I've had some grimmer thoughts lately. Lent is an amazing time for penance, a time for repairing and strengthening our relationship with Christ. Maybe it's the act of reconciliation that's got me on this line of thought. Especially during this liturgical season, we recognize our sinfulness. We try to make reparation to the beautiful heart of Our Lady that is pierced by the sins we commit against her Son. Our God longs for us to make our way back to Him -our Shepard waits, with his arms open wide.
It's somehow lead me to the topic of abortion. God knows us intimately in the womb, he formed us all individually in His image and with all the love he has within Him. Let's refer to Psalm 139:
11 If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,"
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
16 your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
After spending some time really reflecting on the tragedy of abortion, I feel like it must just break Our Lady's heart -the mother of all people- to see the slaughter of her little ones. Our God must constantly ache over the disregard we have for the gift of life, and our failure to protect the most defenseless and innocent among us.
I don't have much more to say about abortion in general in this post, but today i was reminded of AN interview by Bryan Kemper of the pro-life ministry Stan True. It was with Angie the Anti-theist. If you don't know about her, She tweeted her abortion.
You can read the interview here:
http://bryankemper.com/2010/02/24/my-interview-with-angie-the-girl-who-live-tweeted-her-abortion
For whatever reason that interview came to mind while looking at Little-Disciples.com (super cute christian baby clothes). To look at these adorable onesies, the cute and punny sayings, and think about what a blessing babies are. But to remember that so many of those bundles of joy don't even survive to the world God made them for.
So Angie states that her goal in doing this was to"demystify" abortion or "reduce stigma." To explain what's going on, I guess. Maybe to make it less taboo? But so taking her train of thought, a light went on in my head.
This was just an idea, here -what if one of us Catholics "live tweeted" our confession?
I mean, I'm not volunteering to do it. I don't know if that takes away from the nature of the sacrament in anyway. I'm pretty sure the priest wouldn't care for you typing away on your iphone as you give your act of contrition, but it was just food for thought. I just thought it would be a pretty stark contrast -the "stigma" of an abortion vs the "stigma" and mystery (and grace!!!) and Sacrament of Reconciliation being brought live to the world to see.
**Just a note to readers, please don't tweet and receive sacraments. Probably a very bad idea.**
I guess that's one thing I personally have to pray more about. The end to abortion. And I would encourage you all to get involved too. Here's a list of some web sites to visit:
www.Rockforlife.org
www.Standtrue.org
www.AbortionNO.org
Financial contribute if you can, spiritually support the movement with prayer, or think about representing the cause with an awesome t-shirt (everyone loves awesome t-shirts right!?).
You can read a lot more from Bryan Kemper's awesome blog at www.Bryankemper.com.
Ok, hopefully we are all equipped to go out and fight the good fight! Remember what Mother Theresa said,"I feel that the greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion, because it is a war against the child, a direct killing of the innocent child, murder by the mother herself."
And for all you sister suffragettes, Susan B Anthony (one of the 1st feminists ladies!) once stated, ""Guilty? Yes. No matter what the motive, love of ease, or a desire to save from suffering the unborn innocent, the woman is awfully guilty who commits the deed. It will burden her conscience in life, it will burden her soul in death; But oh, thrice guilty is he who drove her to the desperation which impelled her to the crime!"
**** This blog does NOT recommend tweeting while receiving any of the sacraments.
Showing posts with label our lady. Show all posts
Showing posts with label our lady. Show all posts
Monday, March 8, 2010
Thursday, February 11, 2010
The Little Things
"The rosary is the book of the blind, where souls see and there enact the greatest drama of love the world has ever known; it is the book of the simple, which initiates them into mysteries and knowledge more satisfying than the education of other men; it is the book of the aged, whose eyes close upon the shadow of this world, and open on the substance of the next. The power of the rosary is beyond description."
-Archbishop Fulton Sheen
Sometimes therapists have patients meditate as part of their treatment. There is something about meditation that soothes the soul. Slowing your mind and your words, relaxing your body, the entire meditative process is really beneficial to one's health. Have you ever noticed the healing power of the rosary? No matter how busy a day, no matter how much pain is in our heart, stopping to pray the rosary almost stops time in our souls. It draws us into the most intense drama of salvation history and puts us right there beside Christ. The world around us seems to cease to be, and we are experiencing Christ's love moving in our hearts. One can feel Mary's mantle wrapped around them, enveloping them in her comfort and peace. It takes 15 minutes, we can say it anywhere at any time of the day, it is a simple prayer, yet it is one of the most intense experiences we can have in our prayer lives.
