Learning To Pray

"You are in love if you are sorry for your venial sins." (St Josemaria)

"It has already been commented on in the introduction to ti bok. no one give whar they do noc have. We

will not be able to help others fall in love with Jesus Christ if we are not in love with Him. It seems like a truism, but it is the truest statement in the world. Formative agents know, as Jesus himself says in the Gospel, that the task is to shepherd and confirm those the Lord has entrusted to them, and they are aware of the fact that this task surpasses them. They know that they are not up to the task, and that they never will be. But their safety is not in their ability. They know that it is God who accomplishes things. No matter how hard we try, we can never have the same desire as God for a person to be saved and happy, no matter how much we love them." (Joel-Isaiah McIntyre)

Let's Go Get ’em

1 In the synagogue there was a man with the spirit of an unclean demon,

and he cried out in a loud voice,

"What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?

Have you come to destroy us?

I know who you are–the Holy One of God!"

Jesus rebuked him and said, "Be quiet! Come out of him!"

Then the demon threw the man down in front of them

and came out of him without doing him any harm.

2 wherever Jesus is the devil is not around

3 we face the devil in temptations

4 temptations are good: moment to grow ;

5 hope /

Perseverance

You cannot 'rise'. It's not surprising: that fall!

Persevere and you will 'rise'. Remember what a spiritual writer has said: your poor soul is like a bird whose wings are caked with mud.

Suns of heaven are needed and personal efforts, small and constant, to shake off those inclinations, those vain fancies, that depression: that mud clinging to your wings.

And you will see yourself free. If you persevere, you will 'rise'.

• Text in chapter 'Perseverance' in the book 'The Way' of Josemaría Escrivá. Link: https://escriva.org/en/camino/perseverance/

/ fight in temptations: examples

Against purity: put away the phone

Rest by reading a good book;

Socialize more at home and with friends

Doors open

Whatch tv shows with others not by yourself

EVERY SINGLE DAY IS DIFFERENT

—From the Gospel:

Jesus came to Nazareth, where he had grown up, and went according to his custom into the synagogue on the sabbath day. He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

because he has anointed me

to bring glad tidings to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free,

and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.

Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him. He said to them,

“Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”

(The divine: )

And all spoke highly of him

and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth.

They also asked, “Is this not the son of Joseph?”

(The human: Jesus is a normal guy)

—We have been called to put together the divine and the human, in our professional work in the middle of the world, as st Josemaria says:

"Heaven and earth seem to merge, my children, on the horizon. But where they really meet is in your hearts, when you sanctify your everyday lives"

—VOCATION TO WORK: human

«Human life, by its very nature, must be dedicated to something, to a glorious or humble undertaking, to an illustrious or trivial destiny. It is a strange but inexorable condition, written into our existence. On the one hand, living is something that each person does for himself and for himself. On the other hand, if this life of mine, which matters only to me, is not dedicated by me to something, it will walk limping, without tension and without form. In recent years we have witnessed the gigantic spectacle of countless human lives that wander lost in the labyrinth of themselves because they have nothing to dedicate themselves to.»

Divine

—Sanctify the activity you are doing; turn it into a path towards holiness; make it possible to be a saint while doing that: putimg fruit at the Canadian superstore while praying for the families that will eat those products;

—Sanctify yourself in the activity you are doing; grow in virtue; in love; in capacity of service; make more friends;

—Sanctify others in the activity you are doing; COP TELLING A WOMAN WHAT YOU PROBABLY NEED IS TO GO TO CONFESSION;

—Mary in Cana: enjoying a wedding reception; talking to Jesus; helping those around her; she picked up on the fact that they were running out of wine because she is a hosusw keeper and a mother working at home, so she noticed righ away;

When we live our daily lives this way, every day is different every single day is a new adventure in the story of our vocation.

"2710 The choice of the time and duration of the prayer arises from a determined will, revealing the secrets of the heart. One does not undertake contemplative prayer only when one has the time: one makes time for the Lord, with the firm determination not to give up, no matter what trials and dryness one may encounter. One cannot always meditate, but one can always enter into inner prayer, independently of the conditions of health, work, or emotional state. the heart is the place of this quest and encounter, in poverty ant in faith." (Catechism of the Catholic Church)

"Youth is not a period of life, but an attitude, an inner mood, which is based on victory over oneself in the small things of everyday life. One does not become old for having lived many years, but for having betrayed his ideals. You are as young as your dreams and as old as your apathy and your lack of enthusiasm.” (A Spanish philosopher).

