Thursday, August 12, 2010

Friday, August 13, 2010

The Biggest Loser - Daris, age 25 - 346 to 178 pounds!

Philippians 3:18-21

18
For many, as I have often told you and now tell you even in tears, conduct themselves as enemies of the cross of Christ.
19
Their end is destruction. Their God is their stomach; their glory is in their "shame." Their minds are occupied with earthly things.
20
But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we also await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
21
He will change our lowly body to conform with his glorified body by the power that enables him also to bring all things into subjection to himself.

What strikes me most today

The Biggest Loser is my wife's favorite show. I believe this show is so popular because we can relate to letting parts of our life get out of control. Today's reading reminds me of this - especially verse 19 above - read that one above again. Ouch! Unfortunately, I can relate to that. Too often I overeat, especially when stressed. What if instead of eating ice cream or pie or pretzels or chips and salsa or leftovers, what if I said a Divine Mercy Chaplet - it would take the same amount of time, but be good for my body and soul rather than bad to both, and no guilt! I usually have trouble sticking to ideas like that, but I'm going to remember that I can choose to turn to my God, my faith, the Church and Her teachings and practices (maybe even actually fasting one day - and not just eating two really large meals so the 3rd will be smaller!) If I prefer to be weak and give in to the temptation of overeating, I am acting like those in verse 18, who "conduct themselves as enemies of the cross of Christ." Big time OUCH!!!
In fact, I'm stressed enough that a Divine Mercy Chaplet may be too quick - I'm going to go pray a Rosary. We can also offer up sacrifices (like not eating late and praying a Rosary) for any intentions - I'm going to offer mine tonight for my children - that they grow ever closer to Christ, especially the one whose moving out to go to college in 6 days! Wow, thinking of that usually calls for about a pound of dry roasted cashews - I better start those Luminous Mysteries right away! Gotta go! Good night!

What strikes you most tonight?
Click on "COMMENTS" to share your thoughts.
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2 comments:

  1. AnonymousAugust 13, 2010 at 11:19 AM

    LOL... I like your comments today. I always love when you bring the day's reading into modern context.

    PS, I too love the Biggest Loser and Darius was a personal favorite.

    Tom

    ReplyDelete
  2. Easter AlmuenaAugust 13, 2010 at 6:02 PM

    Interesting point of view, Jeff. I also love to eat, especially when in stress. I will have to join you in your spiritual quest for real food!:-)

    I will inlcude your blog on my sidebar.:-)

    ReplyDelete

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Why?

Why a blog? Why St. Paul? Why do I think I have any business doing this?
We are all on a spiritual journey. We all want that journey to lead us to heaven, to eternity with God. For this journey, we need one another.
The journey so far has led me to read and learn about so many forms of authentic Catholic spirituality - Ignatian, Benedictine, Carmelite, Dominican, Franciscan, etc. My biggest problem was that I came to love each one tremendously. I began reading more and more, spending more and more time at the Daughters of St. Paul bookstore on Watson Road here in St. Louis. Who would have thought my greatest conversion story would take place in a bookstore? Mine was not quite as sudden or dramatic as St. Paul on the road to Damascus, but getting to know the Daughters of St. Paul affected me no less significantly.
The sisters are Eucharistic by nature. The first time I entered the chapel in their bookstore, the Blessed Sacrament was exposed and one of the sisters was on her knees, gazing at Christ, with an indescribably beautiful smile on her face. I had a glimpse of heaven. I knelt at one of the other kneelers and noticed on the wall behind the monstrance the words: "Fear not, I am with you. From here I want to enlighten. Atone for sin." I had that brief moment of absolute certainty that I was on the right path.
Over the last several years I have worked my way through as many books, CD's, DVD's and conversations with the Daughters of St. Paul that time has allowed. Time is at such a premium for all of us. Years ago we were told that with advances in technology we would have much more free time on our hands. We all know this has not been the case. Our lives are busier and more hectic than ever. Even if we are unable to find time to read good books, see enlightening movies or attend lectures and discussions, maybe we could all spend a little time on the internet supporting one another on our faith journeys. Many of you know more about many aspects of Catholic spirituality than I do.
Pope John Paul the Great called us all to a New Evangelization, to share the Gospel with the world. I am hoping we can all be St. Paul in this blog space by sharing Christ with one another and with others. St. Paul travelled to many foreign and often hostile regions to evangelize the world; we are fortunate to be able to use the internet to reach even farther and more quickly.
The idea of using today's means of social communication to spread the Gospel was given to Blessed James Alberione on the night between the centuries (December 31, 1900 - January 1, 1901). He was a 16 year-old seminary student adoring Christ in the Blessed Sacrament when a special light came to him from the Host. Following this, Blessed James Alberione became the founder of the Society of St. Paul priests, the Daughters of St. Paul, the Pious Disciples of the Divine Master, Sisters of Jesus the Good Shepherd, Sisters of the Queen of Apostles, and numerous institutes that are also part of the Pauline family.
So what is Pauline spirituality? In my experience, Pauline spirituality encompasses all the teachings of Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition, and love of all the other spiritualities and Saints of the Church. It is the members of the Pauline family who are the happiest people I know! It is loving God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit with all our hearts and souls, through the intercession of Mary, Queen of the Apostles, and St. Paul.
So why St. Paul? I can relate to St. Paul. We first meet him in the New Testament as a sinner. He has a thorn in his side that God decides is best not to take away. I sometimes wish I knew what that thorn was, but it's probably better I don't know. I like to pretend it is one of my many weaknesses or faults. If St. Paul could go from persecuting Christ and His Church to becoming the person responsible for spreading the Gospel and establishing the Church in foreign lands, the least I can do is start a blog. I have been especially inspired by my two favorite bloggers, Sr. Margaret Charles Kerry, fsp, and a Pauline Cooperator named Rae Stabosz. I believe Sr. Margaret and Rae are doing just what St. Paul and Blessed James Alberione would be doing with the internet.
In future blogs (which will be shorter than this first post!), I would like to share writings of St. Paul, Blessed James Alberione, and many others. I look forward to others sharing writings from other Catholic spiritualities and writers. An especially Pauline way of sharing is to point out to one another what aspects particularly speak to each of us.
Another Pauline trait is to pray for one another. My prayer is that we support one another on our path to holiness. Our goal is to glorify God in all that we do - so let's do it!