How to Pray | How to Live
“Preach the Gospel; if necessary, use words” (attributed to St. Francis of Assisi)
It was an unexpected, deeply moving, spiritual moment. That’s how the Lord often works, isn’t it? He surprises us, teaching us a lesson when we least expect it.
I was Master of Ceremonies for Bishop Tobin at a Confirmation last Thursday evening. Being a Master of Ceremonies is typical for me, and, truthfully, I don’t expect to be spiritually moved during the ceremonies simply because I’m so focused on making sure everything goes smoothly.
The moment happened after the distribution of Holy Communion. The congregation had been seated for a few minutes, and the deacon and I were at the altar consolidating the hosts into the ciboria so he could repose the Eucharist in the tabernacle. Bishop Tobin was standing near the altar as well, and he gestured to me to look out at the congregation. “Michael,” he said, “there are a couple of women coming forward to receive Communion.” Read more »
Now that the warm weather has arrived, my golf clubs are back in the trunk of my car. In this video blog (or “vlog” as they say), I share with you the spiritual lessons learned from my first round of golf of this new season. Forgive some of the camera motion; I didn’t use a tripod. Enjoy, and please feel free to comment.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spChwSmens8]
If you enjoyed this video blog, please share it:
“So you’ve failed? You–be convinced of it–can never fail. You haven’t failed; you’ve acquired experience. Forward!” — St. Josemaria Escriva
It’s a horrible feeling. You’ve just had a big fall:
• You abandoned your Lenten resolution.
• You lashed out in anger at your spouse.
• You became apoplectic as you sat in a traffic jam, dropping f-bombs like there’s no tomorrow.
• You committed what you consider to be a serious sin against your state in life.
• You fell off the wagon.
You’ve failed. You feel defeated. And now that voice in your head is telling you that you’re no good, that you’ll never be good, that as hard as you try you will never change those bad habits and sins that have plagued you for what seems like your whole life.
And what has just happened is that you’ve played into the devil’s hands: You’ve become more deeply immersed in yourself; you’re naval-gazing; and you’ve completely forgotten that there’s a reason why you call Jesus Christ your SAVIOR. Read more »
I don’t know about you, but there are moments when I am deeply aware of my weaknesses. These moments can be discouraging, and sometimes even frightening, because I become acutely aware of how capable I am of choosing sin over virtue, selfishness over selfless love, myself over the Lord. Our weaknesses can overwhelm us with [...]
Follow Live Holiness