Feast of the Holy Family

12-29-2019Pastor's CornerRev. Robert J. Deehan, V.F.

On this Feast of the Holy Family, I share with you a reflection by Fr. Bob Sherry, Spiritual Advisor to Dynamic Catholic. (FrBob.Sherry@dynamiccatholic.com) How do you and your family handle disagreements? Do you look for how God might be leading your family to a "greater good"? Maybe these three words will help:

Prayer: Always pray. Use the Prayer Process (below) and talk to Jesus. Talk to God the Father and ask the Father how he sees the situation or the other person. And pray for the other person, too!

Empathy: See if you can satisfactorily articulate the argument of the other person. Ask the person to give you at least three tries. Sometimes we argue on different wavelengths. No wonder we get heated!

Faithfulness: A doctor was burned-out from his practice and decided to take a sabbatical with Mother Theresa to decide what he should do next with his life. She put him in a hospital with terminal patients. One day, as Mother was making her rounds, the doctor asked Mother to pray for him that he may have clarity in his decision. Mother Theresa immediately said, "NO!" and quickly walked away. The doctor was surprised at her abruptness. However, three months later she was in his area again. He approached her, asked if she remembered him. She replied she did. He asked politely why she was so quick to say she would not pray for his vocational clarity. Mother Theresa said that it was because we are Christians and Christians do not live with clarity. We live by faithfulness. Whether a family discussion or just two of you, prayer, empathy and faithfulness will guide you one step closer to God.

Prayer Process

Gratitude: Begin by thanking God in a personal dialogue for whatever you are most grateful for today.

Awareness: Revisit the times in the past twenty-four hours when you were and were not the-best-version-of-yourself. Talk to God about these situations and what you learned from them.

Significant Moments: Identify something you experienced in the last twenty-four hours and explore what God might be trying to say to you through that event (or person).

Peace: Ask God to forgive you for any wrong you have committed (against yourself, another person, or Him) and to fill you with a deep and abiding peace.

Freedom: Speak with God about how He is inviting you to change your life, so that you can experience the freedom to be the-best-version-of-yourself.

Others: Lift up to God anyone you feel called to pray for today, asking God to bless and guide them.

Pray the Our Father.

God bless you!
Fr. Bob

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