WELCOME TO SEPTEMBER
The
church traditionally honors angels during the month of September. Paul in Colossians
states of Christ, “He is the image of the
invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For in him were created all
things in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones
or dominions or principalities or powers; all things were created through him
and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. He
is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from
the dead, that in all things he himself might be preeminent. For in him all the
fullness was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile all things for him,
making peace by the blood of his cross through him, whether those on earth or
those in heaven.” “St. Michael and the Angels” is a beautiful and inspiring
book telling all about the angels. Filled with stories from the lives and
writings of the saints, it tells of the role which the good angels play in the
divine economy of saving souls. Led by St. Michael, the Prince of the heavenly
host, the angels act as our guardians, serve as messengers from God to us and
from us to God, surround the altar during Mass, and bear the graces of the Mass
like incense to the altar of God on high. Here is explained the relationship of
the angels to the Blessed Virgin Mary and how, if she is to send them to our
aid, we must request her to do so. Included too is the prayer to our guardian
angel asking him to go in our place to attend Mass when we cannot, plus the way
the good angels protect us against the evil spirits. The book also discusses in
detail the pre-eminent role of St. Michael as "Champion of the
Church," "Defender of Christians," "Guardian of
Purgatory," and "Helper of the Sick and Dying." Finally are
included prayers to the angels and a litany to our Guardian Angel, to St.
Michael, St. Raphael, and St. Gabriel. In all, St. Michael and the Angels is a
treasure trove of information and inspiration about the holy angels-our silent
partners in the way of salvation.
It is
also a good practice to ask for angelic help throughout our day. There are nine
choirs of angels and three hierarchies three within three. Remember to
ask their assistance about every two hours throughout your day
Upon rising (7 am)
address the first choir of angels, the Seraphim. Their chief characteristic is
great and ardent love. They were made for one thing alone-----to love the God
of Love. Without ceasing they honor, praise, and love the most Blessed
Trinity-----they can do nothing else-----this is their happiness. Practice upon
rising to try to become a Seraph of love: let this be your habitual
disposition. Love and do what God wills. Ask this great gift feverently.
Aspiration: "Oh! Blessed Seraphim! Make us love." Say the Shema
Yisrael.
At the second hour (9 am) of the day address the second choir is the Cherubim who
continually are employed in contemplating the beauty and perfections of God and
will share with us their admirable wisdom, if we ask them, and show ourselves
in earnest, by the practice of supplication and prayer. Cherubim are full of
zeal for the glory of God and stand ready at all times to defend His honor.
Cherubim should be invoked when one is troubled with doubts against faith those
who experience temptations against holy purity. Practice: Spend time
before praying in great silence and recollection; endeavor to "know God,
and Him Whom He has sent, Jesus Christ." Aspiration: "Blessed
Cherubim! Teach us to pray."
At the fourth hour (11 am) of the day address the third choir is the choir of
Thrones. They are called Angels of Peace; calm, tranquility, and
stability. Ask them for that peace of soul which is the fruit of a good
conscience. Invoke their aid for such as are prone to hatred, passion and
impatience; and after their example, practice being meek, calm, and peaceful
with all. Practice: Dispose yourself to great sweetness and patience.
Aspiration: "O Holy Thrones! Obtain that Divine peace, which surpasses all
understanding, may keep our hearts and minds in Jesus Christ, Our Lord."
At the sixth hour (1 pm)
of the day address the fourth
choir of angels which is the choir of Dominations. They are consumed by
their yearning for the interests of God: their principal office is to manifest
His will. We should also beg of God to manifest His will to us by these Blessed
"Intelligences" and then take care to fulfill it scrupulously, as
being the shortest way to perfection and sanctity. We should ask these Angels
to help us to spread God's kingdom upon earth, for the conversion of heretics
and infidels, and for the return of lukewarm and fallen away Catholics to the
practice of the faith. Practice: Give practical proof of your zeal for the
glory of God; do something for His reign in souls, as instructing the ignorant.
Aspiration: "Holy Dominations! Animate us with thy zeal."
