In October my son went for a week to Rhode Island to attend a seminar for dog trainers.

But he learned much more than how to educate a dog or grow a canine business. He came back with a long list of really good books to read - none of which had anything to do with dogs, but everything to do with self-improvement.
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Thanks to that seminar the Kindle app on my phone is now rapidly filling up with great books!
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I am already re-reading ‘The Slight Edge’ by Jeff Olson. 

Habits of Thought & Attitude 

The book is about changing one’s life for the better by means of slight daily improvements.

He discusses how habits of thought and attitude can either ‘uphold and support you’ or ‘imprison and restrain you.’ It’s important to be aware of those that don’t serve us and either change or get rid of them.

Replacing a bad habit with one that empowers and serves us is a great way to do this and one way to achieve this is to have a positive outlook. People with a positive attitude move towards their goals instead of away from them.

​Daily Appreciation 

Cultivate the habit of gratitude. Mr. Olson says that positive psychologists note how consistently happier people share this trait. He suggests writing down three things to be grateful for upon waking every day – three different things.

We tend to take good things for granted and zero in on those that aren’t so wonderful. But by doing that we give too much power to the negative and derive no benefits from the positive.

By switching our focus to the goodness in life we can totally change our outlook.

For me, this means looking for God’s grace every day. Since I’ve started to do that, I’ve been amazed to find out how much He’s looking out for me.

I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve suddenly caught myself driving too fast and have taken my foot off the gas, only to find that there’s a cop car waiting up ahead. Thank you, God, for giving me the chance to do the right thing!

The other day I went to the dermatologist and my face was basted with a special cream. This was for the light treatment I needed for pre-cancer cells. A piece of Saran wrap was placed over my nose, with another on my forehead.

I had to wait 90 minutes like this before the actual light treatment and didn’t want to sit in the waiting room that long. So I drove across to Panera and bought myself a coffee. As I was walking to a table, I knocked my cup against my purse and the container fell onto the floor. The lid came off and the contents spilled all over the carpet.

Not only had I lost my entire drink, but had also drawn attention to my Saran-wrapped face. It was most definitely a negative moment!

Then a lady jumped up from her table to help me mop up the mess, telling me that she’s a waitress and a klutz and always dropping things on the floor. Whether that was true or not, I so appreciated her empathy!

When I got to the front of the line again to order a new coffee, the lady looked surprised. I told her what had happened and she immediately asked the barista to remake my drink - and charged me nothing. The barista worried that she hadn’t put the lid on my coffee properly, but I assured her the whole episode was entirely my fault.

Thus, on the heels of huge embarrassment came three spontaneous acts of kindness.

Which was going to serve me best? Dwelling on the positive or the negative?
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If we look for it, we’ll find that goodness abounds everywhere.

Christmas Thanks 

One year ago my son was in a full-blown flare with ulcerative colitis. He had dropped 40 lbs and was unable to walk without the aid of canes because, as a secondary complication, he had also developed bursitis on his knees. He looked skeletal, was getting no sleep, was in constant pain and enduring all the other horrible issues of someone in his condition.

He made it through this Thanksgiving without a flare (YAY!) and we are looking forward to his first healthy Christmas in three years.

Yes, there is a lot to be thankful for.

I hope you find many reasons to be grateful this Christmas and that the New Year brings you ever more blessings.

The approaching New Year is the perfect opportunity for us to make - and follow through on - a positive resolution which will impact our eternal future.

How about this one: Working on getting to Heaven?

Where Are We All Headed?

I am currently reading The Urgency of the New Evangelization: Answering the Call by Ralph Martin, (OurSundayVisitor, 2013).

Martin wants us to understand now – not later – that whatever the prevailing culture tells us, hell is real and we are all going there if we don’t wake up to the Truth – not some ‘tolerant’ and ‘relative’ version of it.

“Out of His profound compassion God reveals to us the ways that lead to life and death. We neglect them at our eternal peril. And not to tell the truth to those we love is to be guilty of a genuine lack of compassion.”

The world around us wants us to believe that God doesn’t exist, and His commandments don’t apply to us anymore. (Code for 'don't tell me what to do - I don't want to behave myself.')

We Christians are becoming increasingly marginalized, and branded at best as irrelevant, at worst as ‘intolerant’ and indulging in ‘hate speech.’
​
“As Christian culture collapses and we again face a situation that has more in common with the early Church than anything we’ve known in our lifetime, the words of the early Church become more and more meaningful and applicable.” (My italics.)

What Is Hell?

In 1936 St. Faustina was led through hell by an angel.

Among the terrifying sights she beheld were the “special tortures destined for particular souls. These are the torments of the senses. Each soul undergoes terrible and indescribable sufferings, related to the manner in which it has sinned.” And not just temporarily, mark you – this is for all eternity.

She explains further, “I am writing this at the command of God, so that no soul may find an excuse by saying there is no hell, or that nobody has ever been there, and so no one can say what it is like…I noticed one thing: that most of the souls there are those who disbelieved that there is a hell.” (My italics.)

