The chapter started out talking about how spiritual books can change our lives. This is very true because what we are reading at a certain time in our life talks to each of us differently. Our thoughts do determine our actions. It stated that our lives change when our habits change. I see the habit of attending daily mass for our students as a life changing event. Through mass and the celebration of the Holy Eucharist each one is becoming the best version of themselves. As we approach prayer we hope to grow in virtue. Prayer changes each of us. Praying the rosary was something that as a kid had a negative impact on me. It made me feel like it was a waste of my time. Now, as an adult, and as my circumstance in my life have changed, I truly enjoy praying the rosary. It gives me a feeling of fulfillment. At the end of chapter 18 it stated that Mary, the Blessed Mother is the most famous woman in history. It shouldn't be surprising to me, but it was. Mary is definitely a woman that should be an inspiration to all of us. We need to have a genuine place for Mary in our heart and in our spirituality.
I too felt that spiritual reading can make a big difference for us. Simply reading this book has helped me focus on who I am as a Catholic and what I need to be doing to help myself improve. In some ways, I probably did have an attitude for the rosary when I was growing up. During Lent we always had our ritual of eating as a family and then prayer the rosary while kneeling by the couches in the living room. My mom would always lead the beginning and we each took turns leading a decade. Though it hurt my knees by the time we were finished, I think I did learn about each of the mysteries and focused on what they talked about in the life of Jesus.
As an adult I know I have a better understanding and committment to the rosary. My dad always loved his rosary and, though we thought growing up that he only went early to church to watch everyone come in, we know now that he just loved to pray the rosary. My family took his love of the rosary and used it to express our prayers for him the day he found out about his cancer and each night of the last week of his life. I know at first we prayed for healing for him and then for peace for him. We also turned to the rosary for my sister in the week of life for her little Katie. The night we found out that Peggy'was measuring smaller in her pregnancy and there was definitely complications, we prayed that maybe the doctor's were wrong. In the week that Katie lived, I prayed each day for them to be able to understand the will of God and understand Katie's purpose in their lives.
The events of the past 16 months have definitely increased my passion for the rosary. I liked the suggestion of the book to comtemplate on the mystery or on the words of the prayers. To visualize what each is saying is so beautiful.
I agree with Debbie and Deanne in how Mary and the rosary can play important roles in our faith life. I have to admit that again, I didn't "get" why praying the rosary was important. As I read this chapter, I started to see how I could reflect on the mystery as I prayed the beautiful words. I just told my students today how nice it is to have someone else put together a nice prayer so I can pray it when I can't think of the words. I'm going to try to reflect upon the things I've learned in this book not just this month, but in the future! It makes me proud to be a Catholic, which many times people portray as not as "faithfilled" as other faiths. This book is good!
I have from time to time picked up daily spiritual reading books and read the passages for the day only to find that I did not continue to do these daily. It is time that I give myself the gift of time and go back to these daily spiritual readings and reflect on them because as I read the words, I will feel challenged to change, grow and becomethe best version of myself. If the rosary is one of the simplest ways to reflect upon the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, why do not pray the rosary more often? I find myself thinking how I pray the rosary with my students during the month of October, but fail to do it any other time throughout the year. Maybe it is time that I share with my students the importance of praying the rosary more often and how it is the simplest way to refect upon one's life and the teachings of Jesus Christ.
This book really gets you to think about stuff and look at it in different ways. For me, the rosary has always been about saying the words and the different mysteries are just the stories of Jesus and others. I've never really thought about the mysteries as being lessons for life and love. Sometimes I think our society is so wired for multi-tasking and getting things done that we don't slow down and take time to really think about the things we say and do.
After reading the chapter I guess I need to take more time to read spiritual books during my reading time. By reading these books it makes me challenge myself to be a better person. I always start out the new year with my spiritual day by day book and after a few weeks it gets pushed aside and forgotten about. But after reading I realize the importance of doing this daily to become a better person.
In this chapter I realized how much I am missing out on by not reading spiritual books. I think that even if you just read a small passage before you started your day, it could make a big difference. Sometimes just a few words can really help you get through the day and help others get through their days as well. I know that it is very busy, especially this time of year with the holidays coming up, but I think after reading this, it has made me realize that no matter how busy we are, we can find time for our faith and more importantly, we NEED to make time for it because after all, if it is something else that is important to us as individuals such as watching a favorite tv show, I'm sure we can make time for this too.
When I read the seventeenth chapter, it really helped me to understand the importance of spiritual reading. I currently read Living Faith, a daily Catholic devotion book, each day. It is one page long, but it really helps me to see different perspectives on things. Like Steph and Megan, I need to spend more time reading spiritual books. Joel Osteen has a book that sounds interesting to me. It is called Becoming a Better You. He is such a great inspirational speaker, so I believe his book would be very uplifting.
