Nowadays we hear and read frequently about “Don’t-Worry Clubs.” Membership in one of these clubs of optimists may be a requirement, but it is not a necessity to a practical Catholic; for there can be no doubt that the best “Don’t-Worry Club” in the world is the Catholic Church, because she directs members to lead a pure and holy life, to do their duty, to rejoice in the Lord always, and to preserve their peace of soul by a simple, childlike confidence in the providence of Our Father in heaven, in accordance with the words of Saint Paul: “We know that to them that love God all things work together unto good” (Rom. Viii. 28).
“Happy is the man,” says the dear St. Francis de Sales, “who does not worry, nor grieve himself, about anything in this world, but leads a holy life, without any inordinate attachment, and abandons himself cheerfully to the will of God.”
St. Francis de Sales, knowing that all the accidents of life, without exception, happen by the order of Providence, reposed in Him with the greatest tranquility, like a child on the bosom of its mother.
This gentle Saint was filled with so great a confidence in God that in the midst of the greatest disasters nothing could disturb his peace of his soul. “I cannot but be persuaded,” he often said, “that he who believes in an infinite Providence, which extends even to the lowest worm, must expect good from all that happens to him.”
In the same spirit, St. Vincent de Paul exhorts us: “Let us place our confidence in God and establish ourselves in an entire dependence on Him. Then fear not what men may say or do against us, all will turn to our advantage.
Yes, if all the earth should rise up against us, nothing will happen but as God pleases, in whom we have established our hopes.”
Says the author of the “Spiritual Combat”: “Nothing is impossible to God, since His power is infinite. Nothing is difficult to God, since His wisdom is equally infinite. God desires our good with an infinite desire, since His goodness is without limit. What could be more capable of inspiring us with great confidence in Him?”
“Have confidence” (Mark vi. 50). “Let your care be to possess your soul in peace and tranquility; let no accident be to you a cause of ill humor.
ONE LITTLE SECRET OF A HAPPY LIFE
One secret of a sweet and happy Christian life is learning to live by the day. It is the long stretches that tire us. We think of life as a whole, running on for us. We cannot carry this load until we are three score and ten. We cannot fight this battle continually for half a century.
But really there are no long stretches. Life does not come to us all at one time; it comes only a day at a time. Even tomorrow is never ours until it becomes today, and we have nothing whatever to do with it but to pass down to it a fair and good inheritance in today’s work well done, and today’s life well lived.
It is a blessed secret this, of living by the day. Anyone can carry his burden, however heavy, till nightfall. Anyone can do his work, however hard, for one day. Anyone can live sweetly, patiently, lovingly, purely, until the sun goes down. And this is all life ever means to us – just one little day.
“Do today’s duty; fight today’s temptations, and do not weaken or distract yourself by looking forward to things you cannot see, and could not understand if you saw them.”
God gives us nights to shut down upon our little days. We cannot see beyond. Short horizons make life easier and give us one of the blessed secrets of brave, true, holy living.
True beauty comes from within. If that beauty is lacking, no exercise program, eating plan, or wardrobe update can put it there. No interior decorating scheme can give it to me. “The unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit… is of great worth in God’s sight.” 1 Peter 3:4 – Emilie Barnes.
There is a word which can not be said too often to every Christian whom God has destined to live, converse, and labor in the society of his fellow-creatures: Be indulgent. Yes, be indulgent; it is necessary for others, and it is necessary for your own sake.
Forget the little troubles that others may cause you; keep up no resentment for the inconsiderate or unfavorable words that may have been said about you; excuse the mistakes and awkward blunders of which you are the victim; always make out good intentions for those who have done you any wrong by imprudent acts of speeches; in a word, smile at everything, show a pleasant face on all occasions, maintain an inexhaustible fund of goodness, patience, and gentleness.
Thus you will be at peace with all your brethren; your love for them will suffer no alteration, and their love for you will increase day by day. But above all, you will practice in an excellent manner Christian charity, which is impossible without this toleration and indulgence at every instant. -Russell, The Art of Being Happy
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Let us take heed of the habits, tastes, and even the little hobbies of those around us, in order not to cross them in anything, especially our superiors and our kinsfolk.
There are a thousand minute details of manner and conduct, insignificant in themselves no doubt, but to which some, especially old people and nervous people, attach so much importance that a slight negligence with regard to one of these little points puts them in bad humor for a whole day.
There is question, for instance, of shutting a door, of making a little too much noise going upstairs, of being punctual to some appointment, of playing one game rather than another, of listening to a story that we have heard a hundred times before.
A thoughtless or overbearing person will despise such petty matters as mere trifles, and, in despising them, will spoil all the comfort of some one perhaps to whom he owes gratitude and respect.
A more pliant and more amiable Christian will, for virtue’s sake, submit to what is required of him, his fellow-creatures; and he will himself enjoy that sweet satisfaction which charity secures for us when it is joined to humility.
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Be of Good Cheer!
“Be of good cheer!” “Be of good heart!” “Have confidence!” “Fear ye not!” So said Our Lord on various occasions.
And the Apostle admonishes us not to be anxious about our affairs, but to trust in the loving kindness of God, “Casting all your care upon Him; for He hath care of you” (1 Peter v.7).
Don’t brood over what is past; forget it!
Be not too eager and anxious in the present.
Do your best; leave the rest to God, your good Father in heaven; keep your peace.
