Dishin’ It Out
A pious and wise person once advised praying with your list of intentions while doing the dishes. You either have your intentions list in your head or written on a piece of paper and placed by the sink where you can see it while washing the dishes. It’s a strategy that gets the dishes done and the intentions prayed for at the same time.
I’ve always thought of that advice as one of the most practical and useful gems I’ve ever come across as a housewife and mom. Who doesn’t want a prayer corner all to herself and a non-negotiable prayer schedule? Sometimes, though, the practical aspects of living the faith do not converge in a frictionless manner, so Plans B surface. And they are not at all bad. It’s the purity of intentions that count in the end…
“A married woman must, when called upon, quit her devotions to God at the altar to find Him in her household affairs.”
What if I don’t do the dishes because I have a dishwasher (actually, I don’t)? Well, there are alternative scenarios, like folding laundered items, reshelving books, or mopping the floor. Any chore that involves repetitive action and does not require too much “technical thinking” so that I can actually dual-task it with my intentions list, will do.
The intentions list can also be the gratitude list, the praise list, or even the text for memorization for the month!
Everything that we do can actually be turned into prayer.
“Let us work. Let us work a lot and work well, without forgetting that prayer is our best weapon. That is why I will never tire of repeating that we have to be contemplative souls in the middle of the world, who try to convert work into prayer.”
And healthy and balanced doses of verbal or mental prayer and “action prayer” are always good prescriptions, right?
How do you keep up with prayer
when everyone in the family
demands your attention the minute you get up
(or even before you do)?
Marcia has five reasons to wake up in the morning — the man of her dreams and the four children that God gave them. She constantly wishes for a cleaner and more orderly home, but understands that this goal needs constant tweaking. One day, she will devote a lot of time to her sewing. She just hopes that she is not yet half-blind or arthritic then! She blogs at Imperfectly Living a Dream.
Pondering the mysteries: The third Luminous Mystery, The Preaching of the Kingdom
Emily | A Year of Living Adventurously
This is one of those mysteries that you can ponder for a long time and never quite finish pondering it. The “preaching of the kingdom” covers just about everything in the gospels: the Sermon on the Mount, the parables, the cures, the Loaves and Fishes, the Bread of Life discourse–all of Jesus’ preaching and activities. In that sense, it’s an easy mystery to pray, because you can pick your favorite image or story or event and meditate on that.
But I think it’s also fruitful to use this to ponder our own sense of mission. For nuns and sisters, it’s their prayer and their apostolate that is their preaching. For married women, it’s their married life, and growing in holiness with their husbands; for a mother, it’s taking care of her family, and raising her kids to know God and to be devout Catholics. For the single, it can be a little harder, but we are all called to holiness, to prayer, and to bringing that to the world.
In the Dominican order (of which I am a part), we believe that you must fill your own well first, then bring it to others. St. Thomas Aquinas gave us the phrase ‘contemplate and share with others the fruit of your contemplation.’ So we have to pray, study, and live the Gospel ourselves before we can go out and give it to others. In secular parlance, you can see it as having to take care of yourself, before you can take care of others.
We can see this clearly in the second Greatest Commandment: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” As yourself. How do you love yourself? Do you take care of your spiritual, physical, and emotional needs? Do you beat yourself up constantly, thinking that everything you do is wrong, that you are unlovable?
Meditate on this mystery and realize that God loved us so much that He sent His Son to us. That is immense, unchangeable love! God loves you as you are. You are so important to Him. Go to Him in prayer, in study, in lectio, and fill your own well. Realize that God has placed you here to serve Him and preach to others in your own unique way.
St. Teresa of Avila said that she found God among the pots and pans. In that same way, Jesus went among our pots and pans–our daily lives–and ministered. He preached everywhere He went. He used the basic things of life–loaves and fishes, bread and wine–to work His miracles.
In our own lives, we can preach in the most basic things. Doing our jobs well, making dinner for our family, even having coffee with a friend and providing a listening ear. Everything we do can be sanctified, and we don’t need to pass out tracts to do it.
Holiness is attractive–real holiness. That’s something we can work toward.Jesus preached the kingdom to us so that we could know it, know HIm and His Father, and then follow Him. Following involves telling others what we have heard and seen.
