RosaryMeds

Strong Body, Strong Spirituality

I know you don’t typically visit RosaryMeds for fitness and diet advice. However, with us being in the middle of Lent which is a season of fasting and sacrifice, I thought it would be interesting to discuss how our physical state affects our spirituality.

I think it’s important to reflect on our physical well-being during Lent as we fast and sacrifice. We can reflect on our health every time we refrain from eating that cookie, pastry, candy, soda, or other treat. Are you feeling better from a healthier diet? Are you getting more exercise? Praying more? If you’re feeling better overall, maybe your Lenten practices have something to do with it.

Taking Care of Yourself All Year

I took up the practice of intermittent fasting several months ago. For those who don’t know about intermittent fasting, it’s the practice of not eating anything for 16 hours (typically between 8 PM to noon the next day). At first, it wasn’t easy but it has gotten easier over time as my body has adapted to this new baseline. My labs have never looked better as a result!

I bring up intermittent fasting to show that your Lenten practices don’t need to end on Easter. If your Lenten practices show benefits, whether that be physically, emotionally, or spiritually, then by all means, you should consider extending them. For example, if you gave up soda for Lent, maybe you can continue to cut back on it after Easter. The key is not to give up entirely on beneficial practices when Lent ends. Over the years, Lent has become a great way for me to establish new, healthy habits that extend throughout the years.

Exercise is More than “Looking Good”

At first, exercise and diet may seem like practices geared toward the vanities of this world. After all, one of their aims is to look more attactive. But there’s more to exercise than enhancing physical appearances. You are able to offer more to God when you feel better physically. If you have the endurance and discipline to exercise and resist unhealthy foods, then that develops that same ability to fast, pray, and practice your faith. Furthermore, our physical health aids our mental health. When we feel better physically, our brains can focus on deeper contemplation, meditation, and action of serving God.

Here are some other ways exercise and good physical health positively affect our spirituality:

Boosting mental health: Regular exercise helps reduce stress, anxiety, and depression, which can make us more receptive to spiritual experiences.
Providing space for reflection: Physical exercise can provide a temporary escape from the hustle and bustle of daily life, allowing space for introspection and meditation.
Helping us connect with others: Participating in group fitness classes or sports can increase our social connections, which can contribute to a greater sense of community and compassion.
Providing a sense of empowerment: Achieving physical goals through exercise can boost self-esteem, confidence, and a sense of purpose, all of which can contribute to a deeper sense of spirituality.

The Rosary and Exercise

The fruit of the Second Sorrowful Mystery, The Scourging at the Pillar, is mortification. The word’s Latin root means “death.” Jesus calls us to put to death our sinful habits and vices that are part of our fallen human nature. Lent is a time of mortification. Other Rosary texts refer to the Second Sorrowful Mystery’s fruit as “purity.” Again, the idea is that we make ourselves pure by taking up our crosses and following Christ. We can better handle our “crosses” when we take care of our physical needs. Jesus, by all accounts, was physically strong. That allowed him to persevere through his ministry and Passion.

The scourging was an incredibly torturous practice. Jesus suffered a great deal. While we shouldn’t inflict harm on ourselves or others, our Lenten sacrifices echo this call to embrace hardship to detach us from the riches of this world and focus on the riches of God’s Heavenly Kingdom. When you meditate on the Second Sorrowful Mystery, ask God for the strength to take care of your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health. They all act in concert to bring us into deeper communion with God. Doing so may feel painful, but it’s vital.

The Rosary is a Daily Five-Item “To Be” List

I’m a huge fan of lists, whether “to do”, bucket, thanksgiving, etc. The Rosary can be considered a new type of list, the “to-be” list. The beauty of the Rosary is that it serves as a daily reminder of the type of person God wants us to be. If you pray the Rosary daily, you have an opportunity to review at least five items in your “to-be” list.

When I read news and articles, particularly ones with a list of their own, I often connect them to Rosary mysteries. This way, I solidify the central meaning of the article every time I pray. For example, I read this article on the Five Traits of Resilient Fathers. That immediately got me thinking of how each trait maps to a Rosary mystery. Now I can reflect on each trait, and whether I’m practicing it, whenever I meditate on a particular mystery.