Don’t worry about the future. What is the use of doing so? When you see trouble, blessing may really be in store for you. Hope for the best. Accept what happens philosophically. Always act with a pure intention and with deliberation.
The author of “The Art of Being Happy” says:
“A great secret for preserving peace of heart is to do nothing with over eagerness, but to act always calmly without trouble or disquiet. We are not asked to do much, but to do well.
At the Last Day God will not examine if we have performed a multitude of works, but if we have sanctified our souls in doing them. Now the means of sanctifying ourselves is to do everything for God and to do perfectly whatever we have to do.
The works that have as their motive vanity or selfishness make us neither better nor happier, and we shall receive no reward for them.”
Cultivate a cheerful temper. Says the Wise Man in the Book Proverbs: “A joyful mind maketh age flourish: a sorrowful spirit drieth up the bones” (Prov. xvii.22).
Look at the bright side of things.
“Two men looked out through their prison bars;
The one saw mud, and the other stars.” – Stevenson
“A poet,” writes Father Russell, “was gazing one day at a beautiful rose-tree, ‘What a pity’, said he, ‘that these roses have thorns!’
A man who was passing by said to him: ‘Let us rather thank our good God for having allowed these thorns to have roses.’
Ah! how ought we also to thank Him for so many joys that He grants to us in spite of our sins, instead of complaining about the slight troubles that He sends us!”
“The soul of one who loves God always swims in joy, always keeps holiday, and is always in a mood for singing.”
-St. John of the Cross
As Sr. Lucia of Fatima said this is a time of diabolical disorientation. We find an amazing type or image of this in the life of St. John of the Cross. To conquer this inversion, as St. John did, we must remain firm and steadfast in our faith and employ the power of the Most Holy Trinity in casting the devil out of our lives. This is always done through the making of the Sign of the Cross.
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From a little pamphlet by Reverend Bruno Hagspiel, S.V.D., Divine Word Missionary, 1950’s
DEFINITION FOR A DICTIONARY OF GOOD CHEER:
PESSIMIST: One who turns out the light to see how dark it is.
THE OPTIMIST: We’re always glad when he drops in
—the pilgrim with the cheerful grin,
who won’t admit that grief and sin are in possession;
there are so many here below,
who coax their briny tears to flow,
and talk forevermore of woe, with no digression!
The man who takes the cheerful view
has friends to burn, and then a few;
they like to hear his glad halloo, and loud ki-yoodle;
they like to hear him blithely swear
that things are right side up with care;
they like to hear upon the air, his cock-a-doodle.
The Long Felt Want he amply fills;
he is a tonic for the ills
that can’t be reached with liver pills, or porous plasters;
he helps to make the desert bloom:
he plants the grouches in the tomb;
he’s here to dissipate the gloom of life’s disasters! WALT MASON
The pessimist looked out at the street.
Raining again. It had been going on for hours.
He held his head and moaned.
“Do you think it will ever stop raining?” he asked.
The optimist smiled.
“It always has,” he replied.
Face the sunshine. You will find that the shadows always fall behind you.
God helps those who help themselves.
But the optimist applies this knowledge: he believes that God will help him only if he makes every effort to help himself.
“Twixt the optimist and the pessimist
the difference is droll;
The optimist sees the doughnut,
while the pessimist sees the hole.
DISCOURAGED?
On May 6, 1896, the first successful flight of a heavier-than-air machine was made. Dr. Stephen Langley was the inventor. Most people and a vast number of scientists remained skeptical, especially since the first official plane commissioned by the Government (in 1898) from Dr. Langley met with an accident in launching on December 8, 1903, and failed to fly but fell into the Potomac River instead.
Langley, wounded by the scorn of scientists and the neglect of the public, died of a broken heart on February 27, 1906. Only a few days after his unsuccessful attempt, on December 17, 1903, Wilbur Wright made the first flight with the Wright airplane.
In 1914 the old Langley airplane was taken from the Smithsonian Institution, and with Mr. Curtis in the pilot’s seat, was flown, SUC-CESSFULLY, over Lake Keuka..
If only Dr. Langley had kept on trying longer. . . .
What indeed does not the word cheerfulness imply? It means a contented spirit; it means a pure heart; it means a kind, loving disposition; it means humility and charity; it means a generous appreciation of others, and a modest opinion of self. -THACKERAY
THE OPTIMIST’S CREED
Promise yourself —
to be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind;
to talk health, happiness and prosperity to every person you meet;
to make all your friends feel that there is something in them;
to look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true;
to think only of the best; to work only for the best; and to expect only the best;
to be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own;
to forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future;
to wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every living creature you meet a smile;
to give so much time to improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others;
to be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble. ~CHRISTIAN D. LARSON
TWO SIDES OF IT
At the time of the Johnstown flood, Hank and Dave were neighbors. Hank saw the waters rising and climbed out on the roof and lit his pipe calmly. Dave launched his boat and was about to leave the house when he saw Hank on the roof.
“How be yeh?” he cried.
Hank reflected a moment, removed the pipe long enough to spit, and replied: “Not bad, considerin’.”
“All my fowls been washed away,” groaned Dave; “how about your’n?”
“Mine, too,” said Hank; “but they wasn’t much and the ducks kin swim.”
Dave took up his oars and started to pull away. “I see the water’s up to your windows already,” he warned as he left.
