How to Pray

 

Let me suggest that for the next 21 days before Easter, you find 10 minutes in your busy schedule to pray. Here is a sample of how to get in the habit of daily prayer for the rest of your life.  

Find a quiet spot, in your home, or better yet in church and start your prayer with…

1.    Gratitude: Begin by thanking God, like talking to trusted friend, for whatever you are most grateful for today. ie. I didn’t get killed in a car accident.

2.    Awareness: Think about your past twenty-four hours when you were and were not the best version of yourself. ie. I got grumpy because I didn’t get my way.

3.    Significant Moments: Identify something you experienced today and explore what God might be trying to say to you. ie. I stopped working for a change and went outside to enjoy the sunshine.

4.    Peace: Ask God to forgive you for any wrong you have committed (against yourself, another person, or him) and to fill you with a deep and abiding peace. ie. I could spend the whole ten minutes telling God how impatient I am but He already knows that.

5.    Freedom: Speak with God how he is inviting you to change your life, so that you can experience the freedom to be the best version of yourself. ie. I guess it’s OK to think about what God wants me to do in my next adventure.

6.    Others: Lift up to God anyone you feel called to pray for today, asking God to bless them. ie. Bless all my parishioners in church, online and Sonshine Friends and keep them healthy and safe from the virus.

7.    Finish by praying the Our Father.

Could these words change your life every day, maybe forever.

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends that we learn to pray and humbly ask the Big Question: “What do you think I should do?

 

Fasting Prayer

 

We are asked during Lent to Fast, Pray, and give Alms.  Our Lenten theme for 2021 is to come out of the darkness into the Light. Let me focus your attention on Fasting as a way that will really feeds your soul. By all means, continue to limit your food intake to one full meal on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday and refrain from eating meat on Fridays – but let me share another way of looking at “fasting” that is more than limiting calories but as a way into the light of Christ: 

 

Fasting Prayer

Fast from judging others;
Feast on Christ dwelling in them.
Fast from fear of illness;
Feast on the healing power of God.
Fast from words that pollute;
Feast on speech that purifies.
Fast from discontent;
Feast on gratitude.
Fast from anger;
Feast on patience.
Fast from pessimism;
Feast on hope.
Fast from negatives;
Feast on encouragement.
Fast from bitterness;
Feast on forgiveness.
Fast from self-concern;
Feast on compassion.
Fast from suspicion;
Feast on truth.
Fast from gossip;
Feast on purposeful silence.
Fast from problems that overwhelm;
Feast on prayer that sustains.
Fast from anxiety;
Feast on faith.

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends that as we continue our journey this Lent we truly believe God wants our friendship for He sits with us in silence, rejoices with us, laughs with us, celebrates with us, supports us in tough times, and walks with us in our day-to-day life. Feast of Faith.

 

Lent Enough

 

When I was younger, I would attack Lent with great ambition and zeal. I would make lists and determine all that I could give up and all that I could do to make it a meaningful 40 days.

I still feel that way every Ash Wednesday. I am so excited. I think, “This will be a great Lent! Come Palm Sunday, I am going to ride into Jerusalem and not even complain about the long Passion Gospel.”

But then reality sets in. I realize that sometimes I have spent my Lent trying to determine if my giving up desserts meant I couldn’t eat donuts, especially after noon. After all, I rationalized, a lovely chocolate donut with sprinkles is a breakfast food. And if I happen to eat it a little later in the day, it is not a dessert, right? This kind of thinking has led me down a rabbit hole of wondering if muffins counted as a sweet and the exact status of hot chocolate.

Reading these words, I do realize how ridiculous I sound. However, it is hard to give a wholehearted effort while still coping with my enormous sweet tooth.

And it is not only chocolate that trips me up.

Sometimes I decide I will not focus on food at all but make more time each day for prayer, good works, and daily liturgy. I have constructed my cardboard CRS Rice Bowl, purchased my devotional books, and searched for missions or other talks.

But many times—not all—I have sat in church on Good Friday and realized my Rice Bowl held only a few coins. Certainly, I could write a check, but I wanted to have the daily clink of change to keep me involved. I wanted to be holier, better, stronger. But then I dwell only on the negative. I think I have not done enough this Lent.

It is a familiar feeling, because I have often started Lent wondering if I am doing enough.

And then I berate myself for focusing on myself and feel less than enough.

It is a silly cycle that may be familiar to some. But it is a cycle that I am working to break.

This Lent I resolve that I will go to my friends, the saints, for help.

