NIC’s Corner
Bless the LORD, my soul; and do not forget all his gifts, Who pardons all your sins, and heals all your ills,Who redeems your life from the pit, and crowns you with mercy and compassion, Who fills your days with good things, so your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. (Psalm 105: 2-5)
· Bucket List trip: Rich vs Poor Tour: 2-Singapore vs. 221-Central African Republic
o Singapore: Singapore ranks among the top countries globally in GDP per capita, reaching about $84,734 in 2023. This impressive figure reflects its small population combined with a highly developed, innovation-driven economy. Strategic trade location, efficient governance, and a strong emphasis on education and technology all contribute to its economic success.
o Central African Republic-The Central African Republic ranks 221st in GDP per capita—about $496 in 2023—due to decades of conflict, weak institutions, poor infrastructure, and limited access to education and healthcare. Despite rich natural resources, instability and underdevelopment have kept most of the population in poverty.
· Matariki is a special time in New Zealand when the night sky lights up with the Pleiades star cluster.
o My brother was an Eagle Scout before they WOKE the Scouts
· National Seashell Day-Approved by Jim Comey
o Cheat: National Steakhouse Month “make it surf and turf”
§ Stay at home: Soup
o Catholic Recipe: Eggplant Gratin
· Spirit Hour: Bordeaux Red Wine in honor of Saint Paulinus of Nola
· Get an indulgence
· June is national Accordion Month
June is all about celebrating a special musical gem—it’s National Accordion Awareness Month! This month, the accordion is the focus of the spotlight, a unique and versatile instrument that adds a rich sound to various music styles.
From folk tunes to polka and beyond, the accordion has a special place in the hearts of music enthusiasts.
· My Mother played the piano and her brother played the accordion.
Party in the Park
My father relayed the following story to me. That my mother’s brother was very good at the accordion and brought it to a park in Fort Huachuca and played 4 hours and people danced and had a great time. Lawrence Welk.
· Audie Murphy, born June 20, 1925
During his lifetime he feared no one, nor was anyone able to intimidate his will.
Audie Murphy’s favorite weapon was an M1 Carbine
He was also a Movie Star
· Do not fear struggle; courage itself often intimidates temptations, and they dare not attack us. Courage, God is.
JUNE 20 Friday
2 Corinthians, chapter 12, verse
20-21
20 For I FEAR that when I come I may find you not such as I wish, and that you may find me not as you wish; that there may be rivalry, jealousy, fury, selfishness, slander, gossip, conceit, and disorder. 21 I fear that when I come again my God may humiliate me before you, and I may have to mourn over many of those who sinned earlier and have not repented of the impurity, immorality, and licentiousness they practiced.
Copilot says:
2 Corinthians 12 offers a profound Catholic lesson
on fear—not by eliminating it, but by transforming it through grace.
St. Paul speaks of a mysterious “thorn in the
flesh,” something painful and persistent that he begged God to remove. But
instead of taking it away, the Lord responds: “My grace is sufficient for you,
for power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). From a Catholic
perspective, this is a cornerstone of spiritual maturity: fear and suffering
are not signs of abandonment, but invitations to deeper union with Christ.
Catholic commentators like those in the Haydock
Bible Commentary interpret Paul’s “thorn” as either physical suffering,
temptation, or persecution. Whatever it was, it humbled him and kept him
reliant on God. This aligns with Catholic teaching on redemptive suffering—the
idea that when we unite our trials with Christ’s Passion, they become a source
of grace, not despair.
Paul’s response is striking: “I will boast all the
more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me” (v.
9). That’s not fearlessness in the worldly sense—it’s holy courage, born
of surrender. In Catholic spirituality, this echoes the lives of saints who
embraced their crosses with joy, knowing that God’s strength shines
brightest in our frailty.
So, the lesson? Don’t fear your weakness—bring it to Christ. His grace doesn’t just cover our fear; it transforms it into strength.
In the gospel Christ warns us much like Paul. Jesus said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to go around in long robes and accept greetings in the marketplaces, seats of honor in synagogues, and places of honor at banquets. They devour the houses of widows and, as a pretext, recite lengthy prayers. They will receive a very severe condemnation.”
Although Paul exhorts the Corinthians, but I can hear Christ saying this same warning to modern man; the same warning has been repeated by Mary at Fatima. Change your hearts.
Pure hearts want to live the Shema Yisrael which Christ Himself practiced:
Hear, O
Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one; and you shall love the Lord your God
with all your Heart, and with all your soul, and with your entire mind, and
with all your strength.