At the eighth hour (3 pm) of the day address the
fifth choir of angels which is the choir of Principalities. The Principalities
watch over Empires, Provinces, and Dioceses. Purity of intention is the
virtue ascribed to them, for in their high functions they never seek but the
honor and interest of God alone. Let us imitate them. It is the intention which
stamps the action with merit or demerit. Practice: In all you do and say, seek
the greater glory of God. Aspiration: "O Holy Spirits! May we,
like thee, seek God, for God alone." Now would be a good time to also pray
a divine mercy prayer
At the 10th hour (5 pm) of the day address the sixth choir of angels the Powers. These Angels have
unlimited mastery over the wicked Spirits; they are endowed with great
intelligence and are able to discover their schemes and plans for our
destruction. Their power is so incredible that one alone of them would be able
to destroy the entire infernal host. It is well to invoke them in temptation:
but to merit their assistance we must
take care to avoid the occasions of sin. Practice: Resist the attacks of vice
and passion; frequently make acts of diffidence in self and confidence in God;
combat your evil inclinations. Aspiration: "Lord! Send Thy Angels to
assist us."
At the 12th hour (7 pm)
of the day address the seventh choir of angels the Virtues. Energy and
strength are attributed to the Virtues. They have dominion over the elements;
all nature is subjected to their control. Hence they can raise or appease the
tempest. We may profitably invoke them in unforeseen accidents, sickness, etc.
We may also have recourse to them for that strength necessary to lead a
penitential life, and root out the inclinations of depraved nature. All persons
inclined to the contemplative life should call on this choir of Angels for
help, for good thoughts alone do not make holy, one needs also strength to
persevere and to accomplish this great task. Practice: (After work) Visit
the Blessed Sacrament to obtain grace to overcome your evil dispositions.
Aspiration: "Holy Virtues! Strengthen and fortify us."
At the 14th hour (9 pm) of the day
address the eighth choir of angels the Archangels. The Archangels are
distinguished from the Angels by the greater importance of their functions: the
Guardians of those invested with authority in the Church and State and are
remarkable for their love and care of men. Let us imitate them, doing our
neighbor all the good we can and invoking in his behalf these Blessed Spirits.
Members of this choir are the holy spirits who stand before the throne of God,
ever ready to announce His commands. St. Michael is the warrior leader of God’s
angels. St. Gabriel is the special messenger of The Holy Spirit. St. Raphael is
the angel of Joy. Practice-----Two Acts of Charity, with great affection. Aspiration:
"Holy Archangels! Pray for us, and for our priests."
At the 16th hour (11 pm)
of the day address the Ninth choir of the angels. They are charged with the
execution of the Divine ordinances, and are appointed the Guardians of men.
Humility is the virtue particularly ascribed to them-----for though the
least among the Choirs, yet they see their celestial companions without
desiring their greater, more excellent endowments. The Guardian Angels exercise
continual watchfulness over the souls committed to their care. Their number is
exceedingly great, and it is not necessary when an Angel has accompanied his
charge into Heaven, that he be again assigned to a soul in any future
generation. Our Guardian, who is our companion in life, will also be forever at
our side in Heaven. The joy of these Angels is immeasurably increased when
souls entrusted to their care enter Heaven. The Guardian Angels of the lost
souls are not deprived of their share of joy. God in His justice increases also
theirs with the others, and then assigns them to the special guard of the Queen
of Angels, where they with great joy praise the Infinite Justice of God. Let
us, like the humble Guardian Angels, love the lowest place, especially when
placed therein by Divine Providence, and to behold with joy the preference
given to others. Practice: Three Acts of Humility, interior and exterior.
Aspiration: "Who is like God!"
Information was obtained from: http://www.catholictradition.org/Angels/angels.htm
SEPTEMBER
1
FIRST FRIDAY
“Trust in
the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your
ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”-Proverbs 3:5-6
Psalm
27, verse 1:
1The LORD is my
light and my salvation; whom should I fear? The LORD is my life’s
refuge; of whom should I be afraid?
This verse is and should be our declaration of faith. Let us commit it to memorization and repeat
it to ourselves daily or when fear and doubt rears its ugly head within our
depths. Doing this will help us trust
the Lord and develop a true relationship of love with the Trinity through
prayer. God will become our sanctuary
and we will be able to put away our fears and rest in the arms of God.