In 10 days we’ll celebrate Easter. Mary Magdalene on that morning ran back to the Apostles and said that Christ has risen. She brought them news of the kingdom, indeed. Let’s realize how much God loves us, and use that love to motivate us to preach the kingdom in our own small corners of the world.
Book Club::Holiness for Housewives and Other Working Women
Good Evening Ladies. Habemus Papam! God Bless Pope Francis! (Am I the only one who cannot say “Pope Francis” without saying “Pope Saint Francis?”)
Have you started reading our book club selection for the month yet? I remember reading Holiness for Housewives: And Other Working Women
In the introduction, the author states this book is for women, “…although burdened with the cares of the household, are anxious to serve God seriously and advance in the practice in of prayer.”
Hmm…”…anxious to serve God seriously…” I have to say that stopped me quick. I am anxious about many things (Just call me Martha).
But am I anxious to serve?
Am I anxious to serve God?
Am I anxious to serve God seriously?
I am telling you all, this book is coming along at the right time in my life. Have I told you I’m tired? See I can do that here. I don’t have to put on my Walmart face in front of you all. I can tell you I’m tired and your response is not going to be, “Well, you know what causes that (meaning children) and there are ways to stop that you know!” No, your answer is going to be about grace. And I’ll take your grace and raise you some grace and not one of us will fold in this wonderful game of life will we?
“If the mother looks upon her children as obstacles to the prompt response to grace, she is missing the whole point.”
Holiness for Housewives: And Other Working Women
And thanks be to God there is this awesome community here at Suscipio that will make sure to gently remind each other, what exactly the whole point is.
“The only thing that really matters in life is doing the will of God. Once you are doing the will of God, then everything matters…So if God wills that you should be bowed over the sink instead of over the pew in your favorite church, then washing dishes is for you, now, the most perfect thing you can do.”
Holiness for Housewives: And Other Working Women
WOW! How does that change things sisters?
So since God wills I should be changing a diaper–it is the most perfect thing I can do…unless I complain and act grumpy and then there is no perfection in that menial act. Oh get this! My attitude towards the Will of God can either sanctify (Definition:hold in highest esteem Synonyms:absolve, anoint, bless, cleanse, consecrate, dedicate, deify, enshrine, glorify, hallow, purify, set apart, worship) my actions or make them a menial task to begrudgingly get over with and move on to the next unhappy chore of life.
When Emily mops, her act of submitting to the will of God to mop her apartment, glorifies God.
When LuAnne prepares her music, that task becomes worship of God.
I hope we make it through this book in a months time, but it seems like the next sentence is better than the last!
“The whole business of serving God becomes simply a matter of adjusting yourself to the pressures of existing conditions. This is the particular sanctity for you. You will be tempted to say that it is impossible to serve God while worrying about the upkeep of a house; you will tell me that you get so irritable that you cannot see this principle of substituting your present duty for the envied prayer time; you will point out your inability to direct your intention toward God when you are so exhausted that you cannot think; you will quote your repeated failures, your bitterness, your manifest decline from what you were before you came to be overwhelmed with household cares. You will say you are unsuited temperamentally, physically, spiritually, by training…But none of these things disqualifies. It can only be repeated that your whole business is still to look for God in the midst of all this. You will not find Him anywhere else. If you leave your dishes, your housekeeping, your telephone calls, your children’s everlasting questions, your ironing, and your invitations to take care of themselves while you go off and search for the Lord’d presence in prayer, you will discover nothing but self.” (emphasis mine)
Holiness for Housewives: And Other Working Women
Ok, it’s getting late. So, what do you think about the book so far?
Share your tips on sanctifying your work.
Pondering the Mysteries: The Second Luminous Mystery–The Wedding Feast at Cana
Emily | A Year of Living Adventurously
I would not have wanted to be a first century wedding planner.
Instead of an event that last a day, these weddings went on for multiple days. People knew how to party in first century Israel. And anyone who’s ever planned a party knows that the two most important things you have to provide are drinks and food. What humans like hasn’t changed that much.
And you also had one heck of a guest list. No wimpy “plus ones” at these events. Jesus was there with Mary and all the disciples. Can you imagine that today? “Miriam? Hi, this is Mary, down the road…we’d love to come to Elizabeth’s wedding. My son will be coming, and about twelve of his closest friends…”
So we have the wedding. And then we have the party–a days long party.
With apparently very bad planning, because the wine ran out. Early.
