David Ancell / Saturday, May 13, 2023 / Comments(0)
For many years of my life, I’ve heard people say “God has a plan.” Some people say that there is no such thing as a coincidence. Well, I do believe God has a plan, but it seems to me that people who throw these phrases out seem to have forgotten that we are not marionettes that God has been keeping on a string. We really do have free will, and I find it difficult to fathom that God gives us free will but didn’t really intend for us to have any agency in our lives, even in accomplishing his plan. To think so would to suggest that God has intended every aspect of our lives to be some kind of decoding scheme where we are constantly trying to decode the one exactly right thing that God wants us to do.
To me, there have to be some things that are coincidental. If I run into a friend I haven’t seen in a long time, did God arrange the meeting? He might have. However, it’s still possible that both the friend and I simply made decisions in our free will to be at a particular place. This doesn’t preclude the action of God at all. He could then work in a myriad of ways through this. In fact, nothing happens that God doesn’t at least permit, and he did permit the meeting. This is why we can “accept all things as coming from God.”
We have an interesting example of God’s providence in our free actions that is found in the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary – the Visitation (Luke 1:39-56). Mary is informed of her calling to be the Mother of Our Lord by an angel. Joseph is told in a dream not to be afraid to take Mary as his wife, and he is also told when to take the family to Egypt. However, in the Scriptures we do not find Mary having been commanded or even suggested to visit Elizabeth. She hears of Elizabeth’s pregnancy from the angel, and off she goes.
Through this, God does a work that begins with Mary’s greeting of Elizabeth. The infant John the Baptist leapt in the womb of Mary. Theologians tell us that John was redeemed in the womb of Mary. While God didn’t tell Mary to go to her relative as far as we can see, he allowed it and then worked a great work through it. We don’t know what would have happened if Mary had chosen not to go, but I would presume that she could have made that choice without having offended God.
Another thing to consider is that God can even use our sins to do the great work he wishes to do. This doesn’t mean we should sin so that God can work through it. However, if you look at the linage of Jesus, you will find that not everyone in his ancestry was amazingly holy. Even Bathsheba, with whom King David committed adultery, was in the linage (not to mention King David himself). Obviously, our sins are not willed by God. There is no way that God arranged for sin to be committed, though he may allow it with the intention to accomplish a greater good.
With all this being said, it is impossible to deny that God had definite plans for John the Baptist, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and King David. They had a definite calling that was made clear to them. All of them, especially Mary, had major roles to play in the salvation of the world. The will of God was definitely made manifest, and it will be in our own lives in the way God intends.
However, I think more could be said about our free will and the agency we have in accomplishing God’s plan. I don’t claim to have figured out how it works. I doubt we will figure this out this side of eternity. What I do know is that God created a real world and gave us a real role in it. God may even allow us our preferences in many circumstances. Our own choices may shape the way God accomplishes his will. However, we know that we can do nothing without God and his grace.
Category: Spirituality
David Ancell / Sunday, April 30, 2023 / Comments(0)
In the last few months, I’ve learned of a number of deaths of people who were all within 10 years (either older or younger) of my age. Some I had worked with. One was well-known in at least some Catholic circles. Another one, a wife and mother who was about 9 years younger than I am, I didn’t know at all. Her husband’s tweets just happened to appear on my Twitter feed.
Yes, I know they will rise again. Their families know this, too. All of them were of some kind of Christian faith. After all, in the Catholic Church, we are in the midst of a 50 day celebration of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Still, I don’t think it’s right to deny the tragedy of their deaths.
The thing is that death was not part of God’s original plan for us. The fact that it happens is not really a natural part of life as I have been told by people. It’s an outrage. It is a sad reality of our human condition wounded by sin.
Jesus himself was not unmoved by this at all. In fact, go read John 11:1-44 where Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. There is a notable verse (verse 35) that says “Jesus wept.” Jesus, who knew that he was going to bring him back from the dead in just a few minutes, wept over his death.
So, if Jesus wept at the death of someone whom he knew he was going to bring back to life in a few minutes, surely he is not unmoved by what has happened to all of these people at too young of an age. It’s true that he permitted it for the good of their souls. It’s true that they will rise again, and we know it. However, the fact is that all of their families now have to spend the rest of their time on earth without their loved ones. God is not unmoved by their sorrow, and neither should we be.
