A "Resurrected" Prayer Life

I've been realizing the last few weeks that life in May is HECTIC! We've had Easter, First Communion, the kickoff of spring sports, and of course, the Kentucky Derby. And I know I'm not the only one around who has been having trouble keeping my prayer life in order. So I was really thrilled to get a great reminder from Marcel over at the Aggie Catholic Blog (a ministry of Texas A&M's St. Mary Student Center). Let me share it with you:

“Until you are convinced that prayer is the best use of your time, you will not find time for prayer.” –Father Hilary Ottensmeyer, OSB

15 Secrets To Transforming Your Prayer Life

1. The first secret is there are no secrets! Rather, it takes a lot of perseverance  humility, honesty, and grace to grow in prayer. The real secret is to do the other things below, which most Catholics who are trying to grow in prayer already know about – we just have to do them!
2. Don’t over-think prayer. It need not be complicated or burdensome. It is a relationship that God invites you ever deeper into. If we engage our intellect all the time, then we aren’t focusing on the best part of prayer, which resides in the heart. Not the head.
3. Be still and quiet yourself. The place you pray, your posture, and the time set aside are important. But, the real key is once you do these things you must rest and be still inside. Try to focus and allow yourself to tune into God’s voice.
4. Don’t think of prayer as a chore. Many of us want to grow in prayer and commit ourselves to daily prayer. But, then life gets you going and you try to go “do” your prayer and get it over with to get to other stuff. But, the “other stuff” isn’t nearly as important. So, our priorities and outlook on prayer might need to be adjusted periodically.
5. Pray even when you don’t want to. The real test of love is found when we overcome our feelings and thoughts that push us to stop praying. But, God is even more pleased when we choose to pray when we don’t feel like it than when it is easy. Choosing to pray when it is difficult is a sure sign that you love God!
6. Yes, the Sacraments matter! There is no better way to pray than to go to Mass. Frequent Confession is also a wonderful way to deepen your prayer life. Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is a great time/place to pray before our Lord. Don’t discount the graces you receive from the Sacraments.
7. You are not alone in prayer – The Holy Spirit is our help! If you know you ought to grow in prayer but lack the desire, then pray for the desire to grow. All of us should ask God to guide us through the Holy Spirit. Romans 8:26-27 – “The Spirit too comes to the aid of our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit itself intercedes with inexpressible groanings.”
8. Establish Good Habits – You should be able to rely on your habits to help you, and not hurt you, in your prayer. A good habit takes 66 days (at least) to establish. So, if you can commit to a routine of prayer for 2 months, you should start to lay the groundwork for healthy prayer habits.
9. Accountability Counts – You need someone who is more objective than you are to look at your prayer life and see how you are doing and how the Holy Spirit is working. A spiritual director is invaluable in helping. But, if you don’t think you are ready, even have a holy friend to talk to can be good.
10. Try Different Types of Prayer – We all have different tastes in prayer, just like most other things in life. So, try out different types of prayer and see which ones work for you. One caveat – don’t give up too soon on a type of prayer. It might take a good long time to discover whether it is good for you or not.
11. Fast Regularly – There is great power in fasting. We see it in Scripture when Jesus fasts and calls his disciples to do the same. When we have better control over the desires of our bodies, we can pray better.
12. Overcome Distractions – The simple way to overcome a distraction is to not give into it. Once you realize you are distracted turn your heart and mind back to your prayer, not to examining the distraction. This simple act is the easiest way to defeat distractions.
13. Work on a Proper Understanding of God and Self – I can not emphasize this one enough. Many of us struggle to understand how a perfect God could love us and want a relationship with us. But, this is due, mainly, to our bad perceptions of our own dignity and the way God loves us unconditionally.
14. Find and Use Good Resources – When you don’t know what to do or how to do it, the resources can help. Resources include people, friends, books, websites, sacramentals (e.g. rosaries), Sacred Scripture, etc.
15. Prioritize Prayer. Schedule it. Bump something else. Get up early. Do whatever you have to do, but don’t let a day go by without spending time with the most important person in your life. Don’t wait to start!!!

So there you have it: let's allow the power of the Lord's Resurrection to breathe new life into our prayer lives this May!

What do you believe?

I happened to be watching the news tonight (a rare occasion during this run up to Holy Week!) and saw an advertisement for a segment on the "Today Show" about the importance of faith in this last week before Easter.  The tag line of the ad was the question, "What do you believe?"

That question intrigued me a bit. It's a good question for all of us to ask ourselves. And I think the best response I could possibly come up with is much the same one outlined by that deep-thinking theologian Stephen Colbert (with apologies for the ad leading into the clip).

What do I believe?  Well ...