“Oh well,” smiled Hank, as he nudged the chimney on top of the roof more comfortably, “them winders needed washing anyway.”
Physicists tell us that there is a saturation point — for instance, a sponge can hold just so much water and no more. Put one more drop of water into the sponge and another drop will form and separate itself from the sponge. The sponge has reached its saturation point.
In pleasure and pain alike there is such a critical moment also.
There comes a moment of tedium in every pleasure which must be survived lest the pleasure perish.
First comes the fear of death — followed by the joy of battle; first comes the shock of the icy water, then the cheery glow that floods the bather; first comes the moment of abnegation, then the ecstasy of martyrdom.
This “instant of potential surrender,” as Chesterton calls it, is what gives life its piquancy, as salt makes a dish palatable.
Do not therefore allow yourself to linger on the gross and displeasing moments which accost you in life: else the further acquaintance of life itself will be for you an endless misery.
WE DON’T WANT THEM!
Keep your troubles to yourself,
put them on an upper shelf;
far away as they may be,
where no eye but God’s can see.
Other people have their share
of affliction, pain and care;
why should you, though sorely tried,
burden them with yours beside?
Give of treasures you possess
loving care and tenderness,
cheerful smiles or sordid pelf,
but KEEP YOUR TROUBLES TO YOURSELF!
~J. POLLARD
It pays to have an eye on the future, but not too much so. . . . You can easily take such good care of the future that you will find it “ain’t there” when you arrive.
People who look too far ahead for opportunities to solve their troubles remind me of little Willie, who was invited to a birthday of a pal.
The cake, candy, nuts, fruit, were all just grand, and Willie did his share in putting them where they would do the most good.
“Won’t you have some more, Willie?” asked the hostess smilingly.
“No, thank you,” replied Willie, “I’m full.” He seemed well satisfied with himself.
“Well then,” went on the lady, “put some fruit and cookies in your pocket to eat on the way home.”
Again appeared that air of smiling satisfaction. “No, ma’am, thank you,” replied Willie, “they’re full too.”
Before harvest must come a storm of rain.
Before a tree takes root, the kernel must rot to pieces to liberate the seed.
In the immortal words of Francis Thompson:
“Nothing begins and nothing ends,
that is not paid with moan;
for we are born in other’s pain
and perish in our own.”
An optimist and a pessimist looked at some roses.
“What a pity,” sighed the pessimist, “that next to the roses are the thorns — and such large and sharp thorns too!”
The optimist smiled quietly. “Thank God for this wonder,” said he, “that He has so marvelously arranged everything in nature that next to the thorns He has placed the roses, the queen of all flowers.”
When a man tells his troubles to another he usually exaggerates them so they really sound bad. After a while he believes them himself . . . and then they ARE bad.
A man in charge of an aquarium divided a small tank into two sections with some plate glass, and in one section put small minnows, and in the other a healthy black bass of the vicious “small mouth” variety.
For three days the bass kept charging into the glass partition to get at the minnows. At the end of that time, he desisted from further efforts, and surrendered to pessimism, melancholy and a sore head.
The keeper then removed the partition and the minnows of course swam all around the bass. But he paid no attention to them.
HE WAS CONVINCED THAT BUSINESS WAS BAD!
Death is the only thing that comes to the man who waits. If you want success, work for it. Don’t wait for it.
It is not even wise (not to mention Christian) to be knocking all the time. Only a woodpecker can engage in constant knocking and get along all right. And he lives on grubs and insects.
THE PESSIMIST
Nothing to do but work,
nothing to eat but food,
nothing to wear but clothes
to keep from going nude.
Nothing to breathe but air,
quick as a flash ’tis gone,
nowhere to fall but off,
nowhere to stand but on.
Nothing to sing but songs,
as well! alas! alack
nowhere to go but out,
nowhere to come but back.
Nothing to see but sights,
nothing to quench but thirst,
nothing to have but what we’ve got,
thus through life we are cursed.
Nothing to strike but a gait,
everything moves that goes,
nothing at all but common sense
can ever withstand these woes.
Few things are more important in a home than its conversation, and yet there are few things to which less thought is given. The power to communicate good which lies in the tongue—is simply incalculable. It can impart knowledge; utter words which will shine like lamps in darkened hearts; speak kindly sentences which will comfort sorrow or cheer despondency; breathe out thoughts which will arouse and quicken heedless souls; even whisper the secret of life giving energy to spirits that are dead. -J.R. Miller
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Cheerfulness and kindness go hand in hand. Cultivate the spirit of cheerfulness from a supernatural motive. This means self-restraint, self-control for the love of God and your neighbor.
Take care not to lose your temper; for nobody wants it. Keep a smile on your face and a kind word on your tongue all day long towards your superiors, equals, and inferiors. You will make others happy, and find happiness yourself in giving joy and comfort to others.
A smile, like a yawn, is infectious. Smile and you will receive a smile in return, but if you should meet a churl, who gives you a frown for a smile, well, with a gracious word to him, take your departure; let this not disturb you. Your Guardian Angel has recorded your good deed, and your kindness will receive a heavenly reward. Continue reading →
Joy! It is such an important ingredient when raising a family! There will be something (terribly) missing and your children may be tempted to jump ship….if there is no joy. Why would they want what you have….your religion, your way of life…..if you don’t have joy? It’s something worth praying for and striving for! Father Considine may help us today!