St. Catherine of Siena was also given a vision of hell and God told her that those in hell “see the devil as he really is – more horrible than the human heart can imagine. ….Even with all you have seen you do not really know how horrible he is.”

By giving into sin and the devil’s deceptions and lies we gradually become as extreme in ugliness and horror as he is and ready to join him in hell.

Unlike what the world today wants us to believe, there is no glamor in evil, no beauty in perversion and no happy ending for those of us who persist in sin and lies.

Who then Can Be saved?

(See also my post Divine Mercy Sunday. Jesus is desperate for us to repent and ask forgiveness before it is too late.)

Martin points out how the devil has turned the current emphasis on God’s mercy to his own evil purposes. Focusing only on the merciful side of God, and forgetting the consequences of sin and lack of repentance, “some people have, mistakenly, gotten the impression … that sin is no big deal and that God in His mercy will never allow anyone to be lost. This is not at all … what the Lord showed to Faustina.”

This way of thinking has resulted in “a dangerous presumption on God’s mercy” which is also a sin.

As St. Paul tells us, we “must obey the truth” – The Truth, not some twenty-first century ‘progressive’ version of it. “He will pour out his anger and wrath on those who live for themselves, who refuse to obey the truth and instead live lives of wickedness. (Rom. 2:8)”

However, St. Paul says “He will give eternal life to those who keep on doing good, seeking after the glory and honor and immortality that God offers (Rom. 2:7)”

God longs to offer us His mercy, but can only do so if we ask for it with a repentant heart and the determination not to sin anymore.

Yes, we will fall – time and time again – but we have to get up time and time again and ask for God’s forgiveness with a penitent and humble heart. 

We cannot approach God with the attitude that He somehow ‘owes us.’ He owes us nothing – His mercy is a free gift which we cannot earn. He wishes to give it to us, but we have to ask properly for it, with humility and an awareness of our human failings.

If you recall, Lucifer refused to fulfill those conditions, and look where that got him.

The additional good news is, says Martin, that “The Father tells Catherine that (our loved ones who are) already with Him continually intercede for us who are still on the journey and that the Father will do everything to answer their prayer ‘provided only that you do not foolishly resist my mercy.’” (My italics.)

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​What to Choose?

Consider what Martin writes here:
“It’s interesting to note how the Father shows Catherine that as each person dies they actually rush to where they want to be. In a very real way each person chooses their own destiny over the course of a lifetime and at the moment of death embraces what has truly become their choice.”

I know where I want to spend eternity. How about you?

It makes us desperately want to warn our loved ones, doesn’t it? Like the rich man in hell who wanted Abraham to warn his five brothers so they not end up like him.

"Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.' (Luke 16:29)”
​
Let's heed the warnings in the Bible – those Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth – before it’s too late for us, as well!

​Endnote:

Here are a few excerpts from the book's impressive endorsements. They may help you better understand what the book is about and how powerful its message is.

“Ralph Martin masterfully develops a biblically based summons to the critical work of evangelizing, a work on which depends the very salvation of countless souls.” Monsignor Charles Pope, pastor, blogger and Our Sunday Visitor columnist.

“(Ralph Martin) effectively establishes that the primary reason for the urgency of the New Evangelization is that the eternal destinies of people we love – indeed all people – are at stake.” Janet Smith, who holds the Father Michael J. McGivney Chair of Life Ethics at Sacred Heart Major Seminary.

“After reading it, you are called to decision.” Gavin D’Costa, Professor of Catholic Theology, University of Bristol.

“The book will be of particular value to the laity, many of whom continue to believe that the duty to evangelize falls mainly on the clergy and religious. Martin shows … the error of this view.” Colin Donovan, S.T.L., Vice President for Theology, EWTN.

This country has produced two presidential candidates who make it very hard to want to vote in this election. As a well-meaning Christian you may well feel that you shouldn’t vote because the choices are so awful.

But, as the British statesman Edmund Burke famously said: ““All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.”

We truly are in a position to prevent the triumph of evil.

Do I Have to Vote? 

In an election where one of the major candidates is virulently anti-Christian (and specifically anti-Catholic) while the other publicly defends Christian values, surely we cannot refuse to vote because of our personal feelings about the individuals who represent each side?

Here is what Pope Pius XII had to say when Catholics went to the polls in 1948 to vote for or against the Communists in Italy:    (from “The Moral Obligation of Voting” written by the Rev. Titus Cranny, S.A, M.A, S.T.L in 1952 as quoted in All Catholics Have a Moral Obligation To Vote Against Hillary Clinton )

“Everyone has to vote according to the dictates of his own conscience. Now it is evident that the voice of conscience imposes on every sincere Catholic the necessity of giving his own vote to those candidates or to those lists of candidates, which offer them truly adequate guarantees for the protection of the rights of God and of souls, for the true good of individuals, of families, and of society, according to the laws of God and the Church’s moral teaching.”
 
