Sorrowful Mysteries

How the Rosary Increases Our Patience with God and Others

The Rosary is a prayer that requires an above-average level of patience. It’s long, repetitive, and doesn’t have a narrative like reading Bible passages. Admit it, you’ve zoned out more than a few times praying the Rosary haven’t you? I know I certainly have. The motivation for the RosaryMeds website and my books is to make the Rosary a more engaging and less monotonous prayer. But when it comes down to it, you just have to work up the motivation and put effort into praying it effectively. No amount of websites, books, and videos can substitute for the will to pray the Rosary and the patience to allow it to transform you.

In this post, I want to focus on the value of patience and how it relates to the Rosary. There are two ways the Rosary helps us grow in patience. First, there are many Rosary mysteries that teach patience as a core value. When you meditate on these mysteries, ask Mary to help you grow in patience.

First Joyful Mystery: Saint Joseph‘s patience with God’s plan for his wife, our mother, Mary. Imagine learning that God has a completely different life prepared for you that will be much more difficult and confusing. It takes a lot of patience to accept God’s Will when it conflicts with your desires or expectations.
Fourth Joyful Mystery: Saint Simeon‘s patience with God’s promise that he would one day see the Chosen One. He did, but only at the end of his life. Talk about needing patience for God’s plan to come to fruition.
Second and Fifth Sorrowful Mysteries: Jesus enduring the scourging and insults during His Passion and Crucifixion. He kept silent while soldiers beat Him and the authorities interrogated Him because He knew it had to be done to bring about our redemption and salvation. He was patient onto death because it was God’s Will.

The second way the Rosary helps us grow in patience is the act of praying the Rosary itself. It’s not an easy prayer and takes time and energy to pray correctly. But that focus and perseverance you practice in Rosary prayer translate into increased focus and perseverance in other aspects of your life. It is practice for dealing with annoying coworkers, parents, or uncooperative children (parents, you know what I’m talking about right?).

But what’s so important about patience? Patience is often referred to as a virtue. But why? In other words, what’s so bad about impatience? Why is it bad if you have a low tolerance for people making mistakes or not giving everything their 100% best effort? This Catholic Exchange article frames patience as a reflection of our relationship with Jesus:

Simply by reminding ourselves that we’re being patient not primarily for the sake of the person who is irritating us, but as an expression of our love for Jesus. Following Him often means putting up with people, events, and situations we’d prefer to avoid entirely. This effort is very valuable, for, as St. Katherine Drexel noted, “The patient endurance of the Cross — whatever nature it may be — is the highest work we have to do.”

Patience is tied to humility. What is impatience but a lack of humility for God’s plan and our desire to change our circumstances immediately? Patience is admitting that we cannot change everything to suit our desires but instead we must let God’s plan for us and others play out. Patience means telling God, “I may not like this situation but I will put forth the effort to endure it because it is Your Will.” Patience is an admission that our lives and circumstances are in God’s hands. Instead of wishing that they be different, it is our opportunity to respond to our circumstances as Jesus taught us.

The next time you feel like putting down the Rosary because you feel like you aren’t getting anything out of it, take a small pause and tell Mary you will be patient with Her and her gift and then continue praying the Rosary. She promises miraculous things through the Rosary which we often lose sight of in our impatience of repeating Hail Marys and Our Fathers. Don’t let impatience prevent you from obtaining all that God desires for you.

Learning the Power of Charity from the Early Christian Church

In this article, I’m going to focus on last Sunday’s first reading from the Acts of the Apostles. It’s a short passage describing early Christian life.

The community of believers was of one heart and mind,
and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own,
but they had everything in common.
With great power the apostles bore witness
to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus,
and great favor was accorded them all.
There was no needy person among them,
for those who owned property or houses would sell them,
bring the proceeds of the sale,
and put them at the feet of the apostles,
and they were distributed to each according to need.

This is the type of passage from the Bible people love to use when claiming the Catholic Church endorses socialism. After all, it talks about everyone selling their personal property and putting the proceeds into the hands of a select few to be distributed to those with the most need. Were Jesus and His apostles promoting socialism thousands of years before Karl Marx? And are those of us who own property living in sin because we aren’t selling it all and giving it to charity?

