Month: February 2022

Are you still struggling with what to do or give up for Lent? Not to worry, the church gives us guidelines to follow. The three pillars of Lent are: Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving. Let’s take a look at these individually and dive into them head first.

Prayer

This is a very easy one to understand, right? All you have to do is pray. Well, I already do that anyway so check that one off the list! Actually, there’s more. Deep, spiritual prayer, to become closer to God, to ask for help for yourself and those of others. Are you doing that? Are you prayers quick and hurried? Or are they not rushed, inviting Jesus to the conversation? The fact is that prayer is powerful. The Rosary is powerful. Are we praying to just “get it done” or are we praying to do God’s will? If I have time to scroll my social media for countless hours, I have time to pray. I can read a chapter in the Bible, I can pick up my devotional or pick a new saint to learn about. Do you Netflix when you get home? Are you one to stay up until 2am binge watching a new season? Couldn’t this time be better served praying to God? Ask Mary to intercede for us during prayer. Gather your family and pray a rosary together, praying before your meal together. On the way to school or practice, say an Our Father together. Isn’t that what Jesus would prefer? Think. If Jesus is supposed to be the center of our lives, why do we keep putting him on the sidelines? It is like He is second string in the game and He keeps trying out to be in a starting position and yearns for that accomplishment, but us as the coach keep benching Him.

Fasting (& Abstinence)

Easy! No meat on Fridays during Lent and on Ash Wednesday. Check! Man, this Lent is going to be easy! Not so fast…! (See what I did there? HEHE) Fasting is a very sacrificial way to show our love for God. Doing a great fast during Lent is key. This is going to be the hardest of the pillars to accomplish, but very rewarding. Moses fasted for 40 days and what happened? He received the Ten Commandments from Jesus on Mount Sinai! Elijah fasted for 40 days and then met Jesus on Mount Horeb. As you can see, their fasts had the same outcome, both Moses and Elijah were in spiritual preparation to encounter Jesus. Isn’t that our goal in life? To encounter Jesus? Now I know a 40 day fast can seem pretty unrealistic or hard in today’s society, but why not try a 1 day bread and water fast? Not sliced sandwich bread, like good, hearty bread. Allowing our bodies to be conscious of the demons. We tend to suppress our issues or our demons with food, alcohol, sweets, etc. Satan is absolutely horrified when we fast. To prove that we can overcome temptation and allow our demons to become aware is something Satan dislikes. Maybe we are overeating because we are angry, or maybe we are sad. Using fasting is a great way to make our conscious aware of the issue at hand, asking Jesus to help us get rid of it, and removing it (along with other toxins) from our body. What if you did only water until dinner? What type of fast can you do? On Fridays, can you truly make a sacrificial fast instead of choosing the fried shrimp po’boy over the hamburger?

There are additional types of fasting that can go along with your food fast. The obvious of fasting from social media and tv is there. But what about fasting from gossip? It has become so easy in today’s society to talk badly about others. Whether or not you like that person, whether or not they did you wrong, if you maliciously speak ill will of that person with the intent to tell others something about them that they didn’t know, you are committing a mortal sin. If you call someone fat, or ugly, or speak of a personal issue about their marriage or divorce-especially knowing that you don’t care about that person or have any personal interest in the outcome- You have to stop. Enough is enough. It is one thing to care about a family member going through a rough time and needing help, it is another thing to spread news about an acquaintance that works in the building next to you that you don’t really know but feel the need to talk poorly about. Do you think Jesus thinks less of that person because you said she was fat? Do you think Jesus thinks less of your neighbor because they have random hook ups showing up every other weekend? No. For one, it is none of your business, and for two, that is between them and Jesus. He is who they will have to answer to. I have lots of people who ask me for prayers and specific prayer requests. Some of them are very personal and would defame their character to others if I repeated them. That doesn’t give me the right or power to go and spread their business. We are here to be followers of Christ. To spread the good news. I have said this over and over, all I want in life is to make Jesus proud, and I know spreading gossip isn’t the way to do that.

Almsgiving

Give to charity. Easy peasy. Right? Well sure it means monetary contributions, but we can do more than that. Or if you don’t have extra to contribute, then you can still participate in Almsgiving. Here are some suggestions:

1. Donate food to local food bank
2. Help an elderly neighbor or church parishioner
3. Increase your contribution to your local parish
4. Offer your talents-maybe tutor, teach music lessons for free, coach lessons for a sport
5. Support any ministries at your church
6. Write a note or letter to someone you care about-positive words from the heart
7. Demonstrate grace and kindness towards a person who has been giving you a hard time
8. Call a friend who you know needs a listening ear and someone to lean on even though you keep putting it off.

There are many ways we can show charity to others and give our gifts to those who need them most. This may also mean that we go without. For instance, instead of going out to eat, you could stay home and make sandwiches and use that money to give to others who need it more. Maybe that is going to the grocery store and buying some essentials items for a local charity. Either way, there are many ways we can “give more” not just of our money, but of ourselves. The only person stopping this from happening is you.

