The Life of Virtue

The Divine Office, also known as the Liturgy of the Hours, is the Prayer of the Church. As such, ordained men (deacons, priests, and bishops) and consecrated religious people (brothers, sisters, monks, and nuns) take vows to recite the various hours on a daily basis. Thus, there is never a time when someone is not saying this most blessed devotion. For various reasons (one being my love for Holy Mother Church; two being my discernment of a secondary vocation), I have decided to pray a portion of the Divine Office each day. Last year, I began by simply reciting Morning Prayer each day. As time went on, I realized that it would be beneficial to add Evening Prayer to my daily regimen. After several months of that practice, I have begun to pray the Office of Readings and Night Prayer as well. Although it sounds like a lot to try to fit into to my already-busy schedule (and sometimes it is), I have been utterly astonished at the abundance of grace these hours have brought into my life....

The readings for today's celebration of Mass can be found here . After reading them, praying over them, and proclaiming them during today's liturgy, I felt the utmost need to write a brief reflection. Thus... As usual, St. Paul's words to the Church at Rome are meant to help them see the contrast between slavery to sin and true freedom provided by God. As I read this poignant passage, I realized the abundant grace the the Almighty granted me more than three years ago (and has increased every day since). God pulled me out of sin and away from things of which I am now ashamed; from certain spiritual death! The Responsorial Psalm deepened my realization of just how blessed I have been. I have delighted in the law of the Lord and have experienced the freedom He provides. I have seen prosperity where I did not know it could be found. And, I have truly felt that God has been watching over my endeavors rather than allowing me to be like chaff driven away by the wind. Yes! T...

There are a plethora of philosophical, theological, and catechetical topics running about in my overworked brain this afternoon. I suppose I will have to give you a brief glimpse into each of them. 1. God is AMAZING! Today is an absolutely beautiful day: there are few clouds in the sky, which is a perfect shade of blue, and the temperature has receded quite a bit from the last several days. In addition to the weather, God has answered many prayers over the past 48 hours or so. I pray that He will continue that pattern (and that I will recognize those answers.) 2. St. Teresa of Avila is, without question, one of the most brilliant minds that our Church has ever known. A mere half-hour in front of the Blessed Sacrament with Interior Castle has yielded deeper prayer than I have known in weeks. This will do wonders for future classes that I might teach for my parish and diocese. 3. Speaking of courses, I am nearing completion the completion of my first attempt at teaching a surve...

On my way to drop off my son at the babysitter's this morning, I felt myself getting quite frustrated at the other drivers on the road who were "making me late." True enough, some of those drivers may have been doing things that were ignorant or illegal. However, the greater problem (the one that caused me to get annoyed so easily) was my own funky mood! Alas, I began to wonder why I was in such a foul mood this morning (or why I had been unmotivated to work or minister in the last couple of days). It only tood about one nanosecond for the answer to pop into my brain and heart. The only thing keeping me from being in a good mood and motivated to bring people to Christ (other than the unseasonably hot weather in my town) is my erratic, non-structured prayer life. Quite simply, I have not been praying as much as I need to, nor have I been making time to sit in front of the Blessed Sacrament on a regular basis. My lack of prayer discipline is beginning to take effect. ...

Yesterday, I was blessed to participate in a beautiful celebration of Holy Mass, and I followed that time of worship with a short time of Adoration. As I entered the chapel and knelt, I prayed that God would speak to me; that He would reveal to me a way to become closer to Him. He did so very quickly and clearly! (I guess He did so for the sake of my impatience and stubbornness of heart.) For the past several months, I have been slowly reading and praying my way through the Book of Sirach. Chapter 17 was God's answer to my prayer, two verses in particular. I could not have been more sure that the words in verses 25 and 26 were directed squarely at me. "Turn to the Lord and forsake your sins; pray in his presence and lessen your offenses. Return to the Most High and turn away from iniquity, and hat abominations intensely." How much simpler could He make it?! In order to draw closer to the Almighty, I must seek His face in Eucharistic Adoration ("pray in his pre...

On this Feast of St. Therese of Lisieux, I am praying for her intercession. In recent months, I have discerned that I am not very good at being aware of the subtle ways that that God comes to me. Instead of seeing God in others, or in my mundane daily works, I seem to spend more time trying to find communion with Him through meditative and contemplative prayer, through worship, or through spiritual reading. While all of those things are wonderful ways to find that communion after which I long, I am trying to learn that I must seek Him in other, subtler ways. After all, it is near impossible to maintain all of those regular practices and be present to my family or my ministry. So, my prayer to God, through the intercession of St. Therese, is that I can "do little things with great love;" that I can find communion with Him while accomplishing the daily work to which He has called me. Please pray for me while I learn, and pray that you might become more aware of God's su...