My Sanctuary, My Refuge

06 Wednesday May 2020

Tags

Adoration, Meditation, Mental Prayer, Prayer, Psalm 31, Refuge, Remember the Titans, Sanctuary

King David Playing the Harp, Gerard van Honthorst, 1622

Sometimes when one is practicing meditation, or mental prayer, it is so frustratingly easy to get distracted! There you are, you’ve placed yourself in the presence of God and you’re trying to stay focused on Him. But then, your mind drifts to some far off place that may seem totally disassociated with anything else, and before you know it you’ve spent who knows how long down that path. When you eventually do realize how far you’ve strayed, you pull yourself back to the present moment and try to refocus on the Lord.

This happened to me yesterday. I was kneeling before the tabernacle in our Adoration chapel at church, giving thanks for His love and mercy, and just generally soaking up the grace of being in His presence. Then I got distracted. When I finally came back to the present moment I realized that I had just been replaying in my mind scenes from a favorite movie, Remember the Titans, a 2000 production based on a true story. A movie I haven’t watched in many years.

In the movie, Denzel Washington plays the role of Herman Boone, an African-American football head coach at a newly racially integrated high school in Alexandria, Virginia. Coach Boone is charged with integrating black and white students into a functioning and winning football team amidst a culture that not only has been segregated for generations, but one that lives for it’s high school football. The task seems insurmountable as it requires every ounce of his courage, leadership, and diplomacy.

After viewing Boone’s challenges of building a united team at summer football camp; attempting to build respect and cohesion with his white assistant coaches; and the ever present friction (including threats to his family) from the predominantly white community, we are taken to a scene at the football field the night before the first game of the season. Coach Boone walks out into the bleachers and, looking out over the lighted field, utters, “Yeah, this is my sanctuary right here!” The football field was where he could put the world, and all the problems in it, out of his mind. It was his safe harbor, his refuge. It was where he had some control.

It was after this “scene” that I realized I was daydreaming instead of praying. My first reactions were to apologize, thinking, “I’m sorry, Lord, I can’t even give you ten minutes without wandering off!”, and then to wonder, “Where in the world did that memory come from?”!

As I tried to get back into the moment, Coach Boone’s utterance, “Yeah, this is my sanctuary right here!” popped back into my mind. Then I realized what I was saying. I was in my sanctuary, my place of refuge, right there in front of Jesus in the tabernacle. The only difference was that, unlike it being Coach Boone’s place where he felt in control, it was my place of solitude where I could relinquish control and place all my trust in the goodness and mercy of God. It’s where I could forget the physical, economic and political messiness of the current world pandemic and simply bask in God’s love.

I recalled verses from Psalm 31 (vv. 2-6):

In you, Lord, I take refuge; let me never be put to shame.
In your righteousness deliver me; incline your ear to me; make haste to rescue me!
Be my rock of refuge, a stronghold to save me.
For you are my rock and my fortress; for your name’s sake lead me and guide me.
Free me from the net that has been set for me, for you are my refuge.
Into your hands I commend my spirit; you will redeem me, Lord, God of truth.

And, I thought, “Wherever I am, Lord, especially in the Adoration chapel, you are there, also. Yeah, this is my sanctuary, right here!”

“Lord Jesus, You are my rock and my refuge, my sanctuary. Thank You for Your generosity. And, thank You for the grace to realize that sometimes distractions aren’t that at all, but actually loving inspirations sent from You through Your Holy Spirit. Amen.”

(My Sanctuary, My Refuge was first published on the blog Reflections of a Lay Catholic)

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Pope Francis: A Special Call to Pray the Rosary During the Month of May, 2020

01 Friday May 2020

Posted by Jerry Robinson in Mary, Rosary

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Tags

Blessed Mother, Blessed Virgin Mary, Mary, Meditation, Pandemic, Pope Francis, Rosary, Scriptural Rosary, St. Dominic

On Saturday, 25 April 2020, Pope Francis wrote a letter to the world inviting all people to pray a Rosary, either individually or, preferably, as a family, every day during the month of May (the Pope’s letter is included below). May is, of course, traditionally devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary, our Mother. But, in light of the world pandemic that has disrupted our physical, social, economic, and spiritual lives, praying the Rosary can be a special way in which we implore Our Lady to intercede with Jesus for relief from our plight, and to let her help us stay focused on Him during this difficult time.

