A Good Man

A Good Man 

   Tonight a dear friend’s father took his last breaths here on earth and crossed over to the spiritual part of life. He fought long and hard and his family was by his side. The love between his wife and himself kept that fight to stay and be by her side. It is sad when our bodies can no longer hold our spirit of life and we need to leave the body so our spirit can be free and be on the path to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 

    I ask that you say an extra prayer for my friend’s father and her family today. One prayer that got me through the hard time after my mother’s death was the Irish Funeral Prayer. I have included it below. It gave me hope and a peace and I hope that it will to others as well.

Until tomorrow, God Bless, and may eternal rest grant to him, O Lord, and let light perpetual shine upon him. Amen.

An Irish Funeral Prayer 

Death is nothing at all.

It does not count.

I have only slipped away into the next room.

Everything remains as it was.

The old life that we lived so fondly together is untouched, unchanged.

Whatever we were to each other, that we are still.

Call me by the old familiar name.

Speak of me in the easy way which you always used.

Put no sorrow in your tone.

Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes that we enjoyed together.

Play, smile, think of me, pray for me.

Let my name be ever the household word that it always was.

Let it be spoken without  effort

Life means all that it ever meant. It is the same as it ever was.

There is unbroken continuity.

Why should I be out of mind because I am out of sight?

I am but waiting for you, for an interval, somewhere very near, just around the corner.

All is well. Nothing is hurt; nothing is lost.

One brief moment and all will be as it was before.

How we shall laugh at the trouble of parting,  when we meet again.

St. Jude

St. Jude

Feastday: October 28

Patron of Desperate Cases

St. Jude, known as Thaddaeus, was a brother of St. James the Less, and a relative of Our Saviour. St. Jude was one of the 12 Apostles of Jesus.

Ancient writers tell us that he preached the Gospel in Judea, Samaria, Idumaea, Syria, Mesopotamia, and Lybia. According to Eusebius, he returned to Jerusalem in the year 62, and assisted at the election of his brother, St. Simeon, as Bishop of Jerusalem.

He is an author of an epistle (letter) to the Churches of the East, particularly the Jewish converts, directed against the heresies of the Simonians, Nicolaites, and Gnostics. This Apostle is said to have suffered martyrdom in Armenia, which was then subject to Persia. The final conversion of the Armenian nation to Christianity did not take place until the third century of our era.

Jude was the one who asked Jesus at the Last Supper why He would not manifest Himself to the whole world after His resurrection. Little else is known of his life. Legend claims that he visited Beirut and Edessa; possibly martyred with St. Simon in Persia.

Jude is invoked in desperate situations because his New Testament letter stresses that the faithful should persevere in the environment of harsh, difficult circumstances, just as their forefathers had done before them. Therefore, he is the patron saint of desperate cases and his feast day is October 28. Saint Jude is not the same person as Judas Iscariot who betrayed Our Lord and despaired because of his great sin and lack of trust in God's mercy.

The Prayer to St Jude

O most holy apostle, Saint Jude, faithful servant and friend of Jesus, the Church honoureth and invoketh thee universally, as the patron of hopeless cases, and of things almost despaired of.

Pray for me, who am so miserable. Make use, I implore thee, of that particular privilege accorded to thee, to bring visible and speedy help where help was almost despaired of.

Come to mine assistance in this great need, that I may receive the consolation and succor of Heaven in all my necessities, tribulations, and sufferings, particularly (here make your request) and that I may praise God with thee and all the elect throughout eternity.

I promise thee, O blessed Jude, to be ever mindful of this great favor, to always honor thee as my special and powerful patron, and to gratefully encourage devotion to thee.

Amen.

Until tomorrow, God Bless, and may St. Jude be by yourside. 

Lust vs Chastity

Lust vs Chastity

  For the last day of The Deadly Sins and Heavenly Virtues we examine the Deadly Sin of Lust and the Heavenly Virtue of Chastity. Lust pulls us away from the love that God wants for us and in us while Chastity keeps love pure in ourselves. 

   It is not hard to see that the sin of Lust is in the world. I would bet at any given hour of the day we can find show after show on tv that has a form of lust woven through the story lines. We also can pass by the magazine racks and see the promotion of lust. I am not even talking about pornography, it is on the covers of cosmo, people, etc.. Lust distorts love and beauty and turn them into a carnal desire. It causes us to focus only on our inner desires and pleasures and only seeks pleasure for yourself. Love and care go by the wayside and our physical impulses seek to satisfy themselves. Lust only concerns itself with the physical world and pushes the spiritual world out of its way. When we are distant from the spiritual world, we seek to fill that void of God’s Love with that physical desires and feelings of the world. Lust will only satisfy the physical form for a short time but it keeps our hearts and soul empty. Lust can not fill our spirit, soul or heart. It creates that empty void and Lust will keep us on a physical high that we crash from and we feel that void and again may turn to Lust to fill it. Lust give us the feeling of joy and pleasure but it is not an eternal joy or pleasure. It only last for a short time and does not fill us but empties more and more from us. 

