On my drive into work each morning, I pray the
rosary for all my friends. It can be a challenged when the beads get knotted up
and a tangled mess. I am waiting for someone to invent a rosary that does not “‘get
tangled.” That’s like asking God for a life that doesn’t have any snags in it.
You have a choice when your life begins to
ensnare you with lots of demands. Option one. Blame God. Option two. Fix your
own problems but worry that it’s not good enough. Option three. Practice “self
compassion.”
I prefer that you learn to practice this ancient
tradition of letting go and repeat the following mantra “good enough is good
enough.”
I read that people are wired and caught up in
judging themselves. Of course there is scriptural basis for this concern. A parishioner
share that he liked this past week’s homily when I walked down the aisle and
get close to the people. Most folks don’t sit too close to the front in this
church. He agreed with the teaching that a sign of holiness is gratitude. But
he wanted to reconcile the bible teaching about a judgment day separating goats
and sheep. Which side of the aisle do you think you will wind up on?
Scientists suggest that it’s in our DNA to look
at something to say it could be better and then work on this trait as a goal. This
way of thinking could be a good step toward self-improvement. But it can become
negative feedback in that we start to look at every moment and say: ‘I could
have done a better job.” The toxic voice in our head finds us lacking. I do not
think God wants us to put so much effort into worrying about judgment day. When
asked by his disciples to increase their faith Jesus reminds them that their
faith is a gift. We can better focus our attention on living our life in
gratitude for the gifts we have received from God and share them with others.
The prayer when we meditate on as we pray the
rosary beads is to break the cycle of negativity so we can choose to be
purposely compassionate toward ourselves.
We say the rosary in honor of Mary who had to be
a special mom nurturing her son. It was her example that taught Jesus to be a
compassionate young man. She must have had something special called the “the
will to do one thing.” The one thing every saint knows is to live a life of
gratitude. Mary possessed that special quality “to will the one thing” because look
how her son turned out.
God watches over us as we pray: “Yet He, being
compassionate, forgave their iniquity, and did not destroy them; often He
restrained His anger, and did not stir up all His wrath.” (Psalm 78:38).
Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends who find their
lives tangled and in a mess. As they pray the rosary, may each bead release
them from toxic worries and may their life be filled with self-compassion.