We will no longer have to pretend that we are not afraid for we will
trust the Lord with our whole being offering our lives, families, time and
treasure with total peace. We will be
able to sleep and awaken easily. The old
Navajo adage will no longer apply to us; you
cannot wake a person who is pretending to be asleep; due to our faith in
God.
Through our reliance in Him we will be able to say with King David, “I
believe that I shall see the bounty of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait
for the LORD with courage; be stouthearted, and wait for the LORD.” (Psalm
27:13-14).
First Friday[1]
The prayer of the Church venerates
and honors the Heart of Jesus . . . which, out of love for
men, he allowed to be pierced by our sins."
To those who show him love and who make reparation for sins, however, our Lord made a great pledge: "I promise you in the unfathomable mercy of my heart that my omnipotent love will procure the grace of final penitence for all those who receive communion on nine successive first Fridays of the month; they will not die in my disfavor, or without having received the sacraments, since my divine heart will be their sure refuge in the last moments of their life."
To gain this grace, we must:
·
Receive Holy Communion on nine consecutive first
Fridays.
·
Have the intention of honoring the Sacred Heart
of Jesus and of reaching final perseverance.
·
Offer each Holy Communion as an act of atonement
for offenses against the Blessed Sacrament.
Considerations
The fullness of God is revealed and given to us in Christ, in the love of Christ, in Christ's heart. For it is the heart of him in whom "the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily." Were one to lose sight of this great plan of God-the overflow of love in the world through the Incarnation, the Redemption and Pentecost-he could not understand the refinement with which our Lord deals with us. So, when we talk about the heart of Jesus, we stress the certainty of God's love and the truth of his commitment to us. When we recommend devotion to the Sacred Heart, we are recommending that we should give our whole selves to Jesus, to the whole Jesus-our souls, our feelings and thoughts, our words and actions, our joys. That is what true devotion to the heart of Jesus means. It is knowing God and ourselves. It is looking at Jesus and turning to him, letting him encourage and teach and guide us. The only difficulty that could beset this devotion would be our own failure to understand the reality of an incarnate God. But note that God does not say: "In exchange for your own heart, I will give you a will of pure spirit." No, he gives us a heart, a human heart, like Christ's. I don't have one heart for loving God and another for loving people. I love Christ and the Father and the Holy Spirit and our Lady with the same heart with which I love my parents and my friends. I shall never tire of repeating this. We must be very human, for otherwise we cannot be divine. . . .
If we don't learn from Jesus, we will never love. If, like some people, we were to think that to keep a clean heart, a heart worthy of God, means "not mixing it up, not contaminating it" with human affection, we would become insensitive to other people's pain and sorrow. We would be capable of only an "official charity," something dry and soulless. But ours would not be the true charity of Jesus Christ, which involves affection and human warmth. In saying this, I am not supporting the mistaken theories-pitiful excuses-that misdirect hearts away from God and lead them into occasions of sin and perdition. . . .
But I have still a further consideration to put before you. We have to fight vigorously to do good, precisely because it is difficult for us to resolve seriously to be just, and there is a long way to go before human relations are inspired by love and not hatred or indifference. We should also be aware that, even if we achieve a reasonable distribution of wealth and a harmonious organization of society, there will still be the suffering of illness, of misunderstanding, of loneliness, of the death of loved ones, of the experience of our own limitations.
Faced with the weight of all this, a Christian can find only one genuine answer, a definitive answer: Christ on the cross, a God who suffers and dies, a God who gives us his heart opened by a lance for the love of us all. Our Lord abominates injustice and condemns those who commit it. But he respects the freedom of each individual. He permits injustice to happen because, as a result of original sin, it is part and parcel of the human condition. Yet his heart is full of love for men. Our suffering, our sadness, our anguish, our hunger and thirst for justice . . . he took all these tortures on himself by means of the cross. . . .
Suffering is part of God's plans. This is the truth, however difficult it may be for us to understand it. It was difficult for Jesus Christ the man to undergo his passion: "Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me; nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done." In this tension of pleading and acceptance of the Father's will, Jesus goes calmly to his death, pardoning those who crucify him.
