Attached is an article from a few years ago regarding "die to self".
This was one of the hardest things for me to "get" going through. What could it possibly mean? None of the explanations given really brought it home for me. Then after my surgery, I was completely helpless and dependent on another. For me to be tied down for so long was difficult, but probably a very necessary lesson for me to understand.
Attached is an article from a few years ago regarding "die to self".
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Today's action is to pray the penitential Psalms. I have attached a link here to the USCCB site. In one link you can read, listen and reflect on the Psalms. We are all sinners. As much as we want to follow Christ's example, the example of the Mary and the Saints, we all fall in varying degrees. Through the grace of God we can receive reconciliation. Parish Communal Penance Service - We join together as a community to reconcile ourselves with God and prepare ourselves spiritually for the coming of Easter. 7:30 pm in the church. I was breaking the "No Technology" in preparing for our third scrutiny on Tuesday, when I found this video. I have this song on my phone, but heard it in a new way after reading "Good, Bad, Who Knows". It's an enjoyable song and nicely put together video. I was embracing the silence of early morning. I love to just sit and listen to the birds sing in the morning. To watch the sun come over the horizon and to feel the gentle breeze as it moves the leaves on the trees outside my window. The trees are getting new growth with the arrival of spring and all of the nourishing rain we have been getting. I was reading a book, when I realized I needed to check on the action for today. Today's action, take a break from technology. Some of you may not read this because you are already taking that break. 40 Ways has a link to a site with lots of contemplate and silent activities. I particularly like the story "Good, bad, who knows?" We are quick to judge a moment or event as being good or bad, but this story shows the mysterious way in which God acts in our lives and what is bad, may actually be something good in disguise and what is good, may take us down the wrong path. We never know what each moment will bring and how the many events in our lives will turn out. We can only seek God's grace in every moment and know that He created us and loves us and wants our love and happiness in return. Today's activity may be difficult for the whole day, but at least find a little time to enjoy the silence and sit with God wherever you find Him to be. It's a beautiful day to spend time in nature. Thursday's action was to listen to a great speaker. I listened to Matthew Kelly, Call to Joy, from the Lighthouse Catholic Media CD rack in the Narthex. His comical sense of spirituality is simplistic to follow. Friday's action was to spend time in front of the blessed sacrament in adoration. If you didn't get a chance to do that, perhaps today will be a good day to combine two activities into one. Today's action is to take time to meditate the "Our Father" prayer. The "Our Father" prayer was taught to us by Jesus in the gospels of Matthew (6:9-13) and Luke (11:2-4). In the "Our Father" prayer we give praise to God, we ask that God's will be done, we ask for the basics of what we need, we ask to be forgiven as we also forgive others, and we ask that we are led away from earthly temptations and are delivered from evil. I hope you have the time to discover the beauty of this simple and all encompassing prayer. Today's action is to thank someone who has helped you on your journey. Sometimes it is hard to realize that the journey even occurred in the first place, let alone realize that there was someone with subtle inspiration all along the way. It is difficult to take time to tune in with all of the hustle and bustle of our busy lives. How was anything ever accomplished before all of this technology that came along to make our lives easier? I want to thank each and every one of you, as watching you on your journey actually helps me along on mine. I am sure the entire team would agree as to the inspiration we gain through watching you grow. Today's Action: Begin to work on changing a bad habit. A bad habit can be something as simple as biting your nails to something more complex as a drug addiction. Depending on the severity of the habit, the options are different. Me, I am the perpetual procrastinater. I could fill hundreds of rice bowls with the money I waste due to my procrastination. I am constantly paying late fees, insufficient fund fees, tax fees, you name it. So far today, good start!. It's after lunch and I have been taking care of business a little at a time. The difficult time for me will be when I get home from work. I just want to be a vegetable - so there will be a lot of prayer requests going to St. Michael to help through the evening! There is a lot of advice out there for kicking those habits. I have included a link to an article from Psychology Today. I will try their advice and see if that helps to make a different by changing my environment and replacing bad habits with good habits. For those more difficult habits, there are numerous programs that offer more intense advice depending on the severity of the habit. Teenage pregnancy has a substantial impact to society as a whole. The United States has the highest rate of teenage pregnancy in the Western industrialized world. 3 in 10 teenage American girls will become pregnant before the age of 20. Parenthood is the leading reason that teens drop out of high school. Less than 2% of teenage moms earn a college degree by the age of 30. 1/4 of teenage moms will have a second child within 2 years. 8 out of 10 teen dads do not marry the mother of their child. Finally, we are making strides in improving these numbers and 2010 was the lowest teen birth rate since the mid-1940's. (Facts from dosomething.org) Today's action is to shop for the Pregnancy Counseling Center. The Pregnancy Counseling Center offers advice to women who have become pregnant and are considering their choices. The Pregnancy Counseling Center is in need of items to assist these women and to encourage them towards parenting or adoption. The link on the 40 ways tab takes you to their site. It is important that our sons and daughters have a healthy self-esteem and picture of themselves. We as parents must encourage this. Check out the link for sound advice. http://kidshealth.org/parent/emotions/feelings/self_esteem.html A journey is more about personal growth along the way than it is the destination at the end of the journey. I have missed the blog for a week now, but I am back. Anyone not following me, of course, hasn't missed a thing. 40 Ways in 40 Days isn't about checking off a bunch of items on a list, but growing spiritually through participation in your own journey with Jesus. I would like to reflect on the actions for this week. Monday's action was to attend a daily mass. If you didn't get a chance to, trust me, there are many opportunities for you to try this at least once during Lent. I warn you though that the deeply personal experience you draw from it, may leave you wanting more. Tuesday was the reflection and preparation for the first scrutiny tomorrow. We pondered upon what we thirst for. What draws us into ourselves? It is the constant search and longing for our Maker. Our souls are united to Him and to Him we always want to return. He is what we thirst for and only in Him is our thirst truly quenched. Wednesday's action was to read a great book. I picked up Richard Rohr's new book the Immortal Diamond. He discusses this book at the Religious Education Conference. I drew new meaning to Lent and the term 'death to self'' by reading this book. Thursday's action was to perform a random act of kindness to a stranger. If you followed the website link, this was an easy task to acheive, well as long as you were out and about. The world presents us with endless opportunities for performing kindness to one another. Friday's action was to make a plan to donate blood. This also can be done any time and is a way to give to those in need. Check out the link on 40 Ways for more information. |
AuthorI was also a catechumenate a short time ago. I received my sacraments Easter 2011. Now I want to share my journey with you. Archives
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