prayer

Vocations and Saints and Good Days, Oh My

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I’ve spent today with so many thoughts running through my head. I started today in a weird place. I showered yesterday so I was able to sleep in a little, but I had forgotten to change the clocks back, so when I awoke this morning, they were all wrong except for my cell phone and my kindle. I hate waking up to wrong clocks on the time change Sunday. I find it so confusing. If I don’t realize the change I’m fine, but throwing it in my face just irritates my senses. That’s why I try to change them all before I go to bed, and avoid them all night.

Today was one of those days that was good in retrospect. It’s hard to pay attention to life as it is happening, but it is in looking back that we see what was there. This was something John Boehner said this week after he left Congress. He was asked if the Holy Spirit played a part in his decision to leave, and he relayed that he was told that we only see the Holy Spirit in retrospect.

It should say something that I’m paraphrasing John Boehner!

But it’s the same with good days. They are simply not bad days until you look back and breathe that sigh of relief and announce to yourselves, hey, that was a good day.


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Preview – Shrine of Our Lady of Martyrs

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Martyrs Shrine – North American Martyrs
Birthplace of St. Kateri Tekakwitha
in Auriesville, NY

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Entrance to the Shrine

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This is where I prayed the rosary

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Perfect day - blue sky, fluffy clouds, cool breeze

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The original chapel from 1885

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I sat here and wrote for a bit

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Traditional Catholic Prayer to Saint Brigid

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Saint Brigid.
You were a woman of peace.
You brought harmony where there was conflict.
You brought light to the darkness.
You brought hope to the downcast.
May the mantle of your peace cover those who are troubled and anxious, and may peace be firmly rooted in our hearts and in our world.
Inspire us to act justly and to reverence all God has made.
Brigid you were a voice for the wounded and the weary.
Strengthen what is weak within us.
Calm us into a quietness that heals and listens.
May we grow each day into greater wholeness in mind, body and spirit.

Amen.

(From: http://saintbrigids.org/reflections/prayers/)

Advent – Day 3

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Scripture (Job 22:21)
Saint Clare of Assisi

As I hope in you, O Lord, permit me to come closer to you, that my whole soul may do homage to the greatness of your majesty; that my heart, with its tenderest affections, may acknowledge your infinite love; that my memory may dwell on the admirable mysteries here renewed every day, and that the sacrifice of my whole being may accompany you.

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Advent Begins

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Today the first day of Advent; my first Advent after being baptised.

I am planning on offering some reflections as I approach these next twenty-four days.

As thus is the busiest travel day of the year, we are still not home from our Thanksgiving holiday, so I thought I would share this first rejection/prayer from St. Dimitri of Rostov.

This is the prayer that appears in the Advent booklet given out by my church.
The second picture is the copyright information.

Thanksgiving Prayer

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This was given by our St. Vincent de Paul Society in their Thanksgiving baskets and I wanted to share it with you. Blessings to you all.

On this day of Thanksgiving, may G-d rest our hearts and minds. May He bless us and our families and continue to extend His blessings to everyone who touch our lives. May He grant patience and perseverance, expressed with courage and wisdom, as we meet the changes of life here on earth.

Let us always approach our Heavenly Father with true thankfulness every day in our triumphs and trials, acknowledging His everlasting love for us and our utter dependence on Him.

We pray this through Christ our Lord, Amen

Simplicity

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True prayer is simple and sincere.

Growing up, I was uncomfortable with prayer. I preferred to talk to G-d about what was going on in my life and ask for things that I needed help with. It was a good system. I didn’t have to think about the vastness of G-d and universe, and certainly no one ever talked to me about Jesus except with the yearly reminder at Christmas.

When I first went to church, I read that day’s verse. It hit a little close to home and I cried. I sat there for two hours wondering what I should do, how to make things right. I talked about my problems, I asked what I should do, but it wasn’t until, almost involuntarily instead of asking for something for myself, I asked for my friend.

Once I was taken out of the equation, a warmth and calm washed over me. It was tangible. My eyes dried and I sat for only a few more minutes and knew that whatever happened, it would be alright.

Simple and sincere.

I am once again at a place where simple and sincere are my watchwords. This is not easy for me. I’m wordy. So afraid of offense, I talk around the issue and apologize before I need to, sometimes when I don’t need to at all and the sincerity gets lost in all the wasted spaces. I need to convey feelings, and they are so complex that the extra words are already forming and the reader will get tired of them as soon as they start reading. I need to be simpler. The subject is simple; why can’t the message be?

Simple and sincere.

If I remember that in many instances in my life, it will give me great reward. One of the things I will practice here before I get too wordy.