Morning Prayer

I believe it is the best habit to form to start every day with a morning prayer to God.  It is a good opportunity to thank him for all He has dome and to ask him for guidance for the day to come. 

Personally, I listen to the Gospel for the day and a reflection on how to apply its message to my day.  If I have time I might also pray The Rosary if I have time.

Today I was watching one of my Catholic resources on YouTube, The Religious Hippie, and she had a video on her daily prayer routine.  I absolutely love a couple of the options she uses for her morning prayers and am trying to incorporate them into my daily wake-up regimen.  Here are my favorites:

“O my Jesus, I offer this day, with all of its joys and sufferings, for the holy souls in purgatory. I ask that You grant them the relief they need and hasten their entry into Heaven. May this offering bring them comfort and bring glory to God.  Amen.”

“O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer you my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings of this day for all the intentions of your Sacred Heart, in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world, for the salvation of souls, the reparation of sins, the reunion of all Christians, and in particular for the intentions of the Holy Father. Amen.”

 “Dear Lord, I give You my heart this morning. I dedicate all that I am and all that I do to You today. May my thoughts be focused on Your goodness, my words speak Your truth, and my actions be a reflection of Your love. Help me to carry Your presence throughout the day and to be a witness to Your grace.  Amen.”

I am not comfortable enough to write my own prayers, but there are parts of all 3 that I would like to incorporate into something for me.  Maybe that's a preview of an upcoming post where I write my own prayers.

Have I Completed My Mission on Earth?

This is a question we all ask ourselves when we know our time on Earth is coming to a close.  I heard this quote the other day and it sums up the way we should feel about our reason for living and the solace we can take when we are finally called to our heavenly home.

“God has created me to do Him some definite service. He has committed some work to me which He has not committed to another. I have my mission. I may never know it in this life, but I shall be told it in the next. I am a link in a chain, a bond of connection between persons.

He has not created me for naught. I shall do good; I shall do His work. I shall be an angel of peace, a preacher of truth in my own place, while not intending it if I do but keep His commandments.

Therefore, I will trust Him, whatever I am, I can never be thrown away. If I am in sickness, my sickness may serve Him, in perplexity, my perplexity may serve Him. If I am in sorrow, my sorrow may serve Him. He does nothing in vain. He knows what He is about. He may take away my friends. He may throw me among strangers. He may make me feel desolate, make my spirits sink, hide my future from me. Still, He knows what He is about.”   

-St. John Henry Newman

The Faith of Joseph

Today's Gospel contains the Nativity Story as told by Matthew.  This story is pretty short but it is one of the few places I am aware of where the Bible specifically talks about Joseph, the Earthly Father of Jesus.

The story of the Annunciation where the Angel Gabriel comes to Mary is well known.  But we sometimes forget Joseph's role in the birth of Jesus.  He was also visited by and Angel of the Lord and told that he should still take Mary to be his wife even with child, because she is with child through the Holy Spirit.  He, like Mary, showed faith, and gave the rest of his life to the young Jesus.

We know very little from the Bible about Jesus's youth, therefore we know very little about Joseph either. But even though Jesus was and is the Son of God, I'd assume there were lessons that, as a father, Joseph passed on to the young Jesus.  Earthly lessons might have been Joseph's job.  But it must have been hard knowing that he, a man, was teaching the Messiah.

By the time of Jesus's mission when the Gospels really start, Joseph is no longer mentioned at all.  Still, I believe, that he was an instrumental part of getting Jesus to the point where he start his preaching.  Thank God for Joseph-the head of the Holy Family. 

The Book of Job

Until relatively recently the only thing I knew about the book of Job was it was how Tom Cruise communicated with the terrorists in the first Mission Impossible movie.  Then, a couple of years ago, I did a "Bible in a Year" challenge and was finally exposed to the actual Book of Job in the Bible.

Job was a righteous and prosperous man, who was tested by Satan by losing his sheep, servants and children, then being afflicted by painful sores.  He was encouraged to renounce his faith.  He spends most of the story complaining about the trials his life.  It's a lot of him saying "Woe is me." 

I really didn't like this book of The Bible.  I dreaded the daily toil of reading about Job's life.

Eventually I got to the end of the Book of Job and realized what it was really about.  It wasn't about Job and his horrible life.  Job never gave up on God no matter how bad things seemed to get.  Eventually met God and was restored to health and even more prosperity than he had before.

