Our family is following a daily Lenten devotional that we found at our favorite religious store, Hurley's, in Sioux Falls. Our Church made available to the parishioners another devotional. I have been praying it on my own. Today's reflection was about prayer and how it changes from childhood through adulthood.
When I was a little girl, bedtime prayers were an everyday fact of life. "Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep, but if I die before I wake, I pray to God my soul to take." In retrospect, that is a kind of frightening prayer. It covers all the bases. You ask to continue life, but, just in case, you ask to be cared for in death. I never put much thought into those rote words, I just recited them like a dutiful child, along with my lengthy list of "God bless Mommy, Daddy, Debi, Grandma, Grandpa, Dun Grandma, and keep Laurie safe and bring her home." I had forgotten that, but my cousin had run away from home several times. Every time she was gone, we prayed for her to come home safe and sound. God protected and brought her home every time.
Every family meal was preceded by the Catholic table grace, even after we joined the Methodist Church. We always sat in exactly the same places around the table, heads down, hands folded. These prayers were only at home. We did not pray when we traveled to family. We did not pray in restaurants.
As time passed, bedtime prayers, faded. Meal time prayers continued until I was in high school. After my parents divorced, I don't remember them as often, but I know they still happened at least occasionally.
Today, we pray before all family meals. Most of the time it is the Catholic table grace. Sometimes, we pray the table prayer Dave grew up with in his Lutheran home. We pray at home. We pray at Grandma's house. We pray in restaurants. We hold hands and pray together.
We pray every school day before the boys leave on the bus and Dave leaves for work. We pray in thanksgiving to the blessings we have had in the day. We pray to be kept safe and brought home together each night. We pray for our friends and family who are in need of God's touch.
We pray regularly to St. Anthony, since we seem to lose things on a regular basis. We ask for guidance on where to look. When we locate the missing object, we pray again, in thanksgiving for the assistance we received.
Currently, we are praying a Lenten devotional. The boys seem interested. The publisher has other devotionals for other seasons in the year. This may be something we continue once Lent has transitioned into Easter.
We pray the rosary, but not as consistently as we should. I have fond memories of praying the rosary with my best friend's family when I was a little girl. On Saturday evenings, after supper, everyone went to the living room. Everyone knelt on the floor, facing a a piece of furniture. If you did not have a rosary with you, which I never did since I was a Methodist, you used your finger rosary. Mrs. Haberman told me the reason God gave us ten fingers was so we would have enough for each Hail Mary of each decade of the rosary.
I pray the daily readings from the Saint of the Day books. I speak with God in silent prayer, spoken prayer and in song. I thought I didn't pray much, but in reflecting today, I realize I spend more time in prayer than I had actively thought I did.
I was given a solid prayer background by both my parents and Mrs. Haberman. My prayer today is that we will give our children a similar base to develop their own personal prayer relationship with Jesus.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Soup and Sermon
During the Lenten season, our local community has a tradition of soup and sermon on a weekly basis. It is housed at our Church, but the churches in our town host it on a rotating basis. This week, the Wesley United Methodist Church was the host. Tables of eight enjoy a soup and cracker lunch prior to the pastor of the host church giving a twenty minute talk with a Lenten theme. There is an opportunity for fellowship with other Christians of other denominations during the lunch.
I have been looking for a Lenten enrichment opportunity. For all of the years we have lived in the parish, I have thought I should go, but never took the time or made the effort. This year, I vowed would be the year I would make it to just one.
This week was the one week I was sure I would make it to there. The phone rang just before I was supposed to walk out the door. By the time I hung up and drove over, it was almost noon. They start serving the soup at 11:45 and the sermon begins at 12:05. Almost noon was still ahead of the speaker, though, so I was in the right place at the right time.
The speaker was very inspirational. His talk was about unconditional love. The most impacting part, though, was when he spoke about God's favorite person. He said the person to our left was God's favorite person. Then he said the person to our right was God's favorite person. And then, he said the person between the one on the right and the one on the left was God's favorite person. He reminded us that each one of us was why Jesus sacrificed his life on the cross. It wasn't to save some random person, but it was to save his favorite person, and that is each of us.
It was powerful and motivational. I left Soup and Sermon with a feeling of peace, and of hope, and of greater respect for God's favorite person. I don't think this will be my last Soup and Sermon this Lenten season.
I have been looking for a Lenten enrichment opportunity. For all of the years we have lived in the parish, I have thought I should go, but never took the time or made the effort. This year, I vowed would be the year I would make it to just one.
This week was the one week I was sure I would make it to there. The phone rang just before I was supposed to walk out the door. By the time I hung up and drove over, it was almost noon. They start serving the soup at 11:45 and the sermon begins at 12:05. Almost noon was still ahead of the speaker, though, so I was in the right place at the right time.