Rev. Cranny writes:

“Thus, Pius XII eloquently points out that it would be a mortal sin for one to abstain from voting under circumstances where a party hostile to the Faith, in this case clearly Hillary Clinton and the Democratic party, wish to gain control of government and harm the Church.”

Remember Christ’s words:

"Anyone who isn't with me opposes me, and anyone who isn't working with me is actually working against me (Matthew 12:30).”
​
If we don’t vote for Christ we are voting against Him and cannot call ourselves Christians.

​

Jesus versus Prevailing Opinion​

Today’s culture is based on how people feel about issues on a given day: we are urged not to ‘hurt people’s feelings’ or ‘show intolerance.’

If someone wants to flout the laws of God we are told to stand by and let them, rather than upset them by pointing out what they are doing is morally wrong and will lead to perdition, instead of happiness as they mistakenly think.

“My child, don't reject the LORD's discipline, and don't be upset when he corrects you (Proverbs 3:11).”

Christ didn’t care about people’s feelings. He cared about their souls and where they were headed when they die. He wanted them to gain everlasting life, not merit the everlasting misery of hell.

“For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? (Mark 8:36)”

Progressivism and power are the antithesis of truth and morals. Doing ‘what feels good’ and looking after number one are the very same things the people did in Noah’s time before the floods came. They laughed at the crazy man building the huge boat – that is, until the heavens opened and God poured His wrath on His wayward people.
​
We can be assured that if this country doesn’t turn back to God, He will turn His back on us.

   Intrinsically Evil Actions Must ALWAYS Be Rejected

Most people agree that evil must be stopped.

But the agreement ends when defining what is and what is not evil.

Abortion 

Selective Outrage

Each year around 35,000 people die in gun violence in this country and there is a huge outcry, as well there should be.

Every year over 1 million babies die in abortions in America, yet this murder of innocent children passes for acceptable behavior.

What is the reason for this selective outrage? Why is it bad for people to be shot to death but O.K. for babies to be butchered to death?

What is the moral difference?

The Right to Choose

A woman may claim to have rights over her own body (even though our bodies were given to us by God, Who is the only Being with any rights over them) but she cannot claim to have rights over another human being.

Just because that human being is growing inside her doesn’t mean that she is morally justified in deciding whether that baby should live or die. God created that baby, and only God has the right to decide.

Why is it considered double homicide if a pregnant woman is murdered with her baby inside her, yet abortion is not considered homicide in this country? Morality aside, where is the logic?

Choosing to murder a baby is still murder. Period.

Remember Christ’s words:

"'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.' (Matthew 25:40)”

Thus, whatever you do for the least of these our brothers and sisters you do TO Jesus.

We are made in the image of God and when we kill babies we are murdering His Son all over again. It’s that simple.

Christians cannot vote for a party which condones abortion at ANY stage of pregnancy.

Mercy Killing

To make murdering our senior citizens, or those who are terminally ill, acceptable to those of a sensitive nature, the term ‘Mercy Killing’ has been coined for it.

We put our pets ‘to sleep,’ the argument goes, so why not put people ‘to sleep’ when they’re old or in pain? We’re being ‘merciful.’ We’re being 'compassionate.'

That way we can get rid of all those who place financial burdens on our families and society as a whole. Let’s make old and terminally ill people feel selfish if they don’t agree to be killed so we can have their money.

Old age and suffering are part of God’s plan for humanity. It’s up to God to decide whether we live or die, whatever our circumstances on earth, not the government’s.

Telling an old person that he or she is a drain on society and should therefore, in all good conscience, consent to being murdered, is morally reprehensible.

Would you allow a party that sanctioned such behavior to get into power?

Treatment of the Vulnerable 

Speaking of the then most vulnerable members of society, Mahatma Ghandi  famously said:

“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”

He cannot possibly have foreseen the moral regression and poverty of spirit of today’s America.
​
I offer a more modern rendering:
​
“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its unborn babies, sick and old people are treated.”
​

Same Sex Marriage 

The Moral Argument

Marriage is between a man and a woman, for the purpose of procreation and forming a family unit which mirrors the Holy Family (and by extension the Holy Trinity). A homosexual relationship is against God’s natural law.

This doesn’t mean that Christians are called to reject gays and lesbians. Not at all. We are to love the sinner but not the sin, for we are all sinners.  We are to embrace the person but not his or her immoral acts.

Here's a different example of the this.

Should theft be legalized for people who can’t control their urge to steal?

Are we being hateful when we say it’s wrong for a kleptomaniac to take another’s property?

Are we intolerant if we say that kleptomania is bad? If someone wants to steal your car should you say “Oh, go ahead, that’s fine by me,” rather than (oh, horror!) be intolerant of their behavior?

Of course not, you say. God said ‘thou shalt not steal.’ 

While we should feel compassion for someone with a compulsive urge to steal, we shouldn’t condone their acts of theft!

The same goes for homosexual acts. Here are some Scripture readings to clarify God’s standing on the issue.

