I was delighted this morning, to hear the words of our parish priest during his homily. He was saying that as Catholics, we use all our senses in our search for God. That is how we were "fearfully and wonderfully made" by our Creator. We are called to "guard our senses", especially in this media-saturated age. We are to avoid watching and listening to things that will weaken our faith and instead, fill our senses with images and music that lift our hearts and minds to the Lord. Our priest also said that we should not be ashamed to put up our crucifixes, Mary and saint statues in our homes. Do not minimize such things as "old fashioned" and especially not "intolerant." Surrounding ourselves with spiritual art, music and literature is especially important in this age of spiritual "meltingpot-ism". A Catholic home should be obviously Catholic to anyone who walks in . Our homes are the center of the Domestic Church.
Along with the visual reminders of statues, pictures and crucifixes, don't forget music and media. If you are someone who has, or is thinking of getting satellite radio, consider getting one that has a Catholic channel (Sirius has 2). If you have cable TV, ask your local cable company to carry a Catholic television channel such as EWTN. Imagine, being able to fill your ears and your mind with your faith instead of with the hopelessness of today's secular media.
Don't forget, as well, the senses of smell and touch. Try praying the rosary or a chaplet using rosary beads. The soothing feel of the beads as they pass through your fingers is calming and centering and really helps with focus. The repetitive prayers are a wonderful way to reach out to God when we have no words of our own. We are like a little child reaching our hands out to our Mother when we feel overwhelmed. While you are praying, or doing spiritual reading, try burning incense. The sense of smell has been proven to evoke long forgotten memories buried deep within the subconscious.
We should be as proud of our Catholic heritage as we are of our particular ethnic heritages and do everything in our power live and pass along that heritage to future generations.
WOW..what a great homily..thanks for posting about it.
ReplyDeleteIt really speaks to something I am currently struggling with. In fact I was telling DH of my struggle last night.
How to live out my Catholic Faith, without the distractions I fight everyday. Especially difficult are the distractions at Mass. Music that is not uplifting, liturgy more focused on "feelgoodism" then true celbration of the Eucharist. People treating the time before Mass as a social time instead of a time to look to the Lord and to prepare oneself to celbrate the Mass.
I also struggle with not wanting to stand out in a crowd but there are certain postures and practices that I wish I could do that would help me to prepare for a to celbrate Mass.
This homily I believe is a word of encouragement for me to not be afraid of practicing my faith and not to be afraid if the world notices.
Again..thank you for sharing this on your blog.
You're so welcome, Ladycub! Its hard to know what is best to do re: our faith sometimes, isn't it? Can you guys come up to the grotto every once in a while to refresh your faith?
ReplyDeleteActually we do come to the Grotto quite a bit for Mass. Yes it is refreshing there. Unfortunately time and circumstance do not allow going there every Sunday.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean. There are times when I truly wish for a "musician's Mass"--i.e. one with*out* music!! (And I'm the musician at our Mass, lol!
ReplyDeleteDistractions are difficult. The only thing I can think of is to offer them up for the people who are disturbing you.
What a wonderful homily and a true gift for the faithful. Your blog is really wonderful. I know it is an inspiration to many. Hugs & thanks for your kind words on my blog!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Doris!
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