For those who didn’t read the article, here’s the rundown of the five traits parents, fathers in particular, must show. I’ll then show you the Rosary mysteries you can meditate on to remind you of each trait.

CLOTHED IN VIRTUE
READY TO FORGIVE
RULED BY PEACE
STEEPED IN SCRIPTURE
ALWAYS THANKFUL

Clothed in Virtue

In the Fourth Joyful Mystery, it’s hinted that Simeon and Anna spend all their time in the temple praying. Scripture also says that Simeon was a “righteous” man. Put those two concepts together — always praying in the temple = righteous. If we want to be clothed in virtue, we need to be constantly practicing our faith through prayer, attending Mass, and receiving the Sacraments. These are all necessary practices if we are to know what is virtuous and find the strength to live righteously.

Ready to Forgive

Picture Jesus on the cross in the Fifth Sorrowful Mystery. The criminal on his right asks Jesus to “remember him.” He’s essentially asking Jesus for forgiveness which Jesus readily gives. Even in his suffering on the cross, Jesus asks God to forgive the people who are crucifying him. Jesus shows us that we must always be willing to forgive regardless of circumstances or transgression.

Ruled by Peace

Picture Jesus in the Garden of Gesthemene in the First Sorrowful Mystery. Jesus was scared about his coming Passion and Crucifixion. He prayed multiple times that he would do God’s will. The Gospel writers then show everyone losing their minds — Pharisees yelling for Jesus’ crucifixion, apostles scattering in fear, and mobs of people crying or taunting him. And yet, through all of this chaos, Jesus remains calm and level-headed. He had peace about him even when he had every reason to be upset. Peace is the result of earnest prayer, learning God’s will, and asking him for the strength to do it.

Steeped in Scripture

When I was in a summer college seminar, my roommate read the Bible every night before falling asleep. At the time, I thought this was a strange practice. Reading the Bible routinely seemed like something only priests did, not 21-year-old college students. Later in life, I learned the importance of learning the faith through the Bible, Catechism, and other Church writings. When meditating on the Fourth Glorious Mystery, I think about how Mary was assumed into Heaven and helps guide us closer to her son, Jesus. In her apparitions, she instructs us to read Scripture so that we may grow closer in communion with Jesus.

Always Thankful

The word “Eucharist” comes from the Greek word meaning “thanksgiving.” When we pray the Fifth Luminous Mystery, The Institution of the Eucharist, let us remember to give thanks that Jesus is present in our lives. He’s more than just a person who lived 2,000 years ago. He’s here with us today, teaching, healing, and guiding us closer to God. Of the billions of years the universe has existed, we should be thankful that we live in the relatively small sliver of time that humanity has known God through Jesus. And we should be thankful that we have an opportunity to rest in Jesus’ presence whenever we pray in front of the Blessed Sacrament.

There you have it. Five traits and five Rosary mysteries. Hopefully, these mysteries will remind you to practice these traits. Ask God to strengthen you and everyone in the areas you need help.

Add Some Activism to Your Lent

I’ve heard many times that during Lent, you should not only give something up but also do something extra. Maybe that’s extra prayer time. Maybe it’s a commitment to attend Stations of the Cross each week or adoration. Perhaps you vow to make amends with someone or receive the sacrament of Reconciliation. Here’s something else you can add to your Lent — political activism!

Don’t worry, I’m not asking you to superglue your hands to the road to block traffic all the while screaming “Jesus loves you!” This is something much easier and legal — write letters on pressing social issues to Congress. CatholicVote provides this page where you can write to Congress about bills touching on various moral and ethical issues.

CAP Take Action

Current bills open for public comment include:

Pass the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act
Submit an Official Comment to Tell HHS Not to Weaken Conscience Protections
Tell Your Senator to Vote for the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act
Demand Action on Attacks Against Catholic Churches

On the Loop podcast, they urge people to write in their own words. They will carry more weight than ones coming from a template. You never know, perhaps your words will touch the right politician at the right time and nudge them to act appropriately. Unleash your inner writer and let the government know that there are people who want their freedoms protected instead of being attacked.

