Seven Sorrows

In times of sorrow in your life, to whom do you turn for comfort?

Jesus, of course.  A spouse, a friend, a sibling?

How about Mamma Mary?

Being redeemed by Christ from the moment of her conception left Mary free the sorrow of any personal sin on her part, but that does not mean that she did not suffer and did not experience sorrow in her life.

Mary's life was lived entirely for God.  Her initial fiat ("may it be done unto me according to your word." Luke 1:38) was just the beginning of the suffering she would face.  Being an unmarried young woman and pregnant, I'm certain, caused no little tongue wagging and head shaking.

 There are seven particular sorrows, however, that we meditate on when we speak of Mary's sorrows.

www.praytherosaryapostolate.com

When meditating on these seven sorrows add a Hail Mary after each one and it becomes a devotion.

The first sorrow of Mary is: The Prophesy of Simeon.  "Behold this Child is to be the rise and fall of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted and you yourself a sword will pierce so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed."  Luke 2:34-35) 

"Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. (Luke1:28)  Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb (Luke 1:42), Jesus."  Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

The second sorrow of Mary: The Flight into Egypt. "Behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, 'Rise, take the Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. Herod is going to search for the Child to destroy Him.  Joseph rose and took the Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt."

Hail Mary . . .

The third sorrow of Mary: The Loss of the  Child, Jesus in the temple.  After they had completed its days, as they were returning, the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem, but His parents did not know it. Thinking that he was in the caravan, they journeyed for a day and looked for Him among their relatives and acquaintances, but not finding Him, they returned to Jerusalem to look for Him.  After three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions."  (Luke 2:43-46) 

Hail Mary . . .

The forth sorrow of Mary: Meeting Jesus on the road to Calvary. "And there followed Him a great multitude of people, and of women, who bewailed and lamented Him." (Luke 23:7) 

Hail Mary . . .

The fifth sorrow of Mary: Standing at the foot of the Cross. "Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother an his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala." (John 19:25)

Hail Mary . . .

The sixth sorrow of Mary: The taking down of Jesus' body from the cross. "Joseph of Arimathea, a distinguished member of the council,…came and courageously went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus . . . he gave the body to Joseph.  … He took Him down."  (Mark 15: 43-46)

Hail Mary . . .

The seventh sorrow of Mary: The burial of Jesus in the tomb.  "Having bought a linen cloth, he took Him down, wrapped Him in the linen cloth and laid Him in the tomb that had been hewn out of the rock." (Mark 15:46)

Hail Mary . . . 


So, when you are sorrowing, remember that you are never alone.  Turn to our Lady and meditate on her sorrows and let her bring you comfort. 


www.thatslife12.blogspot.com

How Deep is Your Cushion?

Today's Gospel reading is from Mark: 4: 35-41.

In the reading, the disciples are in a boat being tossed about on the water in a "violent squall".  And where is Christ?  "Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a cushion."  Asleep?  On a cushion?  In a fishing boat?

Fr. Urban's homily was all about the cushion.  He said he spent a lot of time reading and trying to figure out why Mark would make sure that the presence of the cushion was a detail in this Gospel.

His conclusion was that the cushion was God and the relationship that Jesus had with Him.  He was so confident in this relationship and the protection of being in so close a relationship with the Father, that he was able to sleep in the midst of the storm.

Can you sleep in the midst of the storms in your life?

How does one go about finding the trust that gives such peacefulness?

I think it starts with thanksgiving.  Once you begin to be grateful for ALL the things God does in your life; good, hard, painful, wonderful, normal, then you begin to see that He is over all things.

Thank Him for everything!  Did you wake up this morning?  (Obviously if you're reading this!)  Thank Him.  Did you eat?  Thank Him. Did you have a hot shower?  Did someone you love hug you?  Does your home have heat?  Do you have a shovel and a strong back; or someone young and capable of shoveling all this snow?? The list could go on and on.  Did your car start? Did you get where you were going without mishap?

All of those things are easy to be thankful for because they are good things.

 Now, try being thankful if you answered 'no' to any of them.

I have a friend who is the most grateful person I know.  Her husband has been out of work since June; she thanks God every day that he is able to help her at home while he looks for a job.

Her teenaged daughter spent a couple of days in the hospital recently with pneumonia.  She was grateful for good doctors, nurses and medicine.