Which are the fruits of the Holy Ghost? They are the twelve following:
1. Charity.
2.
Joy.
3. Peace.
4. Patience.
5. Benignity.
6. Goodness.
7. Longsuffering.
8. Mildness.
9. Faith.
10. Modesty.
11.
Continency.
12.
Chastity.
These fruits
should be visible in the Christian, for thereby men shall know that the Holy
Ghost dwells in him, as the tree is known by its fruit.
Strengthening
the mind, heart and soul[1]
Dr. Daniel Amen a noted
Psychiatrist tells us; our thoughts are often negative and seem to at times
come automatically severely limiting a person’s ability to enjoy his or her
life. How you think “moment-by-moment” plays a large role in how you feel (a
deep limbic system function). Negative thoughts may cause you to feel internal
discomfort or pain and they often cause you to behave in ways that alienate you
from other people. Hopeful thoughts, on the other hand, influence positive
behaviors and lead people to feel good about themselves and be more effective
in their day-to-day lives. Hopeful thoughts also are involved in helping people
connect with others. Healing the deep limbic system requires a person to heal
their moment-to-moment thought patterns. Most people do not understand how
important thoughts are and leave the development of thought patterns to random
chance. Did you know that every thought you have sends electrical signals
throughout your brain? Thoughts have actual physical properties. They are real!
They have significant influence on every cell in your body. When your mind is
burdened with many negative thoughts, it affects your deep limbic system and
causes deep limbic problems (irritability, moodiness, depression, etc.).
Teaching yourself to control and direct thoughts in a positive way is one of
the most effective ways to feel better. Here are the actual step-by-step
“thinking” principles that I use in my psychotherapy practice to help my
patients heal their deep limbic systems.
STEP #1 KNOW that every time you have a
thought, your brain releases chemicals. That’s how our brain works…you have a
thought, your brain releases chemicals, an electrical transmission goes across
your brain and you become aware of what you’re thinking. Thoughts are real, and
they have a real impact on how you feel and how you behave.
STEP #2 Every time you have an angry
thought, an unkind thought, a sad thought, or a cranky thought, your brain
releases negative chemicals that make your body feel bad (and activate your
deep limbic system). Think about the last time you were mad. How did your body
feel? When most people are angry their muscles become tense, their hearts beat
faster, their hands start to sweat, and they may even begin to feel a little
dizzy. Your body reacts to every negative thought you have.
STEP #3 Every time you have a good thought,
a happy thought, a hopeful thought or a kind thought, your brain releases
chemicals that make your body feel good (and cools your deep limbic system).
Think about the last time you had a really happy thought. How did you feel
inside your body? When most people are happy their muscles relax, their hearts
beat slower, their hands become dry and they breathe slower. Your body also
reacts to your good thoughts.
STEP #4 Your body reacts to every thought
you have. We know this from polygraphs or lie detector tests. During a lie
detector test, a person is hooked up to equipment that measures: hand
temperature, heart rate, blood pressure, breathing rate, muscle tension and how
much the hands sweat. The tester then asks questions, like “Did you do that
thing?” If the person did the bad thing his body is likely to have a “stress”
response and it is likely to react in the following ways: hands get colder,
heart goes faster, blood pressure goes up, breathing gets faster, muscles get
tight and hands sweat more. Almost immediately, his body reacts to what he
thinks, whether he says anything or not. Remember, the deep limbic system is
responsible for translating our emotional state into physical feelings of
relaxation or tension. Now the opposite is also true. If he did not do the
thing the tester asked about it is likely that his body will experience a
“relaxation” response and react in the following ways: hands will become warmer,
heart rate will slow, blood pressure goes down, breathing becomes slower and
deeper, muscles become more relaxed and hands become drier. Again, almost
immediately, your body reacts to what you think. This not only happens when
you’re asked about telling the truth, your body reacts to every thought you
have, whether it is about work, friends, family or anything else.
STEP #5 Thoughts are very powerful. They
can make your mind and your body feel good or they can make you feel bad. Every
cell in your body is affected by every thought you have. That is why when
people get emotionally upset, they actually develop physical symptoms, such as
headaches or stomach aches. Some physicians think that people who have a lot of
negative thoughts are more likely to get cancer. If you can think about good
things you will feel better. Think of your body like an “ecosystem.” An
ecosystem contains everything in the environment like the water, the land, the
cars, the people, the animals, the vegetation, the houses, the landfills, etc.