Listening to the Least of Us

Jesus was no stranger to speaking the truth to power. In the Fifth Joyful Mystery, we see him talking to the elders in the temple as a young boy. They had every reason to dismiss him. After all, when was the last time you gave a child your complete attention? Usually, I smile and nod because what excites a young boy probably doesn’t excite me. But they were captivated by his words and hopefully transformed by them.

Jesus shows us that the truth knows no age restriction. The truth knows no status or education. The apostles went forth preaching in Jesus’ name and they were comprised of fishermen and a tax collector. I encourage you to lay down some truth to our elected representatives. They need to hear from all of us that these issues are important to us.

My apologies to my non-US readers for such a US-centric post.

How to Resist Satan Like Jesus in the Desert

Before I begin, my apologies that my posts always seem to follow various Sunday readings and feast days, not lead. That’s for two reasons. First, I try to avoid creating yet another deadline to meet. The pressure is off if I don’t have to publish an article by a certain date. Second, I usually draw inspiration from other articles and homilies around that feast. Since I try to make my thoughts universal, I hope you find them useful regardless of how far away they are from the event I’m referencing.

Let’s turn toward the readings from the first Sunday of Lent. They all revolve around temptation and sin. In the First Reading, we hear about Adam and Eve succumbing to temptation by eating the forbidden fruit. The Second Reading and Gospel then recount how Jesus defeated Satan by resisting temptations and redeeming us. In the desert, after fasting for 40 days, Jesus defeated Satan three times. We’re going to take a closer look at each temptation and how we can similarly defeat Satan through the Rosary.

The First Temptation

In the first temptation, Satan tries to use Jesus’ hunger after fasting for 40 days as a way to gain power over him. He dares Jesus to turn a stone into bread. Satan appeals to Jesus’ basic need to eat as a way to cause him to fall. Think of how easily Jesus could have turned a stone into bread and the strength he had to muster to resist. And notice how Satan isn’t asking Jesus to do something intrinsically evil. This is how Satan often tempts us — by suggesting something that isn’t outright sinful and easy to fulfill. That gets us started going down the path where we do Satan’s bidding instead of God’s Will.

Consider the First Sorrowful Mystery, the Agony in the Garden. Jesus was at a low moment in his life before his arrest and crucifixion. His spiritual state mirrors his physical exhaustion when being tempted by Satan in the desert. In both cases, he finds strength by calling on God through prayer. Like Jesus in the garden and in the desert, we should always remember to call on God for strength and guidance when we are facing “low” moments in our lives. Those are the moments when Satan will opportunistically tempt us with something seemingly benign as a way to get a foothold of control. We need God’s help to resist the temptations Satan lays before us.

The Second Temptation

In the second temptation, Satan tries to undermine Jesus’ faith in the power of God by asking him to throw himself off a cliff to have angels catch him. He challenges Jesus to “prove himself” as the Son of God. Ironically, Jesus does prove himself by rejecting Satan’s challenge. Jesus shows that Satan has no influence over someone when he is closely connected to God. Anyone in this state of grace has no need to prove God’s power as it will be self-evident in your resolve to resist sin.

Think about Jesus during his Crucifixion in the Fifth Sorrowful Mystery. You have people around him doubting his divinity. The condemned man next to Jesus, in a very similar manner to Satan in the desert, tells Jesus that if he’s the Messiah, to save him and himself. Maybe the same thoughts went through the other man on the cross, but he had enough faith to ask Jesus to humbly remember him. One person demanded proof. The other asked for mercy and forgiveness. We are like the people gathered around Jesus on the cross. Do we doubt God’s abilities and demand proof or have faith in his awesome power?

The Third Temptation

In the third temptation, Satan tries to appeal to the human desire for wealth and power by offering Jesus all the wealth and power in the world. This is rather naive of Satan to assume that Jesus would have the same weaknesses as us. Like in sports, Satan knows that Jesus has defeated him and this is his last chance to try to cause Jesus’ fall. Maybe he couldn’t see past his own selfish desire for power to see that Jesus isn’t motivated by the same thing. There’s no logic, philosophy, or appeal to Scripture in this case. Satan hopes that appealing to greed might eek him a victory. Of course, this last desperate attempt fails.

