WORDS TO THE WHYS
The truth will make you odd. Flannery O’Connor
10 Additional Ways To Become Holier This Advent
- Take care of the little things (even when you're exhausted): do the dishes; clean the bathroom; sweep the floor; tidy the living room; clean your bedroom. Practice charity at home, toward your wife and kids, toward siblings and parents, toward a roommate, toward a landlord.
- Give to the poor: donate food and/or cash to a food bank.
- Volunteer at a food bank; pray silently - or if opportunity presents itself, pray with others - for the needs of each person you encounter. Accompany every task with prayer; give thanks to God for the opportunity to serve our brothers and sisters.
- Reach out to a coworker who is difficult to get along with. Acknowledge something good, however seemingly insignificant that something might be. Ask them what interests them; listen carefully.
- Go for a walk and acknowledge passersby: catch their eye and say 'hello', or just smile and nod. Remember: the people you encounter are created in the image and likeness of God.
- Give thanks to God for the miserable moments in traffic. Pray, and be mindful of your circumstances.
- When you hear a police or ambulance siren, say a prayer: (make the Sign of the Cross) "Father, please watch over our emergency workers and those in their care. In Jesus' Name. Amen."
- Be mindful of your thoughts. When tempted, turn your mind to God and ask for the grace to be grateful for truth, goodness and beauty. You might also pray the following well known prayer: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner."
- Donate to a worthy cause. Visit, for example, Nasarean.org, founded by Father Benedict Kiely "which provides aid and advocacy for persecuted Christians throughout the world". https://nasarean-org.myshopify.com/
- Confront in yourself one of your worst fears and ask God for the grace to help you find relief and freedom from any past or present hurt or situation that is disabling your heart and mind. Ask a saint such as Saint Stephen, Protomartyr of the Church, to intercede for you. Be open to the possibility that a flood of emotions might precede healing, understanding and growth.
and... trust in Jesus always!
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EZEKIEL 44:23
They shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the common.
POPE LEO XIV Magnifica Humanitas
Even in the darkest nights, the Lord raises up men and women who refuse to give up, who persevere in doing good, who protect the vulnerable and open pathways to reconciliation. The memory of the saints, righteous people and the oft-forgotten peacemakers, show us that grace does not magically eliminate conflict, but instead it inspires active resistance to evil and an astonishing creativity in doing good” (paragraph 211).
A PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING TO GOD FOR ONE'S GUARDIAN ANGEL
ALMIGHTY and eternal God, it is fitting to render unto Thee thanks for my guardian angel. At the end of my earthly sojourn, grant, I humbly beseech Thee, that my guardian may accompany me into Thy glorious Presence, there to rejoice with the entire company of heaven, and to offer praise unto Thee for all eternity; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee, Father, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
I doubt not then but innocence shall make false accusation blush, and tyranny tremble at patience.
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