A morning exercise

By Nancy Shuman

Early Morning by von Schwind

Today I re-read the following advice from one of my favorite saints.  It is so practical, so concise, that I might just print it out and tape it to my mirror.  And to the bedroom door.  And to the window.  And to the computer screen (in case I forget to look everywhere else).

In his "Spiritual Directory," St. Francis de Sales proposes a simple morning exercise.  He counsels us to keep this prayer "brief and fervent..."

A.  Think.  Thank God and adore Him...

B.  Consider:  The gift of the present day is a preparation for eternity.  Make a firm resolution to use the day well for this intention.

C.  Look Ahead:  Foresee opportunities in which to serve God.  Anticipate whatever temptations might occur.  Prepare yourself by a good resolution to avoid carefully whatever might be against God's glory and your salvation.  Then consider how you plan to carry out this resolution.

D.  Humble Yourself:  Acknowledge your dependence upon God.  Hold your heart in your hands and offer it to His love, together with your good intentions.  Ask His protection, His strength, that you be successful in His service.  (from In the Midst of the World by Sister Joanna Marie Wenzel VHM, Visitation Sisters, Brooklyn NY)

St. Francis de Sales, ora pro nobis!

Nancy originally published this at The Breadbox Letters.

Frankie Award: Vote for the year's best Catholic spirituality post

It's time to vote for the 2013 Frankie Award!

One of the things I love about Catholic Spirituality Blogs Network is the variety of blogs and posts. This contest introduced me to some new writers--some witty, some deep, and all promoting the Gospel  About half are not currently members of CSBN. I enjoyed reading all the entries. Now it's your turn.

Pleas vote for just one post--your favorite. I am going to post each one on Facebook and Twitter as well, to involve as many people as possible. That should also make them easy for you to share. I encourage you to do so.

Don't forget to invite you readers (and friends and family, and fan club) to visit this page and vote for you. Feel free to copy the badge above and link back here from your blog.

 Voting ends on December 3 at Midnight PST.

Here are the nominees, in the order that I received them. You might be surprised to see that someone else nominated you. Please be courteous enough to read as many of the posts as you can, even if you plan to vote for yourself or your friend! You have two weeks to do this--that's just one or two posts a day.

1. Rosarium: a reflection by Carlos X of Super Martyrio.
2. Interior Disposition: Why Fix Your Hair If You're Wearing a Veil? by Birgit Jones of Designs by Birgit.
3.  The Sigh. Compassion. Pilgrimage Spirituality by John Fletcher of Blog at the Raft.
4.  I Wouldn't Have Gone Back Either by Jane Lebak of Seven Angels, Four Kids, One Family.
5.  A Big Enough Sin by Christian LeBlanc of Smaller Manhattans.
6. Perils of Digging Potatoes by Margaret Rose Realy of Morning Rose Prayer Gardens.
7. What the Dying Can Teach Us by Lori Chaplin of Lori Hedacek Chaplin.
8. New Year's Day and the Blessed Virgin Mary by Larry Peterson of it Makes Sense to Me.
9.  For Praying Out Loud by Monica McConkey of I blog Jesus.
10. St. Anthony, Find Me Seven Quick Takes by Kelly Mantoan of This Ain't The Lyceum.
11. Are You more Demanding than God? By Dennis McGeehan of warriorsworlddad.
12. Go through the motions by Nancy Shuman of The Breadbox Letters.
13. Mary is Living in my Heart? Help! by Melanie Jean Juneau of Joy of Nine9.
14. Can we say the Hail Mary together? by Caroline of Bell of the Wanderer.
15. What Type of Spiritual Poverty Do You Suffer From? by Anabelle Hazard of Written By the Finger of God.
16. Happy Lent! by Annemarie Thimons of A. Thimons.
17. Imagine Touching Jesus by Elizabeth Tichvon of click-elizabeth.
18. Be a Saint by Michael Incorvia of To Love And Truth.
19. Why Are You Still Sleeping? A Palm Sunday Reflection by Heidi Knofczynski of Journey to Wisdom. 
20.  When You Forget How to Pray by Amanda Rose of Little Steps Along The Way.

Let's make this award really mean something for our winner!

You are on the honor system. Please vote only once. (And don't just vote for the current frontrunner if it's not really your favorite.)


It's 11:15 p.m. CST, and I'm calling it a day. If you haven't had a chance to vote yet, send me an email with your vote in the next 105 minutes to cspirituality@gmail.com.

Submit your best spirituality post for a 2013 Frankie Award!

By Connie Rossini

Have you written a blog post on Catholic spirituality that your readers loved? Has another blogger's post inspired you to grow closer to Christ? Now is the time to nominate yourself or them for a 2013 Frankie Award.