A negative thought is like pollution to your system.
STEP #6 Unless you think about your
thoughts they are automatic or “they just happen.” Since they just happen, they
are not necessarily correct. Your thoughts do not always tell the truth.
Sometimes they even lie to you. I once treated a college student who thought he
was stupid, because he didn’t do well on tests. When his IQ (intelligence
level) was tested, however, we discovered that he was close to a genius! You
don’t have to believe every thought that goes through your head. It’s important to think about your thoughts
to see if they help you or they hurt you. Unfortunately, if you never challenge
your thoughts you just “believe them” as if they were true.
STEP #7 You can train your thoughts to be
positive and hopeful or you can just allow them to be negative and upset you.
Once you learn about your thoughts, you can choose to think good thoughts and
feel good or you can choose to think bad thoughts and feel lousy. That’s right,
it’s up to you! You can learn how to change your thoughts and you can learn to
change the way you feel. One way to learn how to change your thoughts is to
notice them when they are negative and talk back to them. If you can correct negative
thoughts, you take away their power over you. When you just think a negative
thought without challenging it, your mind believes it and your body reacts to
it.
STEP #8 As I mentioned above, negative
thoughts are mostly automatic or they “just happen.” That is why I call these
thoughts “Automatic Negative Thoughts” or ANTs. Think of these negative
thoughts that invade your mind like ants that bother a couple at a picnic. One
negative thought, like one ant at a picnic, is not a big problem. Two or three
negative thoughts, like two or three ants at a picnic, becomes more irritating.
Ten or twenty negative thoughts, like ten or twenty ants at a picnic, may cause
the couple to pick up and leave the picnic. Whenever you notice these automatic
negative thoughts or ANTs you need to crush them, or they’ll ruin your
relationships, your self-esteem and your personal power. One way to crush these
ANTs is to write them down and talk back to them. For example, if you think,
“My husband never listens to me,” write it down. Then write down a rational
response; something like “He’s not listening to me now, maybe he’s distracted
by something else. He often listens to me.” When you write down negative
thoughts and talk back to them, you take away their power and help yourself
feel better. Some people tell me they have trouble talking back to these
negative thoughts because they feel that they are lying to themselves.
Initially, they believe that the thoughts that go through their mind are the
truth. Remember, thoughts sometimes lie to you. It’s important to check them out before you just believe them!
Here are nine different ways that your thoughts lie to you
to make situations out to be worse than they really are. Think of these nine
ways as different species or types of ANTs (automatic negative thoughts). When
you can identify the type of ANT, you begin to take away the power it has over
you. I have designated some of these ANTs as red, because these ANTs are
particularly harmful to you. Notice and exterminate ANTs whenever possible.
ANT #1: “Always or Never Thinking” This happens when
you think something that happened will “always” repeat itself. For example, if
your partner is irritable and she gets upset you might think to yourself,
“She’s always yelling at me,” even though she yells only once in a while. But
just the thought “She’s always yelling at me” is so negative that it makes you
feel sad and upset. It activates your limbic system. Whenever you think in
words like always, never, no one, everyone, every time, everything those are
examples of “always” thinking and usually wrong. Here are some examples of
“always” thinking: “He’s always putting me down.” “No one will ever call me.”
“I’ll never get a raise.” “Everyone takes advantage of me.” “You turn away
every time I touch you.”
“My children never listen to me.” “Always thinking” ANTs are very common. Watch
out for them.
ANT #2 (red
ANT): “Focusing on the Negative” This occurs when your thoughts only see
the bad in a situation and ignore any of the good parts that might happen. For
example, I have treated several professional speakers for depression. After
their presentations they had the audience fill out an evaluation form. If l00
of them were returned and 2 of them were terrible, but 90 of them were
outstanding, which ones do you think they focused on? Only the negative ones! I
taught them to focus on the ones they liked a lot more than the ones they
didn’t like. It’s important to learn
from others, but in a balanced, positive way. Your deep limbic system can learn
a powerful lesson from the Disney movie, “Pollyanna.” In the movie, Pollyanna
came to live with her aunt after her missionary parents died. Even though she
had lost her parents she was able to help many “negative people” with her
attitude. She introduced them to the “glad game,” to look for things to be glad
about in any situation. Her father had taught her this game after she
experienced a disappointment. She had always wanted a doll, but her parents
never had enough money to buy it for her. Her father sent a request for a
second-hand doll to his missionary sponsors. By mistake, they sent her a pair
of crutches. “What is there to be glad about crutches?” they thought. Then they
decided they could be glad because they didn’t have to use them. This very
simple game changed the attitudes and lives of many people in the movie.