    Chastity is a virtue that seems more and more to be lost in this world today. Leading a chased life in todays world is a struggle. With Lust surrounding us, chastity fights a continuos battle. Living a chased life is more then just abstaining from sexual contact but living a life that reflects a purity. It is abstaining from reading or viewing pornography, personal sexual gratification, and viewing shows or magazines that may not be seen as pornography but creates lustful thoughts in our minds. Each person has to find where the line is for themselves. When something causes the thoughts of lust, you have to back away to lead that chased life. The virtue helps us to see what or who causes these thoughts and in return actions. Leading a chased life brings a greater love of God in its pure form to each of us who seek that life. It is not easy to do when we are in the world where lust is strong but we need to seek strength in God to give us the strength in the virtue. 

Until tomorrow, God Bless, and may your life reflect the love of God and seek the chased life. 

Pride vs Humility

Pride vs Humility

    Day six brings us to the Deadly Sin of Pride and the Heavenly Virtue of Humility. Pride has two sides to it. There is a side that is good. That is when you are proud of something you did that does not go into the gloating side of it or you have pride of where you come from. You are happy with what you did or where you come from either that be from a place or the family. 

    Pride becomes that Deadly Sin when we see ourselves above those around us. When we start to see ourselves better then other or better then things in our lives then Pride has taken control of our hearts and mind. It is not wrong to take pride in ourselves like I said in the last paragraph, but when we take a look down on others is when its wrong. Pride should not build us up so high that we are that lofty tower of life. When we are up in that tower we see people as a small part of our life and that they can not come up to where we are in life. We may also feel that they will never be at the same level as us. We may have certain talents and gifts that are not the same as others but that does not make us better then them or higher then them. Pride will eat away at the relationships in your life and you will find that as they are attacked you will be in that lofty tower alone.

    Humility is the virtue that counter acts the sin of Pride. Humility is when we have a modest opinion of ourselves and do not inflate your importance or rank. We do things for the act of doing it and not that of being recognized and put in the spot light. Yes, sometimes people may place you in the spotlight but that does not mean that was your personal intent. It is when we seek it that causes the virtue to become sin. 

     With Pride and Humility it is the intent in our heart, mind and soul that directs it being the virtue or the sin. If we seek the spotlight and the recognition then it is pride that is leading us. Humility will keep us grounded and on the right path. 

Until tomorrow, God Bless, and seek to be in the light of Jesus and not the spot light of the world. 

Gluttony vs Temperance

Gluttony vs Temperance

    Day five brings us to the Deadly Sin of Gluttony and the Heavenly Virtue of Temperance.  I figured with it being the night before Super Bowl Sunday this would be a good one to do. Many of us will be either going to parties, hosting one, or just sitting on the sofa surrounded by snacks and drinks.  This is the first major event since New Years Eve where some of us may have made the resolution to lose weight or cut back. It will test those and those will need to use the virtue of Temperance to keep from over doing it. 

      Gluttony is when we over indulge of food and drink. In a society when we can “super size” just about anything does not help us fend off gluttony. It is not wrong to join in the party and enjoy ourselves. It is when we cross that line of excess that does us in and causes the sin to appear. Think of how you felt after you ate to much. All you wanted to do is rest and do nothing. You feel sick and not yourself. I also bet you said “ I am never going to eat like that again”. When it comes to gluttony and alcohol, another issue arise. When you over drink you inhibitions are lowered and your judgement is impaired. This can cause you to act in ways that other sins may become exposed. You act in a way that you would not when you are sober. You may wake up the next day and realize things happened last night that you wished you did not do. Anything in excess has its own problems. With Gluttony we can try and hold back and not over indulge. 

     When we are holding back and are not over indulging then we are acting with the Virtue of Temperance. The saying “ Everything in Moderation” is the core of what the virtue is all about. It does not mean that we can not partake but do it in moderation. Yes, enjoy the piece of cheese cake, just not the whole cake. Yes, enjoy that glass of wine, just not the bottle of it. When you are in the drive thru, do not super size the meal.  It is hard because the society we live in is about excess. The bigger home, the fastest car, the expensive meal etc... all of which makes temperance harder to hold on to. It is better for us both physically, mentally and spiritually if we can hold on. We will not be weighed down with weight or sin. When we are weighed down we do not want to do much and like in the other nights blog, the sin of sloth can also take hold during this time. Temperance can fend off not only Gluttony but keep Sloth to creep in behind Gluttony. 

