Friday, August 11, 2006

Five minutes a day

Words of wisdom from Rachel Balducci (of Testosterhome):

We as Catholics have a responsibility to live out our faith to the fullest. And it takes more than simply showing up for Mass each Sunday. It is crucial for us to examine what we are doing the rest of the week to be the best Catholics, the best lovers of Christ, that we can be.

As a mom, a large part of my faith journey is lived out in my vocation as a mother and wife. An important part of each day is my responsibility to lead my husband and sons on the path of holiness by working to be holy myself. As Catholics, we have the beautiful gifts of daily Mass, Confession and Adoration to keep us close to Jesus. Our faith is rich; using these gifts certainly avails us of many graces.

But some seasons even daily Mass seems out of the question. My oldest was 5 when I had our fourth son; a priest-friend said there was no reason to torment myself by trying to take four little boys to Mass each day. During those days, my goal was to spend even five minutes in quiet prayer, thanking God for all He had given me, begging Him for grace, praising Him for being God, and then sitting quietly, listening for His voice.

The Lord knows what my day is like. He knows how hard it is to function on little sleep, to homeschool, to serve little ones cheerfully, and to do everything one-handed while holding an infant who is sick. He knows. He doesn't expect me to spend my day on my knees. This season of my life involves constant interaction with my children. Some day it will change but, for right now, here is where I am.

But five minutes? Five minutes I can do.

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