Rev. Daniel Considine, S.J., 1950’s
St. Paul says, ‘Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, rejoice.'( 1 Phil. iv. 4.).
If we want to serve God, joy should be not only an element; it should be the staple of our life.
Our difficulties are so great, our enemies so many, that unless we are supported by joy, we shan’t do what God wants us to do. It is a point of great consequence.
There is a sort of impression that in the service of God there ought to be a certain sobriety, an earnestness-yes, sadness, which makes the distinction between the service of the world, and the service of God; and that those who serve God must expect more tribulation and uneasiness of mind. Entirely false.
St. Paul, speaking under the dictation of the Holy Spirit, says, ‘Rejoice, again I say, rejoice.’ If we think the ideal of a religious person is to be sad, it is quite wrong; it is the direct opposite to the truth.
We are never so much fitted to cope with the difficulties of the spiritual life as when we are in joy. Often, when difficulties are to follow, God strengthens souls by an extra dose of joy. He expands the heart, and fills us with more faith and hope and love, and so makes us ready to overcome our enemies.
Read carefully the Acts of the Apostles: no one can read them without being struck by the spirit of buoyancy and exaltation that fills and pervades them; one might almost call it high spirits.
The Apostles carried their lives in their hands; they were scourged, and came forth from their severe flogging full of joy, rejoicing they were found worthy to suffer for Our Lord. We certainly then can’t be doing wrong in making our lives lives of joy.
This matter bears on our daily life. Is this our view? We are so apt to think others have so much to make their lives happy. ‘They ought to rejoice.’ The question remains: does God mean ME to rejoice in Him? Don’t evade the difficulty by saying, ‘Oh, it’s some sort of spiritual joy which I don’t understand: ordinary joy I can’t feel.’
‘What is meant if not real joy, real happiness, and if you don’t feel the service of God produces this, there is something wrong with you.
It is a very common error-that God sends us trials for their own sake. Looking on pain and trouble as good things is not a sound view. It does us harm by making us think God takes pleasure in seeing us suffer.
The greatest possible happiness to be got out of life is in the service of God. God doesn’t like to see us cry, even though it is good for us. It pains God for me to suffer pain- that is a lovable and TRUE view of God. To think of the Passion as God heaping torments on His Son is Jansenist.
Taking our lives as they are, and being happy in them, is a true way to perfection.
Very few crosses are DIRECTLY sent by God. God permits them, but they come from someone, or something else, or from ourselves- being disappointed in something we had aimed at. We should cut down our estimate of what God really sends us very considerably.
What does He want of me? He wants you to take your life as it is, bearing your trials and disappointments as quietly as you can. Empty lamenting over things not being as they ought to be, must be eschewed.
The way to make things better is not to be doleful, but happy and cheerful. ‘Your joy no man shall take from you . . .’ (I John xvi. 22).
Our life is as it is: in that I am to find the material for serving God. Supposing even my trials are my own fault really-the results of my own actions staring me in the face.
If I can’t put it to rights, let me be sorry for what is wrong and go on cheerfully. Start afresh. The service of God is from hour to hour and from day to day. If things are going contrary, it is a pity to be thinking we have great crosses and trials, and bemoaning ourselves: the way to do work for God is to be full of happiness. . . . No heart was ever so tender as the Heart of Our Lord; He couldn’t see a person weep without wanting to stop their tears.
Then how am I to account for my life being so full of misery?-Is it all as I think? If the fault is in me, it is hard to put it all on God.
You don’t think your temper, for instance, comes down straight from God? God respects our free will. Should we like to be milksops in God’s service? One of Our Lord’s favored servants prayed to Him to take away certain faults of temper in her Superior. ‘Not at all,’ Our Lord answered her, ‘they are very good for you, and for her too. She is so sorry for them. I love her all the more.’
We need not be dissatisfied because we have no special trial; bearing with our wretched bodies and souls is the staple of our service to God. ‘Traffic till I come.’ (Luke xix.13). Bear the cross and all your difficulties well – don’t make much of them.
We ought to be ashamed to run like children with a hurt finger for sympathy and consolation in every little trouble. God loves His own as the apple of His eye. Bear all then in love and patience for His sake.
We must get out of our heads the idea that we can only be religious by being miserable. If you will think of God as difficult and unapproachable, – if you are afraid of Him, and think He is high and haughty, and far away from you, you won’t love Him.
One of the ruses of the devil, whenever we fall short of the highest standard, is to tell us: ‘You art not one of those chosen souls who are called to love God.’
You must think of Him as one who knows our poor craven natures. He knows it all seems flat and monotonous, and that you feel weary of well-doing. It will all pass: Our Lord hasn’t abandoned you.
Hold on – it will all come right again. When we are unfaithful, to believe that Our Lord will give us up, that is utterly false. We can never love Our Lord as we should, if we think He remembers things against us. Remember the way He behaved towards His Apostles.
No one likes to be taken for granted. In any human relationship a little sign of appreciation goes a long way. Life does not have to be a hard pull uphill all the time. To know that someone, especially the one we love, values our efforts sends us off with our heads in the clouds. The wife who is wise enough to show her husband appreciation for all his efforts will keep his heart fixed upon her. – The Wife Desired, Fr. Leo Kinsella http://amzn.to/2rtUpb9 (afflink)
“This is a unique book of Catholic devotions for young children. There is nothing routine and formal about these stories. They are interesting, full of warmth and dipped right out of life.
