2 Corinthians, Chapter 13, Verse 11
Finally,
brothers, rejoice. Mend your ways, encourage one another, agree with one
another, live in peace, and the God
of love and peace will be with you.
One way to mend your ways and bring love and peace to
your organizations and relationships is to use an ideal developed by the late
Steven Covey.
Emotional Bank
Account[1]
We all know how our regular
bank account works. We make deposits, save up money, and when we need that money
later, we withdraw it. An emotional bank account is an account of trust instead
of money. It’s an account based on how safe you feel with another person.
Covey identifies six ways
to make deposits (or reduce withdrawals):
1.
Understanding
the Individual. This means listening intently to what the other
person is saying and empathizing with how they may feel. It’s important
to care for others and act with kindness toward them.
2.
Keeping
Commitments. How do you feel when someone arrives right on
time when you have a meeting? How about when people simply do what they say
they will do? You build up an emotional reserve by keeping your commitments.
3.
Clarifying
Expectations. We are not mind readers, and yet we consistently
expect others to know what we expect of them. Communicating our expectations
can help create a higher level of trust. When we ask for what we want, and we
get it, we can then trust a little more.
4.
Attending
to the Little Things. Don’t you find that the little things tend to
become the BIG things when they do not receive our attention? Doing the little
things is how we honor and show respect for others. Small kindnesses, a smile,
a little extra effort, a hug, doing something you didn’t “have” to: these are
the things that build trust.
5.
Showing
Personal Integrity. Integrity is the moral floor upon which trusting
relationships are built. When we operate with sound moral character, it makes
it so easy for others to trust us.
6.
Apologizing
When We Make a Withdrawal. We will make mistakes; it’s part of life. But
when you see you have violated a trust, sincerely apologizing is how we make a
deposit to counteract the damage we have done.
When your trust level is
high, because you’ve made lots of deposits, communication is almost effortless.
You can be yourself, and others understand and appreciate you. Then, when you
make mistakes or offend someone unexpectedly, you draw on that reserve and the
relationship still maintains a solid level of trust. Conversely, when you are
discourteous, disrespect others, interrupt others, speak sarcastically or
ignore others, your emotional bank account becomes overdrawn because you have
jeopardized the trust level. When the trust level is low, you have to be very
careful of what you say; you tend to be more political. Our most precious
relationships (with our spouse, kids, friends and boss) require constant
deposits, because those relationships continue to grow and change, and with
these changes come new expectations. If you have a teenager at home, you may
make several withdrawals in just one day! As your marriage evolves, your roles
and responsibilities may change, and your work and home lives may change over
time because of career changes or kids moving out or back in. These
relationships require constant investment.
To
remind ourselves of His love and to prepare our hearts and souls for the
reception of His body we should get to Mass early enough to say the Prayer of
St. Thomas prior to Mass.
Almighty and everlasting
God, behold I come to the Sacrament of Thine only-begotten Son, our Lord
Jesus Christ: I come
as one infirm to the physician of life, as one unclean to the fountain of mercy,
as one blind to the light of everlasting brightness, as one poor and needy to
the Lord of heaven and
earth. Therefore I implore the abundance of Thy measureless bounty that Thou
wouldst vouchsafe to heal my infirmity, wash my uncleanness, enlighten my
blindness, enrich my poverty and
clothe my nakedness, that I may receive the Bread of Angels, the King of kings,
the Lord of
lords, with such reverence and humility, with such sorrow and devotion, with
such purity and faith, with such purpose and intention as
may be profitable to my soul's salvation. Grant unto me, I pray, the grace of
receiving not only the Sacrament of our Lord's Body and Blood, but also
the grace and
power of the Sacrament. O most gracious God, grant me so to receive the Body of
Thine only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, which
He took from the Virgin Mary, as to merit to
be incorporated into His mystical Body, and to be numbered amongst His members.
O most loving Father, give me grace to
behold forever Thy beloved Son with His face at last unveiled, whom I now
purpose to receive under the sacramental veil here below. Amen.
Saint
Michael the Archangel was the protector of Israel and is also traditionally
known as “The Medicine of God.” Saint Michael as the military captain of the
church of God has a great interest in the happenings of his people, their
calamities and he does not overlook their calls for his aid. Let us therefore
have recourse to him in times of sickness. He will most certainly come to our
assistance bringing the healing graces of the Redeeming Blood. Yet, if it is
the will of the father that we depart from this world Saint Michael does not
abandon us for he is especially our advocate at our hour of death and assists
at every deathbed for it is part of his office to receive the souls of the
elect on their quitting the flesh. When the last hour of our earthly career
draws near we are confronted by that awful moment when our soul must leave the
body which it has loved so much, to pass through the narrow portal of death,
satanic hosts like raving lions will make a last attack upon our souls. But we
need not fear (but be at peace) if during life we have had devotion to the
Precious Blood and have been faithful in venerating St. Michael and imploring
his aid. He will cover us with his strong shield and lead us safely through the
midst of our enemies.
Genesis
37:3-4 “Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his sons, because he was
the son of his old age. And he made him a robe of many colors. But when his
brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated
him and could not speak peacefully to him.”
Israel
is Jacob. God later changed Jacob’s name to Israel and was no longer seen as a
supplanter or deceiver, but as one which “God prevails,” which is what the
Hebrew word “Yisra’el” means. The prophets sometime use Jacob’s name when they
are writing about Israel (Isaiah 41:14).
Never
give up on someone they may be a Jacob with an Israel waiting inside them.
“If
any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God, who gives to all generously and
ungrudgingly, and it will be given you.”-James 1:5
"Read
these counsels slowly. Pause to meditate on these thoughts. They are things
that I whisper in your ear-confiding them-as a friend, as a brother, as a
father. And they are being heard by God. I won't tell you anything new. I will
only stir your memory, so that some thought will arise and strike you; and so
you will better your life and set out along ways of prayer and of Love. And in
the end you will be a more worthy soul."
55. You are so conscious of your misery that you acknowledge yourself
unworthy to be heard by God. But, what about the merits of Mary? And the wounds
of your Lord? And... are you not a son of God? Besides, he listens to you
quoniam bonus... because he is good, because his mercy endures for ever.
Daily Devotions
·
Total Consecration
Day 14
[1]
http://integratedleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Your_Emotnal_Bank_Acct.pdf
[3] St. Michael and the Angels, Tan Books,
1983.
[6]http://www.escrivaworks.org/book/the_way-point-1.htm
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