English: Statue of Marx and Engels. A part of ... — English: Statue of Marx and Engels. Did they plagiarize their ideas from the Acts of the Apostles?

I think the main difference between what the early Christians did and socialism is that there aren’t signs that the apostles were forcing anyone to sell their property and give it to them. The early Church leaders weren’t trying to set up a new economic or political model. They were simply facilitating a process where those with more could help those with less. The passage provides no sense of coercion but instead says that early Christians were of one heart and mind by wanting to help each other any way they could.

To me, the take away from this passage from the Acts of the Apostles is that if we truly want to follow Jesus then we should use our resources and talents to help the needy. Jesus calls us to perform acts of charity, not greed. He wants us to put a high importance on others’ needs instead of our personal desires. The Church asks us to make this act of faith; that when we choose to help those in need we will be aided in our needs in return. That is a scary idea and many of us come up short (I know I do). Like other aspects of our faith, it’s a process that we continually refine throughout our lives. Maybe it starts with donating more to charity or spending more time doing charitable acts. It may mean looking beyond your concerns and thinking about the needs of those around you. It’s even just helping someone who needs it rather than ignoring them and going about your business.

Your Rosary Meds

When you pray the Fourth Sorrowful Mystery of the Rosary, think about Saint Veronica who wiped Jesus’ face as He carried His cross. It was a simple act that in the events of that day didn’t change anything. Jesus still suffered and died on the cross. But the Church recognized Saint Veronica’s small act of kindness by beatifying her. She saw Christ suffering and she did whatever she could to ease that suffering. She could have stood still out of a sense of fear or hopelessness. But she didn’t. She showed that even small acts of kindness are saintly actions.

Like Saint Veronica, we too should recognize those who are in need and help them however we can. That’s what the early Christian Church did. That’s what Saint Veronica did. That’s the model we must follow. The Church entrusts each of us to do our small part in helping those in need. When we all do our part, each small act adds up to huge changes. When you pray ask yourself, are you doing your part?

What Jesus’ Arrest Tells us About Those Critical of the Church

One of the aspects of the Passion narrative that initially confused me was Judas’ betrayal with a kiss. Why was the kiss to identify Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane necessary? Wouldn’t the soldiers sent to arrest Jesus know what he looks like? After all, they arrested Jesus because of the threat He supposed posed. This was the man who had been preaching and healing throughout the region and the authorities had wanted to arrest for some time. Jesus was basically public enemy #1 on the Pharisees‘ “most wanted” list. Why then, did the Jewish authorities need Judas to pick him out in the small group gathered in the garden?

To me, the answer to this question is yet another question — did the Pharisees really know Jesus? The Pharisees knew that there was this person traveling around the region criticizing their authority. He was a person the people loved despite not following the Mosaic law. And that’s all the Pharisees bothered to learn about Jesus. Did they actually listen to His teachings and think about what He was saying? It looks like the Pharasis dismissed Jesus’ teachings outright without even thinking about them.

Since the Pharisees and their followers never took the time to really understand Jesus, they didn’t know who to look for to arrest. To them, Jesus was a faceless agitator. Those who arrested and ultimately crucified Jesus didn’t really know Him and that is why they needed one of His disciples to identify Him.

When we read about Jesus’ arrest or meditate on His agony in the garden when we pray the First Sorrowful Mystery of the Rosary, we should ask ourselves whether we are making the time to try to understand Jesus. Are we praying daily and trying to know His Will and ask for the strength to follow His teachings? Or are we like the Pharisees and see Jesus’ teachings as an impediment or inconvenience in our lives? Do we dismiss Jesus because we aren’t taking the time to understand what He is trying to teach us?

When I read articles that are critical of the Catholic Church or make fun of Her teachings, I think about the Pharisees that Jesus encountered. Popular media criticizes the Church because they do not understand the Church nor do they want to make an effort to learn. In their minds, the Church is some arbitrary and controlling patriarchy telling people what they can and cannot do. They don’t see the centuries of reason and logic that go all the way back to Jesus who taught what He taught out of love.