With this being said, I would encourage everyone to pray for anyone whom you hear is dying. It has been placed on my heart to pray the Divine Mercy chaplet for a number of people whom I heard were dying, only to learn of their deaths soon afterwards. After they die, pray for the repose of their souls. This is especially important if they are not Catholic as their family will not be aware that they need to do this, and probably won’t. Of course, don’t forget to pray for the comfort of their families that they will know the love of God during their time of mourning.
Category: Spirituality
David Ancell / Sunday, April 30, 2023 / Comments(0)
I just love the ending to the Gospel reading for today’s Mass. Jesus said he came so that we might have life and have it to the full. It’s a great reminder when our culture is constantly telling us that Christianity is oppressive or hateful. It’s also a great reminder when we are tempted to sin and maybe questioning why we can’t do what we are tempted to do. If Jesus came for us to have life to the full, then anything we try to do that offends him is not part of living life to the full.
Virtue is known to lie in the middle way. That means that virtue often lies in between two vices. One of them would to be to indulge our appetites, whatever they may be. We may experience some kind of pleasure like this, but it will be empty. We will become a slave to our passions. Ultimately, we will be so soft that we won’t be able to accomplish anything worthwhile.
However, there are plenty of people in our culture who are caught in the opposite vice, and maybe we have been at some point. We are caught in this when we are constantly working and constantly busy and fail to enter into his rest. Human beings are not machines and are not made to be continually working. Time needs to be taken for us to worship Our Lord, to be with the people around us when we aren’t trying to accomplish something, and to get some wholesome recreation.
Jesus will show us, even in the most difficult times, how we can live joyfully and live life to the full. Sometimes it requires more trust than others. Of course, the real fullness of life will come only when we are with him in Heaven. There we will know perfectly the fullness of life that he came to give us.
Category: Spirituality, Uncategorized
David Ancell / Wednesday, July 27, 2022 / Comments(0)
On the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we were given a great gift from God. Roe vs Wade and subsequent bad decisions were overturned by the Supreme Court. We know this is just one step, albeit a very large one, in the fight to end abortion. There is a lot of work to do.
A lot has been written in the days leading up to the decision (thanks to the leaked draft) and after the decision. I can’t tell you how many left leaning articles I read talking about how lives will be totally ruined by this decision. I’ve also read a number of articles about how we are going to need to be ready to care for a lot of these babies if abortion is illegal. Well, we do need to be ready to care for both mothers and babies and to show that life doesn’t end with pregnancy, but there’s something missing from both sides here.
It’s very important that we as Catholics are willing to preach the authentic truth about human sexuality and to preach it as a positive good. We want to help bring God’s mercy on those who have fallen into sin, but even then, we need to help them to know the truth that will se them free. There are two false views of human sexuality that have caused serious problems in society which I will call the puritanical view and the libertine view. As with anything in the spiritual life, the truth lies between these two extremes.
Although it’s much less popular in our day and age, I think it’s important to reflect a bit on the puritanical view of human sexuality. I don’t know the exact view of the Puritans here, but I use this term because of the popular notion that the Puritans viewed all pleasure as at least suspect, if not downright sinful. Many in society may think this is the true Christian view of sex, and many trying to live a holy life are influenced in some way by it. Sex is often viewed as dirty or shameful in this view. You can do it when you are married, but it’s more of a concession to us dirty, rotten people.
This view is sometimes part of a larger view of life, mentioned above, that enjoyment of any kind is sinful. We need to simply never enjoy anything in this life. That has to be saved for Heaven. However, I have never understood how anyone would be happy forever in constant presence of a God who is a complete killjoy. Really, how is that supposed to work?
More common in today’s society is a libertine view, or at least a view that leans in that direction. In many cases, it may just be a reaction to the Puritanical view. This view suggests that sex is just a recreational activity. Everyone has a right to use and enjoy their sexuality and even determine it’s meaning in their own lives. People holding a libertine view believe they should be able to do what they want and be able to determine what the consequences and even what other people’s reactions will be. If it feels good, do it, except for one thing . . .
The one thing the libertines do get right is that to engage in sexual acts without consent is a crime of violence. However, unlike a true Christian view of sex, their views on sexuality tend to weaken their case. They are holding a view that sex is a recreational activity but simultaneously saying that engaging in it without consent is a huge violation of another’s body. It isn’t completely incongruent, but it probably does bear some responsibility for the rise in sexual assault that we see in our society. Really, the bottom line that the libertines completely miss is that consent is an extremely low standard.
