Pray, Think, Act

 

LECTIO: 

Sir 15:15-20

If you choose you can keep the commandments, they will save you;
if you trust in God, you too shall live;
he has set before you fire and water
to whichever you choose, stretch forth your hand.
Before man are life and death, good and evil,
whichever he chooses shall be given him.
Immense is the wisdom of the Lord;
he is mighty in power, and all-seeing.
The eyes of God are on those who fear him;
he understands man's every deed.
No one does he command to act unjustly,
to none does he give license to sin.

STUDIUM:

God in His Wisdom has given us free will.  Life is about the choices we've made.  Good or bad sometimes just happens but afterwards, we evaluate and make a choice.  Some say when we die some poor souls even choose hell.  We had better keep our eyes on God.  He understands why we choose and judges accordingly.

MEDITATIO:

Lord, how many times have I asked You to take away my free will.  I only want to do Your Will.  I don't even want to think of any other choices.  But I trust Your Wisdom and know best, so help me to always choose You.

ORATIO:

Lord, lead me not into temptation and deliver me from evil.

CONTEMPLATIO:

Thy Will be done.

RESOLUTIO:

Since I don't want to sin, I need to not act impulsively.  I need to remember to pray first, then think, and finally to act.

You are what you Choose

People are funny.  They can be so irrational.  They can believe something for so long and never ever change their mind, even when confronted with overwhelming evidence.  Then something will occur and they might, or might not.

I'm thinking of my sister who wouldn't look for a family photo my brother was asking for.  She kept saying, "I don't have it."  She was telling the truth.  In her mind, she didn't have that picture.  Years went by.  One day, her husband came across that very picture.  When she saw it, she said "Oh, I didn't know he wanted that one."  He had described it perfectly down to the most minute detail.

You see, she was very, very upset over an ex-son-in-law.  And for some reason when my brother used the term "family photo," she envisioned pictures that included the despised "ex." This was even after everyone told her numerous times, over more than a few years, that the much sought after photo was of her and us siblings--nothing what so ever to do with her children!

More drastic is the example of people who never forgive.  What do people do who hate their loved one's murderer, for years, only to find out later that the person was wrongly convicted.  Do they transfer their hate to another person?  Do they ask forgiveness from the person they were condemning?  

It's all so irrational.  Emotions drive us crazy.  

How about two people in the same accident and both are severely hurt.  One chooses to be bitter and blames God and everything.  The other lives in gratitude that they're still alive.

Our emotions are unreliable gauges of rationale.  We can't control what happens to us, but we can control, at least attempt to control,how to integrate what happened.  It's a choice.  I even call it a spiritual choice.  And it's another reason why I'm grateful for being Catholic.  I have a community of prayer warriors to encourage, love, and support me.  Deo Gratias.