HOLINESS
IN DAILY LIFE
MEDITATED ROSARY
FIRST DECADE - In this decade let us meditate on Mary and Joseph’s Reaction to Adversity
In our everyday lives, we plan to do all sorts of things – go to the movies, take a vacation, buy a new coat, attend a Pro Sanctity gathering or a meeting in our parish. Then suddenly, one of our children gets sick, our car breaks down, we’re assigned to an urgent project and have to work overtime. Our plans have to be changed and we’re not happy – in fact, we may be very angry.
Mary hoped to give birth to Jesus in Nazareth with Ann and Joachim nearby to help her, but because of the government edict, she and Joseph had to make that long journey to Bethlehem where they couldn’t provide more than an animal shelter for the birth of the Son of God. They were neither comfortable nor safe there, yet their anxiety turned to acceptance because the cave in Bethlehem was where God wanted them to be.
Let us consider that the thing we plan on doing, the place we want to be, may not always be where God wants us to be at that time, and holiness consists in acceptance as we adjust.
SECOND DECADE – In this decade let us meditate on Mary’s Prayer Life
Sometimes our daily lives seem to consist of nothing but rushing from one thing to another. Maybe we can’t avoid the appointments, the meetings, the errands, the duties that keep us constantly on the move. Even many so-called ‘retired people’ live their lives at a pretty hectic pace.
At two critical moments in Mary’s life – after the adoration of the shepherds at Bethlehem and after finding the boy Jesus in the temple in Jerusalem – St. Luke tells us that Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart. (Luke 2:19, 51) That is, she took the time to pray, meditate and reflect on the joys and sorrows that became hers when she gave her fiat at the Annunciation. Without seeking help from the Father, how would she have had the strength to bear them?
As we schedule our activities for each day, let’s be sure to make at least one appointment with God. It may not be long and it may not always be under the most ideal circumstances, but it will draw us closer to holiness by providing the opportunity to reflect in our hearts on our relationship to God, who is all-holy.
THIRD DECADE – In this decade let us meditate on the Charity of St. Thérèse
Today my neighbor’s car blocked my driveway again, the patients in the nursing home where I work were especially cranky, and my cousin called me long distance ‘just to chat’ at 5:30 this afternoon when she knew I’d be preparing dinner.
In her autobiography, Story of a Soul, St Thérèse speaks of some Sisters (without naming them) in her convent who lack good judgment or good manners. They are like people we know who just don’t make life very much to our liking. She then seeks out these very people who are least pleasing to her and offers them a word or a smile, which she says “can often make a sad soul bloom.” She wants to be friendly to all, especially the least amiable sisters, in order to give joy to Jesus who counseled, “…when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind and blessed shall you be.” (Luke 14: 13-14)
What better guide could we have in our daily quest for holiness than St. Thérèse, who attained sainthood by doing little acts of charity throughout her life and still sought opportunities to do more.
FOURTH DECADE – In this decade let us meditate on the Faithfulness of Brother Lawrence, a 16th Century Discalced Carmelite Monk
Even for those of us who are constantly busy, everyday life can sometimes be awfully boring. We may dread the sight of one more pile of dirty laundry, the thought of balancing that checkbook again, or of preparing another meal that the family will gulp down before they run. If only we had something more exciting to do.
Although he strongly disliked working in the kitchen, Blessed Lawrence faithfully fulfilled his duties as monastery cook for many years. He endured this trial, as well as all the other trials of his life, by habitually keeping himself in the presence of God, no matter what he was doing. “Behave very simply with God”, he said, “speak frankly to Him and ask Him for help in things as they happen”.
How clearly the call to holiness is echoed in the last words spoken by Brother Lawrence before his death in 1691: “I am blessing God, I am praising God, and I am adoring and loving Him with all my heart. This sums up our entire call and duty, Brothers – to adore God and to love Him, without worrying about the rest.” (The Practice of the Presence of God)
FIFTH DECADE – In this decade let us meditate on the Spirituality of St. Francis de Sales
I’d like to be able to pray always, as St. Paul exhorts us, but with all the things I have to do each day, how can I? Then there are those days when I feel I could be a great hero and I tell God that if He sent me a serious illness, or some other great suffering, with His grace I could bear it and show Him how much I love Him, but with my humdrum life, how can I really prove my love?
Let us think for a moment on these questions in the light of the spiritual directions given by St. Francis de Sales. (Taken from The Spiritual Directory of St. Francis de Sales compiled and edited in In the Midst of the World: A Call to Holiness) There he tells us about two ways we can pray always: (1) Consecrate to God everything we do each day through our morning offering, a prayer to be said upon rising, and (2) say short, simple prayers many times each day as a means, not only keeping ourselves constantly in His presence, but also of directing to Him the things that we do.
To counteract the need we feel to do great things, St. Francis de Sales says that while great occasions to serve God are uncommon, little ones are always at hand. Every day we have countless opportunities to be kind, gentle, and patient. They will vary in each of our lives, but they are there for all of us as an ideal means to follow the call to holiness.
Written by Rosemary Darmstadt
Prepared by the Pro Sanctity Movement
11002 N. 204th St.
Elkhorn, NE 68022