This supernatural acceptance of suffering was, precisely, the greatest of all conquests. By dying on the cross, Jesus overcame death. God brings life from death. The attitude of a child of God is not one of resignation to a possibly tragic fate; it is the sense of achievement of someone who has a foretaste of victory. In the name of this victorious love of Christ, we Christians should go out into the world to be sowers of peace and joy through everything we say and do. We have to fight-a fight of peace-against evil, against injustice, against sin. Thus do we serve notice that the present condition of mankind is not definitive. Only the love of God, shown in the heart of Christ, will attain our glorious spiritual triumph.
Devotion to the Sacred Heart of
Jesus is of great antiquity in the Church. It was St. Margaret Mary Alacoque,
however, who made this devotion widespread. In 1675, within the octave of the
feast of Corpus Christi, our Lord appeared to her and said: "Behold this
heart which, not withstanding the burning love for men with which it is
consumed and exhausted, meets with no other return from most Christians than
sacrilege, contempt, indifference and ingratitude, even in the sacrament of my
love [the Eucharist]. But what pierces my heart most deeply is that I am
subjected to these insults by persons especially consecrated to my
service."
The great promise of the Sacred
Heart is most consoling: the grace of final perseverance and the joy of having
Jesus' heart as our sure refuge and Infinite Ocean of mercy in our last hour.
Almighty and everlasting God, look upon the
heart of your well-beloved Son and upon the praise and satisfaction which he
offers to you in the name of all sinners; and grant them pardon when they seek
your mercy. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and
reigns with you for ever and ever.
1. Love is revealed to us in
the Incarnation, the redemptive journey which Jesus Christ made on our earth,
culminating in the supreme sacrifice of the cross. And on the cross it showed
itself through a new sign: "One of the soldiers pierced his side with a
spear, and at once there came out blood and water." This water and blood
of Jesus speak to us of a self-sacrifice brought to the last extreme: "It
is finished"-everything is achieved, for the sake of
love. . . .
2. Let us realize all the
richness hidden in the words "the Sacred Heart of Jesus." When we
speak of a person's heart, we refer not just to his sentiments, but to the
whole person in his loving dealings with others. In order to help us understand
divine things, Scripture uses the expression "heart" in its full
human meaning, as the summary and source, expression and ultimate basis, of
one's thoughts, words and actions. One is worth what one's heart
is worth. . . .
3. Jesus on the cross, with his
heart overflowing with love for us, is such an eloquent commentary on the value
of people and things that words only get in the way. Men, their happiness and
their lives, are so important that
the very Son of God gave himself to redeem and cleanse and raise them up.
"Who will not love this heart so wounded?" a contemplative asks in
this connection. "Who will not return love for love? Who will not embrace
a heart so pure? We, who are made of flesh, will repay love with love. We will
embrace our wounded One, whose hands and feet ungodly men have nailed; we will
cling to his side and to his heart. Let us pray that we be worthy of linking
our heart with his love and of wounding it with a lance, for it is still hard
and impenitent. . . ."
Fitness
Friday-Sleep[2]
Make a good confession today or
tomorrow and rest in the arms of the angels.
Sleep. Something we all need more
of, but never seem to get. (If only we had more time, right?) Today we’re going to cover
how you can. First stop and think!
Sleep is important, and you should get more of it!
“When
you lie down, you will not be afraid, when you lie down, your sleep will be
sweet.” (Proverbs
3:24)
Before we cover why sleep is important,
let’s talk about what happens when you don’t get enough For example: If you manage to only get four hours of sleep, a sleep deprived body can actually act similarly to an
intoxicated body.
Getting less sleep than average regularly? This
is correlated with increased
bodyfat percentage, more issues with insulin sensitivity, and even a
disproportionate decrease in lean muscle mass when eating a caloric deficit. We
all know missing sleep can make us grouchy, miserable, unfocused, and
unproductive. I know I’m going to have a crappy day in the gym when I don’t get
enough sleep the night before. I know not sleeping enough AFTER a workout day
can further hinder the muscle building process.
So,
what else happens when you don’t get enough sleep? “One study found that skipped sleep led to a shrinking brain. The heart and kidneys also take a beating as
does your blood pressure. You, in fact, put yourself
at continually increased risk for a whole host of lifestyle diseases,
including obesity and diabetes.
What is the logical extension of
this pattern? Numerous studies link
partial sleep deprivation/disruption and increased mortality risk!”