The Pharisees and the Herodians Conspire Again... — The Pharisees and the Herodians Conspire Against Jesus (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In addition to the First Sorrowful Mystery of the Rosary, the Joyful Mysteries also have a lot to say about not dismissing God’s Church without understanding Her. Like Mary and Joseph in the Annunciation, we need to have a willingness to trust God’s plan even when it runs contrary to our plans. Or jump to the Fourth Joyful Mystery and look at Saint Simeon and his devotion to God. When we pray the Rosary, remember to pray for those who act like the Pharisees — those who criticize the Church without the desire to understand Her. I honestly believe that with enough prayer, the most critical of the Church can become Her most fervent supporter. Don’t believe me? Look up “Blessed Bartolo Longo.”

Ask God for Strength, Not an Outcome

I usually visit LifeHacker to read up on new technology and browse daily deals. It’s not the sort of place I would expect to find advice on prayer and spirituality. Whenever they discuss social issues they are usually advocating positions counter to the Catholic Church. That is why I did a double take when I saw an article titled Don’t Pray for Outcomes, Ask for Strength. For a second I thought I had my browser tab open to Catholic Exchange.

The LifeHacker article quotes Roman emperor, Marcus Aurelius.

Try praying differently, and see what happens: Instead of asking for ‘a way to sleep with her,’ try asking for ‘a way to stop desiring to sleep with her.’ Instead of ‘a way to get rid of him,’ try asking for ‘a way to not crave his demise.’ Instead of ‘a way to not lose my child,’ try asking for ‘a way to lose my fear of it.’

One way to summarize Marcus Aurelius’ thoughts is that we should look at changing ourselves before changing our circumstances. Sometimes, we can’t change our circumstances. The world will always be a nasty place full of dangers and vices. We can’t change large things like countries going to war with each other or even small things like the refrigerator going dead and needing to be replaced. But we can change how we approach our circumstances and try to put them in perspective.

Portrait of Emperor Marcus Aurelius as a boy. ... — Portrait of Emperor Marcus Aurelius as a boy. Roman artwork. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Rosary Connection

Look at Jesus at the Garden of Gestheme which we meditate on in the First Sorrowful Mystery of the Rosary. First, He prays for a very specific outcome — for God to spare Him the suffering of the Crucifixion and bring about salvation some other way. Jesus shows that there is nothing intrinsically wrong making a specific request in prayer. For us, thinking about the situation helps us gain different perspectives on it and helps us better understand how God answers us. We can start to understand that there may be multiple ways we can handle our circumstances besides wanting them to just disappear. What we want to avoid is focusing solely on a specific outcome and closing our heart and mind to how God actually answers us.

Jesus entrusts His life to God’s Will. Keep in mind that while the scripture verses of the agony in the garden are quite short, Jesus prayed for hours; long enough for the apostles to repeatedly fall asleep. I think he probably did spend a good deal of that time asking God for the strength to do His Will. Jesus was focused not on changing his situation but on preparing Himself for whatever was coming His way.

And that brings us back to Lent. This is our time to focus on changing ourselves, not expecting God to change our circumstances to fit our desires. This is why we fast, abstain, and make small sacrifices — to make us stronger to carry out God’s Will for when life doesn’t go as expected. By voluntarily making things harder for ourselves and enduring, we prepare ourselves for the involuntary hardships that will come our way. Last Sunday’s Gospel talked about how Jesus spent 40 days in the desert fasting and praying so that he was prepared for His ministry. Likewise, we too should spend the 40 days of Lent preparing our bodies, minds, and hearts for living out our Catholic faith in whatever form God plans for us.

Make Rosary Prayer a High Priority

Many of us, including myself, often think we are too busy to pray. We may understand the value of prayer and enjoy praying and yet we too often find ourselves bogged down in day-to-day responsibilities (and let’s be honest, leisure) that we don’t pray as much as we want or should. I know that my goal of a rosary chaplet and scripture reading every day often goes only partially filled.