These anecdotes will help children know about God, as each one unfolds a truth about the saints, the Church, the virtues, etc. These are short faith-filled stories, with a few questions and a prayer following each one, enabling the moral of each story to sink into the minds of your little ones.
The stories are only a page long so tired mothers, who still want to give that “tucking in” time a special touch, or pause a brief moment during their busy day to gather her children around her, can feel good about bringing the realities of our faith to the minds of her children in a childlike, (though not childish), way.
There is a small poem and a picture at the end of each story.
Through these small stories, parents will sow seeds of our Holy Catholic Faith that will enrich their families all the years to come!”
Father talks about the re-education of the mind and the will when overcome with sadness, discouragement or depression. He goes more in depth in his book, but through this excerpt you are able to see that often the cure is simple, if applied consistently and with perseverance….and that the cure is in our hands.
Exercise Conscious Life
When you are not engaged in intellectual work, rest your mind by receiving conscious sensations with an easy, peaceful attention to the things of the external world.
And when doing mental work exert yourself in concentrating all your attention there. Forget the past, future and yourself. In the beginning you will do this easily for a few moments.
Then by progressive increase of attention you will attain normal concentration. The root of the evil is in domination of conscious mental activity by the unconscious.
Now the acts prescribed above are in themselves insignificant. Yet, because they are fully conscious and often repeated during the day, they attack the root of the evil directly. They produce a reaction of greater joy, peace and mastery.
Don’t Be Discouraged
Do not think it strange if in the morning you notice a greater sensation of the symptoms, discouragement or fatigue, and if fatigue is less and sadness almost gone by the afternoon or after doing some work.
The reason is that the unconscious is in control during sleep. And there is danger after awakening of continuing under its disturbing influence. After some controlled acts, however, joy returns again and our vigor is rejuvenated.
Nor should you wonder at the periodic appearance of enthusiasm and discouragement, progress and apparent setbacks. This happens in many mental and nervous illnesses.
Fight Pessimism
An uncontrolled imagination drives a man toward pessimism and exaggeration of his troubles, and hence to discouragement and despair. For sad events and experiences, at one time conscious but now perhaps forgotten, continue to be active on the unconscious level. They tend to add a pessimistic overtone to all mental images.
If we reflect on our thoughts and feelings we shall see that even insignificant beginnings can have terrifying consequences. A brief daily examination in writing of the course of your pessimistic imaginings will quickly convince you of this.
You will then belittle those fears, troubles and worries. If you discount your fears by 90 percent, you will be closer to reality.
Give no importance then to imagined ills or fears for the future. Better still, once you recognize the error or exaggeration of your unconscious mental associations, deliberately come to the opposite conclusion: enthusiasm, joy, courage, optimism.
For, as Father Gar-Mar again said, the shadow of the cross is often larger than the cross itself. So black, so sad, so crushing are the crosses we dream up for ourselves.
Foster Joy and Optimism
Insist upon joy and optimism as opposed to the sadness and discouragement which sometimes seem so natural. Do this by briefly changing your occupation and busying yourself with thoughts, readings and conversations which make the mind happy and elevate it.
Do not pretend to drown melancholy in alcohol for, as a modern author says, drinking does not drown our troubles but only irrigates them.
The central powerhouse which supplies current to our organs is optimism, either instinctive or acquired.
Feelings of joy and health stimulate blood circulation and accelerate nutritional processes. If you doubt your forces and think yourself sick, you are already beginning to be sick. Then the central powerhouse has lowered its potential. All lights grow dim. Your organs do not work so well.
Sad passions, such as fear, worry, discouragement, agitation, anger, scorn, anxiety, make us realize the truth in the common phrase, “It makes me sick!”
All joy is curative and all discouragement tends to increase our troubles. Gladness is a swimming pool of health where we should bathe each day.
Get Down To Work
If you suffer from any of the personality maladjustments remember that there is no lesion in your higher faculties, above all in you will.
What happens is that you do not know how to use them. These faculties are marvelous forces. When well directed they are capable of transforming any mental pattern and curing any abnormality.
But you must know how to avail yourself of their benefits. This is easily attained by re-education. You have the cure in your own hands. A little constancy and method is enough.
Your thoughts are the limit of your activities. No one takes a single step further than his convictions. If you imagine to yourself that you cannot do this or that, you will never do it.
“Possunt quia posse videntur,” the old Romans used to say. “They can because they think they can.”
Aside from the times when you need the ministrations or advice of a profession physician, your six best doctors are sun, water, air, exercise, diet and joy. They are always there waiting for you. They cure your ills and do not cost you a cent.
Are your thoughts building a castle or a manure pile? It is vital to control the thoughts we have in our most important relationship…the one with our husband!
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One of the wisest sayings in the Gospel is “Let the day’s own trouble be sufficient for the day.”
Let us absorb this lesson Jesus teaches. We often complain about how much we are suffering, without realizing that it’s our fault.
As if today’s suffering weren’t enough, we add regrets about the past and worries for the future! It’s no surprise we feel overwhelmed.
For life to be bearable, we must practice bearing today’s problems only. The past casts its shadow over the present whenever we brood about old failures and yesterday’s choices. Of course we should ask God’s forgiveness for our faults and should learn from them where appropriate. But once we’ve said we’re sorry and meant it, that is enough.