I believe in one God,
the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.
I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the Only Begotten Son of God,
born of the Father before all ages.
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father;
through him all things were made.
For us men and for our salvation
he came down from heaven,
and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary,
and became man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate,
he suffered death and was buried,
and rose again on the third day
in accordance with the Scriptures.
He ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory
to judge the living and the dead
and his kingdom will have no end.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.
I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.
I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins
and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead
and the life of the world to come. (Amen!)

That's what I believe. And I rejoice that this is my statement of belief, because it means that I don't have to come up with a snappy tagline all by myself. I'm able to stand with Christians for the last 1700 years and join in this most catholic ("universal") of communities, offering my whole self -- body, soul, and mind -- to the Lord who is crucified and risen.

Happy Palm Sunday! I pray that today's encounter with the deep love of the Lord in His Passion might deepen your faith, as well!

Down to Brass Tacks ...

I was at an activity this weekend where I was really struck by something. We had a group of folks together, and the conversation turned to some of the basics of the Catholic Faith. One of the group (and it wasn't me, I promise!) asked another (again, not me -- but you probably guessed that) what the Fifth Commandment was, and the poor person was left speechless.  So, given that, I broke open my trusty-dusty copy of the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore's "Manual of Prayers for the Use of the Catholic Laity" ... where they have a GREAT list of the basics of the Catholic Faith. So, let's get down to brass tacks:

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS

(Exodus, chapter 20)

1. I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt not have strange gods before me. Thou shalt not make to thyself a graven thing, nor the likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or in the earth beneath, nor of those things that are in the waters under the earth. Thou shalt not adore them, nor serve them.
2. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.
3. Remember that thou keep holy the sabbath day.
4. Honour thy father and thy mother.
5. Thou shalt not kill.
6. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
7. Thou shalt not steal.
8. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
9. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour' s wife.
10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's goods.

THE SIX PRECEPTS OF THE CHURCH

1. Attend Mass on all Sundays and holy days of obligation.
   [In case you were wondering, in the United States those are: Jan. 1 (Mary, the Mother of God), Ascension Thursday (40 days after Easter), Aug. 15 (Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary), Nov. 1 (All Saints' Day), Dec. 8 (Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary), and Dec. 25 (Christmas Day)]
2. Fast and abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, and abstain from meat on the Fridays of Lent.
3. Make a sacramental Confession at least once a year.
4. Receive the Eucharist during the Easter Season (from Easter Sunday to Trinity Sunday).
5. Contribute financially and materially to the support of the Church.
6. Observe the laws of the Church regarding marriage. (The U.S. Bishops have a short summary here.)

THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS AND OPPOSING VIRTUES

Pride  --  Humility

Greed  --  Generosity

Lust  --  Chastity

Anger  --  Gentleness

Gluttony  --  Temperance

Envy  --  Brotherly love

Sloth  --  Zeal

I hope this helps to "dust off" your faith ... and sharpen those brass tacks!

Grateful for "Rerum Novarum"

“Rerum Novarum” was a document written by Pope Leo XIII in 1891 to reflect upon the involvement of the Church and Her teachings in light of the modern world. It was a document that took a long, hard look at the dignity of work and of the workers who did it, and found the presence of God there, as He is in all good things.

But what the title of that document means, in plain and simple Latin, is “New stuff.” And I am just overwhelmed and thrilled about the amount of  “new stuff” that is happening here at St. Michael this week. It’s an exciting time in the life of our parish as we see the result of all the planning that has happened behind the scenes now for almost 5 months.

·         At long last, we are getting new carpet in the church -- carpet that is designed to stand up to the thousands of folks who come in and out through the weeks (the dealer called it “airport quality”)! And it matches everything!

·         We are re-striping the parking lot, so everybody will be able to see the space markers. We’re hoping that, with the new lines, we might even be able to fit a few more cars in the lot where they were taking up a space-and-a-half before!

·         We have almost finished the approval process to replace our air conditioners in the church. We still have to get the pieces delivered … and then get them out of the roof … but at least the parts are on the move!

·         We have a beautiful new piece of artwork in our parish school. Mr. Al Boyle painted a beautiful scene of Jesus blessing the children who came to Him, and we have dedicated the painting back to the Lord by hanging it in the front hallway of our school where our children can see it.

What a wonderful slate of “new stuff” for us to receive with rejoicing! God has been very good to our parish! As a priest of the parish and as a recipient of the many, many blessings that He has given to us, I want to give thanks to Him with all my heart. But in the spirit of Pope Leo’s “Rerum Novarum,” I also want to thank the many people who have offered their labor in service to our improvement projects: the carpet layers, the air conditioning technicians, the parking lot crew, Mr. and Mrs. Boyle, and the many who work so hard for our parish every day of the week. We can see the work of God in and through you!

