate the darkness but only separated it from the light. 

This man-made darkness elimination is causing an adverse effect on the world's animals.  Just to give you one example, most of the birds who sleep during the night are now often disoriented by the light.  They become confused and fly to their deaths.  This will surely negatively impact their survival.

For human beings, it is easier to find stillness in the dark if we want to do so.  A quiet room lit only by a candle or a single light bulb can really help us spiritually to hear Our Lord speaking to us, as long as we do not permit too much lights and sounds to distract our attention.  Yet, more often than not, we allow our attention to be diverted from listening to God by the flashing lights and continuous loud noises coming from the television, computer, cell phone, MP3 players, and even talking to much.  How can we possibly expect to know what God wants from us when we cannot hear him?  Or how can we expect God to answer us if we are talking.  As Judge Judy likes to remind us "God gave us two ears and one mouth for a reason."

If we are unwilling to give up the "night life" in order to find God, than we have to find Him at another time, if we are serious about developing a personal relationship with our Lord.

Did you ever notice that when your eyes open very early in the morning, you can find solutions to a problem or an answer to a question, lying in bed?  This is true for me.  I find it much easier to think during this short time because my mind is clear.  I also think this is true because there is silence and darkness surrounding me.  Just for a short time, there are no distractions.  God is there to help me with my problems or the answers I am seeking.  I listen to Him and He speaks to my heart.

Another place one can listen to God without distractions, is before the Blessed Sacrament found in every Catholic Church or chapel. 

... I have stilled my soul, hushed it like a weaned child. Like a weaned child on its mother's lap, so is my soul within me... Psalm 131:2

Jesus is truly present in the Blessed Sacrament in the Tabernacle before us!  We can go to Him because He will understand our needs, pains, sufferings like no one else can.  We in turn must listen to what He has to say to us.  He is there for us, if we can only quiet ourselves and listen.  We may not be able to control the noise around us, but we can focus on Him and not let distractions such as talking or cell phones ringing, make us lose our peace within us.

There is still time this Advent to find Our Lord in silence.

"Where's the Line to See Jesus?"

Where's the Line to See Jesus?

A big mahalo to Cami for sharing this beautiful video and story with me.

And Death’s Dark Shadow Put to Flight: Advent Hope for the Fall of Man

These Stone Walls: And Death’s Dark Shadow Put to Flight: Advent Hope for the Fall of Man.

Please read Father Gordon's newest post for Advent. It is very moving.

My Advent Reflection - Carrying Our Crosses

Painting by Eustache Le Sueur

One thing we can be certain of is that no one in this world is without a cross to bear. Even for those whose crosses do not appear to be very difficult to bear, the cross can be hard to accept if not carried with the right spirit.

Some say that God gives us the cross sized just right for us. Others say that we only have to carry a sliver of our cross because Jesus is carrying the brunt of it.

Either way we choose to look at the weight of our personal cross, we will find that our cross can be carried without complaint, and even with joy, when we do it for God. When we accept our cross for love of God, we are then carrying our crosses by uniting our sufferings with Jesus' sufferings. We are not focusing on our pains and problems. We instead have a more nobler purpose for the hardships that come our way.  We are also resigning ourselves to accept God's will for us in everything. Be it good or bad, we accept.  Like St. Francis de Sales taught his spiritual children, through the inspirational teachings in Spiritual Combat, we neither request nor reject.

I have a very good friend.  She is in fact, my best friend and one of my oldest friends.  We can always count on each other for support and unconditional love.  This friend has had to bear very painful crosses in her life.  Just to give you a few examples, she had to bear the pain of an abusive and unfaithful spouse, a divorce and the nightmare that every parent fears, the death of her child, the only daughter in the family.

As devastating as the last cross was for my friend, she never blamed God, never complained but in her extreme sadness, she accepted it.  It has been at least five years since the girl's death, and even though she is still sorely missed by her mother, her mother instead has turned to God for solace and answers to her daughter's untimely death.

To me, my friend is a very holy person.  She is far from perfect, like the rest of us.  Yet, in her simplicity, she accepted God's will for her.

I was listening to an interview on EWTN the other day.  It was Father Stan Fortuna telling this story. It seemed that a priest or cardinal approached Pope John Paul II for counsel as the priest in question was in terrible physical pain.  Pope John Paul II lightly slapped the priest's forehead and told him not to waste his suffering.

What an example!  We should all learn that lesson well. 

I do not believe there will ever be a person who enjoys the crosses God gives them, not even a saint would enjoy the crosses of their lives. But we can embrace our crosses in a different way, in that we may be embracing Christ Himself and offering Him the comfort He did not receive from anyone during His Passion.

My Advent Reflection - Forgiveness

Sacred Heart Church Nascent Vigil for Life

It is the Monday of the first week of Advent. I wrote part of the following in Church early in the morning.

There is a peaceful stillness surrounding me this early morning prior to Mass. It is during this time, that I spend in quiet company of our Lord. It is very easy to feel love in His presence. Yet, I realize that once I leave that sanctuary, the real world will bombard me with the troubles of the day. At the moment, I feel at peace, having had my sins cleansed "by the Blood of the Lamb", a couple of days ago, I can promise Him that I will not offend him anymore. How long will it be before I fail to keep my promise?; once again doing something that will offend our God.

The inevitability of my sins due to my weak nature does not really disturb me. Instead it gives me the strength and conviction I need to try even harder to overcome my habitual sins. I am comforted by the promises of His Divine Mercy. He will forgive me again and again as long as I resolve myself to sin no more and more importantly to feel true sorrow for my sins.

The part of the Act of Contrition that we pray "...and to avoid near occasions of sins..." would mean that I would have to avoid people in general. That would not be either helpful to my spiritual well being or realistic. Instead, it would be more helpful to ask God, His mother and the saints, to help me see others as Jesus' sees them. Overcoming pride and actively embracing humility will be more effective in this case.

Come Lord Jesus and continue to fill me with the joy of your coming that when I greet you, you will notice that I have made an honest effort to overcome the sins that hold me back from loving You completely.