Many miracles have been attributed to the intercession of Our Lady as a result of praying the Rosary, and I, for one, believe that, considering the messy state the world is in right now, we need a miracle.

Many of you faithful may already pray a Rosary daily. Others may pray it periodically, but, unfortunately, too many don’t pray a Rosary at all. If you are unfamiliar with how to pray a Rosary, there are several resources available. Most parish churches offer a printed guide to praying the Rosary. There are on-line resources and applications, such as the Laudate app, that offer a variety of ways to pray the Rosary.

I suspect there are many reasons people do not pray it regularly, one of which is that they don’t understand the history and efficaciousness of the Rosary. The Rosary has been prayed since the early days of the Church. Over the centuries it has been instrumental in: helping Christian armies win battles when they were seriously outnumbered (e.g. the Battle of Lepanto, 1571, and the Battle of Vienna, 1683); defending against heresies; overturning of Communism in Eastern Europe in the 20th century; and, certainly, many personal miracles and answered prayers.

Another predominant reason many do not pray the Rosary, I believe, is that they think it is boring and repetitive, and they get nothing out of it. I know that was my opinion after I converted and thought I ought to pray the Rosary because that’s what I was supposed to do as a Catholic. I taught myself how to pray it by following step-by-step instructions printed on a trifold flyer that I picked off of a shelf in a church foyer somewhere. But, after praying a Rosary, I usually felt I had just wasted twenty minutes.

I eventually learned that, while praying the Rosary, we are supposed to meditate on the various events, or mysteries, in Christ’s life (e.g. Joyful, Glorious, Sorrowful and Luminous mysteries) by placing ourselves in the company of our Mother and, with her, contemplate the face of her son in the context of those various mysteries as each Hail Mary is recited. Understanding this helped me significantly in my spiritual growth.

A method of praying the Rosary that I find particularly effective is one called a “Scriptural Rosary”. When prayed with this method, a short verse from Scripture is recited before each bead of the Rosary. This method prompts one to reflect on each aspect of the mystery. A scriptural Rosary is available on the Laudate app.

Then I discovered a new “old” way to pray the Rosary. It is the method which Our Blessed Lady made known to St. Dominic in the early 13th century as he was fighting to convert Catholics back to the faith who had fallen to heretical views. Under her inspiration, St. Dominic gathered people together in their homes and shared with them the teachings of Jesus. Then, after each of five short teachings, he recited the Our Father and ten Hail Marys. In this way, St. Dominic, by teaching from the full Deposit of Faith, brought many fallen away Catholics back to the Church. The Holy Family School of Faith offers this method of praying the Rosary as a podcast that you can find here: Daily Rosary Meditation. (Note: be sure to click on the button, “Why do you pray the Rosary that way?”)

In his letter, Pope Francis emphasizes his desire that we pray as a family. Praying as a family brings us into union with one another and amplifies our prayers to Mary who brings them to Jesus. In normal times, “families” might be expanded into “groups” which might include friends and neighbors as well as family. Whether it’s just your family or a larger group who have come together to pray a Rosary, these settings are conducive to building friendship and creating good conversation through which all participants may grow spiritually.

Finally, I realize that there are occasionally non-Catholics (e.g. some of my own family) who read this blog and who do not understand why we have a devotion to the Virgin Mary nor why we invoke her intercession through a Rosary prayer. If any non-Catholic would like to join me in praying a Rosary, I will be happy to lead them through. I encourage you, also, as engaged Catholics to invite your non-Catholic family and friends to pray the Rosary with you.

I pray that you and all the faithful will renew yourselves spiritually during this month of May, especially since so many parishes still will not offer mass due to pandemic restrictions. May we all, in union with each other, grow closer to our Lord, Jesus Christ, through His and our Mother, Mary.