Let your good works shine ...

As I took my vacation to visit friends in the Frozen Northlands this past week (and by that, I mean Philadelphia), I was really struck by the change of seasons that's already happening up there. The trees are showing off their best reds, oranges, and yellows. Some of the trees are at their peak already, all changed over and ready to let the leaves come down. Others are just starting out, letting a little bit of color show around the edges.

 But it made me think and wonder a little bit: no matter where I am on my journey of faith -- fully committed as an intentional disciple of Jesus, or only at the beginning stages around the edges -- am I letting the glory of God shine through me so that others may "see my good works and give glory to God my Father" (cf. Matthew 5:16)? The whole of creation is telling us that it's time!

Te Deum Laudamus

When the Church recognizes a special blessing in her life, she very often sings the "Te Deum," a hymn of praise for what God has done for His people. For example, the beginning of the New Year, the celebration of Sunday, an Ordination, and celebrations like that usually have a "Te Deum" as part of their celebration. So, as I look back on my first year of Priesthood, I am so grateful for the many blessings God has given me and the way He has helped me grow by being at St. Michael Parish.

So here goes (no, this is NOT me singing): http://musicasacra.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/2008-colloq-te-deum-tonus-sollemnis.mp3

And now I give thanks also for 2 weeks of vacation to enjoy the Ordination of the NEXT batch of priests for the Diocese in the person of Father-Elect Michael Burbeck, and then to join our wonderful choir on their concert tour of Germany and Austria.

Yes, indeed, "We Praise You, O God", for all that You have done for us!

Upcoming Events ...

It's been a while since I sat down to meditate on the state of our parish and the many fantastic things that are happening at St. Michael.  The main reason is that there are so many fantastic things happening at St. Michael!  But as part of that, I want to invite you to be a part of it!

Here are a few things going on in the next 2 weeks:

Parish Penance Service -- in church, Wednesday, April 9, at 7 pm

Come experience the powerful and transformative mercy of God! We'll have a bunch of different priests available to hear your Confession and help you get ready for Easter.

Stations of the Cross -- in church, Friday, April 11, at 7 pm (English) and 8 pm (Spanish)

The the time to walk with Jesus in His suffering and death. Be touched by the tremendous love He had for us to give Himself in offering for our sins! This is a great preparation for hearing the Passion this coming Sunday.

Speaking of Sunday...

Palm Sunday  -- regular Mass times.

A free souvenir palm comes with every Mass attendance! :)

Chrism Mass -- in church, Tuesday, April 15, at 2 pm

Come celebrate the gift of God's healing, sanctifying, and governing grace to the Church as the Bishop consecrates the Sacred Oils used in the Sacraments for the coming year!

Triduum and Easter -- you don't want to miss this high point of the Church Year. (There's so much going on that you'll just have to go on the parish website and read for yourself.)

Due to these events, the Luke 5:29 Bible Study will NOT MEET for the next 3 weeks. We'll get together again on April 30 at 5:29 pm in the Youth Room above the Parish Center. 

We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you!

Because by Your Holy Cross, you have redeemed the world!

"At the preaching of Jonah they repented"

It's been a while since I shared a thought through Father Ryan Online ... blame it on my retreat which led into Lent at St. Michael Parish. But as I sit here preparing for tonight's Mission Mass, I can't help but be struck by the readings which the Church provides for her  liturgy today.  As we wrap up our reflection on "Our Call to Holiness and How to Get There," the Church invites us to reflect on the life of the prophet Jonah -- the guy who provided a three-day snack for a great fish.

Jonah is a great reminder for us about what the call to holiness means. He didn't want to be holy. He actively tried to RUN AWAY from God's call to holiness. He wanted to get as far away as possible from his vocation. And yet God intervened in his life in a powerful way to BRING HIM BACK to where he needed to be ... with the result that "a very large city" repented of their sins, down to the last donkey.

So often we think that holiness is something that we have to do. Yet we learn from the life of Jonah that God desires our holiness even more than we do. He desires to intervene in our lives to put us where we need to be ... in short, to help us to respond to His love, and thus to BE HOLY. When it comes to our part, WE need only place ourselves in a position where we can respond to that call. We need only open our hearts to receive His grace so that we can respond to that love. We need only "pull a Jonah" and let ourselves be taken to where we need to be.

I hope to see you at the Parish Mission Mass tonight at 7:00 at St. Michael's. ... And until then, may God give us the grace to hear His call and allow Him to put us where we need to be, so that we can be holy.

When was the Last Time YOU Went to Confession?

I was so proud of our second graders who received First Penance the past two weekends. One of the parents handed me this cartoon and got me thinking ... when was the last time YOU went to Confession?

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God bless you -- Nuntiatur Evangelium!