Cardinal Beniamino Stella, when addressing seminarians, had this to say about prayer:

One hour each day is necessary, a time for the Lord, to allow oneself to be encountered by Him and to grow in His friendship . . . The time that we dedicate to the Lord in prayer, in meditation, and in a personal encounter, is never lost time.” “On the contrary, the more generous we are with those times offered to God, the more we will be able to go to brothers with a pastor’s heart and as precious instruments of the Father’s tenderness.

And yet, I think many of us do see prayer as lost time. It may not be consciously, but what we put ahead of prayer does reveal the priority we put on it. For example, what was I doing right before writing this article? I was watching clips from The Simpsons on Youtube. And while downtime after a busy day is important, was rewatching a Tree House of Horror episode really more important than Rosary prayer or Bible reading? If actions speak louder than words, then my actions are saying that I don’t always put a high value on prayer.

Also, note that Cardinal Beniamino Stella is talking specifically about meditative prayer. Not all of us have time to sit quietly for an hour and meditate. However, there are other ways to integrate prayer into your day. For example, look at St. Therese’s Little Way as a means of incorporating God and reflecting on your relationship with Him in everything you do:

Catholics would do well to imitate St. Therese’s Little Way if they want to be happy in this life, as well as happy in the next. That “Little Way” consists of simplicity in life, prayer from the heart to Jesus, total trust in God as our Loving Father (not a stern judge), being a true child of God our Father rather than doing our own thing, seeking God’s will in our everyday activities, doing everything for the love of Jesus with humility, being kind to people we can’t stand, and a sincere desire to be with Jesus forever rather than to be in this world.

Let’s look at the Rosary and what it says about prayer. Prayer was obviously important to Jesus. In the First Sorrowful Mystery, Jesus turned to God at His darkest hour to find strength. What did the disciples do after witnessing Jesus’ Ascension into Heaven? They went to the temple and praised God (Luke 24:53). Look at Saint Simeon and Anna in the Fourth Joyful Mystery who spent their time in the temple praying and praising God. Prayer surrounds Jesus in these Rosary mysteries and hence we need to surround ourselves in prayer if we are to have a deep and meaningful relationship with God.

The Power of Regular Rosary Prayer

In my work as a software developer, I often run into “walls” when trying to solve difficult problems. Most of the time I get through these blockages by just writing snippets of code no matter how ugly they may seem. But it helps me see the problem and the solution more clearly and provides me something I can shape into a beautiful, optimized solution. Getting to the desired solution is not a straight shot where I code everything perfectly the first time. It is a series of making wrong decisions and correcting them. I call it thinking with my keyboard.

Remember, no one sees your first draft (unless you started the day before the deadline)

Our happiness in life is a lot like the challenges I face when writing software. It’s not always easy to find happiness. It almost seems like life is a rigged game where being happy is something that is always just out of reach at best and an impossibility at worst. In his article, When you Can’t Hear God, Keep Talking to Him, Dave Zuleger sums up the futility we often feel when we try to find happiness:

We know that our trials will produce a faith that is tested, refined, and full of glorified joy (1 Peter 1:6–7). We know deep realities that can create deep hope beneath even the deepest pain. Except sometimes we don’t.

Sometimes we preach these truths to ourselves and our hearts aren’t moved at all. We groan, and wish that life was so different than it is (Romans 8:23). We pray and pray and pray, and things only seem to get more overwhelming and more difficult. Sometimes our hearts simply ache with the pain of broken dreams, broken relationships, broken bodies, and broken sinfulness.

Have you had that experience? Hope doesn’t come. Happiness doesn’t flood your heart. The clouds of depression don’t blow away. Overwhelming struggles simply overwhelm you more. Relationships are not restored.

He concludes that we need to continue to pray and lay out concerns and worries in front of God. It is in continual prayer that we often hear God. Like a software engineer needing to just write code to figure out the solution, we often need to just pray and meditate on different things to eventually hear what God is trying to tell us.

This is why praying rosary mysteries daily is such a great form of meditation. Every day is an opportunity to reflect on the life of Jesus and the Catholic faith through the rosary mysteries and ask for Mary’s help in making sense of it all. We have to explore our faith through prayer so that we can better understand God’s response.

