You ever have one of those moments or thoughts that really just sends your head spinning? I had one of those moments the other night. I was laying in my bed thinking back on my day as I was waiting to fall a sleep.
Did I pray? Yep.
Read the Bible? Check.
Did I live as a Christian? Sure.
Pretty routine, nothing too unusual. But as I was laying there I had to ask myself about that last question. If I switched up the question a bit and asked other people to answer for me, I don't know if I would get the same answer. Laying there that night it felt like I got punched in the soul. You see, it is really easy for me to say I live my day out as a Christian, but the question I need to ask myself should be whether or not the people who I encounter throughout my day would agree with me? Some days, I am not too sure.
I typically try not care about what people think or say of me; however, this is a little different. I don't care so much if a person in the grocery store or at the post office recognizes and labels me as a Christian, but I do want to look at my life and think, "there is something different with him". I want the love and peace and joy I experience from my relationship with Christ to penetrate my whole life. Not just when I am at church or in a Christian environment. My entire life! My every thought. Every interaction. Every conversation. Everything! And isn't that what we are called to as Christians?
Well, here is a little knowledge that may melt your face off. We are meant to be holy...that shouldn't be huge news for any of you. 1 Peter 1:15-16 states, "but, as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in every aspect of your conduct, for it is written, 'Be holy because I (am) holy'." What you may not know is that if you trace the word "holy" back to it's Greek root, which is "hagios", it can be translated to mean "set apart".
Set apart? To be holy means to be set apart! I learned about the whole "hagios" thing a couple years ago when I was in school. I thought it was a cool fact, but the reality of this truth is effecting my life in a new way. I don't want to live an average life. I don't want to live like everyone else. I want my life to be meaningful, intentional, and set apart from the rest of the world; I want my life to only be explainable by the power of the Holy Spirit.
So the question I leave you with today is, "How do you want to live your life?"
Monday, August 30, 2010
Monday, August 16, 2010
Jesus, MD
I just got back from Michigan where my twin brother got married. It was a beautiful wedding and fun weekend, but somehow I managed to catch a pretty bad head cold. No one enjoys having a cold. With all the sneezing, coughing, fever, the runny nose, and sore throat, it can make life pretty miserable. Throw in a couple long flights back to Florida that moved the congestion and sinus pressure into my ears and it quickly becomes the perfect storm of colds. Needless to say I am home sick today.
I don't know if you have ever experienced a cold like the one I am currently experiencing. I know it could be a lot worse. It is only a cold, and in a couple days I will be back to my old self, but it is just really annoying not being able to breathe, or smell, or hear. With the congestion and pressure in my ears it has really been difficult to communicate. It is not only difficult to hear others, but it's hard to hear myself which makes talking a struggle as well. It almost feels like I have ear plugs in and I can't tell how loud I am speaking. We have all experienced that person who yells to their friend sitting next to them because they have their music cranked up on their iPod, or the kid on the airplane who is trying to talk to his parents but is yelling because his ears haven't popped from the flight. Well, that is me right now. Since coming down with this cold, I've relied on my wife to tell me when to speak up or to lower my voice, so I don't look like a fool yelling or whispering to people. She is so good to me.
But today, lying in my bed, coughing and sneezing, congested and plugged up, I started to think about how this cold reflects my spiritual life at times. There are times in my life where I am so weighed down by my sin it is almost like having this cold. The Catholic Church says that "sin sets itself against God's love for us and turns our hearts away from it" (CCC 1850). And if our sins turns us from God's love, how are we to communicate with God, know God and love God? Our sin becomes like my cold that just plugs us up. We can't breathe. We can't hear. It is even difficult to speak.
Lucky for us, Christ did not come for the perfect and healthy but for the lowly and the sick. Jesus himself said, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means: I desire mercy and not sacrifice.' For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners" (Mt 9:12-13). Our God is a healer. He comes to us in our sickness and sin and reaches out to us with mercy and compassion. And no matter how sick or sinful we are we need to remember that God's medicine is greater than our disease.