One of my favorites is St. Thérèse of Lisieux, who said:

I expect each day to discover new imperfections in myself…I am simply resigned to see myself always imperfect—and in this I find my joy…My own folly is this: to trust that your love will accept me. I am only a child, powerless and weak, and yet it is my weakness that gives me the boldness of offering myself as a victim of your love, O Jesus!

The wonderful saint, who stressed that we all approach God and holiness in a “little way,” also said, “Holiness consists simply in doing God’s will, and being just what God wants us to be.”

St. Francis de Sales, the awesome patron saint of journalists, gave me some help too, saying, quite simply, “Be who you are, and be that perfectly well.”

 

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends that we try to feel enough this Lent—and maybe even give up donuts and muffins too, but not my Dove chocolates.

 

 

Friendship With God

 

As I begin my Lenten journey, I pray to understand what it means for my life that God wants to be friends with me.

The idea that God wants to be friends with me seems absurd! Why in the world would God, the Creator of the universe, the Giver of all things, want to be in relationship with me? What can I possibly offer God in the realm of friendship?

There are many types of friendships in my life:

• the friends who can sit with me and hold everything going on in my life
• the friends who can sit in silence with me as we savor our time together
• the ones who laugh loudly with me and celebrate the abundance of life
• the ones who are present during the tough times
• the ones that are part of my day-to-day life and support me in motherhood

All of these friends offer a piece of themselves to me, and by their doing so I experience what it’s like to be loved by another. I, too, offer various types of friendships to men and women in my life. In being there as a friend, I am helping them experience what it’s like to be loved by another.

God offers a relationship that encompasses all of these different types of friendships. In a sense, God is the totality of all of my human friends in one. God sits with me in silence, rejoices with me, laughs with me, celebrates with me, supports me in tough times, and walks with me in my day-to-day life. All of these ways that God is present deepen my understanding of God’s love for me.

What can I offer to God, though? I offer my presence to God. I offer my response to the totality of God’s love. I offer my love to God as I laugh, celebrate, cry, and share the depths of my heart with God. I offer my gifts and talents to God. In this mutual giving to each other and receiving from each other, we develop a deep friendship with each other.

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends that as we begin our journey this Lent we truly believe God wants our friendship for He sits with me in silence, rejoices with me, laughs with me, celebrates with me, supports me in tough times, and walks with me in my day-to-day life.

 

From Darkness into the Light

While Fr. Don posts his weekly Lent reflections to inspire and bring you hope, my Lenten focus will be to post two images that show a BEFORE and AFTER to lift your spirit with God's beauty and joy. NOTE: All images posted available to be made into prints for your home and office. Click: https://www.frmatt.com

BEFORE: Titusville, Florida

  

AFTER: Titusville, Florida Sunrise

Praying Through Sorrow

 

I am facing a difficult week of sorrow. I have been requested to come onsite to help teachers and school staff to cope with the death of one of their students this past weekend. Then another request for ongoing support to a workplace whose employees learned that they will no longer have their jobs in the coming months. Then there are the nationwide calls to provide support to first responders who are working to help patients heal from Covid.

 

Our world and all in it are groaning. I feel like I see and hear suffering around me everywhere I turn. A question I get asked is, “How do I pray through sorrow and suffering?” Let’s take a look at some practical ways we can turn to God in prayer in times like these.

 

Acknowledge that sorrow is a grace.

It is hard to experience and hold sorrow. Let’s be honest, it doesn’t always feel like a grace. What I’ve learned from experiencing sorrow is that it is often an experience of seeing the world as God sees it. It brings us to a place of empathy and a deep seeing of our own pain or others’ pain. Jesus felt sorrow as he looked with pity and wept for Jerusalem (Luke 19:41–44). Mary felt sorrow as she watched her son’s pain. Our sorrow is a grace as our hearts are connecting to an experience Christ had.

 

God sees us with a loving, compassionate gaze.

Imagine God lovingly looking at us and inviting us to name honestly what we feel, see, and hear. Praying through sorrow starts with naming the real of our lives and invites God into the sorrow we are holding. As we bring the real of our lives to God, we let our wounds and the suffering we see connect with the wounds Jesus experienced. In our being vulnerable, we invite God to enter our hearts and hold the sorrow with us.

 

Show up in prayer.

It is very easy to feel tempted not to show up in prayer when we are feeling sorrow. It can feel too painful to acknowledge what we are facing. We may want to turn away from it and resist talking to God about it. Even if our prayer feels messy, showing up and bringing all we are feeling to God helps us work through our sorrow.

 

Allow our sorrow to be turned into action.

Engaging God in our sorrow opens us to transformation. As we ask, “What ought I do for Christ?” God inspires small and sometimes larger actions we can take. Our prayer and being with God influence our actions and begin the healing within.