It may seem doubly painful to dwell on our problems in prayer. After all, who wants to recall their pain and suffering on a regular basis? But through the rosary mysteries, we can see that pain through the lens of our faith, not through the lens of our secular world which offers very little in terms of answers and solutions. You can’t find the true solution to your problems by avoiding laying them before God in prayer.

Look at Jesus in the First Sorrowful Mystery of the rosary in the garden of Gesthemene. He was going through immense agony over his upcoming arrest and crucifixion. But Jesus did not hide that pain away in an attempt to appear tough or unphased. He had no issue bringing his concerns and fears before God in prayer saying “Father if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done” (Luke 22:42). The agony in the garden of Gesthemene perfectly highlights what we are to do when life has is down — pray, pray, pray, and pray some more!

To end on a lighter note, here’s a quotation attributed to St. Francis de Sales for you to you think about. You could easily substitute the word busy with sad, worried, or any other word that describes your situation:

Every one of us needs half an hour of prayer a day, except when we are busy – then we need an hour.

How the Rosary Helps Us Overcome Obstacles

I don’t watch a lot of television. However, when I find a few minutes and don’t feel like doing anything serious, I enjoy watching American Ninja Warrior. It’s a show where athletes run through an obstacle course trying to complete increasingly more rigorous feats. Most people fail to complete the entire course. But those that do are ecstatic because they overcame the temptation to quit even when they were fatigued and were entertaining thoughts that they didn’t have the ability to complete the course.

The same conflict between completing a goal or giving up because the obstacles seem too great appears in many of our spiritual lives. Many of us have a hard time mustering up enough energy to make it through an entire rosary chaplet or Bible reading. We all want to do God’s will and form a deep relationship with Him through prayer. And yet, despite all that we desire, we let trivial obstacles like a television show, website, or video game distract or derail us from doing what we know is good.

Saint Peter highlights what happens when we let obstacles overpower us and distract us from God’s will. In the Gospel, St. Matthew wrote about Jesus walking on the water in a terrible storm. Peter also tried walking on the water and was initially successful but then was overcome by fear and doubt and sank (Matthew 14:22-36).

Does Saint Peter’s story sound a lot like yours when it comes to prayer and doing God‘s Will? I can’t count the number of times I’ve said, “This time I’m going to stick to a rigid prayer schedule.” Or I read a book about the importance and benefits of prayer and get all excited initially only to be overcome by distractions. Like Saint Peter walking on water, instead of staying focused on my relationship with Jesus Christ I get distracted by the world around me.

But when we make an effort to pray and act according to God’s will, we actually act in a way that is doubly pleasing to God. Rev. P.J. Michel explains in his book, Temptations:

On this principle, when you observe the law of God and do His will in a way that is displeasing to nature, you acquire a double claim to reward: first, you have obeyed, and secondly, you have obeyed with difficulty and against resistance and combat. The sacrifice you have made of the natural inclination that solicited and impelled you is rewarded here by new graces and hereafter by an increase of eternal glory and happiness.

[amazon template=image&asin=1622823672]

What does the rosary teach us about praying through distractions and temptations? You can probably pick any of the Sorrowful Mysteries and see Jesus’ example of doing God’s will despite the pain and suffering. But that’s too easy of an example for regular RosaryMeds readers! I want to look at the First Joyful Mystery, the Annunciation. Here we have Mary being asked to be the Mother of God. At first, she focuses on all the earthly limitations of such a request. “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” she asked (Luke 1:34). But Mary didn’t let all those concerns distract her from accepting the burden and the honor God wanted to bestow on her.

Now jump to the Fifth Glorious Mystery, Mary’s Coronation in Heaven. Going back to the passage from Temptations, when you do God’s will in the face of difficulty, you increase your eternal glory and happiness. What better example is there than seeing Mary crowned Queen of Heaven? She followed God’s will even when that meant seeing her son rejected and crucified.

When you don’t feel like you have the time or energy to pray the rosary, look to Mary’s example of the grace God gives you when you make the effort to pray and do God’s will despite the difficulty. It may be hard, but the reward dwarfs the inconvenience.