The fruit of the Third Joyful Mystery, the Nativity, is detachment from worldly possessions. Satan is ever present trying to turn us away from God by appealing to our base desires — greed, lust, sloth, and gluttony. For those less prepared to battle Satan, these are powerful tools that Satan wields to control someone’s soul. This is why praying the Rosary, receiving the sacraments, and forming a tight relationship with God are so important. Satan cannot wield control over us via our base desires when we are focused on the higher desire of living in God’s grace and, one day, Heaven.

If you want to read a great analysis of Jesus’ temptation in the desert and the reality of Satan in our lives, I highly suggest reading Fr. Robert Spitzer’s Christ Versus Satan in Our Daily Lives. It’s the first book of a trilogy that I’m currently reading. He does such a great job of laying out the reality of Satan’s influence through the eight deadly sins and the ways we can fight against them. I’m sure many of the ideas in this article were inspired (and maybe unintentionally used) by his book.

We Cannot Sacrifice Truth for Inclusiveness

This is such a great letter that I felt like I needed to post it on RosaryMeds without much commentary. I think Bishop Naumann does a great job of explaining why the Catholic Church can’t sacrifice truth in the name of inclusiveness. We need to remember that our faith isn’t some TikTok video trying to grab “likes.”

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253629/archbishop-naumann-response-to-cardinal-mcelroy-sexual-morality

If we authentically live the Catholic faith, then we are living in an inclusive way. Bishop Naumann does a great job of explaining why we need hold firm to the truth and not bend to society’s ever-twisting norms.

Don’t Think of Confession as Psychological Therapy

Getting to the Point

I enjoy reading the rants of Fr. Zuhlsdorf, an American priest who goes by the moniker “Fr. Z” on the web. He reminds us that priests are people too. They often have the same frustrations dealing with people that we all have. In this article, Fr. Zuhlsdorf talks about how you don’t have to provide every little detail to the priest to make a good confession. Furthermore, you can still have a good confession even if the priest doesn’t provide great guidance. After all, not every priest has the gift of being a great confessor. Follow the link below to read Fr. Z’s post.

Sign posted on confessional door: “GET TO THE POINT!” Wherein Fr. Z rants.

I’m actually comforted by the idea that I don’t need to recall my sins in vivid detail. After all, who wants to recount the times they offended God or hurt others? God already knows the details. He doesn’t need to hear your rambling rendition of them. You just need to recall your sins and feel genuine sorrow for them. For me, voicing those sins provides powerful motivation not to repeat them.

Confession != Therapy

Many of us want the Sacrament of Confession to feel like a therapy session. We want to tell the priest our sins, and then he gives us guidance like a psychologist. Some of us figure that the more details we provide, the better the advice will be. We then leave the confessional slightly disappointed when we receive generic advice and an easy penance.

Remember, God’s ways are not our ways. He does provide all the guidance we need in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. It just may not be in the form of words from the priest. Instead, when we are free of our sins, we allow more room in our hearts for the Holy Spirit to guide us. We receive counsel from God, not necessarily from the mouth of a priest, but from Him through prayer. Think of Confession as an opportunity to better hear God’s Word for a little while until it’s once again obscured by sin.

The Rosary

Let’s reflect on the First Sorrowful Mystery of the Rosary — The Agony in the Garden. The fruit of this mystery is sorrow for our sins. Of course, Jesus didn’t have any sins to confess but he’s a model for how to approach God in the Sacrament of Confession. We should come to him and ask for his saving grace with all sincerity and humility. Jesus pleaded with God to avoid crucifixion. Likewise, when we’re in the confessional, we should sincerely ask God for mercy and forgiveness.

Notice how God didn’t answer Jesus’ prayers by freeing him from crucifixion. The apostles looking at Jesus’ arrest may have concluded that Jesus’ prayers were in vain. Similarly, we may not feel like God answers our petition for forgiveness during confession. This is especially true if the priest doesn’t provide much counsel. But the power of Confession is more than the advice you receive or how you feel immediately afterward. God infuses you with the strength to resist sin similar to how he infused Jesus with the strength to do his will during the Passion.

