This Little Light

In my last post, I mentioned my son's recent hospitalizations. Two weeks ago he underwent his 20th surgery in his eight years. The surgery itself went well and did what it was supposed to do. His recovery, on the other hand, is not going as smoothly. This is the first time he has suffered any post-operative complications. At first we were crushed or shocked or scared, but everything is turning out alright.

My son was born handicapped. We were told before he was born that he would be disabled. We cried a little. Very little. We poured ourselves into learning about his birth defect and we prayed. Over the past 8 1/2 years a lot of prayers have been said. Not just by us but also by family members, friends, church parishioners and by complete strangers. Over the past 90 days God has heard lots of prayers of petition for him as well as many recent prayers of thanksgiving. He has become and remained the wonderful little but that he is due to many prayers and growing up a Christian.

The Good Book tells us my son and anyone else that has any sort of affliction is here to show the love of God. To be a light.

As he passed by he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" Jesus answered, "Neither he nor his parents sinned; it is so that the works of God might be made visible through him. We have to do the works of the one who sent me while it is day. Night is coming when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world." When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva, and smeared the clay on his eyes, and said to him, "Go wash ³ in the Pool of Siloam" (which means Sent). So he went and washed, and came back able to see. His neighbors and those who had seen him earlier as a beggar said, "Isn't this the one who used to sit and beg?" Some said, "It is," but others said, "No, he just looks like him." He said, "I am."

Chapter 2 from John's Gospel

God loves to hear from us. He loves even more for us to show off his love for us. Learn not to see disabilities as a curse. Learn to use them to show-off God.

The Light of God before me.

The Light of God behind me.

The Light of God above me.

The Light of God beside me.

The Light of God within me.

From the Prayer of St. Patrick

Summer Vacation

It has been three months since I have posted to the Prayer Warrior Blog. It has not been so much due to my lack of interest but more to how summer vacation changes my daily grind. I am the Assistant Director of Religious Education at our local Catholic Church. Throughout the school year, I have a schedule that allows me many liberties and offers great flexibility. Every weekday morning I am able to see the kids off to school and three of the afternoons I am home when the kids get off the bus. I am at work for 10 hours on Sunday, but it is at church and very few of those hours are spent behind a desk. Working on Sunday and the two other days we offer faith formation programming is very close to pure joy. I consider myself very lucky.

Summertime, on the other hand, causes work to seem more like work. Other than a week of VBS and two one-week intensive Summer Faith Formation sessions we are occupied with administrative and organizational tasks. Also, many days I have to 'drag' one or both of my kids to work. My son is handicapped and has a nurse's assistant to watch over and care for him while I am at work. Sometimes she cannot make it in. My daughter is now old enough to stay home, but usually wanted to come to work with me just to get out of the house.

Our summer did have some of the typical and atypical breaks in the routine, though none of them brought with them a push to return to my blogging. Once school got out, we went to Florida for a glorious week-long family reunion with my family. It was awesome. In July my son became ill and spent a week in the hospital. I stayed with him each night. The illness postponed a surgery he was to have in July to August. A week and a half ago he had this surgery and it went well. The Dr. was pleased. The recovery has been another issue. He is OK, but he far from being the little boy we brought to the hospital. The prognosis is for a full recovery, but we have no idea how long it will take of if it will be a total recovery. We do have our faith and prayer - many prayers.

So, with all that said I am eager to get back to my regular routine and the Prayer Warrior Blog.

Lord of heaven and earth; maker of all things including today. Father, I pray for this, the first day of school. Would your mighty hand rest securly upon the administration of our schools as they seek to guide our children through this school year. May you influence and guide their decisions and actions. Mighty God, would you settle upon the teachers that have direct contact and influence on our children; allow them to teach well and boldly. Lord Jesus, protect and guide our children as they ride the buses, walk the halls and interact together. Lord of all, I pray that when we look back on this, another school year, we see your finger prints covering it. Thank you Lord for today and tomorrow and this entire year of learning, loving and life. Amen.

Too Big

Yesterday I spend the day with mentor and he told me a story about a visit to Ronald Regan's Oval Office.  The President was 'off-site' and my friend was receiving a private tour of the White House.  The tour was so 'behind the scenes' that my friend was allowed to walk behind the President's desk.  On the desk were three small tent cards.  Each had a quote.  Each helped keep the President focused and humble.  The card with the strongest message to me said, "You can get too big for God to use, but you can never be too small."  