Conversely, let’s talk
about the awesomeness that is sleep. Here are the benefits associated
with getting enough shut eye:
·
Sleep will enhance your memory performance and creative problem solving skills.
You know, those things that make you smart.
·
Sleep can boost your athletic performance.
And we all know appearance is a consequence of fitness.
·
Sleep triggers the release of human growth hormone (HGH),
which plays a huge role in muscle and cellular regeneration.
·
Sleep cuts your risk for the common cold and other basic illnesses.
Less sick days at work = more productivity, more awesome, more leveling
up.
·
Sleep makes you more resilient to daily stress..aka more willpower!
Moral of the story: Sleep is awesome.
Yes, some adults can function perfectly on only five hours of sleep,
while others need 9-10 hours of sleep to thrive. Most people will fall in that
7-9 range for sleeping needs. So let’s get to the root of the problem for
most: “I know I need to sleep more, but my day is too busy and I just
can’t get to bed sooner or wake up earlier.” First and foremost, you’re not
alone. According to a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, nearly a third of all working Americans get six hours or fewer
of sleep a night.
Does any of this sound like you? I am always freaking tired,
and I need five cups of coffee to get through the day. Even on days when I get
enough sleep, I wake up groggy. I get to ‘bed’ but I toss and turn and it takes
me forever to fall asleep. I hit snooze half a dozen times before miserably
crawling out of bed.
A
perfect night of sleep
Let’s imagine a perfect night:
·
You go to bed at a time that you’re happy with.
·
You’re not stressed out because you didn’t just
watch The Walking Dead.
·
You’re reading a good book in bed that’s putting you
closer to sleep rather than checking your smart phone or screwing around on the
internet.
·
You sleep uninterrupted through the night
·
. You have good dreams.
·
When you
wake up, either naturally or with an alarm…you immediately get out of bed,
without a single snooze, and you feel damn good.
·
You then crush your morning routine and dominate your day.
If you’re looking at your screen and laughing right now, you’re not
alone. I’d guess this is a pipe dream for a huge majority of
our society because they’re not sure how sleep actually works, and thus have
NOT made sleep a priority.
It’s time to start looking at sleep as one of your most
important tasks.
How
to get better sleep
We have a circadian
rhythm (a daily biological clock) that ebbs and flows
throughout the day. Our body uses outside stimuli and our own
activity to produce certain hormones at certain times to make our body more
prepared for the required functions at that time (alertness vs restfulness).
·
When the sun rose, our bodies
are signaled “the day has begun! Get cracking!” We reduce the hormones that
make us sleepy, and produce more hormones that allow us to do the things that
need to get done.
·
As the sun went down, our
body starts to produce more melatonin, which produces that sleepy feeling and
encourages us to rest/recover. Our only option for light back then was a
candle or campfire. If that went out, we’d have moonlight and nothing else.
·
While sleeping, our bodies
knew to cut back on urine production, decrease body temperature, decrease heart
rate, and muscle activity. Our brains are still highly active during our
sleeping.
Unfortunately, these days, our bodies aren’t tied
to the rise and fall of that giant ball of gas above us. Instead,
we use electricity, alarm clocks, computer screens, smart phone screens, and
all other sorts of outside stimuli to adjust our natural sleeping schedule. This
means that our bodies often have no effin’ clue what time it is!
Here’s how we can get back to our roots:
Trying to get to bed sooner or fall asleep sooner? Limit
your exposure to the blue glow of your computer screens, TV screens, and phones
later in the evening. Our bodies look at blue light and think “Sun is up!
Sky is blue! Energy! WEEE!” Conversely,
lights with a red/orange hue are more reminiscent of a campfire or candle.
·
If you are somebody who has to spend time on
your computer at night, consider installing a program like F.lux –
it syncs with the sunrise and sunset in your time zone, gradually shifting your
screens hue from Blue and bright to red and dim. I’ve been using the app
for over a week now and have quickly adjusted to it.
·
Purchase old-man blue
blocker glasses which limits the colors your eyes
are exposed to after the sun has gone.
·
Consider purchasing red light bulbs to install
in your bedroom.
·
Consider
getting black-out curtains for your bedroom windows, especially if you live in
a city.