While seeking to make amends where possible for the harm we have caused, most of the time we should simply leave things in God’s hands, trusting him to put everything right. We must put a stop to attitudes or thoughts that keep us from living trustingly in the present moment.
Sometimes we feel we’ve wasted much time and missed all too many opportunities to love and grow. If the feeling leads to real repentance and to starting again courageously and trustingly, then it is something positive.
But if the sense of time wasted gets us down and makes us feel we have ruined our lives, we must reject it.
To lock ourselves in the past would only add another sin to those already committed. It would be a serious lack of trust in the infinite mercy and power of God, who loves us and wants always to offer us a new chance to become holy, despite the past.
When the thought of how little progress we’ve made threatens to overwhelm us, we must make an act of faith and hope, such as: “Thank you, my God, for all my past. I firmly believe that you can draw good out of everything I have lived through. I want to have no regrets, and I resolve today to begin from zero, with exactly the same trust as if all my past history were made up of nothing but faithfulness and holiness.”
Nothing could please God more than that!
“One day at a time. This is very important. Very often we exhaust ourselves going over the past again and again and also our fears about the future. But when we live in the present moment, we mysteriously find strength. We have the grace to live through what we encounter today. If tomorrow we must face more difficult situations, God will increase his grace. God’s grace is given at the right time for it, day by day.” -Fr. Jacques Philippe, The Way of Trust and Love http://amzn.to/2wGXpkw Painting: Scent of a Rose by Sheri Dinardi (afflink)
Beautiful Vintaj Brass Wire Wrapped Our Lady Rosary! Lovely, Durable…
Wire wrapping is one of the oldest techniques for making jewelry or rosaries by hand. Frequently, in this approach, a wire is bent into a loop or other decorative shape and then the wire is wrapped around itself to finish the wire component making that loop or decorative shape permanent. Not only is it quite beautiful but it makes the rosaries sturdy and durable.
It all began in a cafe, like so many of the meaningful moments in my life. He and I were sitting together over a grande latte in the newly-opened coffee shop at the Green Hills Mall when my dear friend Susan walked in.
My face lit up as soon as I spotted her. She and I had only known each other for a short time, but we’d made an immediate connection the minute we met…Soul-sisters.
Our young family had recently moved to Nashville and I’d felt rather alone up until then. Being with her was like a breath of fresh air to me.
So I shot her my sunniest smile, “Hey, girlfriend! C’mon over!”
A big hug before both of us began bubbling over with all the latest news. I complimented her on her new dress. I told her how much I liked the way she was wearing her hair. I thanked her for the book she’d lent me and emphasized how glad I was to see her!
At some point, I noticed how subdued my husband had become. I waited until she’d left us, then asked him what was up. Something was clearly on his mind. I could tell that much.
He said it so softly, I barely heard him. “I wish you’d do that for me.”
“Okay, I don’t mean to be difficult… but do what??”
“Light up with a sweet smile. Speak kindly and say nice things.”
No further explanation was needed. I knew EXACTLY what he was talking about. And he was right. I was all smiles for Susan. Saved my grumpies for him. Rarely bothered with the niceties anymore. Not particularly gracious or polite.
In all honesty? I didn’t offer too much of this kind of thing to my husband. He was supposed to love me “just the way I was”. No frills or syrup for him.
But how hurtful for him to see me put on my “sweet face” for everyone else—everyone except the man to whom I’d pledged my lifelong love. Here I was handing out the big smiles and warm compliments to my new friend….and dribbling out the tired frowns and whiny complaints to him. There’s something not quite right about that.
Now don’t feel badly if you’re cringing. I was cringing too. Somewhat sickened, really….Definitely convicted.
So, girlfriend, that’s what got me thinking…. If we’re putting on our brightest smiles for our sisters… If we’re saving our warmest words for our friends…. If we’re sharing our kindest thoughts with the girls….
Then we might want to consider how hard it must be for him to watch. Maybe he doesn’t mention it, but my guess is that he’d appreciate some of that warmth and kindness shown to him too.
So even if he’s around most every day, why not light up when he walks in the room? Tell him how handsome he’s looking today…. How glad you are to see him. A big hug and maybe a bit more. Put on your sweet face and say nice things.
Be like a breath of fresh air to him.
Be a kind wife.
“Home should not be just a place. Rather, it must be THE place. All else should be ‘outside.’ Home should be the center of activities and interests. It was built for births, courtship, marriage, and death. It is maintained so that children might grow, trained by precept and example – so that they will develop spiritually, mentally, and emotionally, just as they do physically.”
– Fr. Lawrence G. Lovasik. The Catholic Family Handbook
Mothers, we live out our lives of service and love, and every season becomes an opportunity of teaching and planting seeds of the Faith in the minds and hearts of our children. I have prepared this Lenten journal to help you to keep on track. It is to assist you in keeping focused on making Lent a special time for your family. We do not have to do great things to influence those little people. No, we must do the small things in a great way…with love and consistency. Catholic culture is built on celebrating, in the home, the feasts, the seasons, the saints, the holydays ….making them come alive in a beautiful and charming way.
Lent is that special season wherein we teach our children the value of sacrifice and of discipline. This journal will lay out some simple activities in which your children will be doing their sacrifices and will have a tangible means of “counting” them for Jesus. You, Mom, will have a place to put a check mark if that the activity is remembered and completed for the day.
