Tuesday, September 25, 2018


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.

A Prayer before Mass[2]


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.

St. Michael Helper of the Sick and Dying[3]

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.

A Visit from Jacob[4](part of the 7-day feast of Sukkot)

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.

35 Promises of God[5] cont.

“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

The Way[6]

"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
·         Drops of Christ’s Blood
·         Pray the 54 Day Rosary
·         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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