Hey Friends, Happy New Year!
Welcome to 2022.
It has already been an interesting year and we’re only a few days into the new year. On January 1st, it was a humid 75 degrees in Nashville. Now, if you aren’t familiar with Nashville, that is unseasonably warm. I went out to walk around the neighborhood on New Year's Day in a t-shirt and came in warm and sticky. Only 48 hours later the weather dropped more than 40 degrees and we had a significant snowfall. Some areas in Middle Tennessee had 5-7 inches. In our area we had 1-2 inches and it was a beautiful wet snow that stuck in the trees…it was an amazing sight to wake up to.
And 2022 gets better…We are quarantined at home with Covid. For the past 22 months, we have managed to avoid it, but the New Year brought Covid.
So full disclosure, I am recording and publishing this podcast from my office at home. I’ve never done this before. My amazing friend, Shawn, usually helps me, but this week it is just me. I usually record in his studio and then he works his magic to make it sound amazing. So, we’ll see how it goes this week!
Before we get started with today’s podcast, I want to tell you what we are focusing on in the Academy for the first quarter of 2022. If you don’t know, The Academy is my on-line membership for women. As a Catholic Life Coach, I help women strengthen important relationships so they can experience more joy, freedom and self-confidence. For the next few months, we are going to focus on the relationship that you have with yourself. When you strengthen this relationship it pours blessings into all of your other relationships. Now, you might think it is selfish to just focus on yourself, but in the Academy the connection is created within your faith life.
Here is what you will accomplish in the first quarter...
* You will look within yourself to uncover your most common thoughts and beliefs.
* Identify the lies of the enemy in order to remove the strongholds in your life that prevent you from experiencing God's abundant love and freedom.
* Create the life of your dreams by setting goals and learning how to accomplish them.
* Embrace all of your emotions so that you can feel joy and peace in all of life's circumstances.
* Connect on a deeper level with Christ by creating a prayer routine that fits in your schedule.
* Experience inner healing by allowing God's light to shine on your most broken places.
To learn more about the academy and how it would benefit you, go to www.catholiclifecoachacademy.com and click on the link for The Academy.
Alright, let’s get started
Over the next four weeks I am going to share a series of podcasts with you about the 4 pillars of life. That is how I like to picture them in my mind, as pillars. I have also heard of them referred to as buckets or blocks. In this series of podcasts, I will refer to them as pillars.
The pillars are your spiritual life, your mental life, your emotional life and your physical life.
These pillars create the foundation for your life. When each of these pillars are strong, you can be assured you are living an authentic Christian life.
As you explore these pillars over the next month, you may find that some pillars are stronger than others. That is ok! It doesn’t mean that anything is wrong with you. You will experience times in your life where some pillars need attention. The goal is to work on each one so that together the pillars create a strong foundation for your life.
In each week’s podcast, I will share three keys that create strong pillars with ideas and suggestions to strengthen that specific pillar.
This week we are going to look at the spiritual pillar.
I believe it is the most important pillar to build your life upon…your faith and love of God.
Just a note, each week in the podcast notes I will attach a “reflection” sheet for you to reflect and examine each pillar in your life. Once you’ve listened to the podcast, this is a great tool that you can use to see the strengths and weaknesses of each pillar. The reflection sheet will also help you create a game plan to strengthen that particular pillar.
Here are some questions you can reflect on.
What does your spiritual life look like?
Are you intentional about spending time in prayer?
Is prayer a priority in your life or something you hope to have time for?
If you rated the strength of your spiritual pillar on a scale of 1-10, how would you rate it?
Keep those questions in mind during this podcast.
I want to share three keys that I’ve discovered to building a strong spiritual pillar.
The first key to building a strong spiritual pillar is “time.”
Think about an important relationship in your life. That relationship grows and flourishes when you spend time with that person. You don’t create an intimate relationship immediately, it takes time.
The same principle applies to your relationship with Christ. To change and grow as a Christian, you have to set aside time on a regular basis with Christ. It is easy to get into the habit of using prayers as a means to get what you want by simply going to God when something is wrong or you really need something to work out. God tells us to bring everything to him, so it is a start, but you need more..lots more. Imagine if you only talked with your spouse, children or your friends when you needed something from them. Do you think that nurtures a healthy relationship? The same is true with God, just talking without listening to him won’t build much intimacy or connection.