Leviticus 18:22: "Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination."

Leviticus 20:13: "If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them."

Romans 1:26-27: "For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: 27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet."

1 Corinthian 6:9: "Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind."

God is intolerant of the sin, not the sinner.
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We all sin and are called to repentance: gays and lesbians are no more excused from indulging in sin than the rest of us. God has no tolerance for any sin.

​The Negative Impact on Children

Catholic adoptive agencies are being forced to close their doors because they are not allowed to place children in adoptive homes only where there is a natural family unit of married mother and father.

Consider how this is affecting children who badly need foster or adoptive families to take them.

Putting aside the psychological damage to children placed in same sex homes, they are being led astray from God’s law and the chance to lead authentic Christian lives.

Here is what is happening in D.C alone, but is being repeated all over the country:

“In Washington, DC, Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington—which has provided support to children and families for over eighty years—had a partnership with the District of Columbia for its foster care and public adoption program. However, in 2010, a law redefining legal marriage to include two people of the same sex took effect in the District. The District then informed Catholic Charities that it would no longer be an eligible foster care and adoption partner. Why? Because, as a Catholic organization, Catholic Charities was committed to placing children with married couples so that each child would have the experience of a mother and a father.”  (From Catholics 4 Trump.)
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We have a duty to confront this evil in our society.

​Don’t Waste your Vote 

Don’t waste your vote on a party that won’t get into power. It’s the same as sitting idly and watching evil triumph.

In Conclusion 

St. Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 “Pray without ceasing.” Elsewhere, he exhorts us to:  “Pray in the Spirit at all times, with every kind of prayer and petition. To this end, stay alert with all perseverance in your prayers (Ephesians 6:18).”

Say your rosary, ask our Blessed Mother to intercede for us with her Son and stop the rising Godlessness in this country.
 
“The face of the LORD is against evildoers,
                To cut off the memory of them from the earth.
The righteous cry, and the LORD hears
                And delivers them out of all their troubles
                                                     (Psalm 34:16-17).”
 
Be bold and count among the righteous in blocking the power of the evildoers.
 
“O LORD, You have heard the desire of the humble;
            You will strengthen their heart, You will incline Your ear
 
“To vindicate the orphan and the oppressed,
            So that man who is of the earth will no longer cause terror
                                                     (Psalm 10:17-18).”
 
Be humble that your prayer may pierce the cloud of God’s anger against the hedonism of this country.

​And vote for Christ!

Further Reading 

All Catholics Have a Moral Obligation To Vote Against Hillary Clinton

What Does the Bible Say About Homosexuality? 12 Scripture Verses About Gay Marriage

​I’ve been as confused as anyone about Pope Francis and his agenda.

As the Vicar of Christ, he is infallible when it comes to Catholic doctrine. But I have to admit to being one of those who were:

“dismayed that the pope, in his emphasis on the poor, barely mentioned issues like abortion and homosexuality during his visit to Washington, New York and Philadelphia.” NY Times 3rd October 2015

Why didn’t he speak out strongly against those things? Isn't that what a pope should do?

Papal Agenda 

When I mentioned my concerns to my family, my son shared an interesting view: while those are perhaps big issues in the U.S., Pope Francis probably wants to draw our attention to the global problem of the poor and marginalized.

Sounds plausible. 

But shouldn't he nevertheless address the huge threat in the U.S. to marriage and the life of the unborn?

Like Christ Before Him… 

Jesus’s disciples – and all the Jews – expected their Messiah to be a powerful king who would overthrow the oppressive Romans.But what they got was a humble man who ate with sinners.

This provoked 'righteous' indignation:

“When the scribes of the Pharisees saw that He was eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they said to His disciples, "Why is He eating and drinking with tax collectors and sinners? (Mark 2:16).”

He went totally against their preconception of a powerful religious leader.
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In the same way, Pope Francis is causing many of us to scratch our heads over his leadership style.

God’s Priorities Remain the Same 

Yet Pope Francis is not, as some claim or hope, going to change Catholic doctrine. At the current synod he has spoken firmly for marriage between a man and a woman.

“Confronting a mass of 270 bishops at St Peter's Basilica in Rome, he reaffirmed the Catholic Church's opposition to gay marriage as he opened a three-week synod focusing on family issues….. He insisted the church cannot be 'swayed by passing fads or popular opinion'.” (Daily Mail 5th October 2015.)

But he is also calling on the Church to show mercy to those who are struggling.

He “stressed that the Church must be more welcoming, charitable, compassionate and merciful to all people, particularly those whose lives have been wounded and who find it difficult to adhere to all of the Church's regulations.” (Daily Mail 5th October 2015.)

Is this not the same response as Jesus, when He heard the Pharisees grumbling about His consorting with sinners?
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“And hearing this, Jesus said to them, "It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners (Mark 2: 17).”
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An Uncomfortable Message 

Accustomed to sermons about the evil world around us, many of us congratulate ourselves on not being a part of it. Jesus addressed this human tendency:

“The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: 'God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.’ (Luke 18:11).”