We should learn from Job.  No matter how many trials and tribulations we face in life we should never lose hope and faith in God.  We will be rewarded in this life or the next.

Modern Depictions of The Bible

Over the years there have been many movies and shows that have told a part of the story of salvation.  While the main source for many of these is the Bible, in order to tell a complete story the creators have had to take some liberties with their depictions.  In same cases they might find another source that may or may not be accepted by people or faith groups.  In other cases the creators might just make the missing parts of the story themselves.

This leads to the question:  Is it ok to watch these projects, even if they don't follow the accepted stories by The Church?

I know there has been a number stage shows and films in history that have told biblical stories, but my first exposure to Hollywood Bible Version was the "Passion of the Christ."  As I understand, this film is accepted mostly by the Catholic Church as accurate.

The next thing that comes to mind is the series "The Chosen."  The Catholic Church is pretty silent on this one.  I get the impression that they are not thrilled with some of the choices that the creators made to tell a complete story, but the Church does like the presentation overall along with the attention it has given.

That leads me to the present where Netflix has just released the story of Mary, the Mother of Jesus.  They didn't have much to go by in the Bible, but they used other sources.  In this case from what I've heard the Church is not happy with some of the choices they made for the parts of Mary's life.

So that's the spectrum.  Sometimes the church likes the depiction sometimes not.  God gave us free will to decide what we should do.  So here's how I feel about Hollywood Bible.  If I see something that looks good I will watch it.  I try to separate the Biblical facts from the part that is not faithful to the Bible.  I can accept it for what it is.

What we should be thankful for is the attention that those projects give to the Salvation story.  Those stories can expose people to the Bible.  Maybe some of those people will want to investigate the life of Jesus more.  And maybe it will lead to them returning to the Christian life or starting the journey to become Christians.  More people following Christ can never be a bad thing.

Gaudete Sunday! or Why is my Priest Dressed like a Barbie?

Today is Gaudete Sunday.  It's the Sunday the Priest wears his pink rose vestments.  It is the reminder to rejoice, because we are almost to the birth of our Savior.

It is also a reminder that we are almost done with Advent.  And if you need to do anything to get ready for Christmas this is last chance.

So if you haven't it's time to get to confession.

One of the things I feel really bad about when I go to confession is repeat sins.  I hate going to the priest and just asking for forgiveness for the same things as last time.  For me that's profanity.  I spent 10 years in the Navy and still do have times when I "talk like a sailor."

But I am doing better by swearing less and being aware of it when I do.  So I asked the Priest if I get partial credit for improving.  He laughed.  No partial credit but he said "A sinner sins and accepts it.  A Saint sins and realizes it, trying not to let it happen again."  I think it is a take-off of a quote from Oscar Wilde.  And it makes sense.

The journey from sinner to Saint is a long one.  Going to confession helps keep you on the path.  If you can go you should. 

The Evolution of the Church

Over time things evolve.  Change over time is almost inevitable.  But change does not always happen for the better.  So I ask the question-Should the Church change with the times?

Over the last 2000 years I am quite sure much has changed in the way we celebrate Jesus as Catholics. For example, the language, the music and the structure of the mass itself has changed many times I'm sure.  I have never been to a mass that follows the rite as it was done before Vatican 2 in the mid 20th Century, where it was entirely in Latin and the congregation was looked at as observers rather than participants.  I'm not sure how I'd feel about that.

But I am at heart a traditionalist in most things.  So as long as the mass revolves around Jesus and the Sacrifice of the Eucharist I'm mostly ok with changes.

However I was confused by the recent restoration mass at Notre Dame in Paris.  The repairs following the fire were done well or the most part. I heard rumors that th Franch Government wanted a glass roof or a rooftop cafe.  I'm glad the Church was able to block that.  The thing that did bother me was the bright pastel vestments that looked like they were a billboard for a new version of Windows.  In my opinion, they were a distraction from the mass.  I was even more disappointed when I found they were designed by a Non-Catholic.  They couldn't find a practicing Catholic who understood the importance of the mass to design what the clothing for the bishops at the mass?

In all honesty I would prefer the Church concentrate on being the traditional Church first. Changes and updates should be slow and over time.  It is not the job of the Church to conform to the times, socially or politically. It's the job of the people to worship God as he intended.  The mass is not a fashion show or a musical concert.  It's a celebration of The Body and Blood of Christ.

So to answer the original question-No. The Church shouldn't change with the times.  We worship Jesus. We worship God.  They don't worship whatever today's world deems socially acceptable.