Spending time with God creates that connection. That connection is created through prayer and strengthens your spiritual pillar.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church states,
Prayer is both a gift of grace and a determined response on our part. It always presupposes effort. The great figures of prayer of the Old Covenant before Christ, as well as the Mother of God, the saints, and he himself, all teach us this: prayer is a battle. Against whom? Against ourselves and against the wiles of the tempter who does all he can to turn man away from prayer, away from union with God. We pray as we live, because we live as we pray. If we do not want to act habitually according to the Spirit of Christ, neither can we pray habitually in his name. The "spiritual battle" of the Christian's new life is inseparable from the battle of prayer. (CCC 2725)
The world is constantly pulling you away from God. In order to have a strong spiritual pillar, you have to make an effort to move towards God and that movement begins with an intentional prayer time.
I remember a prayer that my grandmother taught me years ago. She would get little prayer books in the mail and I loved looking at the pictures and reading the prayers. Even as a young girl, there was one prayer that spoke to me. I remember memorizing the prayer and reciting it to anyone who would listen. The prayer went something like this…
Time to Pray
I woke up early one morning
and rushed right into the day;
I had so much to accomplish
that I didn't have time to pray.
Problems just tumbled about me,
and heavier came each task.
"Why doesn't God help me?" I wondered.
He answered, "You didn't ask."
I wanted to see joy and beauty,
but the day toiled on, gray and bleak;
I wondered why God didn't show me.
He said, "But you didn't seek."
I tried to come into God's presence;
I used all my keys at the lock.
God gently and lovingly chided,
"My child, you didn't knock."
I woke up early this morning,
and paused before entering the day;
I had so much to accomplish
that I had to take time to pray.
Author unknown
I’ve thought about this prayer often over the years. When I find that everything is going wrong or if I am frustrated and impatient, it usually means that I didn’t start my day in prayer. Now, to be clear, just because I pray, things still go wrong, but prayer centers me on God. It reminds me that he is in control, not me…no matter how hard I try to control the situation. In prayer, I can give Jesus my troubles and trust that he will work everything out for my good, even the most difficult situations.
Here is a challenge for you this week. Create a dedicated prayer time each day. Look at your day and decide when you can set aside 10, 20 or 30 minutes to focus on your relationship with Christ. Make focusing on God a priority, not something that happens if you have enough time at the end of your busy day. God isn’t picky about where or how you pray, he just wants your undivided attention and focus. You might be surprised at which fruits come from your prayer life. You might experience more trust and less fear, more peace and less worry, more joy and less despair. Give it a try and see how it changes your life. You just might be surprised at how generous God can be when you are open to his presence in your life.
How do you pray? Prayer can be a simple conversation with God, reflecting on a verse from the Bible, praying the Rosary, reading a devotional or reciting a prayer.
I love this quote from St. Faustina about prayer,
Prayer -A soul arms itself by prayer for all kinds of combat. In whatever state the soul may be, it ought to pray. A soul which is pure and beautiful must pray, or else it will lose its beauty; a soul which is striving after this purity must pray, or else it will never attain it; a soul which is newly converted must pray, or else it will fall again; a sinful soul, plunged in
sins, must pray so that it might rise again. There is no soul which is not bound to pray, for every single grace comes to the soul through prayer.
The second key to building a strong spiritual pillar is attending Mass on Sunday. It is the most important thing that you do each week. Mass is the source and summit of your faith. Mass is where you are fed and strengthened for your daily journey. It is crucial for a strong spiritual pillar. Imagine dating someone and only seeing them for an hour here and there or allowing other “things” to be more important than spending time with them. The relationship probably wouldn’t last, right?
Think about this, what if you only ate a meal once or twice a month. What would happen to your physical body? You’d grow weak, right? You wouldn’t be able to function normally. You wouldn’t have the energy to work, take care of your family or simply enjoy life. This is what happens to your spiritual life unless you are feeding it or strengthening it. Mass feeds your soul and strengthens your spiritual pillar. This pillar is fortified in Mass by repenting for your sins, thanking God for your blessings, hearing the Word of God, listening to the homily, praying for the intentions of others, receiving the Holy Eucharist and leaving Mass with the final blessing as you go back into the world.
Our Catholic identity is wrapped up in the understanding the Holy Eucharist. It is referred to as Holy Communion, because by this sacrament we unite ourselves to Christ, who makes us sharers in his Body and Blood to form a single body. Nothing is more important than being in communion with God and receiving Him in this Holy Sacrament.