This journal also includes a place for you to check off whether you are fulfilling your own personal resolutions…your Spiritual Reading, your Family Rosary, etc. It makes it more palpable if you can check it off at the end of the day….there’s just something about putting pen to paper when an accomplishment has been fulfilled! My hope is that this journal may help you stay focused on making this Lent fruitful for your own soul and the souls of those little people entrusted to your care!
This message is so simple, yet so powerful! Do you want to attract others to Christ, do you want your children to desire what you deem important in this life? Then, BE CHEERFUL!
Montaigne says: “The most manifest sign of wisdom is contented cheerfulness, and it is undoubtedly true that a cheerful man has a creative power which a pessimist never possesses.”
Lew Wallace tells us: “A man’s task is always light if his heart is light,” and there is wisdom in the Spanish proverb: “Who sings in grief procures relief.”
The presence of a good and cheerful man acts like an invigorating tonic upon all around him. Nothing disturbs the equanimity of his spirit, which springs from the peace of God in his heart.
Peace with God implies the state of grace, a good conscience, submission to and fulfillment of the divine will. Peace with self implies the mastery over one’s passions, the consciousness of duty well done, the approval of one’s conscience. Peace with one’s neighbor implies the commandment of love, the observance of the golden rule: “As you would that men should do to you, do you also to them in like manner.” (Luke vi. 31.) This threefold peace is the basis of happiness.
A cheerful Christian is a rebuke to the world, whose votaries make it a matter of reproach against religion that it sends men to learn the solemn lessons of the grave and casts a blight upon life, that meditation on the eternal truths tends to stifle endeavor, to paralyze our energies, and to sadden our days.
Religion really tends to gladden our hearts and to make our days calm and tranquil. “Rejoice in the Lord always!” applies to all true Christians. They ought always to be cheerful, and their joy should find expression in deeds of kindness and helpfulness to all with whom they come in contact.
They ought to heed the Words of Our Lord to His followers: “Be of good cheer!”
Life today is so strenuous that there is constant need of relief from its strain, and a sunny, cheerful, gracious soul is like a sea breeze in sultry August or like a “draught of cool refreshment drained by fevered lips.”
The author of “The Floral Apostles,” referring to the crocus and the primrose as the emblems of cheerfulness, says: “Cheerfulness furnishes the best soil for the growth of goodness and virtue. It is also the best of moral and mental tonics.
‘A glad heart maketh a cheerful countenance, but by grief of mind the spirit is cast down.’ (Prov. xv. 13.)
‘A joyful mind maketh age flourishing; a sorrowful spirit drieth up the bones.’ (Prov. xvii. 22.)”
We can all acquire greater cheerfulness by assuming the right mental attitude toward our environment and circumstances, by looking habitually at the bright side of things, by
training ourselves persistently to see the good and pleasant things in our common, daily life.
Some persons seem to have eyes only for the disagreeable things that happen to come into their life; they forget or overlook their blessings, and brood over their trials and misfortunes.
The soothing line in “The Rainy Day”: “Behind the clouds is the sun still shining,” does not comfort them.
Stevenson says: “Two men looked out through their prison bars; the one saw mud and the other stars.”
Let us learn to look at life not to find misery and discomfort in it, but to find goodness, gladness, and beauty.
A poet was gazing one day at a beautiful rose-tree. “What a pity,” said he, “that these roses have thorns!” A man who was passing by remarked: “Let us rather thank our good God for having allowed these thorns to have roses.”
Ah! how we also ought to thank God for the many joys and blessings that He grants us in spite of our sins, instead of complaining about the slight troubles that He sends us.
A good suggestion in regard to any past trouble or humiliation is this: “Let it go!”
“Forget it!” An optimist writes: “If you had an unfortunate experience this last year forget it. If you have made a failure in your speech, your song, your book, or your article; if you have been placed in an embarrassing position, if you have been deceived and hurt by one whom you looked upon as a friend, if you have been slandered and abused, do not dwell upon it, do not brood over it; forget it!
There is not a single redeeming feature in these memories. Do not make yourself unhappy by keeping on the walls of your heart the pictures of vanished joys and faded hopes. Forget them. Count your blessings. Be of good cheer.”
A piece of advice on which I have insisted repeatedly: Be cheerful, always cheerful. It is for those to be sad who do not consider themselves to be sons of God. -St. Josemaria
Blessed Mother “Madonna and Son” Apron! Feminine and Beautiful! Make a statement with this lovely and graceful “Madonna and Son” handcrafted apron….fully lined….made with care. Aprons tell a beautiful story…..a story of love and sacrifice….of baking bread and mopping floors, of planting seeds and household chores. Sadly, many women have tossed the aprons aside and donned their business attire. Wear your apron with joy….it is a symbol of Femininity….”Finer” Femininity!
A sunny disposition, to me, is a person of goodwill…..someone who is willing to see the good -i n circumstances and in others. What follows is a peace – “Peace to men of good will” as the Bible states.
May we strive to be people of good will….with a sunny disposition!
Once I looked upon the face of a dear little boy whose bright eyes and sunny smiles cheered my heart. I asked him what his name might be, and he answered, “Papa calls me ‘Sunshine John.’ ” Then I knew that the merry smile I saw was, as I thought, an index to the sunny little heart. Any home is blessed if it has a sunshine maker.