The speaker was very inspirational. His talk was about unconditional love. The most impacting part, though, was when he spoke about God's favorite person. He said the person to our left was God's favorite person. Then he said the person to our right was God's favorite person. And then, he said the person between the one on the right and the one on the left was God's favorite person. He reminded us that each one of us was why Jesus sacrificed his life on the cross. It wasn't to save some random person, but it was to save his favorite person, and that is each of us.
It was powerful and motivational. I left Soup and Sermon with a feeling of peace, and of hope, and of greater respect for God's favorite person. I don't think this will be my last Soup and Sermon this Lenten season.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
A Mission in Life
One of the lessons I took out of yesterday's Lenten Retreat is an awareness of a need for a spiritual mission in life. I have thought before about what my mission might be or the direction I should be taking in order to fulfil God's expectations for me. In searching for my mission, I have touched a lot of areas of our Church life. I teach Faith Formation to second graders in our parish. I bring the Eucharist to the hospital. I am working on several committees within the parish. Each of these bring a certain level of peace, but I don't know that any one of these is truly the mission I am being called to by God.
We questioned how we should find out what our mission from God would be. Father makes it sound so easy. He said we should pray about it, ask God what he wants us to do, and be open to following His direction. I know God answers prayers. I know God gives us direction as to where He wants us to go and how He wants us to behave. Right now, I find I am having difficulty trusting my understanding of the direction I think God wants me to go. I have prayed about each of the decisions I have made regarding my involvement with the Church. I don't feel I have gone against what God wants me to do, but I don't know I have followed the way I am being led.
Obviously, this can only mean I need to spend more time in prayer and meditation. One thought I keep coming back to, which most likely means it should be a starting point for my meditation, was the comment from one of my round table counterparts stating motherhood can be a mission. Nurturing a Catholic family is an important mission that is often neglected. Does this mean I have spent too much time focused away from our home? Am I neglecting my responsibility to my family? Am I ignoring my true mission from God?
We questioned how we should find out what our mission from God would be. Father makes it sound so easy. He said we should pray about it, ask God what he wants us to do, and be open to following His direction. I know God answers prayers. I know God gives us direction as to where He wants us to go and how He wants us to behave. Right now, I find I am having difficulty trusting my understanding of the direction I think God wants me to go. I have prayed about each of the decisions I have made regarding my involvement with the Church. I don't feel I have gone against what God wants me to do, but I don't know I have followed the way I am being led.
Obviously, this can only mean I need to spend more time in prayer and meditation. One thought I keep coming back to, which most likely means it should be a starting point for my meditation, was the comment from one of my round table counterparts stating motherhood can be a mission. Nurturing a Catholic family is an important mission that is often neglected. Does this mean I have spent too much time focused away from our home? Am I neglecting my responsibility to my family? Am I ignoring my true mission from God?
Our Father
"Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed by thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen."
This morning, we did our daily Lenten devotional before the boys left for school. Today's suggested penance is a ten minute reflection on the Our Father. We are to more fully examine what the prayer says and means, rather than merely reciting it without thought.
The commentary this morning gave us background information about the prayer. It analysed the prayer. It talked of the opening of the prayer which glorifies God. It also explained how the prayer covers our requests for his daily assistance. Finally, we read we should be praying the Our Father three times daily. We should pray it in the morning, in the evening and during Daily Mass.
At this point, I don't feel Daily Mass is going to be a daily reality for me. Currently, I attend Daily Mass one Monday a month. In time, I am sure this number will grow, but that is not my reality right now. This means, I would need to say an Our Father at another time of the day, if I follow the three times a day, like the devotional suggested. I will need to do some research to verify how to proceed, to ensure I am following the intent. For now, though, I will need to add the Our Father to my morning and evening prayers.
After the boys left this morning, I went upstairs to finish getting ready for the day. The television was on and Daily Mass was playing on EWTN. I arrived in the midst of Father Frank Pavone's homily. The focus was on the Our Father. I hit the rewind button on the Tivo and found the Gospel is from Mark, where we are given the Our Father prayer. Then, I was able to see the homily from the beginning. I now have a different perspective on this beautiful petition. I will dare to pray the Our Father two more times today. Tonight, I will watch this homily again, this time with the boys so they can see Father Pavone's explanation of the Gospel and how it relates to us in our daily lives.
This morning, we did our daily Lenten devotional before the boys left for school. Today's suggested penance is a ten minute reflection on the Our Father. We are to more fully examine what the prayer says and means, rather than merely reciting it without thought.
The commentary this morning gave us background information about the prayer. It analysed the prayer. It talked of the opening of the prayer which glorifies God. It also explained how the prayer covers our requests for his daily assistance. Finally, we read we should be praying the Our Father three times daily. We should pray it in the morning, in the evening and during Daily Mass.
At this point, I don't feel Daily Mass is going to be a daily reality for me. Currently, I attend Daily Mass one Monday a month. In time, I am sure this number will grow, but that is not my reality right now. This means, I would need to say an Our Father at another time of the day, if I follow the three times a day, like the devotional suggested. I will need to do some research to verify how to proceed, to ensure I am following the intent. For now, though, I will need to add the Our Father to my morning and evening prayers.