Instead of either of the above, we need to foster the development of an authentic view of the human person which leads to the authentic view of human sexuality. Unlike the puritanical view, sex is not dirty or shameful but holy. Unlike the libertine view, sex is not just a pure fun activity but a sacred bond between husband and wife to be treated with reverence. Our bodies are not toys to be played with, and the meaning and consequences of our actions are not ours to determine.
On a purely natural level, we can see that sex is holy by the natural effect it has. By it, a man and a woman cooperate with God in the creation of new human life. This does not happen every time, but deliberately trying to prevent it while still engaging in the act is not giving our sexuality the reverence it is due. We know by the fact that a child needs years of care to be able to grow and develop that a stable commitment is needed. Therefore, the act that brought forth this child needs to be engaged in only when there is the commitment between the man and woman suitable for this, which is marriage.
However, we are not animals that simply “reproduce,” which is why talking about “reproductive freedom” is ridiculous. On a supernatural view, human sexuality is an imperfect image of the love and unity within the Holy Trinity. The husband and wife give themselves unreservedly to each other, and sexuality is the expression of this self giving. This is an even greater reason why husband and wife need to treat their bond with great reverence. God is love, and God is one God in three persons, just as a marriage consists of a man and a woman, who by their love will often bring forth a third (a child).
Is this unrealistic? No, it’s not, but we have work to do. The very intemperance towards sexuality (and also other pleasures) in our society has served to weaken our character. This, in turn, leads to more using of other people for our own pleasure. By recognizing what God has given us in the gift of our sexuality, we can approach it with the reverence, and therefor self control, needed to give us that strength of character that is needed to truly love as God loves. This will eliminate even the very idea of needing “reproductive freedom” as we will view the child not as a curse but as a gift of God given from a married couple’s total self gift to each other.
Category: Morality, Spirituality
David Ancell / Wednesday, March 30, 2022 / Comments(0)
We’ve passed Laetere Sunday with the priest wearing rose (not pink!) vestments, so maybe we are on a sort of home stretch. You might find that you are doing well at your chosen penance this time around. However, maybe you’ve slipped, maybe more than once, maybe way more than once . . .
The good news is that, unless the thing that you gave up was sinful in and of itself, it’s not a sin if you don’t follow your voluntary penance. Now, a complete refusal to do penance is a serious sin and another issue altogether, but simply indulging in a good or neutral thing that you gave up is not a reason to go to Confession. You took this penance on voluntarily, and you can modify it or even set it aside. In some cases, it could be the right thing to do. But for most of us, not so fast . . .
The fact that you are struggling with your penance may be a sign that you are trying to detach from something which you really need to detach from. Maybe you just need to be strengthened more against self-indulgence (I’m no one to judge you, trust me!). Either way, don’t be surprised that it’s a struggle for you. Please, don’t be discouraged! The struggle is worthwhile even if you aren’t following through perfectly. The important thing is to do what any good Christian must do many times in life – get up and try again! You are fighting the good fight.
So, you find out that you aren’t as strong as you thought you were. This is a great opportunity to grow in the virtue of humility. It’s also a time to remember that we must depend on God. Every day, even every hour if we must, is another opportunity to begin again. Trust in God’s love for you and try again!
Category: Catholic, Spirituality
David Ancell / Sunday, January 30, 2022 / Comments(0)
Years ago, when I was still in my 20s, I remember going to Confession after what was, well, not a good week. There was an older priest whom I really liked to go to, and fortunately, he was there in the confessional. As I was leaving the confessional, I remember the last thing he said before I left was “don’t be discouraged.”
This sounds simple enough. I’m sure I wondered why he said that rather than something to the effect of “you need to get your act together.” The words came back to my mind when, probably a decade or more later, God lead me to unpack this more.
Have you ever thought that you had overcome some problem or sin (or at least hoped you had) only to commit some sin that demonstrated that the problem still existed? In that moment, you may see that you are still as you were, or at least you see that you still have some work to do. It’s very easy to get down on yourself. Don’t! This can be a manifestation of pride or even a trick of the Devil.
To be sure, we need to be sorry for our sins and resolve to do better next time. It is never okay to willfully choose to remain in sin, especially mortal sin. However, if we give in to discouraging thoughts that God must be really angry and that we can never be better, it will only drive us further into the sin.
If God allows us to fall into the sin and reveal to us where we are, it is to our benefit. We can thank God that we see this now and can repent and really make that change. We can humble ourselves in the realization that we are weak and can do nothing without Christ, but we need to also have confidence that Our Lord will give us his grace. We can recognize the love and mercy of God in this moment. We can, from this fall, strengthen our resolve not to commit this sin again. It also helps to become a more merciful and loving person if we use this to be come more understanding of the weaknesses of others.