It’s okay if you don’t feel your halo after Confession

Finally, remember the Fourth Sorrowful Mystery, Jesus Carrying the Cross. The fruit of this mystery is patience. Many times when receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we do need patience as we wait in line for our turn. It often seems like our time will never come. But we also need to have patience in feeling the effects of a good confession. We may not feel like we received the virtues of prudence and fortitude. But like physical exercise, the benefits of Confession our felt over time. We need to be patient with how God strengthens us through this underutilized sacrament.

Study Hints That Mass Attendance Can Prolong Your Life

I hope this comes as no surprise to those who take their daily Rosary meds, but do you know there’s a correlation between practicing faith and happiness? Inversely, those who do not practice their religion formally have a higher mortality rate than those who do. This is why it’s so important to make your faith a priority in your life.

I have a quick disclaimer before jumping into this article. I frequently talk about Mass attendance. But I’m using it as shorthand for actively practicing your faith. Since the Mass is the pinnacle of the Catholic faith, I call it out specifically. But Mass is one component of the Catholic Church that is combined with prayer, devotion, and sacraments.

Increasing Despair

MarketWatch summarized a paper (sorry, I can’t find a link to the actual source) authored by researchers from multiple universities. They observed that groups that showed a decline in religious adherence experienced increased mortality rates while the general trend steadily declined. This hit non-practicing, middle-aged, white Americans without a college degree the hardest.

States that experienced larger declines in religious participation in the last 15 years of the 20th century saw larger increases in deaths of despair.

The Consequences of Missing Mass

I bring up this study because we live in an era where people dismiss the benefits of formal religious practices. This widespread attack on formalized religion has real consequences. Consider the millions of people who lived in misery and despair because they bought into the cultural lie that organized religion is a lot of superstition and bigotry. Think about the people trying to find meaning in their lives but don’t consider stepping into a church. After all, religion’s only goal is to limit your freedom and fun right?

I’m not saying that everyone who attends Mass on Sunday and prays daily has a long, easy life. There are still bills to pay, people to feed, bosses to please, and health concerns. But God wants to help us through all these challenges whether they are self-imposed through sin or just part of living in this world. But we have to humbly come before God and ask for his help. He will answer and guide us through his son, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, our Mother Mary, and the saints and angels in Heaven. But he doesn’t force himself in our lives. God gives us the freedom to not ask for his help and he’ll respect our choice. But we have to admit that our choices have consequences.

I constantly tell my boys that they wouldn’t pass up a free cookie or treat. They wouldn’t pass up easy extra credit on a school assignment. They wouldn’t pass up extra screen time. So they shouldn’t pass up asking God for help in their struggles, both big and small. No one can provide better help than an all-powerful and all-loving God. But that’s exactly what people are doing when stop attending Mass, praying regularly and essentially cutting out God from their lives.

Why do People Miss Mass?

Maybe it’s pride that keeps people away from practicing their faith. They don’t want to admit that they need help in their lives. Perhaps they can’t admit that our social and political “leaders” (yes, I’m using scare quotes) cannot solve all their problems. Maybe they feel their friends will ostracize them if they dare step into a church or admit the Christian dogma has value. And let’s not forget the role Satan plays in convincing people that practicing their faith isn’t important. The pandemic was a banner time for him.

People need to fill that void with something. For some, it may be mindless entertainment — YouTube and TikTok videos or binge-watching Netflix. For others, they turn to vices like alcohol, drugs, and various manifestations of the seven deadly sins. Others may fill that void with more wholesome activities — exercise, reading, education, community involvement, time with friends, and hobbies. But an adult softball league will never be an adequate replacement for the Eucharist.

Helping Lost Souls

The data shows what many of us know intuitively — we are lost when we don’t actively practice our faith. Meditate and pray for those who are lost when you pray the Fifth Joyful Mystery. Remember how Mary and Joseph searched in sorrow because they lost Jesus? Now think of all of those souls in this world who are miserable because Jesus is missing in their lives.

