Do we make enough time for God?

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J.M.J.

We had an awesome discussion this week!  We talked about some Church history, of course, but what I think was most fulfilling was our spirituality discussion in the last half of class.  Here's a little bit about what we discussed:

Do we make enough time for God?

This is a question that I think we all need to really give some thought to.  Before we can make time for God, we need to put into perspective what we currently see as important in our lives.  Sometimes I believe we get so caught up in the secular, we tend to forget about the spiritual.  We have to give up something before we can truly make time for God.  This is the definition, in my opinion, of Lent.  As Dale said, we must die to ourselves before we can be reborn and devote ourselves to God.  I know that this week, I have really struggled to make time for God.  I won't go into details, but let's just say that I was thinking tonight...if I can sit in front of the TV for an hour watching a show or if I can go run for 30 minutes outside, why can I not devote that hour and a half to God?  So, instead of watching TV right now, I decided to come upstairs to pray and to finish this week's blog (which I see as a type of "mission" that I can do that will hopefully help someone).  And instead of listening to my regular old music on my iPod when I run, I put on a recording of the rosary and of some good Christian music.

This is the time to be "reborn"!  It's Easter!!  We are all seeking the Lord in some way or another, so here are my suggestions...

• Go to confession...this is one of the greatest sacraments we have as Catholics!!  You will feel so much healing and peace!!
  
• Make a new commitment to God and to yourself that you will give up something, not just for Lent, but forever so that you can devote more time to Him in your own way.
  
• When you can, go pray before the Blessed Sacrament.  Our chapel where the tabernacle is located is open from around 7 am to 9 pm each day, plus on first Fridays and first Saturdays we have Eucharistic Adoration, which is a wonderfully peaceful time.  It is a great blessing that we are able to have this at St. Mary's as many churches do not.  I've tried to find first Saturday Adoration in many places we've traveled and have yet to do find a parish that has it.
• Finally, this one thing has truly helped me find peace when I'm at home, and it gives me a quiet place to spend time with the Lord...make your own little prayer corner in a room.  It doesn't have to be elaborate;  it may just be your favorite chair.  But make it somewhere where you won't be distracted and you can quietly pray and talk to Our Lord, read Scripture, or simply sit and listen.  I've got a little place in my office upstairs where I can shut the door.  I have my crucifix, rosary, holy cards, etc. on a little table where I can sit and just talk to the Lord.  Not that some of you might really care to see it, but here are a couple of pictures of it just to kind of show you what I'm talking about.  I've got a few candles, statues, holy water, one of my rosaries, some Holy Cards, and my 1962 Latin Missal that I keep on there, plus a few more things.  I also have Sacred Heart image that is above my crucifix that you can't see.  If you have any questions about what anything is or where I got anything just let me know; I'll be happy to share.  I know this is what many non-Catholics see as strange or odd about us as Catholics, but it is one thing that I'm so glad we have.  Seeing an image of Our Lord, a saint, or of Mary helps me so much in prayer.  
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Anyway, I hope some of what I've put in this (really long) blog has helped you in some way.  It has definitely helped me renew myself this week when I've been going through some rough patches and realize that there are some things that I need to put before anything else.  

So, this week, why not think about making some extra time for God?

-Kristy

Some Desktop Wallpapers

Hello everyone!  I hope you are having a good week so far.  Since this week has been Spring break for me, I've had some free time on my hands.  So...I decided to make some more computer wallpapers for your use if you want.  One is a good wallpaper for Lent, one has the Apostles Creed on it since we talked about that in class, and the other is a Eucharistic themed wallpaper since we sort of discussed that as well.  I hope you enjoy them, and I'll see you Sunday!

-Kristy

The Emperors and the Heresies

Finally, I'm getting around to post what we discussed in class this week.  I apologize about it being so late.  I've had a busy week at school since it is the week before Spring Break!  I will make sure to get the blog updated MUCH sooner next time!

Our discussion this week concerned Chapter 4 in our book.  I had posted a previous summary of Chapter 4 here.  So if you want, go back and look at that one, too.  Anyway, we had a great discussion concerning several of the Roman emperors and the heresies that followed along with them or that occurred during their reign.  We also discussed Tertullian, who was an early Christian writer who coined the term "Trinity" as well as "Old Testament" and "New Testament".

One of the emperors that was discussed was the emperor Decius (249 A.D. - 251 A.D.).  During his reign, there was a heresy known as Novatianism.  Novatianism, to put it simply, was a schism in the Church that consisted of a group of Christians who said that anyone who had renounced their faith for whatever reason could never be admitted back into the Church.  This sect was founded by Novatian, who was a former Roman priest.  You can find more about him and this heresy here.