 

One last thing for us to remember: When we feel sorrow, we can still be in consolation. Consolation is when we are aligned with the Holy Spirit’s movement in our lives. As time goes on, I take comfort in knowing that even when I feel sorrow, God is with me, and I can still be with God. I hope that provides you comfort as well.

 

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends who are in pain or sorrow that you walk at their side to give them Your healing strength and hope.

 

 

 

Hope for 2021

 

Yesterday, I was standing in the back of church with my mask on and social distancing, greeting parishioners when with a big smile on her face Mary says, “I feel hopeful for this new year.” You could hear in her voice that she was ay peace and joyful for she really believed that we are on our way of healing.

 

I believe that hope does not disappoint.

 

The last year has been tough. Many of us feel battered and bruised, some of us in our bodies, but most of us in our spirits. We can boast of our afflictions over the last year. We can see how they refined us and how they built our endurance and our character. Not that it did not hurt. It hurt. And yet, we realized just how strong we are. We can boast in hope.

 

We don’t know what this new year will hold. We hope for healing for ourselves, our families, our communities, and our nation.

 

St. Paul reaches out from the pages of his letter to comfort us, telling us of what he reminded those first-century Christians, that “neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38–39)

 

We can imagine all the things we think separate us from the love of God and add them to Paul’s list: our fears—of now and the future—our fear of media, of leaders, of ourselves. None of that can separate us from the love of God that has been poured into us through the Holy Spirit.

 

May we cling to that love.

 

May it heal us.

 

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Frineds that as we prepare to receive our vaccines, we live in the spirit of hope that we have become what You have always seen in each of us. Hearts full of gratitude and compassion and reaching out to those in darkness and despair to offer them Your Love and Peace.

 

 

Not a Perfect Holy Family

 

It was cold, snowy Sunday and only ten people showed up for church. This is a story I wanted you to hear. Two older people started walking slowly, carefully up the aisle.  The entire way up the aisle, they never stopped holding each others hands, and as they passed pew upon pew of people, you could see how their eyes were filling with tears.

When they arrived at the foot of the altar, I asked them how many years they had been married – the wife responded “60 years ago today.”  I followed up asking “where did you get married?” and the wife proudly responded “Right here,” as she pointed her finger to the floor marking the very spot in front of the altar where they had stood all those decades earlier.  I was surprised and said “You’ve been here in this parish for 60 years?” and they simply nodded their heads as the wife said “we’ve been here together every week since we were married.” What was even more moving was that as they began to renew their wedding vows, no one could take their eyes off this couple as they lovingly held each others hands, but could barely look at each other as they tried holding back tears as they said to each other once again “I take you to be my wife… my husband… I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad; in sickness and in health… I will love you and honor you all the days of my life.”

 

Listening to them, you couldn’t help but wonder what must be going through their minds – what had they lived through?  What struggles which must have seemed insurmountable at times had they conquered; what joys and moments of pride, what sleepless nights of worry over their children had they endured?  What twists and turns, ups and downs did they encounter?  How often did they think “I don’t think I can do this anymore” – but somehow found the unconditional grace of God to strengthen their resolve to try once again?

 

So often whenever the Church speaks of family life, I think there’s this erroneous impression that it automatically implies that perfection is expected out of every marriage.  And that’s why this feast can be a bit off putting for so many people.  Just the title, “The Holy Family” seems like a really high bar to measure ourselves up to.  Exacerbating the fact that so many people have had painful family circumstances – abusive, dysfunctional, destructive and unhealthy relationships – all of this sadly results in the beautiful institution of marriage being another area where many people, understandably feel disconnected from our faith…

 

But a more practical understanding for unmarried and married couples is a call not to perfection, but to faith… which is often times the complete opposite of perfection.

 

Joseph and Mary expressed astonishment, doubts, and fear to their invitations and directions from the Lord.  Yet somehow in the midst of all those questions, all those worries, all those challenges – they much like that couple renewing their marital vows after 60 years, held each others hands, trying to maintain faith in each other and in God… so much so that in hindsight, they almost couldn’t believe any of what they were able to endure was ever possible.

 

No matter what our personal family stories have told us to this point… whether we’re married or we’ve never been married, suffered divorce, or experienced a myriad of challenges that’s a mix of all of the above – the beauty of this glorious Christmas feast reminds us that Jesus willingly enters into all of this human messiness that can be found in every family because of His love for us.  In Jesus’ birth, God entered into human history in a unique and profound way – and human history changed forever after that.

 

That doesn’t make us perfect here and now… but it does inspire us to hold on to a faith in which everything and everyone is transformed in the love of our God who humbles himself to become one of us, so that one day we might become like him for all eternity.