Pope Francis is walking in Christ’s footsteps and has an urgent message for us:

“We should not simply remain in our own secure world, that of the 99 sheep who never strayed from the fold, but we should go out, with Christ, in search of the one lost sheep, however far it may have wandered.” (Catholic Herald, 27th March 2013)

Abortion
 
He has not changed Catholic doctrine on abortion, which remains a serious sin. But he does want to extend Christ’s mercy to those who have had an abortion and sincerely repent doing so. He is reaching out to those women who, as a result, are outside the Church.
                
“The order, which temporarily allows all priests to grant forgiveness to women who have elected to have an abortion and profoundly regret the procedure, is part of the church’s jubilee year of mercy, which begins on 8 December and runs until 20 November 2016.” (The Guardian, 1st September 2015) 

(Ordinarily a bishop must forgive this sin.)

Is this not an echo of John’s words?

"For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. (John 3:17).”

Christ wants all of mankind to be saved.
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Like Jesus before him, this new pope is reaching out to all sinners, and giving us a chance to ask for mercy, with the opportunity to repent and change our ways before it’s too late.

Pope Francis is not what we’re used to. But we can be certain that he walks with Christ, and must support his efforts. 

Meditating on the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary this Friday, I had a clearer notion of Christ’s personal situation during His Passion.

Everything Christ did during His life, and especially during those awful last hours, point to His great love for us. 

But our human notion of real love is sketchy at best. Only through examining love in action through Jesus can we grasp the real essence of love.

Stopping the Pain

God in His three Persons is almighty and all powerful. At any time throughout His torture, Christ could have said, “Enough!” and halted the process.

He could also have revealed Himself as the transfigured Christ – with all wounds healed.  Can you imagine how terrified and in awe of Him the Jews and Romans would have been had He done that?

Instead he endured being whipped repeatedly with steel tips, spat upon, hit, jeered at and mocked. He was clothed in a purple cloak which was then ripped off His back after the blood from His scourging had dried on the material.

Thorns were pressed into His head and He was forced to carry His own heavy cross, when he had no energy left. When had he last eaten or drunk? At the Passover meal with the Apostles. That was hours ago.  

The cross dug into his shoulder, inflicting even more pain, well before he was nailed to it and hoisted, naked, for all to sneer at while he took three hours to die of suffocation.

And at any point during this excruciating ordeal, He could have said, “Stop!”

But He didn’t.

Doesn’t that give us pause for thought? Do any of us love even one person enough to go through such agony for them, let alone the whole of flawed humanity?

It takes unbelievable humility to act as if you have no power over your persecutors.

That’s real love.

Makes one think, doesn’t it? 

He Descended into Hell for Us

I've often wondered what the phrase in the Creed ‘He descended into Hell’ means.

Hell is separation from God. No one can enter communion with God in Heaven if he or she is not pure. We must be purged in Purgatory of our remaining impurities before we can enter Heaven.

Christ took on all the sins of the world – past, present and future – when He let Himself be crucified. He became impure. For the first, last and only time, He was separated from God.

And not because of anything He had done wrong. Completely pure, He became impure out of love for us. He’d been one with the Father from the beginning of time, and now, because He wanted to save us, He agreed to be separated from His Father.

No wonder he cried out, “My God, why hast thou forsaken me?” The agony of being split from the Trinity must have been far worse than any physical pain. Even though He knew it was temporary and necessary to conquer death, it was going to be – well, Hell for Him.

And when we realize that He was fully aware that this horrible moment of separation was imminent, the Agony in the Garden takes on an added dimension, doesn’t it?

Yet Jesus did this out of love for us.

Another beautiful truth.        

Saved or Not?

He knew already in the Garden of Gethsemane just how many souls His sacrifice would save. He also knew the exact number of those who would spurn His sacrifice and descend into Hell.

Those latter souls will have refused to believe in God during their lifetime, only to discover His existence when they die. At the very moment when they believe in Him, they will be separated from Him.

Just when they desire Him above all things, it will be too late. They will never be with Him in Heaven. 

Imagine how the knowledge of these truths increased Christ’s agony! We can readily sympathize with His prayers to have the chalice removed from His lips. 

Yet He still went through His Passion out of love for us all. Even if only a few of us make it through that narrow door, Christ wanted to show us just how much He cared about every single human being, by dying a horrible death to give us all a chance to be saved.

Isn’t that another beautiful truth?  

So how are we going to show Him our appreciation of what He went through ‘for us men and for our salvation’?

Our previous parish priest exhorted us to look up, not at the ground. 

If we persist in staring down, that’s where we’re going to end up. Elevating our thoughts towards Heaven prevents us from becoming despondent and downhearted.

He's so right! When things go horribly wrong in my own life, I shuffle along feeling sorry for myself, with hunched shoulders and bowed head. Everything is doom and gloom.

