One idea is to use what are called āaspirationsāā¦short bursts of prayer!
So whatever āvirtueā you want to work on for a couple of weeks, use an aspiration that ātendsā toward that virtue.
For instance, with the desire to ābetter our moodā one suggestion might be to increase the virtue of āgratitudeā and an aspiration or short prayer in that direction might be: āThanks be to You God, thanks be to Youāā¦or just āThanks be to You, Godā.
Make it short and say it to God.
So when you wake up, you say āThanks be to Youā.
When youāre brushing your teethā¦or find yourself running across anything thatās going wellā¦("my teeth still work!, the refrigerator isnāt totally broken, the car still works, I still can walk)ā¦you say āThanks be to You, Godā.
You donāt have to get rule oriented or obsessive over it, but you say the aspiration as a way to draw closer to union with God āusing the ordinary things of the dayā. You āconvertā the ordinary into meeting trysts with God!
And then maybe in the evening you sit for 3 minutesā¦and say (to God) āhow was my mood todayā¦was it a bit better, just a bit more elevated, a bit more constant, how was my gratitudeā¦did I tell You Thanks for a few things today at least?ā.
Just a suggestion.
And if after 2-3 weeks you find yourself in a bit better moodā¦move on to another virtueā¦industriousness, generosity, lack of a critical spirit, optimism, humility, etc. If not, then donāt move on to another virtue, ask God for more help.
And often you can find some passage from the readings of Mass as a source for the āaspirationsā you will say to help you in that particular virtue.
I am working on patience at the momentā¦and I use the passage we heard from the reading of Samuel last weekā¦āSpeak Lord, for your servant is listeningā.
So when I run across things that seem to stir up my impatience, I bring Our Lord into that momentā¦ Since God is allowing this event that is before meā¦say an iphone distracted driverā¦God is in a sense ātalking to meā through this driverā¦And so I say "Speak Lord for your child (to remind me to be humble too) is listening.
So thatās my current virtue and my current āaspirationā.
Todayās āResponsorial Psalmā is " In God I trust; I shall not fear."
That would be a perfect aspiration to use to help improve upon ālack of faith or lack of trust in Godā.
These are just ways of increasing the presence of God (the help of God) to us during our ordinary day.
So many factors affect and go towards the mood we wake up inā¦worries that might be there to remember,the dreams weāve had,food weāve eaten, hormones,ill health ,bountiful health ,the weather,the news,what weāve got to look forward toā¦or not too.