 

 

Do you Believe in Angels?

 

Do you believe in angels? In today's gospel, we hear the famous story about the angel, Gabriel, appearing to Mary.

 

The angel Gabriel says, "Mary, you're going to have this baby." Mary doesn't say, "Hey, that's impossible. I haven't been with a man. That's not going to happen." No, she doesn't say that. This is her question, "How can this be since I have no husband?" She assumes that it can be. If God's angel is coming to her and saying, "This is what's up, Mary," she doesn't say, "No, it's not possible." She assumes with faith that, "Okay, I believe what you're saying to me. But I'm not sure how it's going to work. Can you help me out with that?"

 

Can you help us out with the question, why this pandemic?

 

And, of course, the angel goes on to explain. If you've got questions for God, great. We have plenty of questions for God, like why is my business shut down, or when can we go back to work, or when can I feel it safe for my child to be back in school, or worse why did my family member have to die. The questions are heart wrenching and endless.

 

 

But let's ask our questions like Mary with faith. I think it's okay to be a bit skeptical about stuff. I think that's good. I think that's healthy sometimes. But there's a difference between skepticism and cynicism. There's a difference between questioning.

 

And I think the difference is this: are we seeking the truth? Are we skeptical but still seeking the truth because the cynic isn’t? The cynic isn't seeking the truth. The cynic has put himself or herself in this place, which is a really unhealthy place psychologically and a really unhealthy place spiritually.

 

And so yes, we have questions for God. Great. But let's ask them boldly. Let's ask them with faith. And let's ask them with the hope that God is going to reveal to us what we don't yet understand. And he's going to do it in his own time. And let's be patient as we wait for that.

 

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends who struggle with their questions, why so much sickness, why so many deaths, why do we have to wear those uncomfortable masks and keep our distance. Yes, we want to celebrate our Christmas with family, we like to be in church for Midnight Mass with our neighbors but let’s ask with faith and truly listen to what is our angel is telling us?

 

Receiving Advent

 

One year during Advent, a parish priest invited his parishioners to write down on a slip of paper a word that named something that is keeping them from getting closer to God. He suggested it might be a fear, a resentment, or an attitude that shuts us off from the love God so wants to give. They were to fold the paper over a few times, grasp it tightly in one hand, and make a fist around it while he began to preach on the Scripture readings.

 

After a minute, a parishioner's hand began to ache. At two minutes, his hand grew numb. At three minutes, the hand started shaking uncontrollably. The priest told us to open our hands. He found how hard it was to do that. After grasping the piece of paper so tightly, his hand had stiffened and seemed to have a mind of its own.

 

He could not remember what else the priest said that day, but he never forgot that lesson. Hold on to a resentment, fear, or bad attitude long enough and you will become paralyzed.

 

As we begin Advent every year now, we start with the realization that we need to let go of any and all spiritual impediments we are hanging onto. Advent is a time of receiving. It’s hard to receive if your hands are clasped shut. So let us begin Advent once again with this prayer: Holy Spirit of God, open our hands, our eyes, our ears, all our senses, and all of our heart so we will be ready to receive your Advent blessings.

 

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends who need to let go of the past hurts and allow Our Lord's grace to heal the wounds of your past.

 

Thanksgiving during a Pandemic-Are You Serious?

 

Somewhere in the Bible, it is commanded, “Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 

 

Does that include the pandemic that pins this planet and nation down this Thanksgiving?

As far as I can tell, the command does not indicate an exclusion clause. Though let's be quick to recognize this is not a command to “give thanks for all circumstances”—it is a command to “give thanks in all circumstances.”

 

After all, how could we possibly thank God for the disease that has taken away our loved ones (1.34 million deaths globally—248,707 deaths across this nation as of three hours ago)?

 

No, the command is specific—“give thanks in [not for] all circumstances.” After all, how could we possibly thank God for the disease that has stripped away our personal economic security? 

 

“A new Pew Research Center survey finds that, overall, one-in-four adults have had trouble paying their bills since the coronavirus outbreak started, a third have dipped into savings or retirement accounts to make ends meet, and about one-in-six have borrowed money from friends or family or gotten food from a food bank. As was the case earlier this year, these types of experiences continue to be more common among adults with lower incomes, those without a college degree and Black and Hispanic Americans”

 

The apostle Paul, himself no stranger to economic deprivation and intense personal suffering, is clear in his apostolic command: “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).

But really—we’re supposed to find a reason for thanksgiving in the midst of this Covid-19 onslaught—are you serious?