At these parties, you started with the best wine you had, and then, as people “enjoyed themselves”, the wine got progressively “less good”, shall we say. It was prudent not just monetarily, but after a day or so of drinking, people probably weren’t noticing the quality anymore.
But at this wedding, there was no wine, of any vintage. Imagine the scene in the classic film A Christmas Story, after the dogs have devoured the holiday turkey: “No turkey! No turkey gravy! Or gallons of turkey soup! Gone, all gone!”
The wine was indeed gone. All gone.
Now, Mary had probably thrown a few parties in her day, or watched her mother do it. There was probably a party when she and Joseph became officially engaged. And like many seasoned hostesses, she didn’t panic. She simply turned to her son and said, “they have no wine.”
Now Jesus, like sons (and daughters) throughout the ages, had a little “do I have to” moment. (Remember, Jesus was human, in all ways but sin). “My hour has not yet come.”
Mary ignores this, and calls over the servants. “Do whatever he tells you,” she says. Then, Jesus performs his first miracle–he turns the large jugs of water into wine. And not just any wine–wine so good that the chief steward is amazed at its quality.
This is a “fun” miracle. No one’s life hangs in the balance, but the appearance of the wine saves the hosts from a lot of embarrassment that would probably be mentioned at every social gathering until the Second Coming. (It’s a quirk of human nature that we remember the ‘imperfect’ parties, but not the perfect ones.) But it’s also a nice reminder that Jesus and Mary care about the small events of our lives, things like parties and celebrations. We can turn to them in all times, when we need a healing, but also when we just need a party to come off without the turkey falling on the floor or someone spilling red wine all over the carpet, or the kids destroying the leather couch or the basement dry-wall.
Jesus and Mary were involved in every aspect of humanity, and that included the social aspects. In Lent, we’re probably not throwing a lot of parties. But we can remember that our heavenly family cares about everything we do, even our feasts.
Catholicism isn’t just a religion of the cross, although that’s an important aspect. It’s as Hilaire Belloc said: “Wherever the Catholic sun doth shine/ there is always laughter and good red wine.”
Contemplating the Mysteries: The Baptism in the Jordan
Emily | A Year of Living Adventurously
The Baptism of the Jordan begins the Mysteries of Light, or the Luminous Mysteries, given to us by Blessed Pope John Paul II in October of 2003. It’s the only change, really, that’s been made to the rosary in its long history.
Before my transplant, my parents asked me what mysteries of the rosary they should pray. I said they should start with the luminous, because they’re my favorite.
Looking at this mystery, we can ask, “why did Jesus even need baptism? He’s perfect, right? Why is this necessary?” Jesus himself gives us the answer in the Gospel of Matthew:
“Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized y him. John would have prevented him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?’ But Jesus answered him, ‘Let it be so now: for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.’ Then he consented.” Matthew 3: 13-15, RSV
“To fulfill all righteousness.” Jesus doesn’t need John’s baptism, and John knows it. But just like the Virgin Mary didn’t need purified in the Temple after Jesus’ birth. But Jesus didn’t shun the outward signs of faith and belief. So why, then, the baptism?
To show us what we need, that we may imitate him. As we imitate Jesus when we honor his mother, and partake of the Eucharist, so we do so when we baptize our children, and repent of our sins.
Ash Wednesday is quickly upon us. On that day, at Mass, the priest will mark our foreheads with ashes and say, “Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel.” This is an echo of what John said and did during his ministry–he called his people to repentance, and to believe in God’s word. He prepared the way for Christ, so that when Christ appeared, he could say, “This is the Lamb of God. This is one you should follow, not me. I am only his messenger.”
We tend to discuss John more in Advent, but he also deserves our attention in Lent. We are to prepare the way for Jesus now, just as we did in December. Lent and Advent are both penitential seasons. Are we preparing, or starting to think about preparing?
John, from the moment he met Christ, He was ready for him. He was always prepared to welcome him. Are we? What can we do to make our lives more open to God, so we too can fulfill all righteous, and fulfill our baptismal promise?
How do we prepare the way of the Lord?
St Martha Novena Prayer
There are those days…those days when prayer is your only recourse and you wish someone would do it for you. You need to be lifted up in the hopes of getting just a little bit closer to God the Father. But you’re tired and weary and worn and beaten down. So you wish someone would come along and hold you up…’cause you can’t hold your self up any longer.