After the boys left this morning, I went upstairs to finish getting ready for the day. The television was on and Daily Mass was playing on EWTN. I arrived in the midst of Father Frank Pavone's homily. The focus was on the Our Father. I hit the rewind button on the Tivo and found the Gospel is from Mark, where we are given the Our Father prayer. Then, I was able to see the homily from the beginning. I now have a different perspective on this beautiful petition. I will dare to pray the Our Father two more times today. Tonight, I will watch this homily again, this time with the boys so they can see Father Pavone's explanation of the Gospel and how it relates to us in our daily lives.
Monday, March 2, 2009
The Seven Deadly Sins
We had a Lenten retreat following daily Mass today. The focus was on the Seven Deadly Sins and the accompanying Seven Heavenly Virtues. Because of time constraints, we were only able to go through three of the deadly sins and their corresponding virtues. At some point, I would be interested in a more thorough examination of the study. The conversations were enlightening and I feel like I learned a great deal in the few hours I spent with the other parishioners attending the retreat.
The seven deadly sins and their virtues are listed below:
Pride and Humility
Envy and Kindness
Anger and Patience
Sloth and Zeal
Avarice and Liberality
Gluttony and Abstinence
Lust and Chastity
The seven deadly sins and their virtues are listed below:
Pride and Humility
Envy and Kindness
Anger and Patience
Sloth and Zeal
Avarice and Liberality
Gluttony and Abstinence
Lust and Chastity
Pray for Me
Father Sam was the pastoral assistant at our parish several years ago already. He has an obvious devotion to our Blessed Mother. He always includes a heartfelt prayer, asking the Blessed Mother to pray for us as a congregation.
During one of his homilies, he asked everyone in attendance to say a Hail Mary for him every day. It sounds like an easy request, one that could almost be accomplished in my sleep. When I think back over those several years, there have been way more days where I didn't say a Hail Mary for him. Regularly, I think I need to correct this problem and almost as quickly, I forget again.
Today, I begin again. For Father Sam,
"Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen."
During one of his homilies, he asked everyone in attendance to say a Hail Mary for him every day. It sounds like an easy request, one that could almost be accomplished in my sleep. When I think back over those several years, there have been way more days where I didn't say a Hail Mary for him. Regularly, I think I need to correct this problem and almost as quickly, I forget again.
Today, I begin again. For Father Sam,
"Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen."
Sunday, March 1, 2009
The Desert
We attended the Mass at our local Campus Religious Center this evening. The presiding priest has been in our area for about a year. He had a long and varied career before his arrival here. Tonight's homily was about Jesus' time in the desert. He spoke about his own time in the desert in Israel, back when he as in college.
The desert is full of arduous terrain and wild animals, capable of killing and eating a person without hesitation. It has abrasive sands and scorching heat, even in the spring. The desert is silent. It is a place where you are alone with yourself. Going there is an opportunity to get to know yourself better, more intimately.
While the desert is hot and sandy in actuality, many of us have our own deserts which are not so literal. They are desolate regions within ourselves. They are dry and barren with random oasis of faith and connection to those around us. The silence in our deserts can be overwhelming. The opportunity to communicate with God is available to us while we are in our desserts, but sometimes the sheer act of survival is too much for us to handle without imposing the additional burden of examining ourselves and why we are in our desert.
The desert is different for everyone. This season of Lent gives each of us the opportunity to walk in our own desert with our Lord. It is a 40 day journey of temptations, greater communications, closer self-examination and hope for the future.
Lord, I ask to feel your presence through these 40 days. Help me to see you in the silence of my prayers. Let me feel your guindance in my daily activities. Lead me in ways that will draw me closer to you while accomplishing what you have laid out before me. In Jesus name I pray, Amen!
The desert is full of arduous terrain and wild animals, capable of killing and eating a person without hesitation. It has abrasive sands and scorching heat, even in the spring. The desert is silent. It is a place where you are alone with yourself. Going there is an opportunity to get to know yourself better, more intimately.
While the desert is hot and sandy in actuality, many of us have our own deserts which are not so literal. They are desolate regions within ourselves. They are dry and barren with random oasis of faith and connection to those around us. The silence in our deserts can be overwhelming. The opportunity to communicate with God is available to us while we are in our desserts, but sometimes the sheer act of survival is too much for us to handle without imposing the additional burden of examining ourselves and why we are in our desert.
The desert is different for everyone. This season of Lent gives each of us the opportunity to walk in our own desert with our Lord. It is a 40 day journey of temptations, greater communications, closer self-examination and hope for the future.
Lord, I ask to feel your presence through these 40 days. Help me to see you in the silence of my prayers. Let me feel your guindance in my daily activities. Lead me in ways that will draw me closer to you while accomplishing what you have laid out before me. In Jesus name I pray, Amen!
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