If you aren’t attending Mass each Sunday, try making it a priority. Even if your to-do list is a mile long, put Mass at the top. One of my favorite parts of the Mass is the Offertory. It is during this time that I offer all that I have and all that I am to God. That includes the good, the bad and the ugly. I place all of my worries, fears, prayers for my family or whatever I am struggling with in the chalice, knowing that Jesus is present in the Sacrament. I offer myself to God, my works, my joys, my plans…everything is offered to God so that all of my actions are in union with him. I always feel a sense of peace knowing that he is present. Receiving the Eucharist, I am connected and filled with Christ.
Here are a few quotes from saints about receiving the Eucharist
St. John Paul the II, wrote, Receiving the Eucharist means entering into a profound communion with Jesus. “Abide in me, and I in you” (Jn 15:4). This relationship of profound and mutual “abiding” enables us to have a certain foretaste of heaven on earth. Is this not the greatest of human yearnings? Is this not what God had in mind when he brought about in history his plan of salvation? God has placed in human hearts a “hunger” for his word (cf. Am 8:11), a hunger which will be satisfied only by full union with him. Eucharistic communion was given so that we might be “sated” with God here on earth, in expectation of our complete fulfillment in heaven.”
St. John Paul II, Mane nobiscum Domine 19.
How many of us are guilty of going to Mass on Sunday and then checking off the spiritual box for the week? I know I’ve been there! A strong pillar includes prayer, Mass and the third key…reading Scripture.
The third key to building a strong spiritual pillar is reading the Word of God. The best way to get to know God is to read his Living Word. The bible can seem intimidating and hard to understand, but all you have to do is simply open the Bible and begin reading. Allow God to speak to your heart. You’ll be amazed at the hope and encouragement He will offer you in Scripture.
One of my goals this year is to listen to Fr. Mike Schmitz’s Bible in a Year Podcast. Fr. Mike reads from the bible and then offers a reflection that brings a better understanding of the Holy Word and provides real life applications for Scripture.
Reading God’s Word keeps you grounded. It is very easy, in the hustle and bustle of life to lose touch with who you are in the eyes of God. When you take time to read Scripture each day, it keeps you grounded, reminds you of who you are and what is important. Reading Scripture helps you to recall, each day, that Christ is present in your life. In Scripture, you see how God reveals his love to countless people in many different circumstances time after time. It is the same love that he has for you. Remember the song, Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so!
Scripture is also where you can go to renew your mind. As a Catholic Life Coach, one of the skills that I teach my clients is how to manage their mind. I show them how to take their thoughts captive so they can determine which thoughts are true and which thoughts are lies. This is powerful because it allows you to control your thoughts, which in turn controls the direction of your life. Scripture is a great place to renew your thoughts. It opens the door so that you can see what is true and good vs. what the world or the enemy wants you to believe. When you combine prayer, the Sacraments, especially the Holy Mass, and reading the Word of God, you will create a strong spiritual pillar.
When I was teaching kindergarten, I loved to teach my students a little song about the wise man and the foolish man. They probably didn’t understand it completely, but that little song is powerful.
The lyrics are based on Matthew 7.
The wise man built his house upon the rock
The wise man built his house upon the rock
The wise man built his house upon the rock
And the rains came tumbling down
The rains came down and the floods came up
The rains came down and the floods came up
The rains came down and the floods came up
And the house on the rock stood firm
The foolish man built his house upon the sand
The foolish man built his house upon the sand
The foolish man built his house upon the sand
And the rains came tumbling down
The rains came down and the floods came up
The rains came down and the floods came up
The rains came down and the floods came up
And the house on the sand went splat
At the end of the song we would sing that the foolish man’s house went splat while clapping and stomping. The point of this little song is to make sure that your life is built on the strong pillar of faith so that when a storm comes up and you know they will. you remain firm not matter what is going on around you.
Let’s pray:
Lord, thank you for the gift of our faith. Thank you for desiring a relationship with us and always welcoming us back even when we stray. Lord, we ask that you reveal to us the ways that we can strengthen our spiritual pillar. What do we need to do to grow closer to you so that you are the rock on which we build our lives? Open our hearts and minds to the miracle that takes place at Mass. Help us to recognize the beauty of the Eucharist and the gift it is in our lives. Lord, please bless our families, especially those who are sick with Covid. Please bless the doctors and nurses who have worked so hard over the past few years to care for the sick. Please give them strength for their journey. In Jesus, name we pray. Amen
Don’t forget to go to the podcast transcript to download the reflection sheet for this week. This tool will give you insight into where you can strengthen your spiritual pillar.
Alright friends, stay happy, healthy and holy until we meet again next week.