What a different story when I lift up my head, straighten my shoulders and meet life head on! The physical act of standing upright brings with it a sense of determination and purpose.

Then we pray to God for help and He gives us the strength to deal with the difficulties life throws at us.

On One’s High Horse

It’s the same when you’re on a horse. No matter whether you’re riding dressage or jumping, you need to sit up straight and look ahead.

With dressage this means looking at the letter you're aiming for in a particular movement. For jumping, it means looking over the fence, not at it. You don’t want to land on the obstacle, you want to clear it. 

In both scenarios we mustn't look down, or that's where we’ll end up!

What Happens When We Fall?

When we first learn to ride, we think that not falling off makes us good riders and we're proud of ourselves.

But then comes the day when we take a tumble. The longer it has taken that day to come, the harder it is to shake off the experience and get back on the horse.

Some people never do. I often hear stories from friends about how the day they fell off a horse was the time they rode. They never got back in the saddle – they didn’t want to take the chance of falling off again.

How sad! They've missed out on so much fun.

I’ve fallen off more times than I can remember. Some of those incidents were physically painful, others just bruised my ego. Even though I never want to, I get back on the horse straight away, if I'm physically able.

If not, I would have to brand myself a coward for life. That would be way more painful.

I’m not naturally courageous. If you follow my horse blog posts, you’ll see plenty of occasions when I’m nervous and it takes a lot to get me going again. My horse, Cruz Bay and I have taken some dreadful tumbles, and it isn’t easy to get over them.

I have to work at avoiding the errors which led to those falls and not give up when I mess up. 

The Christian life requires the same attitude. 

Be Perfect as Your Heavenly Father Is Perfect

That is one tough challenge, isn’t it? Who can live up to that?

Riding has taught me that I will never be the perfect horsewoman, but I still strive to become that person. How much more vital is reaching for perfection in the Christian life!

Sadly for many, the seeming impossibility of attaining this goal is so discouraging that they don’t even try to reach it. Or maybe they work hard for a while, feel they’re making progress, then become despondent when they fall into sin again. 

Having sinned once more, they've proved they’re not perfect. So they may as well commit another, and another, until they are much further from the goal than when they started.

Christ talks about this when he mentions the man whose house is swept clean when the demons are removed. But when the man is not truly committed and doesn’t replace those demons with good living, many more come back into him than were there in the first place (Luke 11:24-46).

A Reason to Give Up?

Does that mean that it's hopeless trying to be good?

Of course not!  Christ died on the cross to make up for our deficiencies and grant us mercy when we fail: He walks with us in the good times and the bad.

If we fall into sin, we must sincerely repent and ask Him for forgiveness then pick ourselves up and walk again in the paths of righteousness.

We will fall into sin, time and time again. Way more often than the average rider falls off a horse!

Follow Your Passion

But if Christ is our passion, we get up, dust ourselves off with a healthy visit to the confessional, and resume our spiritual course. If we love Christ, we’ll be quick to apologize to the One Whose mercy is endless and Whose compassion inexhaustible.

Christ reaches out His hands to us every time we fail. 

We then mustn't sin further by refusing to trust in His mercy and forgiveness, or equate Christ’s limitless reservoir of forgiveness with the pitiful puddle that is our own version of it.  

Falling Must Lead to Getting Up

Being human, we expect to fall. Being a Christian means getting up from a fall - again and again and again.

That is where Catholics are fortunate: we have the Sacrament of Reconciliation and hear the words of the priest in persona Christi absolving us of our sins. We can receive a fresh start as often as we need it.

And for those of us who feel that we might as well take a tape recording of our sins and press ‘play’ for the priest at every confession, because the sins are always the same: would you rather have more to confess than you already have?

We must keep battling with our sins, and get up again and again and again for the rest of our lives.

Then we can truly call ourselves Christians.

This has been an amazing week! The Holy Spirit has worked through me (with the aid of others) to directly benefit two persons' lives.

Guided to an Oasis

We often go through long periods when it feels as if we’re not doing anything useful for the world. Our financial donations to various causes are important, but we don’t see the benefits of this activity close-up.

That feeling of dryness completely changed this week. I was led to a spiritual oasis, a wonderful gift from God for Lent.

Using me, the Holy Spirit led two people to bring two people closer to God and in line with His loving wishes for their lives.

I feel privileged and deeply grateful to God.  He’s been hearing “Thank you” much more often from me than just the regular petitions this week!

The Donkey’s Lot

My previous parish priest used to say that the life of a good Christian is often like that of a donkey walking round and round on the treadmill's path, so the millstones will grind the flour. The activity is not glamorous, but it produces unseen benefits for others.

When God sometimes lets us see how He's utilizing us to participate in His miracles, I think He’s giving us encouragement on that path and telling us not be discouraged when we don’t always see the good results of our work.

He’s helping me recognize that all our lives are of value if we let God work in us. He also reminds me that only through Him can good works happen, and thus prevents me from becoming proud and pleased with myself.

So I conclude by saying this was a great week!