We also discussed the emperor Constantine, who eventually made Christianity legal and the main religion of the Roman empire.  A particular heresy that occurred, however, was Arianism. Followers of this sect, created by Arius,  denied the Divinity of Jesus.  You can read more about them here.  This Arianism is not to be confused with the Aryanism that stems from the peoples that inhabited the areas of Iran, Afghanistan, and India.  Also, it is not to be confused with the term or "aryan" that was used by Hitler in Nazi German to describe the "ideal race".  The actual Aryan people looked drastically different.  The Nazi term "aryan" is where the more modern group "aryan brotherhood" gets its name.

I want to leave you with a few things we discussed to ponder over the rest of the week...

One that we discussed was the question, Do we heed the call and deepen our faith during the Lenten season?  In other words, do we listen as the Lord whispers ever so quietly and take to heart the meaning of Lent.

Also, I want to leave you with a quote from Dale...

"God creates circumstances in our lives to shatter the glass houses we live in."

Those were two great things to ponder over this week.  I hope you all have a blessed week, and I'll see you on Sunday!

-Kristy

    

    †

J.M.J

Chaplet of the Five Wounds

I don't know how many people know about this chaplet, but I thought it was a good chaplet for Lent. You can say it on regular rosary beads even though you won't use every bead.

Chaplet of the Five Wounds of Jesus

This chaplet, approved by the Holy See August 11, 1823 (some sources say this chaplet was first approved by a decree of Pius VII dated January 22, 1822), consists of five groups of five beads -- each group representing one of the Five Wounds. The first group of beads honors the Wound on His left foot; the second, the Wound on His right foot; the third, the Wound on His left Hand; the fourth, the wound on His right Hand; and the fifth, the Wound in His Side.

While meditating on the appropriate Wound at each group, one Gloria (Glory Be) is said on each bead, and between the groups, an Ave (Hail Mary) is said in honor of Mary's sorrows. Here is a more detailed description of the chaplet:

How to pray the Chaplet of the Five Wounds

The Chaplet of the Five Wounds consists of 5 groups of 5 beads each. For each bead, pray one Glory Be... and one Hail Mary for the Blessed Virgin.

On each group of five beads, meditate on one of the Five wounds of Our Lord.

On the large beads pray,

"Eternal Father,

I offer Thee the Wounds

of Our Lord Jesus Christ

to heal the wounds of our souls.

Amen."

On the small beads pray,

"My Jesus,

pardon and mercy

through the merits of Thy Sacred Wounds.

Amen."

Meditate first on the Wound in the left foot of Our Lord,

then the Wound in the right foot,

the left hand,

the right hand,

and finally the Wound in the Sacred side of Jesus.

What are you giving up for Lent?

Reading a comment made by Bill Winston on another post, I thought I would make a post regarding giving up something for Lent. When thinking about "giving up" something for Lent, I'm reminded of this verse: "Whoever wishes to be my follower must deny his very self, take up his cross each day, and follow in my steps." (Luke 9:23)

Most of the time we decide to give up something like chocolate, coffee, soda, etc. for Lent. And that is great! It helps us learn how dependent we have become on something like that, and it may even help us be a little healthier too! But are there other things we can give up or do during Lent? Many times people, DO something, such as help the poor, work in soup kitchens, or things like that instead of or in addition to giving up something during Lent.

Tomorrow's reflection on EWTN's webiste, gives a list of things we can give up in addition to what we may have already planned to give up.

Here's the list:

WHAT TO GIVE UP . . .

Give up complaining. . . . . . . .focus on gratitude.

Give up pessimism. . . . . . . . . become an optimist.

Give up harsh judgments . . .think kindly thoughts.

Give up worry. . . . . . . . . . . . . trust Divine Providence.

Give up discouragement. . . . .be full of hope.

Give up bitterness. . . . . . . . . . turn to forgiveness.

Give up hatred. . . . . . . . . . . . . return good for evil.

Give up negativism . . . . . . . . .be positive.

Give up anger. . . . . . . . . . . . . .be more patient.

Give up pettiness. . . . . . . . . . .become mature.

Give up gloom. . . . . . . . . . . . . .enjoy the beauty that is all around you.

Give up jealousy. . . . . . . . . . . .pray for trust.

Give up gossiping. . . . . . . . . . .control your tongue.

Give up sin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . turn to virtue.

Give up giving up. . . . . . . . . . . hang in there!

With that in mind, I thought we could all leave a comment about what we are giving up for Lent so that we can pray for each other during these 40 days of Lent. I'll start the list here, so make sure you leave a comment about what you are doing this Lent....