Named in honor of the great spiritual director and patron saint of journalists St. Francis de Sales, the Frankie Award recognizes the best in Catholic spiritual writing. The award winner will receive a special badge to proudly display on his or her blog, along with a $10 gift certificate to Mystic Monk Coffee. Plus, the winning post will be posted in full here at CSBN. I will promote it on social media and encourage CSBN members and our readers to do so as well.

Eligibility Rules

1. The author must be a Catholic whose writing never deviates from the Church in matters of faith and morals. His or her blog can focus on any topic within these guidelines.
2. The article must be about Catholic spirituality--not politics, the liturgy, apologetics, theology, current events, etc.
   
3.  The article must have been posted on the internet between November 1, 2012 and October 31, 2013. Posts to the author's blog, guest posts, group blogs, online magazines, etc., are all eligible.
   
4.  The author must own the copyright to the piece and agree to have it posted in full at CSBN should he or she win.
5. The author must agree to post the Frankie Award badge on the sidebar of his or her site for at least one month, beginning 10 days after the contest ends if not sooner. 
6. All authors or nominators agree to visit and read each of the posts nominated. I have no way to check that you did this, so you are on your honor.
7. Entrees close on November 15, 2013 at midnight PST.
8. You may nominate your own post or another person's. All the above rules apply to either option.
9. I and my immediate family are ineligible to enter.

How to Enter

• Like the Facebook page of Catholic Spirituality Blogs Network, sign up for email alerts, or follow me on Twitter.
• Send the link by email to cspirituality@gmail.com. Include your name, and the author's name and website address. Use the subject line "Frankie."

 

 Voting 

 

I will post the nominated articles here with links on Tuesday, November 19, 2013. You will then be able to vote for one post you think exemplifies the finest writing and/or most inspiring or informative words about growing closer to Christ. The post with the most votes wins. If there is a tie, I will give the deciding vote. Otherwise I will not be voting.

 

Voting ends on December 3, 2013.

 

Please promote this contest on social media and your blogs. Encourage your readers to nominate your posts and to vote for them.

 

 I can't wait to see your posts!

Connie Rossini is the administrator of Catholic Spirituality Blogs Network. She blogs on Carmelite spirituality and raising contemplative kids at Contemplative Homeschool.

The gift of right now

By Nancy Shuman

The Present by Cole Thomas (photo credit: Wikimedia Commons).

Last night I had what I would call an "awakening." Feeling that I've given too little time to God over the course of my life, too little time to prayer, too much time to trivialities, I experienced a different reaction than I've had to such thoughts in the past.

Rather than my usual "woe is me, I've wasted too much time, I'll never 'make up for it..,'" last night I felt a gentle whisper of hope.  If I could put it into a sentence, it was as if I sensed the words: "but you have right now."

I have right now.  Knowing this in a kind of "flash," I realized that I could not turn back the clock and re-live minutes of years ago, last week, or even yesterday morning.  However, I had the moment of right then.  I could pray at that very instant, talking spontaneously to God, and I did so.  I could choose anew to live for Christ, in that moment, and I did so.

I have forgotten to pray more often than I'd like to admit during the course of my life; sometimes I find prayer a struggle.  But in each moment, I am given a new opportunity.  A fresh, shining, precious chance to at least speak to God when I think of Him.  A moment in which I can connect with Him, offer a word of thanks or praise; a moment in which I can start anew.

"Every moment comes to us pregnant with a command from God, only to pass on and plunge into eternity, there to remain forever what we have made it."  (St. Francis de Sales)

I have Right Now.

Nancy originally posted this on her blog  The Breadbox Letters.

Feelings come, feelings go: loving God anyway.

by Amanda Rose

 

Photo by Fr. Lawrence Lew, OP via Flickr

St. Francis de Sales observed two common mistakes among spiritual people. "The first is that they measure their devotions by the consolations and satisfactions that they experience in the service of God; so much so, that if theses are lacking at times, they feel that they have lost all their piety. No, this is nothing but a sensible devotion."  

We usually think of "sensible" as meaning "practical," but in the spiritual life it is used to describe something that is experienced by the senses, through our bodies. Sensible devotions are sometimes called consolations and may be feelings of love, tears of contrition or joy, sensations of warmth, or other spiritual delights He gives us as beginners in prayer to encourage us and to help us to understand His love for us.

St. Francis is describing souls who feel like they have lost their devotion to God when those good feelings go away. Many of us have experienced this very real pain of thinking that we no longer know God, that He is gone, that we are doing something wrong. But St. Francis says, "The true and substantial devotion does not consist in these things, but in having a will that is resolute, active, prompt and constant in not offending God and in fulfilling all that which appertains to His service."

We begin our spiritual journey drawn by our feelings, and then we must use our will to make choices that can at times be like engaging in a battle with ourselves. It can be so hard to really believe that prayer, our relationship with God, is deeper than than the feelings we have or the consolations we experience. Our feelings and emotions so often create our reality, but God is calling us beyond those feelings to allow Him to create our reality anew.

Read about the second common mistake at Amanda's blog  Little Steps Along The Way.