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by Fred C. Wilson III
January 31, 2011
BECOMING A WHOLE PERSON
Our Lord exhorts us to, “Pray always and never lose heart” (Luke 18:1). Reader the state of your soul is of paramount importance. You lose your soul and you’ll really sing the blues. My spiritual director’s in the habit of giving me all sorts of timely religious handouts. I’m going to share with you one titled: ‘The Seven Daily Habits of Holy Apostolic People’ by spiritual writer Rev. John McCloskey. McCloskey is a Catholic priest of Opus Dei. I’ll try to temper this article to the spiritualities of Catholic and Non-Catholic readers.
THE FIRST HABIT we’ll consider is the practice of offering the day to GOD through the recital of the traditional Morning Offering or another suitable prayer. Usually the Offering is said immediately or shortly after rising each morning. It offers up every thought, word, and action as a day long prayer of motion in loving communion with GOD.
THE SECOND HABIT is to pray at least 15 minutes in meditation. I find this hard. I’m so nervous that for me keeping still is an act of faith. I use books of written meditations. You can also search the Internet. It has a large listing of Christian works on silent prayer. You can read passages from the Holy Bible. Let each word, sentence sink in as you absorb every passage of sacred Scriptures. No matter how many works of mercy you perform, the charities you donate your time and money to, Reader if you let your prayer life ‘turn to seed’ (abandonment) you’ll lose whatever religious faith you profess. PRAY ALWAYS!!
THE THIRD HABIT is to dedicate 15 minutes to spiritual reading/study. I’ve said it in former articles collectively American Christians are spiritual illiterates. I’ve witnessed Muslims, communists, and atheists rip Christian faith arguments to shreds in verbal confrontations. The ‘opposition party’ knew their stuff. Those Christians couldn’t touch them when they quoted dogma or recited Biblical passages. KNOW YOUR STUFF!! Knowledge strengthens individual faith, counters ‘enemy attacks,’ and supplies Christian answers to those who are seriously searching for the Truth.
THE FOURTH HABIT is to participate and not just sit in a pew (Sing, people!) in the Eucharistic Liturgy and receive Holy Communion in the state of grace meaning you must be mortal (deadly) sin free. Reader you can’t attend a Presidential banquet in dirty stinky rags. If you don’t know what mortal sin is go on line and type in mortal sin and take things from there.
THE FIFTH HABIT is the easiest to comply with. Saying the Angelus (Regina Coeli during Easter) thrice daily isn’t hard. This Marian prayer has been popular with Catholics for centuries. Though Protestants revere the Blessed Virgin Mary, they don’t generally pray to her. This fine devotion not only praises Momma Mary but highlights some core Christian doctrines (Incarnation and Resurrection of Jesus). The Angelus is to be said in the morning preferably at 6 AM, at Noon, and in the evening with 6 PM the preferred times. The main purpose of this devotion is to keep you in touch with Jesus and reinforce truths of the Christian Faith. A non-Catholic substitute would perhaps be the reading of a short Scripture passage or the recitation of the Lord’s Prayer.
THE SIXTH HABIT is to pray the Rosary. For Catholics no introduction is needed but non-Catholics don’t ordinarily say the Rosary. Critics say the Rosary’s boring and a pre-Vatican II relic of a more supposed ‘superstitious’ time in Catholic history. When I was a kid I suffered from insomnia. It took the Rosary to cure my sleeplessness. Though I no longer suffer from insomnia + praise the Lord + I still have a hard time saying the Rosary. My constant twitchiness makes recitation of the ‘Beads’ difficult. I say my Rosary most days usually 15 minutes before Mass. Perhaps a Protestant substitute would be to devote a few precious moments to reading short passages from the Book of Psalms, a brief moment of silence, or read a short ‘minute meditation’ to remain focused in Christ and life’s essentials.
THE SEVENTH HABIT is crucial for Christians who’s serious about walking in the shoes of Christ; the NIGHLY EXAMINATION OF CONSCIENCE. The end point of each day should be a thorough mental investigation of the days’ events and its sins. For police officers: ‘Did I do all I could today to perform my duties as a peace officer? Did I use unnecessary force in the performance of my obligation to society?’ For Teachers: ‘How well did I use my teaching time? Did I actively encourage my students to participate in the learning process or did I sit behind my desk reading a newspaper letting my class get out of control?’ For trades’ people: ‘Did I overcharge my clients? Did I perform quality work and save them money?’ See what I mean?
At the conclusion of the nightly examination of conscience should be a recitation of the Act of Contrition. This prayer expresses heartfelt sorrow for sins committed during the day. It’s followed by an act of sincere repentance which includes your promise to avoid future sins. Individual/communal confession is useless if you won’t improve your life.
The purpose of this article was to help you develop and maintain contact with Our Lord 24/7. GOD is to be closer to you than wife/husband, children, family, girl/boy friends, good qualities, cars, and money. For reinforcement read: ‘The Practice of the Presence of GOD’ by spiritual writer/mystic Brother Lawrence. Go to: www.practicegodspresence.com and print out as many copies of this small 20 page classic as you need. They’re FREE!
Here’s another ‘Freebie;’ if you want to read/copy Fr. John McCloskey’s work type in: ‘The Seven Daily Habits of Holy Apostolic People.’ Www.catholicity.com/mccloskey/… has the complete article along with their website devoted to Catholic spirituality for you to peruse.
NEXT EDITION
The next edition of this week’s Mega Scene’s Philippine Adventures will be our annual Valentine’s Day Special, a discussion of sexual mores back home. Till then GOD be with you.
(vamaxwell@yahoo.com)