The little thing your prayer life may be missing

This morning I spoke with John and Glen on Morning Air about the necessity of asking God for peace with what we have. What’s that mean? Well, it’s more than gratitude: it’s perspective, it’s grounding in reality, it’s learning to love like God. You can listen to the conversation here.

As I have written, gratitude is its own prayer. What we were taking about this morning, though, was less about praying with gratitude, and learning HOW to recognize how good our lives are. If you’re reading this in America, chances are, your life is good. Yes, there are tragedies and heartbreaks, but we always think we need more, when really, we often don’t - we just need to learn to appreciate what we have.

A caller called in and talked about some situations that required her to be thankful for all God gives even in the times he takes away. Her perspective was correct, as hard as it can be: be grateful for the extra year with your dying parent, even though you lost them.

There is a strange, powerful philosophical question here about control. When we thank God even for the darkness we experience, it is a way to let go of our sense of control. I used the example of praying for an enemy: if you really mean it, then you’re free from the ill feelings that bind you to them. Likewise, when thanking God, you’re saying He is in control, because what He says, goes. Not what we say.

I also brought up the saying attributed to Blessed Solanus Casey: “Thank God ahead of time.” That means in every circumstance, thank God. I think of saints who willingly underwent great torment - think of St. Maximilian Kolbe. That is thanking God for the situation you are in. Wow!

May: A Great Month

Greeetings readers! It is May 1, which means a great month is getting started. Why is it a great month, you ask? Well, for one thing, because it is under the patronage, you could say, of St. Joseph, and also of Mary. Today, May 1, is the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker. Did you know St. Joseph is such a significant saint in the Catholic tradition that he has two feast days? The other is on March 19. Technically March is “his” month, but I give him May, too,

As for Mary, in May we can pay special attention to the rosary: praying it, and learning its promises for its pray-ers, and contemplating the mysteries of her life alongside Jesus.

I will also point out that today begins the novena to Our Lady, Undoer of Knots, a devotion popularized by Pope Francis during his pontificate. I have been for years - it might even be a decade at this point - using Pray More Novenas to keep on top of celebrating feast days. They email the day’s pray to you each day leading up to the feast day celebration. You can see all they do here and sign up for Our Lady, Undoer of Knots here. The feast day is not actually until September 28, but I am guessing Pray More Novenas is prioritizing this one because ‘tis the month of Mary.

Another good one: May 13 is the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima. Huzzah! May is actually packed full of remembrances of special saints: St. Damian of Molokai (May 10), St. Phillip Neri (May 26), Joan of Arc (May 30), and the Visitation (May 31).

May 25 is also when the 50-day Easter season concludes. So, you are in good spiritual company this month as we move back into “ordinary time,” which, as we know, is just as important as a liturgical celebration. It is in the ordinary time that life really happens.

Lastly, I’ll put in a plug for my next radio appearance, which will be next Thursday, May 7 at about 8:25 am eastern. Find where you can listen here. Topic to be announced.

Have a blessed May!

Do a little spiritual spring cleaning

I enjoyed once again being on Morning Air this week, and speaking with Sarah Tafoya. Our topic was what it means to do a lil’ spiritual spring cleaning in the season of Easter. Listen here!

Bottom line: now is a great time to evaluate your spiritual life and decide what’s working and what you need more of. Since all of life goes through different seasons, we may unwittingly find ourselves “stuck” in a certain prayer routine without knowing why we are doing what we are doing, and feeling like we’re going through the motions. Sarah likened prayer to a relationship - it is! - and there is no relationship that would withstand years of stagnation and routine. Sometimes we just need to mix it up a bit and re-inject a little life.

I particularly enjoyed the part where we discussed the sometimes awkwardness of prayer, especially if you are praying spontaneously for the first time (like without a written or memorized thing to say), or just trying something new. As I mention in the conversation, prayer is between you and God; there is no one to impress or get it right for. If we can’t be vulnerable and really ourselves with God, where can we be? As I listen back to the conversation, I get in my mind the image of a wriggly newborn baby: totally dependent on its parents, barely able to see, unable to control its body. That’s like us before God. Don’t flatter yourself, you’re not impressive to God. He sees all our faults and shortcoming - and that’s a vulnerable feeling - and loves us entirely, none the less. So at the very least, we owe God our truthfulness.

May your spiritual spring cleaning be fruitful!