What the Rosary Teaches Us About Spiritual Persistence

As a father of two boys, I can sympathize with those who face the never ending battle of trying to keep a clean house. No sooner have I vacuumed the floor that one of my boys starts jumping on the sofa and knocks down a leftover bowl of cereal. Or I just finish cleaning a room and they dump a bin of legos on the floor and start building. On Catholic Exchange, Sam Guzman relates the experience of keeping a clean house to keeping a clean soul in his article:

At any rate, I’ve noticed that, just as a clean house quickly descends into disorder and must be constantly cleaned, so also our souls need constant care and upkeep. We must always be beginning to put them in order again.

There are days when our children have made such a mess of things that cleaning up seems a hopeless task. My wife and I look at each other and don’t know whether to laugh or cry. Yet, we begin again.

In this life, holiness is found in beginning again and again. It is constant examination and conversion and regeneration of heart. Holiness if found in repentance. And repentance is not merely feeling sorry that you sinned. It is rather a re-turning to God—a thousand times a day if necessary.

My kids’ room 5 minutes after cleaning it

I call this never ending practice of conversion spiritual persistence. Spiritual persistence is continuing to pray and have faith in God’s plan even when it seems fruitless. When I pray the rosary and ask God for help building my spiritual persistence I meditate on Jesus carrying the cross in The Fourth Sorrowful Mystery. Jesus was literally beaten down carrying the cross with no hope for relief. Each time he fell down and got back up, he only had more cruelty and torture to look forward to. And yet, Jesus got back up and began walking again towards his crucifixion.

I think we all have moments when we ask ourselves, “what’s the point?” Why should I suffer for doing the right thing instead of taking ethical or moral shortcuts? Why should I fast? Why should I go to Sunday Mass? Why should I go to Confession? What good will these do since I’ll just go about sinning again in the future anyway?

Sometimes we can see our faith more as a cross than a blessing. We too often focus on what we give up or the effort required and not the benefits. Part of the challenge is that the sacrifice we feel immediately while the joy and grace are often delayed or is so subtle we don’t feel it. As an analogy to keeping a clean house, we so often tend to dread the steps needed to make a house clean that it often overshadows the joy of having a clean house.

This is where meditating on the fourth sorrowful mystery of the rosary becomes important. It puts all these perceived inconveniences into perspective. Jesus endured far worse doing his father’s will. If Jesus saw the importance of his Passion, we should ask God to help us see the importance of trying to live a spiritually healthy lifestyle. We may not always like housework, but we understand the importance of maintaining a clean house. And we may not always enjoy the obligations our faith puts on us, but we pray the rosary to understand why it is so important that we follow God’s plan.

As we near the end of Lent, many of us probably feel beaten down and tired. We may be tired of fasting, abstaining from meat, the increased prayer, etc. But instead of focusing on pain, let’s ask God to help us see the joy that comes from these Lenten practices. The joy that comes from letting go of some of our worldly pleasures and replacing them with God’s grace. The joy in understanding that we will one day find true happiness in Heaven due to our spiritual persistence in this lifetime.

And Jesus Wept…

We are coming down the home stretch of this Lenten season. Like a movie, the conflict between Jesus and the Pharisees is hitting its climax as Jesus’ miracles get larger and more public but so does the ire of the Jewish authorities. It, of course, culminates with Jesus’ crucifixion and then resurrection. Similar to how the readings are hitting their crescendo, so too should our observance of Lent. It’s time to pick up the praying, fasting, receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and just putting our faith front and center in our lives.

This upcoming Sunday’s Gospel is the account of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. I want to focus on one specific verse. It’s a short, three-word sentence — “And Jesus wept (John 11:35).” It is easy to overlook the significance of this sentence when you know what Jesus is about to do. In fact, this sentence does not seem to make a lot of sense. If Jesus was going to raise Lazarus from the dead, why did he weep? Naturally, the other people wept because they did not know Jesus was going to raise Lazarus. But why would Jesus, someone who healed and raised others from dead, weep when he knew that Lazarus’ state was only temporary?