So if you are reading this, take a minute and ask yourself, "In what ways do I turn a deaf ear or a blind eye towards Christ?" If you don't know the answer to that question, keep thinking about it. When you find the answer, let Christ into that place. And if you already know the answer but don't know what to do with it, all you have to do is bring it to Jesus. It may not be a quick and easy fix but He does bring restoration.
Jesus took [the deaf and dumb man] aside from the crowd, by himself, and put His fingers into his ears, and after spitting, He touched his tongue with the saliva; and looking up to heaven with a deep sigh, He said to him, “Ephphatha!” that is, “Be opened!” And his ears were opened, and the impediment of his tongue was removed, and he began speaking plainly...They were utterly astonished, saying, “He has done all things well; He makes even the deaf to hear and the mute to speak” (Mk 7: 31-37).
I don't know if you have ever experienced a cold like the one I am currently experiencing. I know it could be a lot worse. It is only a cold, and in a couple days I will be back to my old self, but it is just really annoying not being able to breathe, or smell, or hear. With the congestion and pressure in my ears it has really been difficult to communicate. It is not only difficult to hear others, but it's hard to hear myself which makes talking a struggle as well. It almost feels like I have ear plugs in and I can't tell how loud I am speaking. We have all experienced that person who yells to their friend sitting next to them because they have their music cranked up on their iPod, or the kid on the airplane who is trying to talk to his parents but is yelling because his ears haven't popped from the flight. Well, that is me right now. Since coming down with this cold, I've relied on my wife to tell me when to speak up or to lower my voice, so I don't look like a fool yelling or whispering to people. She is so good to me.
But today, lying in my bed, coughing and sneezing, congested and plugged up, I started to think about how this cold reflects my spiritual life at times. There are times in my life where I am so weighed down by my sin it is almost like having this cold. The Catholic Church says that "sin sets itself against God's love for us and turns our hearts away from it" (CCC 1850). And if our sins turns us from God's love, how are we to communicate with God, know God and love God? Our sin becomes like my cold that just plugs us up. We can't breathe. We can't hear. It is even difficult to speak.
Lucky for us, Christ did not come for the perfect and healthy but for the lowly and the sick. Jesus himself said, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means: I desire mercy and not sacrifice.' For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners" (Mt 9:12-13). Our God is a healer. He comes to us in our sickness and sin and reaches out to us with mercy and compassion. And no matter how sick or sinful we are we need to remember that God's medicine is greater than our disease.
So if you are reading this, take a minute and ask yourself, "In what ways do I turn a deaf ear or a blind eye towards Christ?" If you don't know the answer to that question, keep thinking about it. When you find the answer, let Christ into that place. And if you already know the answer but don't know what to do with it, all you have to do is bring it to Jesus. It may not be a quick and easy fix but He does bring restoration.
Jesus took [the deaf and dumb man] aside from the crowd, by himself, and put His fingers into his ears, and after spitting, He touched his tongue with the saliva; and looking up to heaven with a deep sigh, He said to him, “Ephphatha!” that is, “Be opened!” And his ears were opened, and the impediment of his tongue was removed, and he began speaking plainly...They were utterly astonished, saying, “He has done all things well; He makes even the deaf to hear and the mute to speak” (Mk 7: 31-37).
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Know Of My Prayers...
I have taken a bit of a sabbatical from blogging these past couple of months. It has been a hectic summer full of travel, various youth retreats, and even some vacation time with my lovely wife. With so much to do these past months, something had to give. However, with the summer slowing down and the new school year about to begin, I am back to my old ways and already have a couple of stories and thoughts that will be making their way to this blog soon.