Pollyanna especially affected the minister. Before she came to town he preached
hellfire and damnation, and he did not seem to be very happy. Pollyanna told
him that her father said that the Bible had 800 “Glad Passages,” and that if
God mentioned being glad that many times, it must be because He wants us to
think that way. Focusing on the negative in situations will make you feel bad.
Playing the glad game or looking for the positive will help you feel better.
ANT #3 (red ANT): “Fortune Telling” This is where
you predict the worst possible outcome to a situation. For example, before you
discuss an important issue with your partner you predict that he or she won’t
be interested in what you have to say. Just having this thought will make you
feel tense. I call “fortune telling” red ANTs because when you predict bad
things you can make them happen.
ANT #4 (red ANT): “Mind Reading” This happens when
you believe that you know what another person is thinking even when they
haven’t told you. Mind reading is a common cause of trouble between people. I
tell my wife, “Please don’t read my mind, I have enough trouble reading it
myself!” You know that you are mind reading when you have thoughts such as,
“She’s mad at me. He doesn’t like me. They were talking about me.” I tell
people that a negative look from someone else may be nothing more than they are
constipated! You don’t know. You can’t read anyone else’s mind. You never know what others are really
thinking. Even in intimate relationships, you cannot read your partner’s mind.
When there are things you don’t understand, clarify them and stay away from
mind reading ANTs. They are very infectious.
ANT #5: “Thinking with Your Feelings” This occurs
when you believe your negative feelings without ever questioning them. Feelings
are very complex, and, often based on powerful memories from the past. Feelings
sometimes lie to you. Feelings are not about truth. They are about feelings.
But many people believe their feelings even though they have no evidence for
them. “Thinking with your feelings” thoughts usually start with the words “I
feel.” For example, “I feel like you don’t love me. I feel stupid. I feel like
a failure. I feel nobody will ever trust me.” Whenever you have a strong
negative feeling, check it out. Look for the evidence behind the feeling. Do
you have real reasons to feel that way? Or, are your feelings based on events
or things from the past?
ANT #6: “Guilt Beatings” Guilt is not a helpful
emotion, especially for your deep limbic system. In fact, guilt often causes
you to do those things that you don’t want to do. Guilt beatings happen when
you think with words like “should, must, ought or have to.” Here are some examples:
“I ought to spend more time at home. I must spend more time with my kids. I
should have sex more often. I have to organize my office.” Because of human
nature, whenever we think that we “must” do something, no matter what it is, we
don’t want to do it. It is better to replace “guilt beatings” with phrases like
“I want to do this…It fits with my goals to do that…It would be helpful to do
this….” So, in the examples above, it would be helpful to change those phrases
to “I want to spend more time at home. It’s in our best interest for my kids
and I to spend more time together. I want to please my spouse by making
wonderful love with him (or her) because he (or she) is important to me. It’s in my best interest to organize my office.”
Get rid of this unnecessary emotional turbulence that holds you back from
achieving the goals you want.
ANT #7: “Labeling” Whenever you attach a negative
label to yourself or to someone else, you stop your ability to take a clear
look at the situation. Some examples of negative labels that people use are
“jerk, frigid, arrogant and irresponsible.” Negative labels are very harmful,
because whenever you call yourself or someone else a jerk or arrogant you lump
that person in your mind with all of the “jerks” or “arrogant people” that
you’ve ever known, and you become unable to deal with them in a reasonable way.
Stay away from negative labels.
ANT #8: “Personalization” Personalization occurs
when innocuous events are taken to have personal meaning. “My boss didn’t talk
to me this morning. She must be mad at me.” Or, one feels he or she is the
cause of all the bad things that happen, “My son got into an accident with the
car. I should have spent more time teaching him to drive. It must be my fault.”
There are many other reasons for behavior besides the negative explanations an
abnormal limbic system picks out. For example, your boss may not have talked to
you because she was preoccupied, upset or in a hurry. You never fully know why
people do what they do. Try not to personalize their behavior.