That is the beauty and the genius of the rosary. While many Christians today look at the rosary as "wrote prayer," the truth is that it is deeply meditative and probably one of the most profound prayers we as Catholics have. The power of the rosary truly is beyond description. It is a string of 59 beads, it can fit in your pocket, it is a small reminder of our faith that we can dangle over the rear view mirror, yet it yields more power than we could ever know.
One thing I have noticed about Catholicism is that the little things seem to have the most power. Maybe that's why St. Therese is a Doctor of the Church. The little way, the little things, create the most change in our lives. They are the things that, in my opinion, aggravate Satan the most.
The rosary is probably one of the most powerful tools we have against Satan. When we think about it, who is the one woman who terrifies him the most? Mary was the most powerful woman in history -her yes changed the entire world as we know it- yet she was a young, meek, humble, virgin girl. And Satan hates her for it.
A lot of this world glorifies the idea that real power and strength is held by the big guys. But the comfort of the faith is that while our battle is epic, and our fight against evil is real and exhausting, we can be any size to fight it. We can have the weakest faith in the world, but with the support of our Lady, and with a look to her and her Son, we are untouchable.
What does it say about Satan that he is so threatened by our Lady? That every conversion, every "hail Mary," every celebration of the Mass, has him trembling? That's the image that I get. I think that in the little ways we say yes to God every day, we show Satan that he has no power over us.
Moving forward can seem overwhelming when we have so far to go. Trying to make progress in leaps and bounds can oftentimes lead to disappointment. It is in small steps and increments that we make the most fruitful progress -whether it be financially, our spiritual lives, or in our relationships with each other, focusing on the little things and using them to better ourselves can take a bunch of tiny steps and turn them into the long journey toward peace in Christ.
-Archbishop Fulton Sheen
Sometimes therapists have patients meditate as part of their treatment. There is something about meditation that soothes the soul. Slowing your mind and your words, relaxing your body, the entire meditative process is really beneficial to one's health. Have you ever noticed the healing power of the rosary? No matter how busy a day, no matter how much pain is in our heart, stopping to pray the rosary almost stops time in our souls. It draws us into the most intense drama of salvation history and puts us right there beside Christ. The world around us seems to cease to be, and we are experiencing Christ's love moving in our hearts. One can feel Mary's mantle wrapped around them, enveloping them in her comfort and peace. It takes 15 minutes, we can say it anywhere at any time of the day, it is a simple prayer, yet it is one of the most intense experiences we can have in our prayer lives.
That is the beauty and the genius of the rosary. While many Christians today look at the rosary as "wrote prayer," the truth is that it is deeply meditative and probably one of the most profound prayers we as Catholics have. The power of the rosary truly is beyond description. It is a string of 59 beads, it can fit in your pocket, it is a small reminder of our faith that we can dangle over the rear view mirror, yet it yields more power than we could ever know.
One thing I have noticed about Catholicism is that the little things seem to have the most power. Maybe that's why St. Therese is a Doctor of the Church. The little way, the little things, create the most change in our lives. They are the things that, in my opinion, aggravate Satan the most.
The rosary is probably one of the most powerful tools we have against Satan. When we think about it, who is the one woman who terrifies him the most? Mary was the most powerful woman in history -her yes changed the entire world as we know it- yet she was a young, meek, humble, virgin girl. And Satan hates her for it.
A lot of this world glorifies the idea that real power and strength is held by the big guys. But the comfort of the faith is that while our battle is epic, and our fight against evil is real and exhausting, we can be any size to fight it. We can have the weakest faith in the world, but with the support of our Lady, and with a look to her and her Son, we are untouchable.
What does it say about Satan that he is so threatened by our Lady? That every conversion, every "hail Mary," every celebration of the Mass, has him trembling? That's the image that I get. I think that in the little ways we say yes to God every day, we show Satan that he has no power over us.
Moving forward can seem overwhelming when we have so far to go. Trying to make progress in leaps and bounds can oftentimes lead to disappointment. It is in small steps and increments that we make the most fruitful progress -whether it be financially, our spiritual lives, or in our relationships with each other, focusing on the little things and using them to better ourselves can take a bunch of tiny steps and turn them into the long journey toward peace in Christ.
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