Pray Unceasingly

When I was a little girl, my mother taught me to pray for everything. Whenever I was sad, scared, happy, anxious, thankful, etc., I asked the Lord for His blessings and guidance. From little things like test scores, to major life events , such as job transfers and world peace, I had built up this reliance on prayer, but at the same time, I also knew that I had to do my part to show God that I could help Him to help me.

After I moved from Detroit, I felt so relieved to be finally finished with my training there. I decided ,at that point, that I had already asked God for so much. I could not possibly ask for anything more for myself. I felt that God had a "quota" per day, so to speak, of intentions to answer. As a result, I stopped praying for EVERYTHING. I continued to pray for others, but no longer for myself. I wanted to show God that I could do things on my own, so that He can focus on the intentions of others.

My life afterwards was far less than perfect. I became extremely sad, frustrated and angry. I realized that I could not live life on my own . I needed God's guidance to help me.

God's help came to me by presenting opportunities for me to immerse myself in our parish and my sons' school. Since then, I have become more involved. I became a lector, PTU mom/sons event coordinator, preschool social coordinator, Catholics Welcome Home committee member, operation baking gals ( bakes cookies for our troops overseas), and MOMS group co-coordinator. I feel happiest when I'm serving others in God's name. It brings me such joy to do God's work on earth. It keeps my mind focused on what's most important to me: love of God and love of others.

Now, I continue to pray unceasingly and for everything. I have learned that everything I have and all that I am, I owe to the Lord. God does not keep score of how many prayers we request of Him. His heart is open freely to give all that He has for us.

Teaching Humility

My son, Alex, is 4 years old. He really looks up to his big brother Edwin, age 6. I know that they really love each other, but they also know how to push each others buttons, too. They frequently get into little spats throughout the day. Five minutes later, they're best friends again. It's amazing...
On Saturday mornings, Larry takes the kids to Panera for bagels. On one particular Saturday, Edwin was teasing Alex unceasingly, once again. For punishment, Edwin stayed home with me . I put him in the Corner, an area for naughty boys associated with complete boredom. He cried his eyes out . He knew he was missing out on all of the fun.
When Alex came home, all malice towards Edwin had disappeared. He was so happy to see his big brother! Alex brought Edwin his favorite , a yummy cinnamon crunch bagel!

Edwin was too proud to accept it. He did not understand why Alex would be so nice to him, after all the teasing he had done. Edwin cried even harder.
Of course, Edwin's hunger won him over and he enjoyed his cinnamon bagel.


I learned a lot from both my boys that day. I had a long talk with Edwin . It is truly humbling when someone continues to be kind to us, even when we don't deserve it. As for Alex, he's at that age of innocence when hearts are still pure, when the capacity to be bitter is still nonexistent. I thought of Jesus... He had an immense love for everyone, including those who hurt him. I am in complete awe of his capacity to forgive, and continue to give.


That's something I'd like to teach my children, and even myself, too:
To give freely from our hearts, even when it hurts to do so.
It is definitely not an easy task. If we could focus our lives and hearts on Jesus' example, only then will this be possible.

Thoughts on Anger

My friend, Judy, sent me a quote by Gandhi, "When a man gives way to anger, he only harms himself."
I thought about situations in my life where I just got so angry. Irregardless of whether the anger was justified, it did not bring me any sense of peace. It did not change the person to whom I was angry with. If anything, it brought about a strained relationship. This, unfortunately, permeates everything. People choose sides.

It is amazing how one's words can be so harmful and hurtful. One thing I've realized, is that you're never too old to hurt someone. On the flip side, you're never too old to apologize. You're never too old to learn to be more Christlike in one's actions.

I wrote this quote down on a piece of paper that sits on my desk, and I've committed it to memory, too. I was able to avoid some confrontations a few weeks ago, but unfortunately, not all. I'm definitely not perfect, too old to apologize, or to turn the other cheek.

That's the beauty of having an open mind. It's something we all need.

Palm Sunday Liturgy

I always look forward to the Palm Sunday Liturgy. The Passion of our Lord is recited, with the priest, deacon, and lector having roles in the "play." I have had the honor of participating in this liturgy almost yearly for the past several years.

I take my role as lector seriously. I know that there are a lot of people day dreaming out there, so I try to speak my words with expression to keep people attentive. I try to make eye contact , too, to connect with the congregation.

During the Palm Sunday Liturgy, my lines involve St. Peter's denial of Jesus, Pontius Pilate's condemnation, Judas' betrayal, the crowd freeing Barabas.... well, you get the picture. It really pains me to have to say those thing. I know that we're only retelling the story, but I can't help but feel that I , too, am personally saying these things.

Why this psychological turmoil? Maybe we all have a little bit of Peter, Judas, Pilate, and the angry crowd in all of us. We are all sinners in God's eyes. It's a matter of recognizing that and asking for forgiveness. Luckily for us, God is always ready and willing.

My last line in the narrative is from the Roman centurion, who says, "Truly, this Man was the Son of God." It gives me a chance to redeem myself, to proclaim that Jesus is the Messiah! He willingly suffered and died for us.

The depths of God's love and forgiveness humbles me.