Never Enough

"Many walk for a while in the path of virtue but then are satisfied with the distance they have gone. But grace never says: "Enough!" Others think that they are doing a great deal if they do not slip into evil. Yet that is not enough; for the good man must strive daily to become better. Many a Christian will be surprised on the day of judgment to see himself heavily in debt to God's justice because he did not make use of the great means given him for becoming a great saint! On the path of virtue, not to advance is to go backwards; not to gain is to lose." - The Imitation of Mary

Another Saint of the Impossible

Today, May 22nd is the feast day of my new favorite saint: Saint Rita of Cascia.

St. Rita is a saint of the impossible and desperate cases. She is the patron of wives, mothers and troubled marriages.

Currently, I am doing her devotion of Fifteen Thursdays. This consists of reciting a preparatory prayer, reflecting on a certain period of her life and asking for the graces to live and focus on certain virtues in the Christian life. Listed are the focuses of each week:

1:  Return to the Evangelical Life

2:  Obtaining the Spirit of Meekness

3:  Ensuring the Religious Education of Children

4:  Assisting Troubled Marriages

5:  Fostering Mortification and Sacrifice

6:  Obtaining the Christian Meaning of Death

7:  Practicing True Charity

8: Obtaining the Gift of Reconciliation

9:  Practicing the Evangelical Virtues

10: Obtaining True Contrition

11: Fixing Our Eyes on Heaven During Our Earthy Pilgrimage

12: Discovering What God Expects Of Us

13: Seeing Christ In Others

14: To Prepare For A Good Death

15: Imitating St. Rita in Bearing Witness To Christ

The prayers for these may be found in the book, Saint Rita, Saint of the Impossible, published by Catholic Book Publishing Corp.

Prayer in Difficult and Desperate Cases

O Powerful and glorious St. Rita, here at your feet is a disconsolate soul who, having need of help, has recourse to you with the fond hope of being heard. Because of my unworthiness and my past infidelities, I dare not hope my prayers will succeed in gaining God's mercy. That is why I feel the need of an all powerful mediatrix.  It is you that I have looked for, St. Rita, as the incomparable Saint of impossible and desperate cases.O dear Saint, take my cause to heart. Intercede with God so that I may obtain the grace I need so much and ardently desire ( mention the desired grace).

Do not, dear Saint, let me leave your presence without having been heard. If something in me is an obstacle to obtaining the grace I ask, help me to remove it.Infuse my prayer with your precious merits and present it to your heavenly Spouse together with your prayer. Thus enriched by you, kind Rita, my prayer will be heard. You were the wife most faithful, and you felt the sorrows of your heavenly Spouse in His passion. How could He reject a prayer enriched by you or not hear it?

All my trust is in you. Relying on your mediation, I await with a tranquil heart the fulfillment of my request.

Oh dear St. Rita, may the trust and hope I place in you not be lessened. Grant that my request be not in vain; then I shall make known to everyone the goodness of your heart and the great power of your intercession. Amen.

A Letter to My Dearest Friend

Dear Jesus,

I have known You my whole life.

I have loved You as long as I can remember. 

However, I have loved You with a selfish love. 

I talk to You when I am sad and lonely. 

I beg for Your graces when I am sick and suffering. 

I seek You out when I have a particular need.

Please help me to stop asking for selfish requests.

Help me to love You simply.

Teach me to love You because You are Good.

Grant me the grace to embrace suffering because it pleases You.

Enlighten my mind so that I may know You.

Satisfy my soul so that I never seek anything other than You.

Please unite my will to Yours.

Guide my actions so that they may be a witness to Your Mercy.

Instruct me in true humility.

Lastly, please teach me to love as You love.

Thank you for all Your blessings. Amen.

Sauna Speculations

I was in the sauna today trying to relax.  It was so wonderful!  After being in there for about forty minutes, I started thinking about how hot it must be in hell.

I grew up in the high desert and I don't mind the heat. Hot dry summers never bothered me.  I tried to imagine the heat in hell; obviously, it would be torturous. However, thinking about the heat in hell didn't bother me too much, I kept thinking of something much worse...

Perpetual despair!

In the sauna, in the desert, in any heat, I have the hope of it ending. I also have control over the heat. I can leave the environment, or adjust it, or find an alternate way to cool down. 

In hell there is no hope. There is only perpetual lack of our highest and most desired Good, God Himself. Since God bestowed on us the gift of free will and if we are condemned to hell, then it'll be by our own doings. And no hope exists for us to rectify the situation.

Since Divine Justice will be served, I imagine that hell is the possession of the knowledge that we freely chose to be separated! Thus, in every action, we are choosing to be more closely united with God or we are choosing...hell.

When I have thoughts like these, I am thankful for the suffering in my life. In particular, my personal sufferings are mercies in disguise without which I may not be seeking salvation as diligently as I ought.

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"For the sake of His sorrowful passion have mercy on us and the whole world. Amen" -St. Faustina 

New Resolution

I have many new things to look forward to and many new challenges to face. I can't change the past, but I do have control over the present and future.

One of the biggest changes that I am going to make is to stop being lukewarm in my faith.

Christ said to St. Faustina:  These souls wound My Heart most painfully. My soul suffered the most dreadful loathing in the Garden of Olives because of lukewarm souls. There was a reason I cried out: "Father take this cup away from Me, if it be Your will." For them, the last hope of salvation is to flee to My mercy. - Notebook III # 1228

Receiving Christ in the Holy Eucharist and partaking often in the Sacrament of Reconciliation is the best way to become closer to Him. Since I am fortunate enough to live in a time and a place where I can receive Him daily, I am going to put forth the effort to do so. There is no excuse for me not to and all the reasons why I should.

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If you can't physically make it to Mass on the weekdays, you still can enrich your faith by reading/listening/watching the daily Mass readings and homilies.
See: http://www.ewtn.com/devotionals/inspiration.asp