It is Not About Me

For those of us who feel particularly hurt by our loved ones' lack of faith (or anti-faith stance), God has recently brought home to me that it is NOT about *us*.  It is not a threat to our personhood or our self-worth (or theirs either, for that matter) that they do not believe.  The journey they take is up to them in some ways, and also up to God.  The fact that all our behavioral and spiritual machinations have, seemingly, had no affect, means, essentially, nothing.  We do not control things.  We do not decide when to drop something onto the timeline of someone's life.

Another thing to keep in mind is that it may be that God is deciding to drop something into our own lives that we don't particularly like.  It may be for our own humility that we feel surrounded by people who hate something so dear to us.

Cling to the Church.  Use God's way of spiritual self-discipline to keep what self-focus there is focused on imitating Christ as closely as possible.  Give up trying to control things that are only up to God.

It is not about us.

What Christians Mean by God

St. Monica on Mother's Day

St. Monica has long been a source of inspiration to mothers. Her son, Augustine was a troubled youth who lived an immoral life after accepting the Manichean heresy. Perhaps its most enticing doctrine was, as Augustine later explained, that "it was not we who sin but some other nature that sins within us. It flattered my pride to think that I incurred no guilt, and when I did wrong, not to confess it." A perfect system of belief for the young who had lost his father at the age of 17.

At first, Monica refused to let Augustine into her home. Then, after a vision saying that Augustine would eventually return to the faith, and after encouragement by her bishops, Monica decided to take another tack and stay close to Augustine, praying and fasting for him.

Augustine converted after years of prayer and fasting on the part of Monica.

St. Monica, beg Our Lord to give us the strength to follow your example.

And pray ye without ceasing, in behalf of other men. For there is in them hope of repentance that they may attain to God. See then, that they be instructed by your works if in no other way. Be ye meek in response to their wrath, humble in opposition to their boasting. To their blasphemies, return your prayers, in contrast to their error, be ye steadfast in the faith, and for their cruelty, manifest your gentleness.
-St. Ignatius of Antioch, Letter to the Ephesians.

I am deeply grieved, brethren for (Valens) and his wife; to whom may the Lord grant true repentance! And be ye then moderate in regard to this matter, and "do not count such as enemies" but call them back as suffering and straying members, that ye may save your whole body. For by so acting, ye shall edify yourselves.
-From the Epistle of Saint Polycarp to the Phillipians

Shunning, as done in some communities goes against this directive from Polycarp. "Do not count such as enemies," in quotes by Polycarp, shows that this was taught even prior to this early time. We are to swallow our own pride and use these difficult situations as an offering to God for our own humility and others' conversion.

Some Come Back

Thank you, God, for an answered prayer.

It is with bittersweetness that we continue to pray for all our loved ones.

Come, Lord Jesus!

Where is the Church Militant?

Where is The Church Militant? Sometimes it seems she is silent.  Sometimes the army of God has fled in terror.  Sometimes we do not see the Church because we are the ones who have fled in terror.  We are in terror of being alone.  We are in terror of following God and being the only one who has done so . When, one by one, our loved ones turn away from God, the power of that momentum is difficult to resist.  We do not want to stay here alone.  We know we are not up to the task of showing Christ's light by ourselves.

Some of us have come from a time where all our family, friends and neighbors were Catholic, to a time where none of them are.  What world have we woken up in?  What have we done?

Sometimes we feel alone.  The Church Triumphant is all we have.

Our Lady of Sorrows, Our Mother! We sorrow and grieve for those who have lost the faith. Through God's mercy, console us in our time of suffering, and bring those children back to the Lord!

God Did Not Create Evil

Pray for your loved ones

Father John Bartunek has an excellent post in his Catholic Spiritual Direction blog on what to do when a family member has fallen away from the Faith. He suggests prayer and clarifies the importance of right intention and understanding in our prayer.
He also suggests having Masses said for the person, praying a novena or going on a pilgrimage.

Stop by and read his post and never give up!

Prayer For Loved Ones at Easter

There are so many people who have, perhaps, worshiped with us in the past, during the Holy Triduum, but now have lost their faith.

May the Crucified and Risen Lord touch them with His Love and invite them back to the Church.

May God give them the strength to forgive wrongs done to them by others and the desire to come back to His Mercy and to fully experience His Love.

We ask this in the Name of Christ Our Lord.

~Amen

Maybe It's God

Maybe it's God who has planted the seed of longing to be back with Him. Hat tip to Fr. Joe Jenkins.

For St. Valentine's Day

Why do we beleive in God?

A Prayer to Our Lady of Sorrows

Dearest Mother, before you could become the Consoler of the Afflicted, you first had to know true sorrow. I pause with you now, and meditate on that great suffering in your life, the death and burial of your most beloved Son.

Oh, how humble I am, dear Mary, when I see before me your Son in the tomb. He gave His life so we may know freedom from sin. Remind me always that any suffering in my life is passing, just as the suffering you experienced passed in the joy of the Resurrection.

Holy Mary, Mother of Sorrows, I mourn with you, knowing the certain joy of your Son and His gift of everlasting life. Through this act of His, you have become our Mother of Consolation. Amen.

Hat tip to the Basilica and National Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation.

Offering up Suffering

So many people are suffering right now. There are so many marriages in trouble. So many people are looking for work. So many are caring for aging parents or disabled children.

Let's unite all our sufferings to those of Christ on the Cross, for the renewed Faith of our loved ones.

Christianity is alone among religions to recognize the redemptive nature of suffering. Suffering comes to us no matter our station in life. Christ has taken our suffering on himself on the cross.

The Pre-Christmas Fast

The Orthodox Church encourages people to fast for the 40 days prior to Christmas. They abstain from meat, cheese, oil and wine from November 14 until Christmas. Lisa DeLuca says that this pre-Christmas fast "is a spiritual practice that helps people grieve their losses, endure their sadness, feed their souls, and, ultimately, experience joy on Christmas day."

From a Catholic perspective, we can use this time of depriving ourselves to offer up our inconveniences for the safe return of our loved ones to the faith.

Especially if Christmas is a sad time for you, try turning to God and away from worldly over indulgence and continue to pray for your loved ones.

The manger, in spite of being filled with animal food, is empty for us until we fill it with Jesus.

Reasons to Come Home

The Morning Offering

The Morning offering is a very efficacious way to begin your day. Offering all your joys as well as all your sufferings to the Lord for the intention of your loved ones is a way to unite your sufferings to those of Jesus on the cross.

Here is the Morning Offering that I (try to) say each day.

Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary,
I offer you my joys, works and sufferings of this day,
in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass
throughout the world.

I offer them for the intentions of the Sacred Heart,
the intentions of the Holy Father,
for the salvation of souls,
the remission of sins,
in reparation for my own sins
and those of my loved ones,
for the spiritual, mental and physical health of my loved ones.

I offer them for the reunion of all Christians,
for peace and faith in the world,
and for the Holy Souls in Purgatory.

~Amen