When I recite the Rosary, my mind sometimes wanders off in totally unrelated directions. Sure enough, this Friday, while I was praying the first decade – the Agony in the Garden – my thoughts drifted to secular topics, which had nothing to do with Christ's  anguished beads of blood-sweat.

I looked for a new aspect of the event to get me back on track.

It occurred to me that Christ had just washed the feet of the man who - any moment now - would enter the garden and betray Him.

How did that feel?

How Did He Do It?!
Would we have washed Judas’ feet? Would we have performed such a humiliating task for the very person we already knew was going to hand us over to be scourged, hit, spat on, have thorns stuck into our head, and be forced to carry a heavy cross - so we could be attached to it with big nails driven through our hands and feet?

That’s what makes Jesus’ act of humility even more amazing. Not only was He performing a slave’s job for His followers. He already knew Judas was going to betray Him - “And you are clean, though not every one of you” (v. 10) - yet Jesus washed his feet, too! That demanded enormous love.

The article Jesus Washes His Disciples’ Feet reads: “For the love that is evident in the laying down of life at the crucifixion is also demonstrated in the laying down of life in humble service in the footwashing.”

Humble Re-enactment
On Maundy Thursday we witness the commemoration of that night as the priest washes the feet of twelve parishioners. And I always wonder why those particular twelve are chosen? What are the criteria for having your feet washed in church? (Thankfully I’ll never qualify - no one wants to see my sorry toes!)

One year our pastor called up twelve young men who’d expressed an interest in the priesthood. That was beautiful, and I appreciated the worthiness of those parishioners to be recognized in public.

But another priest recounted how he’d desperately not wanted to wash the feet of a particular church member, because the man was openly and loudly critical of him. For that very reason the priest’s spiritual director ordered him to include that man in the Maundy Thursday line-up.

It was very hard - humiliating and humbling – but the priest obeyed and bathed his enemy’s feet.

Now that's impressive!


Christ’s humility that night – washing all twelve disciples’ feet when He was aware that one of them would soon double-cross Him – is certainly something to recall when reciting the Agony in the Garden decade on the Rosary.

Isn’t ‘pondering’ a great word? Its synonyms include: contemplate, reflect, meditate and cogitate on. You can just imagine Mary by her newborn baby, looking at him adoringly and pondering in her heart on the huge significance of this first Christmas.

Such was my inner response to the unexpected blessings this Christmas brought.

‘Twas an Unfamiliar Christmas Eve  

Florida is where my family spent Christmas this year. I was unhappy to leave my beautifully decorated Maryland home, but it was the right thing to do.

My mother is in assisted living - in Sarasota, where my husband hopes to retire soon. She cannot travel to visit us anymore, having lost the use of her left side in a stroke and being wheelchair bound.  We had to fly out and visit her, because we're her only family in the States - everyone else lives in England. 

It upset me that the closest thing to midnight Mass locally was at 10:30 p.m. Back home we have a true 12 o’clock Mass, but I reckon the older generation couldn’t stay up that late!

Offer up your sadness, I told myself. I expect Mary was a tad dismayed when she saw where her baby was supposed to sleep! And I bet she didn’t give St. Joseph a hard time about it, either. She will have smiled through her disappointment and focused on the positive. 

When Christmas Eve dinner was over I reminded the family that I was going to ‘midnight’ Mass in half an hour.

My twenty-one year old son smiled. “Mum, I’ll come with you. It’s a tradition and it won’t feel like Christmas if I don’t.”

You can imagine how overjoyed I was to hear those words! Not wanting to set myself up for misery, I’d not even secretly hoped he would come. 

Although this would have been the first year without his company, I’d been careful not to bring it up. He is no longer a regular church goer, which I pray will change. But he's too old to have his mother tell him what to think and do.

He pulled out the ironing board, and pressed a clean shirt to wear to greet Our Lord at His birth.

Graces, Godsends & Gratitude

The church was twenty minutes away, and while he drove, my son talked to me about personal things which don’t usually get discussed in the hurried life we lead. Another blessing.  

I had forgotten about the carol service immediately preceding this Mass, and the parking lot was chock full. Yet we found a space and once in the building, were lucky enough to get two seats next to each other half way up the aisle.

The pews were just regular chairs, without any kneelers. During the times in Mass when Catholics would normally kneel, the congregation had to stand.

(I’ll skip over my aggravation - as soon as I’d sat down - at seeing a parishioner walk in with two large, takeaway cups of coffee. I deliberately looked no more in their direction, as I didn’t want to see whether or not they had the audacity to drink it during the service!! Judge not lest ye be judged, I told myself.)

My son remembered all the prayers and responses during Mass, which was another wonderful surprise. The priest then incensed the offerings, and after a short while that distinctive aroma reached us.

Ross beamed. “Ah! Now it’s Christmas!”

I was so grateful to God that my son still embraced Catholic tradition.  I pray this will lead him fully back to the Church one day.