Now consider that the Holy Spirit may be asking you to help guide some of these lost souls back to their faith. This is a daunting prospect for many of us. It’s easy to pray for increased parish participation. But it’s much more difficult and scary to actively bring people back to Mass. That may be what God is asking of you. You may be the answer to someone’s prayer. In bringing people back to the Chruch, you may not only save a life but help save a soul.

What to do with the Time God Gives Us

Lord of the Rings

Continuing my movie insights, the next movie I want to look at is The Lord of the Rings. Now, finding the religious significance of this series is a bit of a cheat. J.R.R Tolkein was a devout Catholic and LOTR is chalked full of religious symbolism and philosophy. Hopefully, I can find some fresh ground to tie to Rosary prayer.

The scene I am going to focus on in this article comes in The Fellowship of the Ring. The fellowship is deep in Moria and they have already encountered multiple challenges. Frodo, the ring bearer, laments that he wishes the ring never came to him and that none of these challenges ever happened. Gandolf, the wise wizard, answers that we don’t get to choose our circumstances; we only have to decide what to do with the time given.

The Grass is Not Greener on the Other Side

We often act like Frodo and lament our circumstances and wish they were different. Maybe our family life is difficult with our spouse, kids, parents, or siblings. Maybe we have health or financial issues. Perhaps our work situation is unpleasant, non-existent, or stressful. We can all look at parts of our lives and wish they were different.

This “grass is greener on the other side” mentality is a bit misleading. Often, we wish for a time or a world that has never really existed. Has there ever been a “good time” on earth? Most of human history has been a struggle to survive and find meaning. People suffered before Jesus came into the world, during his earthly ministry, and afterward. Jesus didn’t eliminate pain and suffering, wars, famines, and difficulty. He did not usher in good times.

Jesus gave us a way of deciding what to do in the narrow band of human history we happen to live through. He taught us how to love God and love each other. He showed us God’s Will and His grace. The Catholic Church has led humanity throughout history on what to do with the time given to us. It hasn’t changed whether you were a surf in medieval Europe, a pilgrim settling in North America, an English baker experiencing a German bombing in WWII, or an Uber driver today.

The Rosary

Think of the Third Luminous Mystery — The Proclamation of the Kingdom of Heaven and Jesus’ Call to Conversion. This mystery puts forth the question, whose kingdom will you live for in the time given to you? Will it be the Kingdom of Heaven or the kingdom of this world? Jesus proclaimed God’s kingdom and taught us how to live for it in his ministry and now through the Church. But it’s up to us to answer that call and choose to convert our earthly ways to God’s heavenly ones.

Consistency of Catholic Teaching

You have to love the consistency in the teaching of the Church. As I said earlier, core Catholic teachings have remained the same for thousands of years. That is very encouraging knowing that they have been tested in just about any situation we may find ourselves in whether that be times of war, peace, abundance, or famine. We’re not left to try to figure things out on our own. That should bring us comfort that we walk a well-trodden path when we decide to live for God’s kingdom.

When you pray, ask yourself what you’re going to do with the time given to you. If you don’t know, ask for the Holy Spirit’s guidance to help show you the path. We have plenty of resources to help us live meaningfully — the Bible, the Catechism, countless books, apps, and podcasts, etc. We have the wisdom of the greatest Catholic thinkers who ever lived. They will show us the way in the time God provides us.

The Dangers of Making Assumptions

The Right Stuff

For those who don’t know, I’m a big fan of movies and television. I worked in visual effects and feature animation for close to 20 years. It’s almost a family business as I have ancestors that worked both in front of and behind the camera throughout the 20th century. I’m going to look at certain scenes in movies and see what they can teach us about practicing our faith.

I’m taking a look at The Right Stuff. It’s a classic about the Mercury space program which put the first Americans in space and tested the science, math, and engineering needed for the Apollo program. You may recognize names like John Glenn and Alan Shepard and you certainly can’t forget those dazzling reflective space suits.

In one scene in the movie, the astronauts’ wives meet each other for the first time. They talk up a storm with a lot of small talk. Everyone that is, except John Glenn’s wife, Annie. After the meeting, one of the wives commented to her husband about how unfriendly and snobby Annie is. Some thought that Annie just sat there silently as if she was better than everyone else and the pleasantries were beneath her.