·
No TV in bed. This
might be incredibly difficult for you if you’ve been falling asleep to TV for
years. Instead of falling asleep with the blue glow of a TV at the foot
of your bed, read a book – real books or read on a Kindle, no iPads! trust me, it will put
you right to sleep.
·
Buy the right TYPE of
Mattress for you
·
Have
allergies? Try a hypoallergenic pillowcase! Your allergies
could be affecting you while you sleep, and having the proper pillowcase can
make a world of a difference.
How
to get more sleep
So we’ve covered how to get BETTER sleep, what if you also need to get
more of it? In order to
start getting more sleep, sleep must
become more of a priority. If
you constantly stay up too late because things need to get done, evaluate how your
time is spent after work. Seriously, think about it!
Are you doing the important tasks first?
Are you watching late night shows long after
they’ve become enjoyable, simply because your DVR records them?
Are you checking your smart phone while in
bed, watching Vine videos, or using your laptop to watch more shows
you don’t really care about on Netflix?
Here are the best practical tips for giving you the greatest chance at
getting into bed earlier:
·
Don’t drink caffeine after lunch if possible. Caffeine
can have an effect up to 6 hours after consumption. We love caffeine for many reasons (in moderation);
however, you want to make sure its not consumed too late or your body will
revolt.
·
Turn off the electronics sooner. I
have to enforce a “laptops closed by 11PM” or a “TV off after 10PM” rule on
many nights or I never get to bed. I get lost in internetland far too easily.
Putting in actual barriers really helps. If you find yourself checking
Facebook and Twitter and other sites incessantly, BLOCK
YOURSELF from those sites after a certain time.
·
Stop watching crap TV shows! DVRs
can be helpful, but it’s so easy to record shows without second thought…and
then we end up spending WAY too much time watching TV.
·
Shift things by 15 minutes every week. If
you want to get to bed sooner, don’t just try to get to bed an hour earlier
than normal. You’ll probably lie in bed for that whole hour wondering why you
can’t fall asleep, stressing yourself out and making things worse. I shifted my
pattern by waking up 15 minutes earlier and getting to bed 15 minutes sooner.
Then I repeated that process over a series of weeks. Eventually, you can shift
your bedtime by an hour or two, but do it gradually!
How
to wake up better
Is there any more annoying sound in the world than the “beep beep beep” of
an alarm clock? So here you are, dreaming about riding a dragon with
Daenerys Targaryen, doing improv with Liam Neeson, and playing poker with
Iron Man and Spock…and that damn alarm clock wakes you up. You are now
incredibly groggy and miserable.
Here’s what’s happening: Remember earlier how we talked
about different sleep cycles? Depending on which cycle you were woken up
during, your body can struggle to move from “asleep” to “wide awake.” Wake up in the right phase and you
can feel energized and ready to go. Wake up in the wrong phase and you will
feel lethargic and sleepy. Because
we’re often waking up at times when we’re not ready to wake up, we need to use
technology to our advantage.
This is why snoozing is a horrible idea!
Instead of snoozing, set your alarm
for 30 minutes later and SKIP snoozing entirely. If this is an issue for
you, put your alarm across the room so you need to physically get out of bed to
turn it off!
I’ve been using the Sleep Cycle App to wake up and it’s been
really interesting. You simply put the time in which you want to wake up, put
your phone on your bed, and it will wake you up slowly and quietly in at the
best point in a 30 minute window. Because it also tracks your sleep incredibly
accurately, it’s probably the best 99 cents I’ve ever spent on an app. Try a dawn-simulator
alarm clock. Rather than waking yourself up in the
pitch black with a disgusting beeping noise, why not gradually rise as if there
was a natural sunrise in your room?
Still feeling groggy? Go for a walk first thing; a mile every morning, if you can. Walking
outside and seeing that blue sky can trigger your body to release the hormones
that encourage you to feel more awake and alive.
What
about naps?
Although generally not part of a
day here in the states, we’re actually programmed to desire a quick nap in the
early afternoon. In other countries, naps are more socially acceptable
(Siesta? Si, por favor!). If you feel bad that you get tired in the
early afternoon, it’s not because you’re lazy. It’s because you’re naturally
wired for naptime. Now, you might still be lazy, but it’s not related to your
nap schedule.