ANT #9 (the most poisonous red ANT): “Blame” Blame
is very harmful. When you blame something or someone else for the problems in
your life, you become a victim of circumstances and you cannot do anything to
change your situation. Many relationships are ruined by people who blame their
partners when things go wrong. They take little responsibility for their
problems. When something goes wrong at home or at work, they try to find
someone to blame. They rarely admit their own problems. Typically, you’ll hear
statements from them like: “It wasn’t my fault that….” “That wouldn’t have
happened if you had….” “How was I supposed to know….” “It’s your fault that….”
The bottom line statement goes something like this: “If only you had done
something differently, I wouldn’t be in the predicament I’m in. It’s your
fault, and I’m not responsible.” Whenever you blame someone else for the
problems in your life, you become powerless to change anything. The “Blame
Game” hurts your personal sense of power. Stay away from blaming thoughts and
take personal responsibility to change the problems you have.
Summary of A.N.T. Species:
- “Always”
thinking: thinking in words like always, never, no one, everyone, every
time, everything.
- Focusing
on the negative: only seeing the bad in a situation.
- Fortune
telling: predicting the worst possible outcome to a situation.
- Mind
reading: believing that you know what another person is thinking, even
though they haven’t told you.
- Thinking
with your feelings: believing negative feelings without ever questioning
them.
- Guilt
beatings: thinking in words like “should, must, ought or have to.”
- Labeling:
attaching a negative label to yourself or to someone else.
- Personalization:
innocuous events are taken to have personal
meaning.
- Blame:
blaming someone else for your own problems.
Bible in a Year-Day 4
Today we read Genesis 7-9
and Psalm 1 and Fr. Mike reflects on the covenant God makes with Noah, and how
the family of Noah becomes broken. Today's readings contain adult themes that
may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.
The summer
solstice, the day when light is at its peak, symbolizes the Divine Light that
Christ brings into the world. From this day forward, as the daylight decreases,
it mirrors John's decreasing role, creating a poetic symmetry between the
cosmos and the Christian narrative.[3]
The
Summer Solstice marks the beginning of the summer season in the Northern
Hemisphere. On this day, the North Pole is tilted towards the Sun at the
highest degree of angle. Places in the Northern Hemisphere experience the
longest hours of sunlight throughout the year on this day. The history of the
Summer Solstice is rooted in both ancient mysticism and nature. This day takes
place somewhere around June 20th or 21st each year.
Summer Solstice Facts
·
On the Summer Solstice, the North Pole receives
24 hours of daylight, and the South Pole receives 24 hours of darkness.
·
Solstice comes from the Latin words for
"Sun" and "to stop."
·
Many Native American tribes celebrated the
Summer Solstice by holding "sun dances".
·
On the summer solstice, the Earth's axis is
tilted the most, up to 26°.
Summer Solstice Top Events and
Things to Do
·
Host a bonfire to celebrate the arrival of
summer.
·
Visit Stonehenge and take the Summer Solstice Tour.
·
Go fishing - it is the longest fishing day of
the year.
·
Visit the polar circle and enjoy nearly 24 hours
of daylight.
·
Remember at the South Pole it is a day of total
darkness,
Midsummer[4] is the period of time centered upon the summer
solstice, and more specifically the northern European celebrations
that accompany the actual solstice or take place on a day between June 19 and
June 25 and the preceding evening. The exact dates vary between different
cultures. The undivided Christian Church designated June 24 as the feast day
of the early Christian martyr St John the
Baptist, and the observance of St John's Day begins the evening
before, known as St John's Eve.
Midsummer celebrations held throughout the United States are
largely derived from the cultures of immigrants who arrived from various
European nations since the 19th century. With the rise of earth-centered
spirituality, many, including Unitarian Universalists, celebrate the summer
solstice as a religious holiday.
·
Alaska-As the state of Alaska, northernmost state in the nation,
straddles the Arctic Circle, midsummer is a time
when most of the state is in daylight or civil twilight the entire day. The Midnight Sun Game is an annual tradition in the city of Fairbanks, in which a regulation game of baseball is played at
10:30 p.m. local time, through the midnight hour, with no artificial
lighting.
·
Arizona-Tucson has announced its inaugural Earthwalk Solstice
celebration, with sister events in San Francisco, Jerusalem, and other
communities around the world. The event features a walk through a giant
labyrinth, musicians, healers, ceremony, etc.
·
California-Since 1974, Santa Barbara has hosted an annual
Summer Solstice celebration, typically on the weekend of or the weekend after
the actual solstice. It includes a festival and parade. In Santa Clara County,
the Swedish American Patriotic League has held a Midsummer celebration at Sveadal
for more than 120 years. It includes a parade, decorating and raising a
Maypole, dancing and other activities.
