Tag Archives: devotion

Glory Be to Whom?

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I’m a big Garth Brooks fan. I was 4 when “Friends in Low Places” came out and that has been my favorite song for as long as I can remember. My dad and I collected all the Garth albums and I jumped at the chance to see him live in 2007. I was absolutely beside myself – after he retired in 2000, I thought for sure that this day would never come. My friends and I dashed to the show, complete with cowboy hats and boots. I’ll never forget the anticipation of his HUGE entrance and hearing that familiar broken chord to my favorite song. We screamed and sang our hearts out – what a GLORIOUS night.

I think most people have some sort of experience like that when it comes to a music artist – they go NUTS at a show. They scream, they cry, they can’t breathe - no wonder EMTs are always on site! That’s for concerts, though. When I’m not breathing the same air as Garth Brooks, I keep the token tracks on my playlist;   I know every lyrics and key change, all the subtle vocal tricks in each verse like nobody else. Plus, Andrew and I want to ensure that Liam is brought up on good, quality music :)

I started thinking though: I love Garth Brooks’s music – his inflection and energy, the steel guitar, the fiddle! But what if I expressed that kind of enthusiasm for the Eucharist? and when I’m not at Mass, what if I maintained that steady flow of contact as if listening to an album over and over? The idea might seem cliche – I know I’ve heard people mention something to this effect before, but really, that kind of overwhelming excitement is meant for GOD. Don’t get me wrong – it’s not bad or blasphemous when I get chills crankin’ up No Fences, but knowing that I should have something more for Someone More is eye-opening. I use Garth for the sake of example, but the passion people have for not just celebrities and things like eating, material possessions, or spending hours on some iToy, is superficial. It’s all fleeting. We are absolutely meant to enjoy the things of this world, but with the perspective that none of them deserve the devotion and love meant for God. Someone infinitely bigger and better than Garth Brooks makes a physical appearance three times a day at the parish around the corner; and, I’m ashamed to say that sometimes I make it seem like a chore to get there. Thank God, that with a little perspective, nothing can size Him up.

“…All things were created by him and for him.” (Colossians 1:16)

Weekly Snapshot:

  • We painted our kitchen! It went from a plain, consuming WHITE to now an obnoxious Barbie Dream House blue. We’ll be painting over it within the next couple of days – still a shade of blue, but something a little softer and more subtle. I have to say, it’s pretty humbling choosing a color and slowly watching it become a mistake.
  • Liam has the BEST sense of humor. Last night he was dying laughing because his feet were sliding out from under him as he was losing his grip on the side of his Pack n Play. We couldn’t get over how amused he was by himself.
  • Lately I’ve been hungry for great fiction. I’m reading The Help right now and just finished Jane Eyre and The Guernsey Literary and Peeled Potato Pie Society – SO good. Finishing a good read can be depressing because I’m left wanting more and I almost never trust another author to do as well; which means I’m delightfully surprised when they do.
  • We finally subscribed to the newspaper for the coupons and last week alone we saved $60 from working some serious deals on stuff that we already use! If you work it, CVS will even pay you to take their merchandise home.

Dusting Off Ambition

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A new post is overdue.

I’m a big project starter. I LOVE projects – in school I loved them and now I love them in my home; but when it comes to keeping up with a personal project, I’m typically a lit match: quick to flare up, quick to burn out. For years I’ve maintained the start-up motivation to keep a regular work-out schedule, journal daily, have a  regular prayer time – you get the gist. And while I might have a good first week with my sparkling endeavors, my persistence lags and the goal dissolves with the newness. I have a difficult time getting over the slump of something once the freshness has faded – am I alone on this one? My goal list is beautifully written with great intentions and bright visions of how my life will be once I start running and praying a Rosary every day – but that life of Accomplished Katie isn’t fully realized.

YET.

I write this in an effort to somehow shield my blog from becoming a dusty old project from way back when. I’m resolved to conquer the slump of Worn Off Novelty and to persist in my reflections on being a Catholic wife. Writing my thoughts, whether they’re read or not, has furthered my endeavors toward happy holiness and servitude to God and Andrew, and now Liam too. Though through other projects I have waxed and waned and let ambition go, this an occasion when I vow to not disappoint myself. I love God and holy marriage and writing – what better way to combine the three?