Theses are just some ideas to help set yourself up for a successful Lent. Try not to do it all at once. I know we all may have grand ideas of how we are going to tackle this Lenten season, but try to choose realistic, attainable goals that will not just give you the ability to check off of a list, but to truly deeper your relationship with God and grow your spiritual journey.

It shouldn’t have to stop with Lent. Continue to give yourself to God. Continue to sacrifice things in order to prepare yourself spiritually. Pray, and pray often. Don’t stop after 40 days. If your goal is to say the rosary every day during Lent, then say it every day during your life. Imagine the power of that prayer and the blessings you will receive.

Hugs and Loves, Ali

“Renounce yourself in order to follow Christ; Discipline your body; Do not pamper yourself, but love fasting.” -St. Benedict

I’ve recently done some soul searching and determined that I am lazy when it comes to laundry. I do not like it, I do not want to fold it, I do not want to hang it or put it away. It is the demise of my wife and motherly duties. Recently, I was blessed with a day off in the middle of the week with zero appointments on the calendar. After much pushing from my 16 year old step daughter, I finally broke down-literally was about to have a break down-and did ALL-yes ALL- of the laundry in the house. I hung up every single piece of clothing that has been laying over the pew in our bedroom for months. I donated items that didn’t fit, and managed to tackle putting away all of the 5 year old’s clothing as well. I felt very accomplished. Like THIS is what it feels like to have all the laundry done! What was even better? The satisfaction from my family knowing that I completed the insane task.

Since that day, I have thought about laziness a lot. I’ve thought about Jesus and His accomplishments. Seeing the satisfaction from His followers must have been heart gushing. He wasn’t lazy, he didn’t think “Well, I’ll heal that person next week.” He did it-He was constantly interrupted on His journey by people needing, begging and wanting his attention and healing. As humans, we are constantly interrupted. Work, school, appointments, ball games, dance practice, snack time, supper and baths. All of these things-and many more-interrupt our lives to a point that we just continually put the laundry over the pew in our room because we think we have no time to tackle it.

Is that what we should be doing? I know it’s just laundry, but I think would Jesus have done that? Would He have let interruptions or the stress of his journey stop him from doing what he was sent to do? We’ve been talking about vocations a lot in our diocese and I can’t help but think my vocation as a wife and mother is such an important one. Am I doing all of the things that my vocation expects of me?

I’m not saying do everything yourself. That is for superheroes to accomplish. Part of my vocation is teaching my children how to care for themselves. Taking out trash, doing their laundry, doing dishes, etc. These chores are important in them growing to become independent people. My 5 year old gets dressed completely on her own, bathes herself and can was her own hair-I like to intervene because the last time she did this task she used face wash as shampoo-she can also make her breakfast and pack her lunch. My 16 year old is a great help and can and does so much to make our home run smoothly. From organizing our pantry, to washing her clothes, she is very well versed in being independent. My husband helps with laundry, dishes, cooking etc. We are a family unit. One person doesn’t do more than the other. We all help each other because we all benefit from the end goal.

So do you think at times we are being lazy? One would say no we are just too busy! Yes I have said that too. Then as I’m laying on the couch scrolling social media, I think this isn’t being busy, this is being lazy. We put certain priorities over others. Sometimes we mistake fatigue for laziness. Oh you don’t want to cook dinner because you are tired? Jesus was probably tired from walking a bazillion miles but he still healed the leper. He still showed up, for us. You can still show up, for Him, for your spouse, for your family, for you coworkers, for your employer.

I challenge each of you to step out of the lazy comfort zone and step into one of goal setting, goal reaching and accomplishment driven. Should you still lay on the couch on Saturday morning and drink coffee? YES! Just becoming aware of our laziness and implementing ways to change it is always a step in the right direction. Importantly, showing up for others is key. Whether that is spiritually, prayerfully or physically.

I’ll leave you with this thought. Do you ever tell someone “I’m praying for you!” or do you comment on social media with “Sending prayers your way.” I do. ALL THE TIME! There are so many people, including myself, that need our prayers. BUT. Do you actually pray for them? Seriously. Do you stop everything you are doing and pray? I used to not. I would just type the words or text the words and it would be a long gone thought. You know why? Because I was lazy. It felt good to tell that person I was praying for them, but I was too lazy to actually carry out the task. Our minds get lazy, our faith gets lazy, and if we don’t do anything about it, we will just continue to give empty prayers to those who desperately need the real, fulfilled ones.

I ask that you pray specifically for your vocation. Pray for your path in life and the path of those discerning. Pray for the vocation of your children. Pray for your priests and deacons.

*Prayer for Vocations

God our Father, we thank you for calling men and women to serve in your Son’s Kingdom as priests, deacons and consecrated persons. Send your Holy Spirit to help others to respond generously and courageously to your call. May our community of faith support vocations of sacrificial love in our youth and young adults. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirt, one God, forever and ever.

Amen

*United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

Hugs and Loves, Ali

“The harvest is abundant, but the laborers are few, pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send forth laborers for his harvest.” Luke 10:2