May I make a humble effort to suggest a small list of possible gratitudes this Thanksgiving? Perhaps your own list will look quite different:

• I am grateful for the technology that enables me to worship remotely with people I can’t see—somehow knowing, in a divine sort of way, we are actually connected to one another, though very much physically distanced.
• I’m also thankful for the people who put up with the bother of wearing a face mask when they’re around me—what an “I care about you” kind of gift!
• I’m grateful for the cell phone that lets me reach out to people I otherwise wouldn't have been able to reach during this pandemic.
• I realize more and more the simple truth embedded in that old saw, “I complained to God about having no shoes, until I met a man who had no feet.”
• I’m grateful for the lesson this pandemic is trying to teach me—that what really matters most in life—more than professional success, more than economic comfort, more than even religious or theological correctness—what really matters most of all is relationships—and I want to treasure the ones I have all the more—especially the one with God.
• I’m thankful that as a result of this I will start online cooking classes to become a first-class, homemade-bread specialist.
• I’m also grateful that my Covid-19 test a couple of weeks ago came back negative.

Perhaps there is more truth than poetry to an “attitude of gratitude.” Consider these three one-liners I found in the chapter “Mind Cure” in Ministry of Healing:

• “Nothing tends more to promote health of body and of soul than does a spirit of gratitude and praise” (251).
• “When you open your eyes in the morning, thank God that He has kept you through the night. Thank Him for His peace in your heart. Morning, noon, and night, let gratitude as a sweet perfume ascend to heaven” (253).
• “This command [1 Thessalonians 5:18—see above] is an assurance that even the things which appear to be against us will work for our good” (255).

Did you catch that? What appears to be against us “will work for our own good.” That’s what God did at the cross—took the enemy’s absolute worst and transformed it into salvation’s absolute best—as only Jesus can do. Gratitude? Are you kidding? A blessed Thanksgiving, indeed!

 

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends that on Thanksgiving Day we offer our prayer of gratitude for all our relationships that have brought us closer together and to your love.

 

Prayer Group for Holy Family Parish

 

 

Welcome to the Holy Family prayer group. We will be praying the Rosary tonight for each other’s intentions. It is my intention for this prayer group to have a “Holy Pause” during our busy week. Our “Holy Pause” will allow us the space to encounter God. Psalm 46:10 reminds us to “Be still and know that I am God”. Please invite your family and friends to join us for a “Holy Pause” on Wednesday nights at 8:00pm each week. I look forward to seeing how the Holy Spirit continues to inspire each one of us. 

 Introduction to a “Holy Pause.”

Pray the Rosary including: The Apostles Creed

Announcing each Glorious Mystery Fatima Prayer after each decade Hail Holy Queen

Blessing:

May the Lord bless you and keep you;

May the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you;

May the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.

Please encourage your family and friends to join us next Wednesday at 8:00pm for our “Holy Pause” the space to encounter God.

Good night.

 

God is Our Great Hope

 

Having faith and hope seems almost absurd in times like these. The brokenness, darkness, and suffering of our world are in plain sight. Uncertainty looms and lurks around us. Fear rears its head way too easily.

 

I hear the cries of despair in my daily comings and goings. I see the pain as I listen to people, helping them hold it all as we seek to find God in all things, even in these times.

I am not naïve to what is happening. Yet, I am full of hope.

 

I witness the way hope appears in the darkest of times, the way mercy slides into the tiniest crack and softens hearts, and the way love makes its presence known in places I thought it never could. I watch God labor to help people reimagine their ability to forgive and receive forgiveness. I see God inspiring new and creative ideas in people to work for justice and to care for all humankind. If there is one thing I know for sure, God does not give up on us. Ever.

 

God is our great hope.

 

Our human history is a long story of God laboring to reimagine our lives: Birthing new life into unthinkable places. Freeing slaves. Changing human hearts. Reinvigorating relationships. Healing the brokenhearted. Inspiring scientists to develop a vaccine, new inventions and medical advances. Helping people hope in times of despair.

 

God brings hope to our lives. God invites us to see new horizons we never dreamed possible. The photo you see in this meditation was my last Autumn walk in the woods. The leaves have fallen, but to my delight, the sun rays were sparkling through the trees and I was able to capture this magical moment. I know I am not the only one looking at the world. God sees what I see, what we see, and so much more. God is laboring to bring new life and reimagine our lives.

 

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends, help them never to despair As it says in Isaiah, “See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?” (43:19)

 

You’re invited to follow the link below to enjoy the beauty reflected in images captured in the photography of Father Matt.  Today’s Sonshine image is a new 2020 image that can be found in the Autumn Gallery. Proceeds will support the ministries of our parish and comfort home: www.frmatt.com