Despite working long hours this last few weeks, I still made the time to get to Mass most days—not all, but most of them. The encouragement I get from the Liturgy of the Word and the strength that I draw from the Eucharist are the gifts of our Savior that get me through these marathon days. On the rare occasions I can’t make it for some reason, there is always (ALWAYS!) the solace I get from praying the rosary as many times as I am able every day.
I made a commitment a few years ago to “get serious” about my faith. Not because I was afraid of how I’ve lived my life—but because I realized how blessed I’ve been despite my failings.
By “getting serious”, I don’t mean just going to Mass or saying the rosary or acting like a Pharisee. To me, getting serious meant to spend time with Jesus (and His mother) to thank Him for taking an interest in me and blessing me with everything that makes my life as rich as it is. So my commitment was to start praying the rosary, not just saying it.
Meditating on the life of Christ in earnest led me to want to spend more time with Him in adoration, as well as re-learn a lot of the catechesis I either never learned the first time around or that I had taken for granted most of my life.
The more I learned through the internet and from listening to Immaculate Heart Radio, the more my faith grew. It grew so much I felt a call to become a Eucharistic Minister and bring Jesus to those who are in the hospital or otherwise unable to attend Mass. I really get a lot of “inner peace” (Grace?) from this ministry. And my faith continues to grow. But now, it’s not growing so much because of what I learn from outside sources, but because of how I see others and how I see Christ in them. Even those people who irritate me now and then become an occasion for me to look that much harder to find Christ in them. And the most gratifying gift God gives me is my ability to eventually overcome the irritability and relate to my neighbor with the love I have been commanded to have for him.
Another decision I made was to set an example for my family to follow and show them Christ’s love for them through my actions and my fidelity to the teachings of the Church.
This blog actually grew out of my commitment to spend more time with our Lord! What better way, in today’s world of instant communication, to share my enthusiasm for Christ with those who I love the most? And, as it happens, I’ve picked up a few other readers along the way from all over the world, as well as bring a few people a little further along in their own searches for faith! (The most satisfying experience I’ve had lately is helping Lorenzo find his way into the Church!)
I think, to answer Mom’s inquiry--about a “dryness” in my faith—I’ll tell of my day on jury duty yesterday, and how I may come across as a religious fanatic one of these days, if I’m not careful! Lol…..
Everybody I know hates jury duty. I don’t understand this. I could understand if the reasons they gave were on the basis of hardship, but ninety-nine percent of the time, the reasons they give for not wanting to serve on a jury boil down to their not wanting to “Waste my time listening to lawyers try to get some scumbag off on a technicality. If he wasn’t guilty, he wouldn’t have been arrested.” I not only don’t understand this reasoning, I am appalled by it. I actually feel obligated to do my best at letting the system decide if they want me on the jury or not, by simply answering the questions as truthfully as I can. It’s also a great experience to see how the system truly does work as we advertise it to the world.
Anyway, just like my last jury duty call, we were brought into the courtroom and asked if we would be able to serve. Many tried to get out of it, but only a few were successful. Then we were asked to fill out a ‘short’ (90 questions!) questionnaire that the judge and the lawyers will read to determine if we will go to the next phase of “voire dire” jury selection next Thursday.
Most of the questions asked were about how we live our lives, i.e., “When not working, how do you like to spend your ‘down’ time?” And, “From what sources do you gather your news?” “How would you describe yourself politically?” Not deliberately, but I think more than seventy-five percent of my answers included the word ‘Catholic’ in them! I laugh every time I think of the judge or one of the lawyers reading my answers and slapping themselves on the temples saying, “OK, OK, I get it! But what ELSE are you interested in?” Of course the answer is “not much!”
I made a commitment a few years ago to “get serious” about my faith. Not because I was afraid of how I’ve lived my life—but because I realized how blessed I’ve been despite my failings.
By “getting serious”, I don’t mean just going to Mass or saying the rosary or acting like a Pharisee. To me, getting serious meant to spend time with Jesus (and His mother) to thank Him for taking an interest in me and blessing me with everything that makes my life as rich as it is. So my commitment was to start praying the rosary, not just saying it.
Meditating on the life of Christ in earnest led me to want to spend more time with Him in adoration, as well as re-learn a lot of the catechesis I either never learned the first time around or that I had taken for granted most of my life.
The more I learned through the internet and from listening to Immaculate Heart Radio, the more my faith grew. It grew so much I felt a call to become a Eucharistic Minister and bring Jesus to those who are in the hospital or otherwise unable to attend Mass. I really get a lot of “inner peace” (Grace?) from this ministry. And my faith continues to grow. But now, it’s not growing so much because of what I learn from outside sources, but because of how I see others and how I see Christ in them. Even those people who irritate me now and then become an occasion for me to look that much harder to find Christ in them. And the most gratifying gift God gives me is my ability to eventually overcome the irritability and relate to my neighbor with the love I have been commanded to have for him.
Another decision I made was to set an example for my family to follow and show them Christ’s love for them through my actions and my fidelity to the teachings of the Church.
This blog actually grew out of my commitment to spend more time with our Lord! What better way, in today’s world of instant communication, to share my enthusiasm for Christ with those who I love the most? And, as it happens, I’ve picked up a few other readers along the way from all over the world, as well as bring a few people a little further along in their own searches for faith! (The most satisfying experience I’ve had lately is helping Lorenzo find his way into the Church!)
I think, to answer Mom’s inquiry--about a “dryness” in my faith—I’ll tell of my day on jury duty yesterday, and how I may come across as a religious fanatic one of these days, if I’m not careful! Lol…..
Everybody I know hates jury duty. I don’t understand this. I could understand if the reasons they gave were on the basis of hardship, but ninety-nine percent of the time, the reasons they give for not wanting to serve on a jury boil down to their not wanting to “Waste my time listening to lawyers try to get some scumbag off on a technicality. If he wasn’t guilty, he wouldn’t have been arrested.” I not only don’t understand this reasoning, I am appalled by it. I actually feel obligated to do my best at letting the system decide if they want me on the jury or not, by simply answering the questions as truthfully as I can. It’s also a great experience to see how the system truly does work as we advertise it to the world.
Anyway, just like my last jury duty call, we were brought into the courtroom and asked if we would be able to serve. Many tried to get out of it, but only a few were successful. Then we were asked to fill out a ‘short’ (90 questions!) questionnaire that the judge and the lawyers will read to determine if we will go to the next phase of “voire dire” jury selection next Thursday.
Most of the questions asked were about how we live our lives, i.e., “When not working, how do you like to spend your ‘down’ time?” And, “From what sources do you gather your news?” “How would you describe yourself politically?” Not deliberately, but I think more than seventy-five percent of my answers included the word ‘Catholic’ in them! I laugh every time I think of the judge or one of the lawyers reading my answers and slapping themselves on the temples saying, “OK, OK, I get it! But what ELSE are you interested in?” Of course the answer is “not much!”
On another note, I heard a question on Catholic Answers Live today that I felt I could answer without any hesitation. The question was, “Is there anything in the Scriptures that prove that Jesus had a sense of humor?” First of all, Christ IS risen! I have trouble talking about Him in the past tense. But that’s not my answer. The answer is yes, He does have a sense of humor. The apologist answering the caller cited some verses, but not the one I would have chosen. My answer would have been to direct him to Mt 17: 24-27. Look it up. I think it shows a divine Sense of humor! If only we could all pay our taxes by going fishing!
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