·
Illinois-Geneva hosts a Swedish Day (Swedish: Svenskarnas Dag) festival on the third Sunday of June. The
event, featuring maypole-raising, dancing, and presentation of an authentic
Viking ship, dates back to 1911.
·
Michigan-In Kaleva, Juhannus is celebrated annually on or near the Summer Solstice
by Gathering at the Village Roadside Park. Traditionally Pannukakku (Finnish
Oven Baked Pancake) and strawberry shortcake is enjoyed followed by a bonfire
or kokko. Kaleva was founded in 1900 by Finnish immigrants.
·
Oregon-The Astoria Scandinavian Midsummer Festival has been a
tradition on the North Coast of Oregon for over forty years. The Festival takes
place typically on the 3rd full weekend of June. The festival embodies the rich
cultural heritage that was transplanted to the Astoria, Oregon region by emigrating Scandinavians. In the Pacific Northwest
they found the same bounteous seas and forests as in their native lands and the
demand for their skills at managing them.
·
New York-The NYC Swedish Midsummer celebrations in Battery Park, New York City, attracts some
3,000–5,000 people annually, which makes it one of the largest celebrations
after the ones held in Leksand and at the Skansen Park in Stockholm. Sweden Day, a Midsummer celebration which also honors Swedish heritage and
history, has been held annually on the sound in Throgs Neck in New York City since 1941. Swedish Midsummer is also
celebrated in other places with large Swedish and Scandinavian populations,
such as Rockford, Illinois, Chicago, Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Lindsborg, Kansas. The Swedish
"language village" (summer camp) Sjölunden, run by Concordia College in Minnesota, also
celebrates Midsummer.
·
Washington-The Seattle neighborhood of Fremont puts on a large Summer Solstice Parade
and Pageant, which for many years has controversially included painted naked cyclists. In St. Edwards Park in Kenmore, the Skandia
Folkdance Society hosts Midsommarfest, which includes a Scandinavian solstice
pole.
·
Wyoming-A solstitial celebration is held on Casper Mountain at Crimson Dawn park. Crimson Dawn is known in the area for the great stories of mythical
creatures and people that live on Casper Mountain. The celebration is attended
by many people from the community, and from around the country. A large bonfire
is held, and all are invited to throw a handful of red soil into the fire in
hopes that they get their wish granted.
Fitness
Friday-International Yoga Day[5]
International
Yoga Day celebrates yoga, an ancient physical, mental and spiritual practice.
Today, yoga, which originated in India, is one of the world's most popular
pastime activities. In September of 2014, India’s Prime Minister proposed the
establishment of an International Day of Yoga to promote international peace
and cooperation. His request was granted by the United Nations General Assembly
in December 2014 in an effort to highlight the benefits of yoga to physical
well-being and to world peace and development.
Can Catholics participate in yoga?
The
answer is a bit more nuanced than one might think. Catholics should not
participate in any of the "spiritual" aspects associated with yoga,
but technically can do the actual physical exercises. However, many people who
practice yoga caution that it is often difficult, if not impossible, to
separate the exercises from the meditations. For example, a common mantra
repeated in yoga is "So'ham" that roughly translates to "I am
the universal self". This focus on the self is contrary to the focus on
God to which we are called. In the words of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI:
"Christian prayer... flees from impersonal techniques or from
concentrating on oneself, which can create a kind of rut, imprisoning the
person praying in a spiritual privatism which is incapable of a free openness
to the transcendental God" The Pope tells us that only the Holy Spirit can
"move the heart" and make it "docile to the Lord, docile to the
freedom of love". If we are seeking a zen-like peace from yoga meditation,
then we are seeking peace from the wrong source.
But is it possible to combine
exercise and prayer?
Founders
of SoulCore, a core workout that combines isometric exercises with praying the
rosary, say that it is. Deanne Miller and Colleen Scariano explained that their
new exercise movement is born from the desire to nourish both body and soul
through exercise. Miller explained, "in our physical movement, when tied
to prayer-strengthening from the inside-out-we are FULLY ALIVE." www.soulcoreproject.com
There is always the Universal Man
Plan
Daily Devotions
·
Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them
in fasting: Reparations
for offenses and blasphemies against God and the Blessed Virgin Mary
·
Litany of the Most Precious
Blood of Jesus
·
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
·
Rosary
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