A teenager named Alex always saw his father as just a regular dad who worked long hours at an office job. One day, Alex's class takes a field trip to the local hospital. As they tour the facility, Alex notices people keep stopping to greet his father respectfully. Nurses and doctors approach him for advice, and even the hospital director comes to shake his hand.

Confused, Alex asks a nearby nurse about his father. She looks surprised and says, "You don't know? Your dad is Dr. James Thompson, the chief of surgery here. He pioneered a groundbreaking heart surgery technique that's saved thousands of lives worldwide. He's a hero in the medical community."

Alex is stunned. He had no idea his father was such an accomplished and respected figure. At home that evening, Alex sees his dad in a new light, realizing that the long hours away weren't just office work, but time spent saving lives and advancing medical science[2][4]. This discovery gives Alex a newfound appreciation for his father's dedication and impact on society.

REDISCOVER WHO GOD IS FOR ME: A LOVING FATHER;

—Maldita Nerea: INEVITABLE:

It’s difficult to explain: I carry it inside and it makes me unstoppable;

It’s Inevitable because it’s born and lives inside me;

It’s Inevitable because you make me live and because you are here”

—EXAMPLE IN THE GOSPEL:

the hand of the Lord was with him

(old and barren mother; his dad was unable to speak, then he spoke and said the Benedictus)

Our deepest reality:

“Do not forget: anyone who does realize that he is a child of God is aware of the deepest truth about himself."

1 therefore: the freedom of the children of God;

What's the best thing I can do with my freedom?

(To do his will out of love not focusing on the reward)

"To be children of God: that is our dignity! From this springs our freedom and the joy with which we go through life. We are not slaves, but children!"

Upright intention: "Rectitude of intention consists in seeking 'only and in all things' the glory of God."

2 therefore: courage, superiority complex;

“With God's grace, you have to tackle and carry out the impossible because anybody can do what is possible."

3 therefore peace;

"My Lord and my God: into your hands I abandon the past and the present and the future, what is small and what is great, what amounts to a little and what amounts to a lot, things temporal and things eternal. Amen.

EVERYTHING IS PART OF GOD’S PLAN.

DIVINE PROVIDENCE.

4 therefore: hope;

"Put all your hope in Jesus. You yourself have nothing, are worth nothing, can do nothing. He will act, if only you abandon yourself in him."

(The kicker of the kansas city chiefs quoted this one on his instagram account)

5 therefore: joy;

"We are the children of God, bearers of the only flame that can light up the paths of the earth for souls, of the only brightness which can never be darkened, dimmed or overshadowed."

"...We have to burn with the fire of Christ, we have to be ablaze with the light of Christ, and we have to set the world on fire with that light."

—You can cultivate awareness of their divine filiation:

1. Engage in daily prayer and contemplation at least for 1 minute;

2. Sanctify ordinary work and daily activities: give them to the Lord as a child;

3. Maintain a "supernatural outlook": the human reaction and then the supernatural one;

4. You need to gaz up: Mass and Confession;

5. Cultivate childlike trust and simplicity in relating to God as a loving Father; speak to the Lord with simplicity in your heart;

6. See Christ in others and treat them like brothers;

7. Accept life's challenges as ways to grow in one's identity as God's beloved child: see the opportunity, not the reason to complain;

8. Read a book on divine filiation in your spiritual reading;

9. Make a resolution to see always the glass of water half full;

10. Laugh!

—our lady: behold the handmaid;

"How good it is to stand before a crucifix, or on our knees before the Blessed Sacrament, and simply to be in his presence! How much good it does us when he once more touches our lives and impels us to share his new life! What then happens is that “we speak of what we have seen and heard” (1 Jn 1:3). The best incentive for sharing the Gospel comes from contemplating it with love, lingering over its pages and reading it with the heart. If we approach it in this way, its beauty will amaze and constantly excite us. But if this is to come about, we need to recover a contemplative spirit which can help us to realize ever anew that we have been entrusted with a treasure which makes us more human and helps us to lead a new life. There is nothing more precious which we can give to others." (Pope Francis)

"A lukewarm heart becomes self-absorbed in lazy living and it stifles the fire of love. The lukewarm person lives to satisfy his or her own convenience, which is never enough, and in that way is never satisfied; gradually such a Christian ends up being content with a mediocre life." (Pope Francis)

"Life grows by being given away, and it weakens in isolation and comfort. Indeed, those who enjoy life most are those who leave security on the shore and become excited by the mission of communicating life to others". (Pope Francis)