A couple days ago Catholic superstar, former teacher, and friend, Bob Rice connected me to a meme. I was shocked. I was excited. I was born for this moment. I had heard of memes but never thought I would get to be part of one. I read about them on other blogs; they always made them sound so cool and exclusive. At first, I thought that if you became a link in a meme that meant you had made it in the digital world. However, after some more research and further reading, it turns out they are pretty much the equivalent of a digital chain letter. But still, I am still excited to be part of this meme. You see, the meme Bob sent me challenges me to post my three favorite Catholic prayers and then challenge 5 other bloggers to list their favorite. Easy, right? So, without further ado my favorite prayers...
The Litany of Humility
I pray this prayer every morning. It is an awesome prayer to say to start your day. For me personally it really reminds me of what is truly important and helps me keep my pride in check.
Anima Christi
The Anima Christi is a prayer from around the 14th century and is believed to be written by St. Ignatius of Loyola (a personal favorite saint of mine). It typically prayed after receiving the body and blood of Our Lord, Jesus Christ in Holy Communion. It is awesome.
The Jesus Prayer
After some of those longer prayers this prayer is great. It is easy to remember and I can say it throughout my entire day. And although it is short and sweet it is a powerful prayer. Again, awesome.
Well, there you have it. My 3 favorite prayers. Now, for the second part of the meme...5 other bloggers to continue this on. Well, Becca Gasper, Michael Gormely, Jonathan Alexander, Al Gotta & Dan Pepe, here is looking at you. Some of you haven't blogged for a while, and for others this may not be your cup of tea, but it's in your hands now.
God speed.
A couple days ago Catholic superstar, former teacher, and friend, Bob Rice connected me to a meme. I was shocked. I was excited. I was born for this moment. I had heard of memes but never thought I would get to be part of one. I read about them on other blogs; they always made them sound so cool and exclusive. At first, I thought that if you became a link in a meme that meant you had made it in the digital world. However, after some more research and further reading, it turns out they are pretty much the equivalent of a digital chain letter. But still, I am still excited to be part of this meme. You see, the meme Bob sent me challenges me to post my three favorite Catholic prayers and then challenge 5 other bloggers to list their favorite. Easy, right? So, without further ado my favorite prayers...
The Litany of Humility
From the desire of being esteemed, Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being loved, Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being extolled, Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being honored, Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being praised, Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being preferred to others, Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being consulted, Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being approved, Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being humiliated, Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being despised, Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of suffering rebukes, Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being calumniated, Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being forgotten, Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being ridiculed, Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being wronged, Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being suspected, Deliver me, O Jesus.
That others may be loved more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be esteemed more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That, in the opinion of the world, others may increase and I may decrease, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be chosen and I set aside, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be praised and I go unnoticed, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be preferred to me in everything, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
I pray this prayer every morning. It is an awesome prayer to say to start your day. For me personally it really reminds me of what is truly important and helps me keep my pride in check.
Anima Christi
Soul of Christ, sanctify me
Body of Christ, save me
Blood of Christ, inebriate me
Water from Christ's side, wash me
Passion of Christ, strengthen me
O good Jesus, hear me
Within Thy wounds hide me
Suffer me not to be separated from Thee
From the malicious enemy defend me
In the hour of my death call me
And bid me come unto Thee
That I may praise Thee with Thy saints
and with Thy angels
Forever and ever
Amen
The Anima Christi is a prayer from around the 14th century and is believed to be written by St. Ignatius of Loyola (a personal favorite saint of mine). It typically prayed after receiving the body and blood of Our Lord, Jesus Christ in Holy Communion. It is awesome.
The Jesus Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner.
After some of those longer prayers this prayer is great. It is easy to remember and I can say it throughout my entire day. And although it is short and sweet it is a powerful prayer. Again, awesome.
Well, there you have it. My 3 favorite prayers. Now, for the second part of the meme...5 other bloggers to continue this on. Well, Becca Gasper, Michael Gormely, Jonathan Alexander, Al Gotta & Dan Pepe, here is looking at you. Some of you haven't blogged for a while, and for others this may not be your cup of tea, but it's in your hands now.
God speed.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)