What
about second sleep? Biphasic Sleep
is sleeping in two distinct periods. We’re gonna go back in the day again: during winter months, night time
could last 12-14 hours. With our bodies production of melatonin
(the “sleepy time” hormone) kicking into high gear when that sun drops, people
had nothing else to do (no TV, PS4, or iPads)and would fall asleep
early. Then they would wake up for an hour or two in the middle of the
night to read, pray, or think, and then fall back asleep for another 4-5 hours
before waking up for the day.
If you’ve ever gone to bed at a normal hour, and then woke up in the
middle of the night without being able to fall back asleep for an hour or so,
you know what I’m talking about. Here’s the thing: this is actually quite natural!
Rather than freaking the heck out and lying in bed wondering why you can’t fall
asleep…consider it something that is more common
than our current sleep schedule. Don’t be afraid to turn on the
light and read a book or use the time for meditation until you can fall back
asleep. This one ‘mental shift’ alone can keep your stress levels down and let
you get back to sleep faster and provide you with BETTER sleep.
Daily
Prayers for September
At
Morning
O
most holy Virgin, Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ: by the overwhelming grief
you experienced when you witnessed the martyrdom, the crucifixion, and the
death of your divine Son, look upon me with eyes of compassion, and awaken in
my heart a tender commiseration for those sufferings, as well as a sincere
detestation of my sins, in order that, being disengaged from all undue
affection for the passing joys of this earth, I may sigh after the eternal
Jerusalem, and that henceforward all my thoughts and all my actions may be
directed towards this one most desirable object. Honor, glory, and love to our
divine Lord Jesus, and to the holy and immaculate Mother of God. Amen. --Saint Bonaventure
At Noon
Mary,
most holy Virgin and Queen of Martyrs, accept the sincere homage of my filial
affection. Into thy heart, pierced by so many swords, do thou welcome my poor
soul. Receive it as the companion of thy sorrows at the foot of the Cross, on
which Jesus died for the redemption of the world. With thee, O sorrowful
Virgin, I will gladly suffer all the trials, contradictions, and infirmities
which it shall please our Lord to send me. I offer them all to thee in memory
of thy sorrows, so that every thought of my mind, and every beat of my heart
may be an act of compassion and of love for thee. And do thou, sweet Mother,
have pity on me, reconcile me to thy divine Son Jesus, keep me in His grace,
and assist me in my last agony, so that I may be able to meet thee in heaven
and sing thy glories. Amen.
At 3PM
Most
holy Virgin. and Mother, whose soul was pierced by a sword of sorrow in the
Passion of thy divine Son, and who in His glorious Resurrection wast filled
with never-ending joy at His triumph; obtain for us who call upon thee, so to
be partakers in the adversities of Holy Church and the sorrows of the Sovereign
Pontiff, as to be found worthy to rejoice with them in the consolations for
which we pray, in the charity and peace of the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
At Twilight
O
most holy and afflicted Virgin! Queen of Martyrs! thou who didst stand
motionless beneath the Cross, witnessing the agony of thy expiring Son--through
the unceasing sufferings of thy life of sorrow, and the bliss which now more
than amply repays thee for thy past trials, look down with a mother's
tenderness and pity on me, who kneel before thee to venerate thy dolors, and
place my requests, with filial confidence, in the sanctuary of thy wounded
heart; present them, I beseech thee, on my behalf, to Jesus Christ, through the
merits of His own most sacred death and passion, together with thy sufferings
at the foot of the cross, and through the united efficacy of both obtain the
grant of my present petition. To whom shall I resort in my wants and miseries
if not to thee, O Mother of Mercy, who, having so deeply drunk of the chalice
of thy Son, canst compassionate the woes of those who still sigh in the land of
exile? Offer for me to my Savior one drop of the Blood which flowed from His
sacred veins, one of the tears which trickled from His divine eyes, one of the
sighs which rent His adorable Heart. O refuge of the universe and hope of the
whole world, do not reject my humble prayer, but graciously obtain the grant of
my petition.
At Slumber
Mary most sorrowful, Mother of Christians,
pray for us. Virgin most sorrowful, pray for us.
Daily Devotions/Prayers