What the wives didn’t know was that Annie had a speech impediment and stuttered. She was very self-conscious in social situations, so she remained silent. She was shy, not snobby.

The Danger of Assumptions

This scene from The Right Stuff reminds me of how we so often make assumptions about others. Our assumptions aren’t always true. Someone who is short-tempered may be so because he didn’t get any sleep the night before because he needed to deal with a family emergency. Maybe someone drops out of an event at the last minute for personal reasons, not because they didn’t like who was attending or how it was planned. Perhaps someone didn’t talk to you after Mass, not because he’s mad at you, but because he has to be somewhere else soon. People have many reasons for acting as they do and they may not be for reasons you assume.

Contemplate on the First Joyful Mystery of the Rosary. Mary became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. That stretches all believability. I’m sure Mary and Joseph caused quite a scandal in their village and everyone probably had their version of the story which probably didn’t include a virgin pregnancy. Even Joseph had a hard time believing in the truth and was ready to divorce Mary before an angel intervened.

Imagine an alternate reality where Joseph divorced Mary or she was stoned to death for being pregnant outside of marriage. It would have been a reality where Jesus, as we know him, did not come into the world. You see, this is what happens when we assume too much about people — we spin off into this alternate reality based on our false narrative. How many times do you dwell on something someone said or did without knowing the facts? We may destroy a desirable outcome by filling in what we don’t know or understand with a false narrative.

Let God Fill in the Blanks

At the same time, we can’t always assume the best. Some people are naturally ill-tempered, mean, flakey, or dishonest. People do bad things. We are all sinners after all. And this is where prayer comes in. We have to ask God for help to help separate reality from our own fiction. It’s okay if we don’t understand people and their motives and circumstances. God will steer us in the right direction if we come to him in prayer and humbly ask for his help when we don’t know how to deal with certain individuals.

God may not answer us as dramatically as he did with Saint Joseph in the form of an angel in a dream. But he does talk to us and may nudge us into the right action. It may be something subtle like you asking someone if everything is okay instead of being angry with him. It may require you to take a step back and cut someone a little slack. When we don’t know something, it’s best to ask God to help fill in the blanks.

The Gift of a Prayerful You

Are you still looking for Christmas gifts? I have a simple idea. Give the gift of a prayerful you. A household fueled by prayer is a joyful one. It’s something anyone can give, from the very young to the very old.

I’m not talking about giving someone a card saying, “My gift to you is that I’m praying for you.” I think that would rub many people the wrong way. They will think that you are cheap, forgot to get them a gift, or that you’re using a gift as an opportunity to comment on your spirituality. I’m thinking of a different direction when talking about the gift of prayer.

I suggest that you consciously commit to prayer in the final days of Advent, Christmas, and beyond. Let’s face it, Christmas may be joyful but it’s hardly peaceful or relaxing. There are all sorts of chaos — family, shopping, dinners, and parties. For those traveling, it’s dealing with accommodations you may not be used to such as crashing on your in-laws’ coach because that’s the only place to sleep. Maybe you’re alone because you have to work or your family lives far away. Routine, daily prayer can help you experience joy during the busy Christmas season.

Try not to flip out this Christmas

Imagine a Christmas when everyone is fueled by prayer. I see it as one where people don’t flip out because they didn’t give or receive the correct presents. It’s enjoying a conversation with Grandma Josephine despite the fact she burnt the apple pie (again). It’s about talking to your sibling about your shared interest in movies instead of arguing about politics. It’s a time when people just roll with inconveniences instead of turning into monsters. That is what a prayerful Christmas can look like.

Picture Mary in the Second Joyful Mystery of the Rosary. The fruit of this mystery is loving your neighbor. Despite being pregnant, Mary traveled far to be with her cousin Elizabeth. It was probably rough and uncomfortable for Mary. And yet, the Bible speaks of the joy both felt when they encountered each other. Maybe there was some complaining over the long journey, but it was overshadowed by joy. Imitate Mary and Elizabeth by focusing on the joy of Christmas instead of the hardships.

Regardless of your circumstances, Christmas can always be improved with daily prayer. Carve out time to pray the Rosary and let Mary help you see the joy that God places all around you.