LETTER OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS
TO THE FAITHFUL FOR THE MONTH OF MAY 2020

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

The month of May is approaching, a time when the People of God express with particular intensity their love and devotion for the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is traditional in this month to pray the Rosary at home within the family. The restrictions of the pandemic have made us come to appreciate all the more this “family” aspect, also from a spiritual point of view.

For this reason, I want to encourage everyone to rediscover the beauty of praying the Rosary at home in the month of May. This can be done either as a group or individually; you can decide according to your own situations, making the most of both opportunities. The key to doing this is always simplicity, and it is easy also on the internet to find good models of prayers to follow.

I am also providing two prayers to Our Lady that you can recite at the end of the Rosary, and that I myself will pray in the month of May, in spiritual union with all of you. I include them with this letter so that they are available to everyone.

Dear brothers and sisters, contemplating the face of Christ with the heart of Mary our Mother will make us even more united as a spiritual family and will help us overcome this time of trial. I keep all of you in my prayers, especially those suffering most greatly, and I ask you, please to pray for me. I thank you, and with great affection I send you my blessing.

Rome, Saint John Lateran, 25 April 2020
Feast of Saint Mark the Evangelist

Pope Francis

(Click here to be linked to the Vatican website to read the original letter and the two prayers mentioned.)

(Pope Francis: A Special Call to Pray the Rosary in the Month of May, 2020 was first published on the blog Reflections of a Lay Catholic)

Mission: Possible

01 Friday May 2020

Posted by Jerry Robinson in Bible Reflections, Evangelization

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Acts 9:1-20, Ananais, Saul, St. Paul

(A reflection on today’s first reading from Acts 9:1-20)

Ananais Restoring the Sight of St. Paul, Jean Il Restout, 1719, The Louvre Museum

One of my favorite television series as a child in the 60’s was Mission: Impossible. At the beginning of each episode, Jim Phelps (played by actor Peter Graves) received a tape recorded message describing a mission being presented to him that began, “Your mission, Jim, should you decide to accept it….”. Each mission was complicated and dangerous and had a high likelihood of ending with him and his team of secret agents losing their lives. Without fail, Agent Phelps accepted the impossible mission and successfully completed it.

This memory came from out of nowhere this morning as I read the Scripture for the day. The first reading from Acts is the account of Saul’s conversion and baptism. The Lord struck Saul, blinded him and left him to sit praying at the house of Judas for three days. Simultaneously, the Lord called upon Ananais, a follower of the Way, to go to Saul and lay hands on him so that he would regain his sight. The Lord told Ananais, “Go, for this man is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before Gentiles, kings, and Israelites, and I will show him what he will have to suffer for in my name.”

Scripture doesn’t say, but Ananais either passed that message along to Saul or it came to Saul via the Holy Spirit, and he immediately began to proclaim Jesus as the Son of God in the synagogues of Damascus.

God created Saul just like the rest of us, with free will to accept him or to turn away from him. Saul chose to accept Jesus as the Son of God and, in so doing, accepted what had to seem like an impossible mission at the time: convince and convert the entire world to do the same. One difference between Saul and Jim Phelps was that Saul knew the mission, in the end, would definitely result in his death.

Saul, the other Apostles, and the saints throughout the centuries made a pretty good start at converting the world. But, the work is still not completed. God calls each of us in our baptism and confirmation to continue their work. With the condition the world is in today, it may seem like an even more impossible mission. Yet, we can do it one person at a time, because the other difference between our work and Jim Phelps’ is that, with God, all things are possible!

What can you do today to be part of the Mission: Possible team?

“Heavenly Father, thank You for Your love. Lord Jesus, thank You for Your forgiveness and mercy. Holy Spirit, thank You for opening my heart to the will of God and urging me to continue the work of the Apostolic Fathers and saints in this Mission: Possible.

“I resolve today, Lord, to reach out to a friend who is hurting and invite her to join my wife and I in praying a Rosary for healing during the month of May, per our Holy Father’s request. Amen.”

(Mission: Possible was first published on the blog Reflections of a Lay Catholic)