Let’s be that support for each other. Let’s set aside Tuesdays to pray for each other in community. Let’s run to the feet of Saint Martha, a woman who worked and worried in our Lord’s physical presence. Let’s recommend ourselves and our sisters in Christ to her. {Tuesdays have been traditionally set aside as a devotional day to St Martha.}
Here is the novena prayer, asking the intercession of St Martha for each of us here at Suscipio. After all, our very name means to encourage, support and maintain, so let’s have a plan to do just that.
If you have a prayer intention stop by on Tuesdays and leave it in the comments. {This post will re-run each Tuesday morning as a reminder.}
St Martha Novena Prayer
There are those days…those days when prayer is your only recourse and you wish someone would do it for you. You need to be lifted up in the hopes of getting just a little bit closer to God the Father. But you’re tired and weary and worn and beaten down. So you wish someone would come along and hold you up…’cause you can’t hold your self up any longer.
Let’s be that support for each other. Let’s set aside Tuesdays to pray for each other in community. Let’s run to the feet of Saint Martha, a woman who worked and worried in our Lord’s physical presence. Let’s recommend ourselves and our sisters in Christ to her. {Tuesdays have been traditionally set aside as a devotional day to St Martha.}
Here is the novena prayer, asking the intercession of St Martha for each of us here at Suscipio. After all, our very name means to encourage, support and maintain, so let’s have a plan to do just that.
If you have a prayer intention stop by on Tuesdays and leave it in the comments. {This post will re-run each Tuesday morning as a reminder.}
Learning to Give Thanks for the Hard Days
LuAnne | Winterpast Family
That day started out like almost like any other. A bit too early, a bit too cold. The middle of January is like that.
Socks and books and papers strewn all over and crumbs still needing to be swept up. Just life, really.
Life as I know it. It’s usually all good, really. I don’t usually have much trouble counting up blessings at the end of the day.
But that day the emotions of three teenagers seemed perilously close to the surface and the ordinary back-and-forth bickering turned into fighting and angry words bubbled up and burst out without warning.
And I asked the “why?” again and again to those three boys who are fast working their way to manhood.
“Why fight over this trivial thing?”
They don’t answer. They don’t seem to notice me. They don’t seem to notice anything but their anger and I don’t really understand and I ask again “why must you fight”, but it seems that I might as well ask the wind why it has to blow, because I don’t get any answers.
Boys-nearly-men have their own agendas. That I know nothing of.
Agendas that include one-ups-man-ship, or whatever it is that my dad and their dad calls it. To find their place in the world of men. I guess.
I still don’t understand.
I question myself. Question my mothering.
Of course I do. Because that’s what I do. Because I raised them and shouldn’t they know BY NOW not to throw mud at each other?
I quiet. Stop asking questions because obviously I don’t have the words. I whisper prayers instead. Silently. I beg Him for the words I need to say. I don’t hear them.
I do hear the slam of a door. Two. Three.
And I question – can even this day be a good day? Can I take this – this day that God gives me – and thank Him for it?
I should. I know I should. “In all circumstances give thanks” He says and I know He means the “all” part just as much as the “thanks” part.
I just don’t know how to do it.
I sweep crumbs and swallow words because I don’t really know what words to say. I whisper prayers inside for grace and peace and the words to say, but I don’t hear the words.
I do hear the stomping of feet.
And then the opening of a door. Two. Three.
I hear what sounds an awful lot like boys talking – not yelling.
I plunge hands into warm water brimming with bubbles and start to scrub the dried egg off of the breakfast plates. Try hard not to listen to what’s coming from upstairs. Try to brace myself for more slams.
I don’t hear them.
I hear feet running down stairs. Into the living room.
I scrub on.
And when I finish with cleaning the morning’s mess, picking up socks and books and papers, I wipe tears from the eyes as I hear apologies spoken from three sets of lips that are fast approaching manhood.
And I question myself. Question my mothering.
Of course I do. Because that’s what I do. Because I raised them and I should know by now that they know by now. Because everyone makes mistakes and how amazing that we can say we’re sorry and be forgiven and know that this is how love works.
I quiet. I stop asking God for the words to say to my children. Obviously He spoke directly to them.
I start speaking thanks instead.
Stop By and Thank Our Sponsors
Community Button