• For Lent, I am going to try to fast for 40 days. By fast I mean, I am going to use the rules of fasting that the Church uses--1 meal a day and 2 smaller meals that do not equal the one larger one, also no snacking in between (which is REALLY hard for me) and no drinks that would be considered food in between meals (which is hard for me too because I love my mango smoothies after a workout). I am also going to try to dedicate at least one hour of my day to prayer, which I hate to say I've slacked off on lately. Also, my husband, Chip, is going to give up one of his favorite things--McDonald's. So I ask that you please pray for us in our Lenten journey, just as we will pray for you.
  

-Kristy
†
J.M.J.

40 ways to get the most from Lent

I was browsing around Catholic Answers Forums tonight and noticed this post that I thought would be a good one to keep. It listed 40 ways to get the most from the Lenten season. I read through them and thought you might enjoy them. Here are the first five, and I will include a link at the bottom of the post to get you to the entire list.

• 1 Take 30 minutes to pray, ask the Holy Spirit’s guidance, look over this list, and make a few practical Lenten resolutions. Be careful. If you try to do too much, you may not succeed in anything. If you need to get up early or stay up late to get the 30 minutes of quiet, do it. Turn off your phone and computer. Don’t put it off and don’t allow interruptions.
• 2 Get up earlier than anyone else in your house and spend your first 15 minutes of the day thanking God for the gift of life and offering your day to Him.
• 3 Get to daily Mass.
• 4 If you can’t do Mass daily, go to Mass on Fridays in addition to Sunday and thank Him for laying his life down for you. Maybe you can go another time or two as well.
• 5 Spend at least 30 minutes in Eucharistic adoration at least one time during the week.

You can find the rest at Catholic Exchange. Enjoy!


-Kristy
†
J.M.J

What about fasting & abstinence?

Catholics today are sometimes confused about what fasting and abstinence are.  So I thought that this would be a good time to sort of define it all!

In the Latin Church, abstinence means refraining from eating the meat from mammals or fowl, and soup or gravy made from them. Fish is allowed, hence Fridays are known as "Fish Fridays." Traditionally, the laws of abstinence apply to all aged 7 and over, but the new Code of Canon Law applies it to all who have completed their 14th year.

Fasting is the taking of only one full meal (which may include meat as long as abstinence is not expected) and two smaller, meatless meals that don't equal the large one meal. No eating between meals is allowed, but water, milk tea, cofee, and juices are OK. Meat is allowed at one meal (assuming abstience isn't also expected on a given day). Traditionally, everyone over 21 years of age and under 59 years of age is bound to observe the law of fast; but the present Code of Canon Law sets the ages of 18 and 59 as the limits.

Days of penance and/or abstinence:  Fridays of the year are traditionaly days of penance & abstinence (see Can. 1251 below), but it is up to the local bishop as to whether or not the faithful of his diocese must abstain from meat. Here in the Diocese of Memphis, we are NOT required to abstain from meat on every Friday of the year, but we ARE required to abstain on the Fridays of Lent:

The following is from the 1983 Code of Canon Law regarding fasting & abstinence as well as the requirements for days of penance.

• Can. 1249 All Christ's faithful are obliged by divine law, each in his or her own way, to do penance. However, so that all may be joined together in a certain common practice of penance, days of penance are prescribed. On these days the faithful are in a special manner to devote themselves to prayer, to engage in works of piety and charity, and to deny themselves, by fulfilling their obligations more faithfully and especially by observing the fast and abstinence which the following canons prescribe.

• Can. 1250 The days and times of penance for the universal Church are each Friday of the whole year and the season of Lent.

• Can. 1251 Abstinence from meat, or from some other food as determined by the Episcopal Conference, is to be observed on all Fridays, unless a solemnity should fall on a Friday. Abstinence and fasting are to be observed on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.

• Can. 1252 The law of abstinence binds those who have completed their fourteenth year. The law of fasting binds those who have attained their majority, until the beginning of their sixtieth year. Pastors of souls and parents are to ensure that even those who by reason of their age are not bound by the law of fasting and abstinence, are taught the true meaning of penance.
  

I hope these few notes & definitions help anyone who might be confused on the obligations of the faithful in the Church today during Lent.

 

-Kristy

   

    †

J.M.J.

A Reminder...

I just wanted to remind everyone to be watching the blog for posts about Lent.  I also wanted to make sure I give you the link to EWTN's Lenten meditations.  It can be found here.  I really like their meditations & have been reading them for a while.  

Don't forget tomorrow is Ash Wednesday!!  We will have masses at St. Mary's at 7:00, 8:10, 12:00, & 7:00 pm.  If any non-Catholics happen to read this blog, you can come and receive ashes, too!  Also, please remember that Ash Wednesday is a day of fast & abstinence.  I am going to make another post regarding that in more detail.

-Kristy

    †

J.M.J.