As much as I’d like to say I’ve perfected this art now, well . . . Please realize the preceding paragraphs often apply to me very well. In fact, writing these things is a helpful tool for me to get these better embedded in my heart as well as to help others benefit.
One more note, I’d recommend How to Profit From Your Faults by Joseph Tissot if you want further reading on this.
Category: Spirituality
David Ancell / Sunday, January 23, 2022 / Comments(0)
I remember hearing “God wants your weakness, too” at a retreat that I went on almost five years ago. I didn’t know what to make of this. In fact, I’m still not sure I really know what to make of it. However, through reading and retreats that I’ve been on in the years since then, I can see God leading me on a certain spiritual path. I think it really started with the beginning of my devotion to St Therese of Lisieux some years ago (and certainly also her intercession), but I didn’t realize it for a long time.
I’ve long been bothered by seeing God’s love and mercy being used as an excuse for sin or even as an excuse not to take God seriously at all. Sin is really an obstacle between us and God that needs to be rooted out of our lives. I never could stand it when I’d hear someone say that there was no problem with someone remaining in serious sin because God is so loving and forgiving. If you really believe this about God, how can you stand to see one who loves so much so offended?
With that said, I’m learning more about how our faults and failure should not keep us from coming to Our Lord. Obviously, if it’s a mortal sin we are talking about, then Confession is how we must come to him – as soon as possible! The best way I’ve heard it said is that holiness isn’t so much about strength but about clinging to Christ in our weakness. After all, God’s love and mercy are real, and how great they are! He loves each of us right now. He’s not waiting until we are holier to begin to love us.
No matter how much we want to serve God, we fail. Many of us have some rather serious failings in our past. Jesus was not kidding when he said “without me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). We cannot do anything good without God, and we must trust in God for our salvation.
What is one very important way to trust in God rather than ourselves? Dom Lorenzo Scupoli explained it well in Spiritual Combat. How do we react when we have sinned? Does it surprise us? Do we lose our peace? If we are trusting in God, we are neither surprised nor anxious and certainly not despairing. Instead, we peacefully place our hope in the love and mercy of God.
To be honest, I haven’t fully unpacked this in my mind even though God has been trying to teach me this for years. Probably my favorite book on this spiritual path is Consoling the Heart of Jesus by Fr Michael Gaitley, MIC. If you want to hear a retreat based on the topic, I’d recommend Fr Bryce Sibley. I went to this retreat a few years ago, and this is a good one also (but this one is probably better suited for men). Another book I’d recommend is How to Profit from Your Faults by Joseph Tissot. All of these have helped bring me to a better understanding of the love and mercy of God.
Category: Catholic, Spirituality
David Ancell / Saturday, April 11, 2020 / Comment(1)
A couple of years ago, I posted an article that I named Why Doesn’t the World Stop on this blog. I was talking about the world-changing events that we celebrate during the Easter Triduum. It’s Holy Saturday as I write this after not having posted for a long time. With the COVID 19 threat looming over us, I guess the world did sort of stop (except, of course, for essential businesses). It is definitely not business as usual. The problem is that even our churches our closed, but I plan to write more on that later.
I’m not one to claim that COVID 19 is a punishment from God. I do not have knowledge of such things, nor will I claim to have. However, I do think that God wants us to use this time to stop our normal busyness and hyperactivity to take the time to be able to reflect. It may be that permanent changes in our lives for the better are going to result from this. I, for one, am grateful to not have to waste 2 – 3 hours or more of my life commuting every day.
If you haven’t done much reflecting, this Holy Saturday is a perfect time to do so. Even if we weren’t under the coronavirus threat, there wouldn’t be a Mass to go to right at this moment (at least not until the Easter Vigil). The Eucharist can only be given as viaticum, and no other Sacraments may be celebrated except Penance and Anointing of the Sick (Yes, Confessions may be heard during the Triduum.). On Holy Saturday, we remember when Jesus was in the tomb. Fasting, though not required, is recommended. Certainly the early Easter celebrations and the attending of venues of entertainment are out of character for this day.
This year, needless to say, is different in that the faithful will not be able to participate in a public celebration of Easter Vigil or Easter Sunday Mass. In a sense, we will be waiting at the tomb and doing our own kind of penance. However, with this comes some opportunities that we might not otherwise have. I remember hearing on one podcast that we all said we needed more family time, and now that we have it, we have decided our old schedule was just fine.
