Tag: Catholic

Finding God's Goodness

Week Thirty-Four. My Portion. Humility.

Smitten With Goodness
Month Eight – Valuing My Body. Temperance with hope leads to self-control. 

Oliver Wendell Holmes once said that his secret to success was discovering at a young age that he wasn’t God. In the spiritual life, I can promise myself nothing without the special help of God . . . From one moment to another, I may fall into sin, disconnection from God,, even though I may have labored many years in acquiring virtues, I may in one instant lose all the good I have done, lose all my merit for eternity, and lose even that blessed eternity itself. Humility is the only sure path to salvation, knowing only God is my portion.

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Finding God's Goodness

Week Thirty-Four. My Portion. The Way.

Smitten With Goodness
Month Eight – Valuing My Body. Temperance with hope leads to self-control. 

If the adage is true that “Money Can’t Buy You Love”, why do we chase the almighty dollar? It seems that we work to live and live to work thinking that work will provide us security, comfort, satisfaction, and approval. Taken to the extreme, we can replace work for love or the lack of love in our life. In our confusion, it becomes “the way.”

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Finding God's Goodness

Week Thirty-Four. My Portion. Legacy of Hope. 

Smitten With Goodness
Month Eight – Valuing My Body. Temperance with hope leads to self-control. 

Looking at the china my grandma collected with green stamps back in the day signaled hope for my future. At one point I packed away the same china for a potential second home because it didn’t fit my current style.  I look at the same china today sitting in my “Peace of Heaven”, a home in the forest where I go to connect with God.  Despite the seasons of my tastes around china patterns, this is an example of how we pass on a legacy of hope, by choosing hope.

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Finding God's Goodness

Week Thirty-Four. My Portion. Son of God.

Smitten With Goodness
Month Eight – Valuing My Body. Temperance with hope leads to self-control. 

With what do I fill my mind and heart? Is the Lord the portion that fills my soul? Do I savor Christ and His teachings, drawn by love to His ways?

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Week Thirty-Four. My Portion. My Honor.

Smitten With Goodness
Month Eight – Valuing My Body. Temperance with hope leads to self-control. 

Do I let God draw me towards the good? As a performer or achiever persona, my tendency is to be successful at all costs. This was a self-preservation tactic that I learned at a young age. In the middle part of life, as I explore meaning and purpose, I’m learning the importance of knowing my authentic self as that is the person I need to be in the world, not some image I’ve created of myself. Deep connection is high on my list of values. This includes the divine connection as the Lord is my portion.  As I value myself and practice the virtue of temperance and seek God as my portion, I’m given the gift of hope.  

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Finding God's Goodness

Week Thirty-Three. Beautiful Hope. Looking for God’s Goodness and Weekly Reflection Summary

Smitten With Goodness

Looking for God’s Goodness in contemplation and prayer. The discipline of prayer.

I invite you to try following a prayer discipline for 10 minutes a day or so for a week, and then discuss your experience with your spiritual director or a prayer partner. How do you do this?

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Week Thirty-Three. Beautiful Hope. Self Mastery.

Smitten With Goodness
Month Eight – Valuing My Body. Temperance with hope leads to self-control. 

Resistance can open us up to deeper and more mature values. Our tendency for fleshly and sensual enjoyment can make us blind and insensitive to deeper values that spring from love. As I learn self-mastery, I grow in my love of inner truth.

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Finding God's Goodness

Week Thirty-Three. Beautiful Hope. Breath of Life.

Smitten With Goodness
Month Eight – Valuing My Body. Temperance with hope leads to self-control. 

I’m learning to moderate my thoughts and actions of independence. Growing in humility helps me see that this life is not all about me, my wants, needs, and desires. A humble heart helps me see my spiritual poverty and my need for divine intervention giving me the breath of life. 

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Finding God's Goodness

Week Thirty-Three. Beautiful Hope. Warm Heart.

Smitten With Goodness
Month Eight – Valuing My Body. Temperance with hope leads to self-control. 

What melts the coldness in your heart? Prayer (meditation) is a transformative practice that melts the hardness of living in a fallen world. What is a cold heart? As the song Cold Heart laments “it’s a human sign when things go wrong.” We think we keep this hidden but usually we’re only hiding from ourselves. 

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