Every girl owes it to herself and to her associates to be sunny. A happy girlhood is so beautiful that it cannot afford to be spoiled by needless frowns and pouts. There are clouds enough in life without making them out of temper.
A girl who is full of smiles and sunshine is a fountain of joy to all who know her. The world has enough of tears and sorrow at best, and her sweet, smiling face can scatter untold clouds. Could a girl ask for a better calling than that of a joy maker for all about her?
Every girl must meet her share of bumps in life. If they do not come soon, they must come late. It is impossible that she should pass through life in the sunshine all the time. She must have her share of shadow. She cannot escape it.
But it is not the deep shadows that generally cloud a girl’s life and make her unhappy and sullen. It is the little things, insignificant in themselves, and which could have been passed by with hardly a thought if resisted one by one, that irritate the temper and mar the happiness.
Every day our girl will meet with circumstances in which she has her choice between frowning and sending back a stinging retort, or smiling and passing them by with a kind word. If she can pass these little bumps and keep sweet, then she has mastered the art of being sunny.
Betty is working at the kitchen sink and by some mischance spills water on the floor. Mother is tired, and has perhaps only just finished mopping, and she speaks up quickly, reproving Betty: “Betty, you careless girl, can you not do anything without making a mess?”
Now is Betty’s chance. She can frown and send back an angry rejoinder as she flounces out of the room, leaving her mother sorry for her own impatience and grieved at Betty’s hatefulness; or Betty can look up with a smile and say, “I’m truly sorry, Mother, that I was so awkward, but you will see that I can set it right.”
The smile that will come to Mother’s face will be reward enough to Betty for her soft answer. Or, again, when the smaller children are cross and fretful, Betty can become cross also, scolding and threatening till she increases the uproar; or she can begin a romp or story, and turn their minds into new and pleasant channels. But before Betty can do this she must have control of herself, and a bit of sunshine in her heart.
If our girl can leave home every morning for her school or work, with a song in her heart and a smile on her lips, and be ready with a bright “good morning” for each friend she meets, and an encouraging smile for the old or ill or those otherwise in need of encouragement, then she has found a sphere of usefulness that will make many people bless her.
There is a real art in smiling. Some people smile, or grin, all the time, and it becomes monotonous to those who look at them. These grinning people never seem to think whom or what their smile is for. It is as if their mouths were made in that form.
Other people have the kind of smile upon their faces that suggests sarcasm. But there are still others, and I have met girls who had mastered the art, whose smiles are tear chasers. There is something so understanding in their glance and smile, that they make you feel that they care for you and want you to be happy.
Sometimes when I have been discouraged or depressed by trials all my own, a bright, hopeful smile from someone has cheered me amazingly. In fact, we are very much dependent upon each other for courage and happiness.
Then let us be dispensers of joy as we go through life, smiling and glad. If I am in trouble, having acted foolishly in something or other, then I do not appreciate the grinning smile. I would rather the face that looked into mine would express a little understanding and feeling for my trouble, or that it would not notice my foolishness at all; when I find a friend who can meet me this way, then that friend becomes a real comfort and joy.
Smiles and gladness are like sweet peas in that the more you gather and give away the more you have. Leave your sweet peas on the vines, and the flowers are soon gone; but gather them closely each day and they will blossom the more and last the summer through. If you save your smiles for special occasions, when there are joys abroad, you will nearly run out of them, but give them out at every opportunity and the joy vines of your heart will thrive and grow.
Live in the sunshine. Look on the bright side, for there is always a bright side. No matter how a girl is situated in life, she can find something to be thankful for. If she is the daughter of a poor father, she is saved many of the temptations that come to the rich, and she has many opportunities for helping in burden bearing at home.
If she is a daughter of the rich, many opportunities for doing good are open that never come to the poor girl. Is she strong and well? She then has a heritage that can be used to good advantage in this busy world, but if she is weak and frail her life can brighten the home. Often the sick one is the most cheery of the family, in spite of her pain. Everyone can be a sunshine bearer. God smiles on all who are willing to carry His smiles on to others.
In one home the daughter is a willing helper, ready to do all that her young hands can do to lighten the load, and she is a constant blessing to her mother, but she forgets to carry with her a cheery, sunny smile. Her heart becomes vexed and unpleasant, and her words sharp and cutting. The little ones watch Sister’s face to see if she is cross.
Mother’s gentle voice often has to speak to her in soothing tones, “Daughter, I know you are tired, but do not make it unpleasant for the little ones. We have much to do, but love lightens it all the way.” How often I have wished that to her other graces this dear girl would add sunshine.
The faces of our friends are like mirrors. We can look into them and see the expression of our own face. If we come to them smiling, we see a smile in return; but if we meet them with a frown, they will frown back at us. Try catching the eye of one who is looking sad and out of sorts and meeting her look with a smile, and see if it will not soon answer back in her face.
Especially when children are to be dealt with, it is necessary to learn to smile and be pleasant; for if you come to them cross, they will be cross in return. Be cheery, sunny, and happy, both for your own good time, and for the sake of others.
“How many young people hesitate to give their lives entirely to God because they do not have confidence that God is capable of making them completely happy. And they seek to assure their own happiness by themselves, and they make themselves sad and unhappy in the process. All our spiritual life consists precisely in a long process of reeducation, with a view to regaining that lost confidence, by the grace of the Holy Spirit Who makes us say anew to God: Abba, Father!” -Fr. Jacques Philippe
by Mable Hale