English: Picture of the And Jesus Wept statue ... — English: Picture of the And Jesus Wept statue that stands next to the Oklahoma City National Memorial. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Jesus’ weeping ties him to our shared humanity with him. It is so easy to see Jesus’ divinity in the accounts of him healing others, performing miracles, and resurrecting from the dead. On top of that, we have the Catholic Church and it’s billion+ members in all its grandeur. But after 2000 years we tend to forget that Jesus was also human. He shared all the same emotions as us except the tendency to sin. Even when he knew that he was going to raise Lazarus, his weeping told people that he sympathized with them and understood their grief. He did not distance himself but instead drew us closer to God by making himself more relatable.

When we pray the rosary, we should remember Jesus’ humanity in addition to his divinity. Remember that despite all the miracles he performed, Jesus was one of us. He showed grief at the death of a loved one. He showed fear in the Garden of Gesthemene before being arrested and crucified. He showed anger when he threw the merchants out of the temple or the countless times he chastised Peter. Even going back to the story of Lazarus, the Gospel says that Jesus was “perturbed” by everyone’s lack of faith. Yes, it seems like Jesus wasn’t immune from frustration.

Jesus asks a lot of us. He asks us to live for the Kingdom of Heaven and convert by turning away from our sinful or earthly ways. Like a defiant teenager rebelling against his parents, we may tell Jesus, “Easy for you to say! You’re perfect! You just don’t understand what it’s like to be me!” But Jesus replies, “I understand perfectly. Remember, I know what it is like to be human. I shared the same feelings and emotions. And I ask these things of you because I know what it is like to be you. I’m not some distant God who does not know the human condition for I experienced it personally.”

You think you have it tough, try healing a man on the Sabbath!

Fasting, praying, reading the Bible, and confessing sins are all difficult during Lent. And in general, living a spiritual life can be difficult. But the Church calls us to this life not because it expects us to fail. The Church does not call us to a holy life that is completely beyond our ability to grasp. The Church follows Jesus’ teachings born out of his experience being human and knowing what we are capable of.

What Rosary Prayer Teaches us about Fasting

I just finished reading my children a book of Lenten prayers. Tonight’s prayer topic was on the value of fasting. Fasting is a huge theme emphasized throughout Lent. And yet I know many people who do not see the value of it or are confused about why we do it. To put it simply, one goal of fasting is to forgo an earthly desire such as food to make room for God’s grace. We have a great example of this in the rosary.

If fasting means exchanging our worldly desires for Heavenly ones, let’s look at Jesus’ crucifixion which we meditate on in the Fifth Sorrowful Mystery of the rosary. What can it tell us about the value of fasting? At Jesus’ crucifixion, there are two criminals crucified with Him. One rebukes Jesus saying that he should save all three of them if He really is the Messiah. The other simply asks Jesus to remember him. Jesus tells that criminal that he will join Him in paradise on that day.

The first criminal can represent our disposition when we aren’t fasting. We are concerned about our worldly situation and how to constantly improve it. We ask Jesus for all sorts of things; many of them well-intentioned and some of them maybe a bit selfish. The first criminal wanted more of his life on earth. In a way, he wanted things back the way they were because that’s the only reality he knew. And let’s be honest, his life couldn’t have been that great if he ended up on a cross. We too, when our hearts are so full of earthly desires, just want to maintain the status quo. When we do that, we close ourselves off from something greater — God’s grace and making a place for ourselves in Heaven.

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The second criminal represents our state of mind and soul when we fast. Having been stripped of all that life has to offer, he came to Jesus with a humble heart asking simply for Jesus to remember him. With nothing attaching him to the world, he realized Jesus’ true nature and how important it was to reconcile himself with Him. Similarly, when we fast we let go of everything worldly that weighs us down and can more clearly see Jesus for who He really is — our Lord and Savior.

Fasting is more than a Catholic diet plan or some ancient tradition that we just do out of habit. It is our opportunity to put our lives, our fears, and our desires into perspective. We’re human and so naturally there are things in this world we enjoy. But during Lent, let’s reflect on whether we still make room for God’s plan and focus on obtaining our Heavenly goal. Or have our attachments to this world, even the non-sinful ones, prevent us from embracing the true happiness that comes from God’s grace?

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