 When the car repair bill was higher than expected she praised the Lord.

Does the stress of these situations get overwhelming sometimes? Sure it does, and then she has a good cry, thanks God for the tears of release and puts her smile back on!

Never miss a chance to be thankful.  It builds your trust in a God who loves you, in a Savior who died for you.  Take time to care for your cushion and you will sleep like Jesus!


www.thatslife12.blogspot.com

Did you know...?

I heard something on the radio yesterday that I found fascinating and thought that I would share it.  I wish I could give credit to whomever was speaking but I was in the car and just heard it by chance so I can't.  

The person speaking was teaching that Psalm 23 is the Psalm that the early Christians would recite on the way to the Easter Vigil (and probably during) when new members were welcomed into the Church.  

Being welcomed into Holy Mother Church means receiving the three Sacraments of Initiation; Baptism, the Eucharist and Confirmation.  

Let's go through the Psalm and break it down:

"The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
²     He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
³     he refreshes my soul." (Psalm 23: 1-3)

The quiet waters are the waters of Baptism, which remove our original sin as infants and all sins up to that point as adults, and bring us into God's family.

www.stanneschurch.dk

"You prepare a table before me
    in the presence of my enemies." (Psalm 23:5)

The table He spreads for us is the table of the Eucharist where Jesus feeds us with His own Precious Body and Blood.

stmaryscaldwell.com

"You anoint my head with oil;
    my cup overflows." (Psalm 23:5)


The oil used at Confirmation is called Holy Chrism and "is a mixture of olive oil and balsam," and is used to signify favor and strength from the Lord. (Catholic Education Resource.)

www.picstopin.com

"And I will dwell in the house of the Lord, forever." (Psalm 23:6) 

All of these Sacraments bring us into the Church which leads us to our final resting place with Jesus in heaven.


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Idolatry

Quite near our home there is an electronic outdoor advertising sign.  This particular sign has up to four advertisements on it that flash up one at a time for a number of seconds and then switch to the next.

There is usually a Christian message up there,  I LOVE YOU  signed ~GOD, or something to that effect.

Lately the Christian message has been:  LOVE ALL;  WORSHIP ONE.    Great message.  The sad part is the message that follows it:

GET THE BODY YOU WANT!   LIPOSUCTION!  With a picture of either a finely sculpted man or a bikini clad woman with a "perfect" figure.

Whom or what do we worship other than God?  Our culture demands that we spend lots of time in front of the mirror; literally and figuratively.   We compare ourselves to others: figures, makeup, clothing, even homes and cars.  Do we measure up? Are we good enough?

Good enough for whom?

We are made in the image and likeness of GOD! What more do we need?

Webster's defines idolatry as the immoderate attachment or devotion to something.  In other words, making something or someone (even ourselves) so much more important than they should be.   God wants our hearts.  He doesn't care about the brand name on our backside, or the year, make and model of our vehicle.  He wants our devotion to go to Him from whom all our blessings flow.

Here's an exercise:  name three things to which you are very attached (spouses and children excluded).  Can you live without one or more of these things for one day? One week? One year?  Are you willing to give it a try to see if it is an "immoderate attachment or devotion"?

The new year is coming fast.  I'm trying to come up with the one thing I will give up for the next year.  This year  (well most of it anyway), I decided not to buy any new or used books.  Trust me the desire to buy a book hits more than once a week so this was not an easy task-nor should it be.

In the past,  I've given up chocolate, which to be perfectly honest, I eat (or drink) EVERY day, peanut butter (almost every day) and some other things from which I needed detachment.

I have a few things I could give up this coming year:  Candy Crush, bread, negative thoughts, "spare" time that could be used for prayers.

I challenge you to pick one thing to give up. Pray about it. Trust me, God will show you what it should be!  If you don't think you can make it a whole year, start small; and a day is not too small for all big things start from small things.  This is not a New Year's resolution.  This is a gift to God and to yourself.

If you want to leave a note, I will add you to my prayers;  for courage to stick with your decision and for the growth that always comes with new ways of doing things.  Check back in a few weeks.  I'll leave a note about what God asked me to put aside for a year and then you can pray for me.

Peace.

Ok. Here goes: For 2014 I will be giving up Candy Crush (it was first on my list above for a reason!) This will give me more free time for reading my Bible which I will be reading every day!



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