For those of you who have families, this is a great time to strengthen your relationships. For all of us, it should be a time to spend alone with God. We can reach out to each other through all of the technology we have. The fact is that it’s here for a reason even though our current crisis will definitely highlight how it is not enough. At this point, it’s what we have. Instead of longing to go back to the way things were before, we can take this time to think of how we want our lives to change and grow closer to God. This isn’t going to be easy, and who knows when it will end. Let’s pray for each other and for an end to this crisis, and let’s trust that God will bring good out of all of this.
Category: Catholic, Spirituality
David Ancell / Saturday, December 31, 2016 / Comments(0)
We are nearing the end of the Octave of Christmas, and on January 1st we will celebrate the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. The Church gives us the reading of the first chapter of the Gospel of John for the day. What struck me was something that I see as a reflection of the saddest aspect of human society. The Gospel mentions that the world was made through the Word who is Jesus Christ, but despite this, the world did not know him. He even came among his own people, but they did not receive him.
If anyone is considering what is the greatest problem facing our society today, I think the root of it is simple. Today, we live in a secular society. That is nothing really new. As far as I know, as long as the Church has existed, there have been both the temporal rulers of society, and the bishops in the Church. The problem today is actually called secularism. It’s the running of our society and the going about of our lives as though God did not exist or, if he does, as though he doesn’t really have any effect on our lives.
Some people treat the very thought of God with contempt. You can see this is the angry atheists of our day who have bought into the absurd notion that this entire universe came about by itself. It’s also visible among the media people who mock Christians. Others just don’t give God the time of day. They just go about their business every day without it ever having seemed to occur to them that there is a greater purpose beyond what they are doing every day. Concerns about what would be the will of God or whether a certain act is sinful give way to a supposed “real life.” Some such people have really never thought about the matter. Others assume that we really can’t know the truth, but somehow they insist that they know we cannot know the truth. They never bother to try and find out. Still others are actually people who say they believe, and even go to church, but their belief is superficial at best because it hardly weighs in on the decisions they make on a daily basis.
It has always seemed strange to me how someone can really say that they believe in God, but not be ready to base every aspect of their lives on what he has to say to us. This ain’t small potatoes! I also cannot fathom how anyone can just ignore the question of God entirely as it were of little matter. Don’t they need to find out the truth? The fact is that we are all going to die one day, and we will leave behind whatever we had on this earth. One may wish to spend life doing good for others, and indeed we should. However, everyone whom we have helped will die one day no matter how much good we have done for them. Then, how will we have helped them? The good we do must have behind it a greater purpose.
In society today, we as Christians, and especially Catholics (as we have the fullness of truth), have a mission. We must evangelize. The atheist, of course, needs to be evangelized, but he may actually be better off than the sleepers who don’t seem to think it matters. The atheists, at least, are actively arguing and perhaps could be convinced. However, many times the problem that causes unbelief is a moral problem. There is some sinful behavior that they aren’t willing to give up that is at the root of their unbelief, whether they understand it or not. Still, if it becomes know to us, helping them to see another way to live may be what is needed.
The people whom I really think will be harder to believe are what we may call the “sleepers.” They are the people who go through life without much thought of God, as though the question were a topic of interest to some like science fiction. Unlike the atheists, they have to be convinced that they need an answer in the first place. Such people may see very little wrong with their lives. Yet, God wants to call these people to himself as well. We must pray that they come to know him before it is too late.
I’ve never liked the saying that we should “Preach the Gospel at all times, and when necessary, use words.” Contrary to popular belief, St. Francis of Assisi did not say it. The saying can easily become an excuse not to preach the Gospel and not to use words when needed. However, we who follow Christ really do need to examine our lives. In a secularized society, we can easily fall into the trap of living at least some aspect of our lives as though God didn’t exist. Does Christ rule over everything . . . how we act, how we dress, how we run our businesses, how we raise and educate our kids, how we choose entertainment? We’ll never convince the world if we appear to be unconvinced. This doesn’t mean we wait until we are perfect to preach the Gospel or that we should appear perfect. This might actually discourage people who live troubled lives. Rather, we need to give God everything, and this also means that we need to learn to tell people about Christ, his Church, and his love for us.