     We need to remember to enjoy those things that we like to eat and drink but not to the point of over excess of them. Any kind of excess can bring on other sins of this life. The only excess we need is those things we get from the most Holy Trinity. Everything else we need to temper. 

Until tomorrow, God Bess, and act with temperance today and live a life of moderation. 

Envy vs Kindness

Envy vs Kindness

Day four takes us to the Deadly Sin of Envy and the Heavenly Virtue of Kindness. The two are are similar because they come from with in ourselves and show themselves in outward actions. When we are kind we are being good to those around us and when we are envious we can be harsh and negative to and about those around us. 

    Envy comes from a dark part of us and it takes hold of us and makes us turn against someone just because of something, someone, or some trait that they have and we do not. That person does not have to do anything to us for us not to like them or what they have that we desire. When we are envious of someone a feeling of resentment can arise in us and we may even wish that they fail or lose what we are envious over. It does not have to only be about wealth or a relationship they have but it can be a part of their personality or trait they posses. Sometime when we admire someone, it can turn into envy if  we are not careful. The second we start to resent them or wish that they did not have what we want, envy has taken hold. The Ninth & Tenth Commandment speaks out about envy. “ Thou shalt not covet your neighbor’s wife” and “ Thou shall not covet your neighbors goods”. When we covet something or someone , it is because we wanted it and someone else has it . We may feel entitled to it or that the person does not deserve to have the possession or person. This sin has caused some people to kill, steal, and defame to get what they want. Envy rots away your judgement of right and wrong and stirs the desires within ourselves. In some people this is when they act on their sin of envy and turn it into an action against the other person. You start to resent that person because you are not them. Envy eats away at you. I am realizing that to me this is one of the worst of the deadly sins. It affects the core of who you are and in return your actions to others. When you feel that there is no stopping you from getting what or who that person has, then envy is in control of your life. You can not be happy for that person because you rather it be you. 

      Kindness, on the other hand, brings forth joy and happiness to you and those around you. This virtue does not only pertain to those in your life but also to those who you do not know. It is easy to be kind to people you care about or love but try being kind to someone you do not know.  It does not need to be this grand scaled event either. It is in those simple kind words and actions that people will remember you for and God will as well.  Being kind to people does not have to cost you a thing. Hold a door for someone, wish them well, smiling at someone... etc... By doing those things we are displaying kindness. Being kind is not hard to do. When we are being kind, do not expect anything in return but you are doing it from kindness of your heart. 

      If we show people kindness the world would be a better place. Kindness can destroy envy in our hearts by us acting in big and small ways to those who we know and do not know. 

Until tomorrow, God Bless, and do some random acts of kindness today. 

Sloth vs Diligence

Sloth vs Diligence

   Day three takes us to the Deadly Sin of Sloth and the Heavenly Virtue of Diligence. I picked them today because it was a bit of a push to do the blog today so as I started it was more of sloth but then came the virtue of diligence and the typing began. 

    When I think of sloth, I think of someone just laying around not doing anything just shifting the pillow around or turning from on side to the other on the sofa. Then again I looked up the definition and found some other aspects of sloth that I did not even think of at all. Sloth is defined as spiritual or emotional apathy, neglecting what God has spoken, and being physically and emotionally inactive. Sloth can also indicate a wasting due to lack of use, concerning a person, place, thing, skill, or intangible ideal that would require maintenance, refinement, or support to continue to exist. This has expanded my view of the sloth in my own life. I never saw it as if I was wasting my gifts or talents, if I was not actively  supporting them. If God asks of me and I just nod and go about my day and not work on or do what I feel God was asking then that is sloth. It is removing the desire, want and action of living the life that has been placed before me. If we are not actively working at or on then we can be putting the sin of sloth in our lives. I bet many of us never knew wasting the talents and gifts from God would be sloth.  We need to be not only active physically but also mentally and spiritually to avoid sloth. 

     Diligence is the exact opposite of Sloth. It is when we are earnest and persistent in the undertaking of a task and we are attentive to give proper attention and care. This not only applies to tasks and work but to people and God and what God asks of us. We need to working physically, mentally and spiritually each day. It will require us to be active in prayer, grow our knowledge and take the time to actively listen. We need to be participants in our lives and not just take a seat on the sidelines and watch others. Whatever we are called to do or be , we must go after it and not wait and see if it comes to us. If we are not active we will just lay around and waste away. Our dream, God’s dreams for us, will slowly die and we will not even realize it because we become complacent and sloth will make its home in us. It is harder to jump back to life when it takes hold and remains. Each day we need to fight of sloth with diligence. It can just be small things each day, as longs as it is something that is actively using our body, minds or spirit. 

     We need to be active in our lives and work each day to help build ourselves up. The higher and stronger we build ourselves we keep sloth at bay. Diligence is more then just hard work, it is a life choice. 

Until tomorrow, God Bless, and seek and be diligent in your life today.