When I read the eighteenth chapter, it made me realize the importance of praying the rosary. There is one person I know who prays it fairly often: Shane’s mom. It means a lot to her. She is inspirational to me. In all honesty, I haven’t prayed the rosary in a long time. After reading this chapter, I learned many reasons and meaningful ways to pray the rosary. I believe it is a great prayer that allows us to turn our thoughts towards God and take a break from our complex lives.
"Fifteen minutes a day with the right book can stir your soul." Perhaps the best spiritual books that I would recommend are the Joshua books by Joseph Girzone and books from the author Max Lucado. They are extremely uplifting and helps me to see small miracles in my daily life. The story of the man sitting next to Mother Teresa and how he passed on the rosary reminds me of a movie called Pay It Forward. If you have never seen this movie, do yourself a favor and watch it. It is truly amazing and thought provoking! My whole family enjoys it!!!!! This author stated that the actions of your life are determined by your last most dominant thought. My mom always told me this so prayer before bed became ingrained in my head. When I am nervous or worried about something and I remember to think of Jesus before bedtime, then I have a a much better night of rest. My favorite passage that I say over and over at these times is: As the deer pants before the water brook, so my soul thirst for you Oh Lord, my God! Try it friends if you have any worries, it works!!!!!
I admit that I haven't done a lot of spiritual reading before reading this book. I would read bible stories to my kids or occasionally read the upcoming readings for Sunday or my class masses, but never just read a spiritual book to read it. I think that would be a worthy goal to work on and I'm sure I have a few books around that have been given to me from others that would fit the bill.
I really enjoyed chapter 18 on the rosary as well. As a child I always knew what the rosary was and how important it was to my grandparents, but in my immediate family we never really prayed it. Not until I was at Loras and became involved with a prayer group with some friends did I really become immersed in what a good prayer the rosary was. Until I read chapter 18, I didn't really reflect on what the mysteries meant, but after reading p. 259-261 on what the mysteries truly mean about Jesus and prayer, it's like a light-bulb has gone off in my head. It will make me think more about how the rosary is truly prayer to God in thanks for his son.
Fifteen minutes. It doesn't seem like much, however it is a doable amount of time. This is all the time a person needs to make Catholicism a part of your lifestyle. Also, I remember how important it was to both sets of my grandparents to pray the rosary. They lived a lifestyle of Catholicism and I believe their faith is what got them through all the good and not so good times in their lives. It is probably time to begin using them as a model.
The chapter started out talking about how spiritual books can change our lives. This is very true because what we are reading at a certain time in our life talks to each of us differently. Our thoughts do determine our actions.
ReplyDeleteIt stated that our lives change when our habits change. I see the habit of attending daily mass for our students as a life changing event. Through mass and the celebration of the Holy Eucharist each one is becoming the best version of themselves.
As we approach prayer we hope to grow in virtue. Prayer changes each of us. Praying the rosary was something that as a kid had a negative impact on me. It made me feel like it was a waste of my time. Now, as an adult, and as my circumstance in my life have changed, I truly enjoy praying the rosary. It gives me a feeling of fulfillment.
At the end of chapter 18 it stated that Mary, the Blessed Mother is the most famous woman in history. It shouldn't be surprising to me, but it was. Mary is definitely a woman that should be an inspiration to all of us. We need to have a genuine place for Mary in our heart and in our spirituality.
I too felt that spiritual reading can make a big difference for us. Simply reading this book has helped me focus on who I am as a Catholic and what I need to be doing to help myself improve.
ReplyDeleteIn some ways, I probably did have an attitude for the rosary when I was growing up. During Lent we always had our ritual of eating as a family and then prayer the rosary while kneeling by the couches in the living room. My mom would always lead the beginning and we each took turns leading a decade. Though it hurt my knees by the time we were finished, I think I did learn about each of the mysteries and focused on what they talked about in the life of Jesus.
As an adult I know I have a better understanding and committment to the rosary. My dad always loved his rosary and, though we thought growing up that he only went early to church to watch everyone come in, we know now that he just loved to pray the rosary. My family took his love of the rosary and used it to express our prayers for him the day he found out about his cancer and each night of the last week of his life. I know at first we prayed for healing for him and then for peace for him. We also turned to the rosary for my sister in the week of life for her little Katie. The night we found out that Peggy'was measuring smaller in her pregnancy and there was definitely complications, we prayed that maybe the doctor's were wrong. In the week that Katie lived, I prayed each day for them to be able to understand the will of God and understand Katie's purpose in their lives.
The events of the past 16 months have definitely increased my passion for the rosary. I liked the suggestion of the book to comtemplate on the mystery or on the words of the prayers. To visualize what each is saying is so beautiful.
I agree with Debbie and Deanne in how Mary and the rosary can play important roles in our faith life. I have to admit that again, I didn't "get" why praying the rosary was important. As I read this chapter, I started to see how I could reflect on the mystery as I prayed the beautiful words. I just told my students today how nice it is to have someone else put together a nice prayer so I can pray it when I can't think of the words. I'm going to try to reflect upon the things I've learned in this book not just this month, but in the future! It makes me proud to be a Catholic, which many times people portray as not as "faithfilled" as other faiths. This book is good!