After Mass, as we were returning our hymnals, he noticed that a free book was being handed. The title was on my ‘to buy’ list: Rome Sweet Home by Scott and Kimberley Hahn. Another unexpected bonus, which I voraciously read over the next three days.

Merry Christmas to Us, and to Us a Good Night 

Our cozy chats resumed during the trip back to the semi-darkness of my mother-in-law’s house, where everyone else had gone to bed.

Traditionally, after midnight Mass Ross joins me in a glass of mulled wine and we eat a minced pie each. Sadly, he was unable to do so this year, having been recently diagnosed with ulcerative colitis. God willing, he will share these things with me again next year.

Instead, we hugged and wished each other “Merry Christmas!” before he retired to bed.

Midnight Meditations

In a happy daze, I sat alone at the little breakfast table, sipping my hot spiced wine and munching on a minced pie - baked in Maryland for this very occasion - past the hour of 12 a.m.

My heart was full as I pondered this evening’s miraculous events and contemplated Mary’s wonder on beholding her child in the manger that first Christmas night.

Have you ever tried to do the right thing but run into unexpected and infuriating obstacles?

How did you react? Maybe by raising your fist heavenwards and complaining to God, “Why are you making this so impossible?!”

There you are, attempting to do His will ─ usually something you don’t want to ─ and He blocks your progress.

Does Being Good Have to Be So Difficult?

Why, Lord, should I bother carrying out Your will when you make it way harder than necessary?  I’m not asking for a pat on the back ─ just no impediments. Is that too much to ask?

Then an insidious thought creeps in: maybe, just maybe, this isn’t what God wants? A naughty hope begins to flicker: is this my ‘out,’ and I don’t have to do it after all? As if visiting your sick mother, or weeding your wheelchair-bound uncle’s garden or ─ name your obviously good deed ─ could possibly be against God’s wishes!

I’ve noticed that sometimes God does let me off the hook when I’ve proved wholeheartedly committed to doing His will. But His MO in those cases isn’t to make it hard to carry out the task: suddenly it doesn’t need doing any more. This is not at all the same as trying to duck out of an unpleasant task because we think sudden difficulties prove that it’s against God’s plan for us.

What Is Evil?

O.K., Miz Know-It-All, you may ask, then what’s the deal when the job clearly needs doing, but events conspire against us when we attempt to perform it?

The answer is: Beware, Satan at work! God isn’t throwing rocks in our path – the Opposer is.

I’d never looked up the word ‘Satan’ until our parish priest happened to mention it in a sermon. Previously I’d assumed it was just a name, without any specific meaning.

‘Satan’ is Hebrew for ‘the opposer,’ ─ in the sense of ‘the one who opposes God’s will.’ He is also the great deceiver, who rejoices every time he tricks us into believing it’s not God’s will, and stops us carrying it out.

This knowledge is enormously helpful. Understanding that the devil is working hard to prevent my salvation, by throwing deterrents at me every time I try to do a good deed, has completely changed my viewpoint.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not a saint: my knee-jerk reaction is still to get annoyed! But now I take a few deep breaths and conclude:  “Wait a minute, if Satan making such an effort to put me off, I must be on the right path!” 

It is enormously liberating to view obstacles in this light.

Can you imagine how frustrating it is for the Devil when his attempts to take us down end up helping us do God’s will instead?

The Devil Hates the Rosary

Because the Rosary is a powerful weapon against hell, the Devil loathes it. Now that I’m praying mine regularly, he has it in for my beads.

First he had our English Bulldog chew the decades old one I had from Lourdes - and my Catechism, for good measure.
 
Then he lost my replacement Rosary when I went to drop off some things at church.

A kind friend gave me a new one, and as usual I picked it up to pray in the car on my way to Mass. But in my hand was a tangled mess. ‘Somehow’ the chain links had become stuck and the beads were forming an extra little loop. I was already driving, so couldn’t do anything about it.

I thought, ‘Aha! The Devil doesn’t want the Virgin Mary to hear my 54 day novena!”

I prayed anyway, skirting around the new loop, and untangled the links with some difficulty when I arrived at church.

This made the Devil angry.

In church I pulled the Rosary out of my purse: it had come apart. One of the chain links had opened and separated from its neighbor. Mass was just beginning, so I had to wait until afterwards to connect the links again.

Since then my Rosary has been left alone. For the time being.

Dealing With the Devil’s Head Games

Sometimes inappropriate thoughts enter my head during Mass, and I wonder where they came from.

For a moment I feel really guilty. But then I remember who put them there (another name for Satan is the ‘accuser’) and recall that the saints were often assailed by him that way. Invoking their help dispels the thoughts and the guilt.

The more we advance in our spiritual life, the more attacks we can expect from the Devil. We can take comfort in knowing that he wouldn’t bother harassing us if we weren’t on the path to salvation.

I’m sure Satan must be thrilled he’s of such use to us on our road to Heaven!

P.S. He's trying to stop me publishing this post by bringing up 'authentication errors' :)