How often do we become to big for God to use?  

I am on the staff of a Catholic Church. I run the Faith Formation Office.  The work that my staff and I do is very important.  However, sometimes we become too important.  Sometimes I make decisions thinking only of myself.  If all of my decisions are not considering God and His plan, then I am failing.

God has given me many talents and gifts.  I must strive to use these talents and gifts for His glory.  I must be working to make Him bigger.  Not me.

When working with people that seem to have fallen into a creative funk when it comes to planning lessons to be used at Church, I bring out one of my favorite lines.  THERE IS NO I, ME OR MY WHEN IS COMES TO DOING GOD'S WORK.  If it has become MY 7th grade catechism lesson I have failed.  It is all His!

Prayer for Simplicity

Lord, help me now to unclutter my life,

to organise myself in the direction of simplicity.

Lord, teach me to listen to my heart;

teach me to welcome change, instead of fearing it.

Lord, I give You these stirrings inside me,

I give You my discontent,

I give You my restlessness,

I give You my doubt

I give You my despair

I give You all the longings I hold inside.

Help me to listen to these signs of change, of growth;

to listen seriously and follow where they lead,

through the breathtaking empty space of an open door.

- Northumbria Community (from Celtic Daily Prayer)

Ambassador of Paradise

No, today's Prayer Warrior Blog is not hommage to Jimmy Buffet.  May 8th is the feast of the APPARITION of SAINT MICHAEL the ARCHANGEL Monte Gargano, Italy (492).  It is evident from Holy Scripture that God is pleased to make frequent use of the ministry of the heavenly spirits in the dispensations of His providence in this world. The Angels are all pure spirits; by a property of their nature they are immortal, as is every spirit. They have the power of moving or conveying themselves at will from place to place, and such is their activity that it is not easy for us to conceive of it. Among the holy Archangels, Saints Michael, Gabriel and Raphael are particularly distinguished in the Scriptures. Saint Michael, whose name means Who is like unto God?, is the prince of the faithful Angels who opposed Lucifer and his followers in their revolt against God. Since the devil is the sworn enemy of God’s holy Church, Saint Michael is given to it by God as its special protector against the demon’s assaults and stratagems.

I have been praying the NOVENA TO ST. MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL for the past week, seeking his protection and prayers.  I have been fascinated by all of his titles. St. Michael is definitely a Prayer Warrior.

Litany of St. Michael the Archangel

Lord, have mercy on us. 
Christ, have mercy on us.

Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, hear us. 
Christ, graciously hear us.

God the Father of Heaven, 
Have mercy on us.

God the Son, Redeemer of the world, 
Have mercy on us.

God the Holy Spirit, 
Have mercy on us.

Holy Trinity, One God, 
Have mercy on us.

Holy Mary, Queen of the Angels, pray for us. 
St. Michael the Archangel, pray for us. 
Most glorious attendant of the Triune Divinity, etc. 
Standing at the right of the Altar of Incense, 
Ambassador of Paradise, 
Glorious Prince of the heavenly armies, 
Leader of the angelic hosts, 
Warrior who thrust Satan into Hell, 
Defender against the wickedness and snares of the devil, 
Standard-bearer of God’s armies, 
Defender of divine glory, 
First defender of the Kingship of Christ, 
Strength of God, 
Invincible prince and warrior, 
Angel of peace, 
Guardian of the Christian Faith, 
Guardian of the Legion of St. Michael, 
Champion of God’s people, 
Champion of the Legion of St. Michael, 
Guardian angel of the Eucharist, 
Defender of the Church, 
Defender of the Legion of St. Michael, 
Protector of the Sovereign Pontiff, 
Protector of the Legion of St. Michael, 
Angel of Catholic Action, 
Powerful intercessor of Christians, 
Bravest defender of those who hope in God, 
Guardian of our souls and bodies, 
Healer of the sick, 
Help of those in their agony, 
Consoler of the souls in Purgatory, 
God’s messenger for the souls of the just, 
Terror of the evil spirits, 
Victorious in battle against evil, 
Guardian and Patron of the Universal Church, 
Guardian and Patron of the Legion of St. Michael,

Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, 
Spare us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, 
Graciously hear us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, 
Have mercy on us.