ReplyDeleteI have from time to time picked up daily spiritual reading books and read the passages for the day only to find that I did not continue to do these daily. It is time that I give myself the gift of time and go back to these daily spiritual readings and reflect on them because as I read the words, I will feel challenged to change, grow and becomethe best version of myself.
ReplyDeleteIf the rosary is one of the simplest ways to reflect upon the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, why do not pray the rosary more often? I find myself thinking how I pray the rosary with my students during the month of October, but fail to do it any other time throughout the year. Maybe it is time that I share with my students the importance of praying the rosary more often and how it is the simplest way to refect upon one's life and the teachings of Jesus Christ.
This book really gets you to think about stuff and look at it in different ways. For me, the rosary has always been about saying the words and the different mysteries are just the stories of Jesus and others. I've never really thought about the mysteries as being lessons for life and love. Sometimes I think our society is so wired for multi-tasking and getting things done that we don't slow down and take time to really think about the things we say and do.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the chapter I guess I need to take more time to read spiritual books during my reading time. By reading these books it makes me challenge myself to be a better person. I always start out the new year with my spiritual day by day book and after a few weeks it gets pushed aside and forgotten about. But after reading I realize the importance of doing this daily to become a better person.
ReplyDeleteIn this chapter I realized how much I am missing out on by not reading spiritual books. I think that even if you just read a small passage before you started your day, it could make a big difference. Sometimes just a few words can really help you get through the day and help others get through their days as well. I know that it is very busy, especially this time of year with the holidays coming up, but I think after reading this, it has made me realize that no matter how busy we are, we can find time for our faith and more importantly, we NEED to make time for it because after all, if it is something else that is important to us as individuals such as watching a favorite tv show, I'm sure we can make time for this too.
ReplyDeleteWhen I read the seventeenth chapter, it really helped me to understand the importance of spiritual reading. I currently read Living Faith, a daily Catholic devotion book, each day. It is one page long, but it really helps me to see different perspectives on things. Like Steph and Megan, I need to spend more time reading spiritual books. Joel Osteen has a book that sounds interesting to me. It is called Becoming a Better You. He is such a great inspirational speaker, so I believe his book would be very uplifting.
ReplyDeleteWhen I read the eighteenth chapter, it made me realize the importance of praying the rosary. There is one person I know who prays it fairly often: Shane’s mom. It means a lot to her. She is inspirational to me.
In all honesty, I haven’t prayed the rosary in a long time. After reading this chapter, I learned many reasons and meaningful ways to pray the rosary. I believe it is a great prayer that allows us to turn our thoughts towards God and take a break from our complex lives.
"Fifteen minutes a day with the right book can stir your soul." Perhaps the best spiritual books that I would recommend are the Joshua books by Joseph Girzone and books from the author Max Lucado. They are extremely uplifting and helps me to see small miracles in my daily life.
ReplyDeleteThe story of the man sitting next to Mother Teresa and how he passed on the rosary reminds me of a movie called Pay It Forward. If you have never seen this movie, do yourself a favor and watch it. It is truly amazing and thought provoking! My whole family enjoys it!!!!!
This author stated that the actions of your life are determined by your last most dominant thought. My mom always told me this so prayer before bed became ingrained in my head. When I am nervous or worried about something and I remember to think of Jesus before bedtime, then I have a a much better night of rest.
My favorite passage that I say over and over at these times is: As the deer pants before the water brook, so my soul thirst for you Oh Lord, my God! Try it friends if you have any worries, it works!!!!!
I admit that I haven't done a lot of spiritual reading before reading this book. I would read bible stories to my kids or occasionally read the upcoming readings for Sunday or my class masses, but never just read a spiritual book to read it. I think that would be a worthy goal to work on and I'm sure I have a few books around that have been given to me from others that would fit the bill.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed chapter 18 on the rosary as well. As a child I always knew what the rosary was and how important it was to my grandparents, but in my immediate family we never really prayed it. Not until I was at Loras and became involved with a prayer group with some friends did I really become immersed in what a good prayer the rosary was. Until I read chapter 18, I didn't really reflect on what the mysteries meant, but after reading p. 259-261 on what the mysteries truly mean about Jesus and prayer, it's like a light-bulb has gone off in my head. It will make me think more about how the rosary is truly prayer to God in thanks for his son.
Fifteen minutes. It doesn't seem like much, however it is a doable amount of time. This is all the time a person needs to make Catholicism a part of your lifestyle. Also, I remember how important it was to both sets of my grandparents to pray the rosary. They lived a lifestyle of Catholicism and I believe their faith is what got them through all the good and not so good times in their lives. It is probably time to begin using them as a model.
ReplyDelete