Monday, January 9, 2012

Staying the Course

Some days, it is harder than others to remain focused while in prayer.  There are times when I catch my mind wandering during the Rosary that make me stop and think that this isn't exactly what Mary had in mind when she asked us to devoutly pray daily her Rosary.

Things are not going well at work, and I don't mean for me personally but for our management team as a whole. Some necessary changes took effect today and the place was swarming with anger like a bee hive that had just been poked with a stick.  While I know this too, shall pass, it took an enormous effort to get up this morning and face the angry troops.  I was so weary I half considered missing morning Mass, but when you have to deal with the kind of stress that I do, the worst thing would be to succumb to fatigue and make excuses.

When I am tried in this manner, finding it nearly impossible to find the strength to face the enemy, I always picture little St. Therese, laying her crucifix on her pillow while she dressed and encouraging Jesus to rest and allow her to fight for Him that day.

Once you make the initial effort to get yourself upright, Jesus does the rest.

At times like these, I think that Jesus and Mary will not judge the "quality" of the prayer I offer but the sacrifice made in trying to pray them, such as getting up when I would rather sleep another half hour or reciting the Rosary when I am in the mood to have music blaring from the speakers.  At Mass, it was very hard to focus on the Holy Sacrifice, but some benefit is better than none, and given my faithfulness in other matters, I believe with all my heart that Jesus will overlook these moments of human weakness and look with favor on my offering to Him, no matter how seemingly small.

Some day, if we are deemed worthy by God, we will be shown the value of all that we offered Him and we may be amazed at the difference some small sacrifice we were ready to abandon made to a  poor soul, including our own.

4 comments:

  1. Joyce, this is so beautiful. You can't imagine how much you inspired me, because I have been struggling much lately with spiritual dryness and lethargy which make it so hard to keep going. Thank you so much for reminding me of that precious image of Therese, letting Jesus rest.

    I feel sure that your efforts during these difficult times are more precious to Jesus than you could possibly imagine...this side of Heaven.

    I hope you have a lovely day tomorrow : )

    Love and prayers,
    Patricia

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  2. Beautiful post. Needed to read something on staying the course, and being faithful in the midst of trials.

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  3. Bot this was me today! Sadly, a lot of days. My battle with fatigue sometimes gets the netter of me, especially because if I push just a bit too much, I almost always get sick. But today's rosary was a sad excuse.
    But~ I keep going. I think the enemy would love to see me give up my prayer because of its poor quality. Oh well! God is used to my lousy prayers.

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  4. Well Patricia Colleen and Kelly, I always say that we are like geese flying in formation. We take turns taking the lead and letting the others fly on our draft because we can't do it all by ourselves all the time. I'm thankful for the opportunity to share my words with you and even more thankful that you find them helpful.

    Love you all more than you
    Joyce

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