Being Holy in Today's World

When I was in 8th grade, I told my mother I wanted to become a Sister - she said - no I did not.  Being a dutiful daughter, I thought, well, perhaps I don't then - mom should know best.  There has been many times in my life that I have regretted that decision and other times I am thankful for it.  The Sisters had taken me several times that year to the mother house for retreats.  I found the life of a Sister to be inspiring - to be able to spend so much time in prayer, to be so close to the Lord.  To me - they were living holy lives.  But, I've come to understand that taking the veil is not the only way to be close to the Father.

As I looked to the lives of the saints, I wonder how in the world could I ever be at their level of holiness with the Father.  I mean - as a mother and wife there are so many things that can distract you from prayer - the meals to be cooked, beds to be made, bathrooms to be cleaned.  Not to mention working full time while doing it.  There was no way I would even be able find 15 quiet minutes to pray a rosary.  I am sure any parent can relate.

 I feel we are being constantly hit with news, gossip, bad language, etc today we become numb to it. I have to force myself to turn off the TV and put down my phone.  This makes me question "How in the world can anyone be Holy today?"

So, let's ask the question - "Just what is being Holy?"  Is it like the pictures of the saints of old?  Do we need to wander and preach? I don't think so.  There is a need for lots of prayer - but I am not referring to being on our knees before the Crucifix for hours at a time, though there may be a need of that a time or two in our lives.  I am speaking to the realization that everything I did for my family was a prayer - the cooking, the cleaning, the driving to sporting practices and cub scout meetings, all the laundry I did - and trust me - doing laundry for a stinking teenage boy was a true sacrifice to the senses (I believe all parents of teen boys can attest to this) - each and every thing was a prayer to the Lord.  And it is so easy for us to forget that today.

Our lives can be a constant prayer and a path to holiness when we bring the Father into everything we do.  And I believe this is exactly what the saints did.  We only hear about the defining moments in their lives - what we don't hear about is the everyday struggles they faced.  And that is exactly the saints lives we need to strive for on our path to holiness.  It become of letting go of "me" and becoming a person who's focus in on the needs of others.  It is bandaging the skinned knees, baking the last minute cookies for school, and trusting that each time our child leaves the house they will be safe.  It is calling a friend who you know is struggling and cooking the dish for a funeral dinner.  It is everything we do - no matter how great or how small - it all becomes our prayer and a path to holiness.

So the next time you are cleaning the floor or changing the sheets - dedicate your work to the Lord and ask Him to bless the lives of all those who will benefit from your efforts.  Trust me - you will never look at a dirty dish the same again.

Joy and Happiness

We hear in many of the Gospels, Jesus talking about true joy; and this made me wonder - what exactly is true joy.  So, the last time I was with my Spiritual Director, I asked her - what did Jesus mean when he talked about true joy - and isn't joy and happiness the same thing?

Well her answer surprised me a bit, though once I thought about it, it made sense.  Happiness comes from the actions and things of this world - it is a feeling -- as when you look outside to a pleasant sunny morning or perhaps you are in a public place and you look down at your child to see them actually behaving or your husband puts his socks in the laundry without being asked - or even greater - your husband puts his dirty dish in the dishwasher instead of just leaving it in the sink (yes, this would be a wonder and would bring great happiness in my home - lol.)  But all those things which brings happiness is based on the weather and the behavior of another person.  It could be when you score the perfect outfit - or you ordered something on line and when it came it actually fit - trust me - that would be true happiness.  But happiness can be diminished and even disappear by other's actions too.

But joy can only come from the Lord - it has nothing to do with the actions of things in this world - in fact it has nothing really to do with our physical actions - it is a product of God's love for us and of our love for Him.  And that is what it is connected to - Love.  God's love is eternal, unfathomably great - it is always there - it is constant  -- and the more we love God and do His Will - the more joy we receive - for our hearts and souls are then in sync with the Father. And joy - cannot go away based on our mood or our actions - or lack of actions -- it is a permanent fixture.

I can have happiness without great love - you cannot have joy without it.

Well, as I said this all seemed to make sense once I thought about it  - but I wanted to do a little research on joy and happiness.  And I wanted to know what it truly is based on in Catholic teaching- so I turned to two sources - Pope Francis and the Catechism of the Catholic Church.  And here is what I found:

Pope Francis in his homily of May 31, 2014 said "likened this joy given by God to the joy a mother embracing her baby after childbirth, because it is a joy 'purified' by the suffering of labor.  The joy of the Christians, is a 'joy in hope.'"

And in the Catechism I found "Joy can be described as a more complete, ecstatic, consuming passion where happiness is an emotion/a feeling.  Happiness is our response to events in this world/outside influences we find happiness is a response to happenstance, contentment, good luck, prosperity or good fortune, Happiness is connected with pleasure."  CCC 1723, 1720, 301

Pope Francis put joy it in terms all mother's can understand; that immense feeling of new life coming into the world and how it is tied to our hope in the Father; and the Catechism gave a good explanation of happiness and how it is connected with pleasure and not joy.

So, what does all this mean to me right now - right here on earth - typing my blog on my kitchen table?  Well, for one thing - I know that joy is something I want; it is not something I can get by my actions or the actions of others - and I know I want to receive as much of the Father's love as one could receive.  I want to experience complete joy!  And as a bonus - come this Christmas - when we will sing "Joy to the World,"  I will know we are actually singing "God's Love Comes in to the World."