Pray for us, O glorious St. Michael, 
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

God's Internet

“The Internet causes billions of images to appear on millions of computer monitors around the planet. From this galaxy of sight and sound will the face of Christ emerge and the voice of Christ be heard? For it is only when His face is seen and His voice heard that the world will know the glad tidings of our redemption. ...Therefore,... I dare to summon the whole Church bravely to cross this new threshold, to put out nto the deep of the Net, so that now as in the past the great engagement of the Gospel and culture may show to the world ‘the glory of God on the face of Christ’.” —Pope John Paul II

Are you doing all you can to promote God's Kingdom?

Arch Enemies

To finish up my comparison of the samurai warrior's Bushido (Way of the Warrior) to the effective practices of a Prayer Warrior I am going to look at loyalty (忠 chuu).

loyalty

unswerving in allegiance
faithful in allegiance to one's lawful sovereign or government
faithful to a private person to whom fidelity is due
faithful to a cause, ideal, custom, institution, or product
the state of being loyal; fidelity

A samurai is nothing if he is not loyal. The ancient feudal society was based on loyalty. This is something that our society really needs - but I promise not to turn this into a political blog.

From the beginning of our existence, God has always been loyal to us. He has given us chance after chance to remain in his glory. We keep messing it up and he keeps graciously accepting us back into his fold.

The Archangels are the ultimate loyalists. Archangels are members of the second choir of angels. Archangels are found in a number of religious traditions, including Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism. The Hebrew Bible uses the terms מלאך אלהים (melakh Elohim; messenger of God), מלאך יהוה (melakh Adonai; messenger of the Lord), בני אלוהים (b'nai elohim; sons of God) and הקודשים (ha-qodeshim; the holy ones) to refer to beings traditionally interpreted as angelic messengers.

Of course there were the two that went bad. Contrary to popular belief, Satan and Lucifer are two separate fallen angels. The name "Lucifer" means "Light Giver" or "Light Bearer". Lucifer is thought to be the prince of the underworld and is who most consider to be the Devil. Being a creation of God, he cannot be considered an equal of God. He is more an equal of Michael the archangel. Satan's name is believed to originate from the term satan which connotes the idea of opposition and adversary. Before his fall, it's believed that he was one of the Ruling Prince's of the Celestial Orders. Satan is thought to be primarily 'stationed' here on earth. Both want nothing more than to turn our loyalties away from God.

Considering Lucifer is a former archangel, we should look to the 'field commander of the Legion of God' for assistance. Instead of pasting the whole thing, here is a link to the NOVENA TO ST. MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL This novena begins on Friday May 1.

Honor Roll

For the Samurai warriors, honor & glory (誉 yo) were often misinterpreted virtues.  If someone insults us, it is easy to say they 'took away' our honor.  Many people have died (or killed) in defense of their honor.  This was all a waste.  Honor is a one-way street.  People can give us or show us honor.  They cannot take it away.  We can do something that is dishonorable, but we cannot honor ourselves. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines it as: 

1 a: good name or public esteem : reputation b: a showing of usually merited respect : recognition honor to our founder>

As Christians, we are called to honor our God.  We honor God by who we become and what we do.  The Bible is full of dos and don'ts, but it more than that.  It is more than just following rules.  We honor God by seeing that he is in us and everything around us.  Everyone and everything is an opportunity to honor God.

As he passed by he saw a man blind from birth.  His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"  Jesus answered, "Neither he nor his parents sinned; it is so that the works of God might be made visible through him.  We have to do the works of the one who sent me while it is day. Night is coming when no one can work.  While I am in the world, I am the light of the world." John 9:1-5

My son is disabled and uses a manual wheelchair to get around.  He is fairly self-sufficient.  He does have a classmate that follows him around school to open doors, carry his lunch tray and a few other tasks.  My son will never walk, but I recently asked my him, if it were up to him, if he would rather walk or use a wheelchair.  My son told me that he would definitely rather use his wheelchair because otherwise his buddy would not have anything to do.  My son does not see his disability as a handicap.  He sees it as way for others to be the Light.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.