The idea of New Year’s resolutions tempts me and most years I don’t make even one; so many people set themselves up for failure and disappointment in their quick-starts, and I’m certainly no exception. This year however, as I sit 45 minutes away from New Year’s Eve, I have discovered the key to success is recalling twofold advice: the first, from Socrates, “Know thyself” and the second from the Archangel Gabriel, “For with God nothing will be impossible” (Luke 1:37). In knowing myself, I will be aware of my strenghts and weaknesses and so in establishing a New Year’s resolution based on these, I am really setting myself up for success instead of failure – ESPECIALLY if I submit all my goals to God.

So c’mon 2011 – hit me with your best shot.

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I’m a Chicken

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Reading The Rule of St. Benedict and Mother Teresa’s Humility List has been a big wake-up call. Despite the fact that life has been movin’ right along, I have gotten myself into a bit of a rut of spiritual inaction; but, encountering the saints in this way has been manna for my hungry soul. The challenge in both St. Benedict’s and Mother Teresa’s guidance, however, has been the required further interpretation for married laity. While I’m glad to give it a shot, St. Francis de Sales’s Introduction to the Devout Life offers direct instruction for the lifestyle. 

Chapter 1 blew me away (can’t wait to read 2 & 3!). St. Francis discusses what true devotion is, and I have to confess that his clear definition was entirely fresh to me. I guess I previously thought devotion to be a step or two beyond feeling love for God or another person; much like being in love or knowing with unwavering certainty that you would die for the cause, so to speak. The definition as provided by St. Francis is remarkably simple, yet another challenge from the Church Triumphant:

But, in fact, all true and living devotion presupposes the love of God…for that Love one while shining on the soul we call grace, which makes us acceptable to His Divine Majesty;–when it strengthens us to do well, it is called Charity;–but when it attains its fullest perfection, in which it not only leads us to do well, but to act carefully, diligently, and promptly, then it is called Devotion.  - Part 1, Chapter 1

And there it is. To speak more plainly, true devotion is the love of God in virtuous, unhesitating action. It’s consistent, quick to move, doesn’t think twice, yet makes a considered decision. With only this knowledge I was forced to an examination of conscience. How often I’ve driven for long periods of time and thought to myself, I could say a rosary right now or pray a chaplet. On my way home: I could stop by the adoration chapel. When I start my day: I could read Scripture and journal. But something gets in the way - I get in the way. There’s always the radio, something not-really pressing calling me home faster, or the morning Facebook check. When I was working, I believed all the excuses I made about being too busy or needing to do something else instead of pray; but now that I’m home with a low-maintenance little one, I can’t buy those false justifications anymore. It’s time that I have, and true devotion I lack.

Now for the chicken part:
St. Francis has this great analogy addressing the different types of souls. He says that ostriches don’t fly, chickens fly briefly and rarely, but eagles and swallows soar almost constantly. And so it is with souls – some people never get off the ground because they never focus on God; “well-meaning people” as St. Francis puts it, who haven’t developed true devotion, attempt flight by good actions, but it’s inconsistent and infrequent; and those who are truly devout fly to God swiftly and frequently.

I know I’m a chicken and in retrospect, I think I have been for a good portion of my life. The thing about being an ostrich, chicken, or eagle is that it’s not limited to your spiritual life; the behavior spreads to other areas too. What’s been so freeing, though, is that in coming across St. Francis de Sales’s Introduction and more specifically his definition of devotion, I feel capable of achieving new heights. Now that I know what it is, I can practice it in my relationship with God as well as my marriage. Humility, obedience, and devotion all work together so well. To be a truly devout Catholic or devoted wife, I should strive serve God, serve quickly, and without tooting my own horn.

Weekly Snapshot:

  • Two weeks after my surgery and I’m finally getting back to posting. The procedure went well and I’m relieved that life is returning to normal. I couldn’t lift anything for a couple of weeks, including Liam, so for a few days he was in the care of various local extended family and then my Mom flew in from Omaha to provide an extra set of hands, too. God has been so good to us – I don’t know how we would have managed without so much help and prayers from everyone!
  • I’ve started Christmas shopping! I get such a thrill out of getting good deals and steals, especially on Black Friday. Though I don’t usually brave the die-hard, cut-throat crowds at the mall, I’ve vowed to my sister that I’ll go out with her at whatever early hour this year. I’ve celebrated Black Friday online in my pajamas at 10 a.m. but never 4. Life is about experiences! and I can’t wait!
  • We’re still transitioning from living in an apartment to living in a house – we have so much wall space! I’ve been printing pictures to frame and hanging shelves in any tiny span of free time I get. I have come to understand and believe in the power of 5 minutes.