Our societal problems won’t ultimately be solved by government leaders, though we do need good ones in office. They won’t be solved by some new product developed by a corporation, though they can be of assistance to us. They won’t be solved by education, though we need to be educated. They won’t even be solved by social justice and welfare programs, though we are obligated as Christians to help those in need. We must get to the root of everything, and to do so, we need to put everything under the reign of the King whose birth we celebrated almost a week ago.
Category: Catholic, Response, Spirituality
David Ancell / Saturday, December 17, 2016 / Comments(0)
In life, we know there are things for which we must prepare. If we are in school, we prepare for exams. If we want a good grade, we don’t write a term paper at the last minute. In the business world, we prepare for an important meeting, appointment, or presentation. Even a theatrical performance or a baseball or football game requires practice in order to prepare for the performance or game.
We in the Catholic Church don’t just carry out business as usual and then one day say “Oh, hey, it’s Christmas today” or “Oh, I guess today is Easter.” We have this season of Advent now to prepare us to celebrate the coming of Our Lord at Christmas. In a fairly short time, we will have the season of Lent to get us ready to celebrate Our Lord’s resurrection at Easter, or, really, the entire Paschal mystery in the Easter Triduum. Both seasons have a penitential aspect, with an emphasis on repentance of sins. We want to be holy in order to fully celebrate the great feast days. We don’t let these great and holy days sneak up on us.
When the day is over, we don’t just go right back to business as usual either. We celebrate the Octave of a Christmas and the Octave of Easter, and then we have a season in the Church afterward. In fact, the season of Easter is longer than Lent. We know that these days are not ordinary days in our lives. They are the celebration of the central events of our eternal salvation. The secular world, trapped in endless restlessness because its heart is not resting in God for whom we were made, just moves on.
Really, though, with the stores having Christmas stuff available just after Halloween, or even before, you’d have to live under a very heavy rock for Christmas to be able to sneak up on you. There will be plenty in the secular world – Christmas music, parties, gifts to buy. None of it is bad in and of itself. We just need to be careful not to be distracted from living the season of Advent for what it is.
Perhaps this Advent we can take a look at how we prepare for the daily things in life so that we live them out on purpose, and we live them for the purpose of serving God. If we don’t do some kind of preparation, we open ourselves to the possibility of just drifting along and/or being knocked in every direction like a pinball. How do we prepare ourselves for the day ahead of us?
Do we wake up promptly for our duties of the day? I can’t recommend the heroic minute enough. Do we pray in the morning and offer our day to God? Some people may do their daily prayer in the morning. For me, it’s the only time possible. Others may make a morning offering and save their main time with God for later.
There are a lot of moments while getting ready in the morning that you can stop to say a quick prayer. Take a look at Fr. Thomas Dailey’s excellent book Live Today Well for suggestions. This book has a lot of good rules to use for keeping the presence of God all day.
A particular area to look at is how we prepare ourselves for Sunday Mass. Is it the center of our Sunday, or is it just one more event on our agenda? Sunday Mass is the most important thing we do all week and needs to be treated that way. Do we pray about what we are to participate in? Do we make an effort to dress properly for it and arrive promptly (really, a few minutes early)? Do we keep reverential silence in the church before Mass starts? It is hard to keep little ones quiet, but I am really referring to not having unnecessary conversations in the church so that people can pray.
What are we doing in the morning before we head to Mass? God commanded a Sabbath rest on Sunday. We need not pray the whole time before or even a large part of it as we need to have breakfast, get dressed, and get to the church. Sometimes the kids don’t cooperate with keeping an atmosphere of preparation for Mass (or even getting there when we’d like). However, if we are conducting our usual business first and then rushing off to Mass, almost as though it’s an afterthought, something is really wrong. Also, what are we doing with the rest of Sunday? Remember the Sabbath rest, and beware of activities that interfere with the nature of Sunday. There are some things you may have to do because they are unavoidable or even because you enjoy them, and some jobs are essential (or people have no choice). However, there are a number of other things that can be avoided with, yes, you guessed it, appropriate preparation for Sunday.
All of this preparation can serve as a reminder to us that this life is a preparation for eternity. How we live now determines how we will be forever. It will determine whether we spend eternity forever in the presence of God in Heaven or separated from him in Hell. Even if we are saved, we won’t be all equal. Read Matthew 5:19 to hear what Jesus said about some being great and others least in the Kingdom. The sanctifying grace in our souls can be lost, but it can also be increased, making us able to experience more of the beatific vision. We need to strive to be as holy as we can be.
Category: Books, Catholic, Spirituality