Spiritual "Cheating"

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hi fellow believers and God Bless you!

here it is, spiritual cheating:

Start your day off with DAILY MASS. That is: 25 to 30 minutes out of your morning. no need to do anything spiritualy spectacular early in the morning unless you really feel called to it. just get out of bed and in the shower in time to get yourself to your Catholic Church (“labor not for the food which perishes, but for the Food which endures to everlasting life”). If each day is like a house, then “let no man lay any foundation but that which is already laid, JESUS CHRIST (in the Eucharist).”
Having laid the foundation of Jesus Christ, having received Him, His body, blood, soul, and divinity, you are filled with the Holy Spirit (Who proceeds from the Father and the Son). The spirit of prayer has replaced our natural earthy desires: it is easy to pray right now. Ordinarily, pray a Rosary IMMEDIATELY after Mass (unless there is some need that prevents it)–this next half hour or hour is your window of opportunity to chain the two most powerful prayers together: Holy Mass and the Rosary. Link these two types of prayer together and you will start to conquer a world of evil and your own rebellious, prideful self. After laying the foundation of Christ, next lay this foundation of MARY. This is spiritual cheating! its so easy to “stay strong in the LORD and the power of His Might!”

God Bless you!
 
Okay. That’s cool. But what about us students who have class and can’t go to Mass in the morning/daily?
 
Same here, I work 1 hour from home - morning Mass is at 8 AM, I have to be at work at 8 AM. Until I perfect time travel, well, morning Mass is not an option for me. My morning offering, and prayer with family will have to suffice.

On rare days I am able to leave the office long enough for noon mass! That is a wonderful thing…
 
scapularkid8 said:
Okay. That’s cool. But what about us students who have class and can’t go to Mass in the morning/daily?
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My problem is slightly different. I work swing shift, and my usual bed time is 2 AM. This after my nightly novenas to The Church Suffering and The Holy Spirit.

All Things in moderation. I cannot prove it, but I would think Mother Mary would like me to get in my needed 8 hours of sleep. Maybe when I retire in 8 years?
 
kage_ar said:
On rare days I am able to leave the office long enough for noon mass! That is a wonderful thing…
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Well, the two nearest Catholic Churches do not have weekdays masses at Noon, but I’ll check out some churches further away
 
Some churches also have mass at 5 or 6pm or thereabouts (after the workig day) - but I agree, work and sleep are important!
 
I am fortunate in that there is a Franciscan convent/infirmary/retreat house about 10 minutes from my job. They have morning meditation at 6:00, and then pray Lauds (Morning Prayer of Liturgy of the Hours) at 6:40. Mass is at 7:00. I am usually at work about 8:00 or so in the morning. It is a wonderful way to begin my days.

I am usually the only civilian that consistently joins them for Lauds.

I am very grateful to the sister for not just letting my join them in their prayer (and Mass) but they actually welcome me (a man) and miss me when I am not able to attend. They taught me to pray the Divine Office.

These devout and humble sisters have helped me grow spiritually so very much. I love them all and often do many things to help them, yet I can never do enough.
 
You must have no kids/no job syndrome. Most of us would if life did not get in the way. DO NOT JUDGE.
 
LilyM said:
Some churches also have mass at 5 or 6pm or thereabouts (after the workig day) - but I agree, work and sleep are important!
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I leave for work at 2 PM. I get off sometime after 11:30 PM. I drive home, and have to spoil the cats rotten. They insist on it, and I’m sure my Patron Saint, Francis of Assissi, would approve. Then my nightly lesson from catechismclass.com

More attention for the cats, followed by my regular novenas for The Church Suffering and The Holy Spirit. Then to bed around 2AM and another session of making the cats happy. Max, my 13 year old Maine Coon, likes to groom my beard and hair.

(Just what every Recovered Alcoholic needs, a cat that can’t hold its licker):rolleyes:

2 + 8 = 10, so I get out of bed around 10AM.
 
i wasn’t writing this post to judge anybody, lol. i just found what is the greatest 2 hit combo in the universe. ok? God Bless
 
3-16:

We live in times now where priests are scarce… no secret to any.
Sometimes one priest must serve two parishes, so masses must be split between them.

In prior years, we had two priests almost per parish, so there was opportunity to attend mass at dawn for the working folks, and another one later for stay-at-homers. I was one of the fortunate ones when I worked to attend the early mass. What a tremendous blessing people have lost, for morning mass is not possible for many in our present day. But early morning prayer is always possible, huh?

I started going one year during lent as a simple devotion, a little extra-curricular, if you will. It blessed me so much that I continued beyond lent. So, my dear devotee, I can savor well all of your words of advice.

Amos 8:11

Behold the days come, says the Lord, and I will send forth a famine into the land: not a famine of bread, nor a thirst of water, but of hearing the word of the Lord.

I often think of this prophet’s warning, for “to those who have not, even the little they have will be taken away.” Many of us who are able to attend the liturgy will surely sustain many in the mystical Body, for in Mass we pray for all the living as well as the dead who sleep in Christ. Some day in heaven we may thank our wonderful benefactors who obtained grace for us to remain faithful to God. 🙂 May we pray for them to continue to intercede for us.
 
When I was young -and we had a 3 hour fast before Communion- I used to get up early and bike across town (30,000 people) to attend 6:30 Mass.

When I was a young mum I dropped my kids off at kindy and school and made it to he first Mass of the day - 9 am

Now that all my kids have grown up and I am working outside the home - for a wage at last - Mass is at 10:30am

It seems as if priests only think elderly people are interested in attending daily Mass.

But, by the Grace of God, I have set up in business for myself as a web designer/developer so soon I will be able to set my own hours around Mass. :amen:
 
That’s beautiful, Eileen! God will always provide a way for those who need one! Amen.
 
I don’t think there’s any evidence that God will always arrange things conveniently so we can all attend daily Mass, Joy. Saying that “God will provide” is discouraging to people who aren’t as fortunate as Eileen. Most people aren’t able to make it to daily Mass, even if they wanted to, because of other obligations. The alternative is to set up a home altar in a corner somewhere in the house, and have personal devotions. Jesus told us to pray in secret (not that daily Mass isn’t worthwhile). People need to be creative.
 
I don’t think there’s any evidence that God will always arrange things conveniently so we can all attend daily Mass, Joy. Saying that “God will provide” is discouraging to people who aren’t as fortunate as Eileen.
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Oh ye of little faith, St. John. Certainly the priest did not re-arrange his schedule to accomodate Eileen, I’ll agree. But God inspired her with a way out so that she could go. Look back at her other post where she found a “way” by riding her bike across town … and then later to a 9 a.m. mass after the kids were in school.

If this was extremely important to me, and it is, I would obtain a schedule of all the churches in my area and the times of their daily masses to see if something was available to me. For instance, my pastor does not have a Saturday a.m. liturgy … but there are many other parishes that do. 🙂 We need to be creative, indeed!

As I mentioned in my post, to which you agreed, although one is not able to go due to obligations, one can always pray early in morning. And many do not work on Saturday, do they?
 
Maybe you should refrain from accusing me of having “little faith”, based on one post of mine, OK? That’s an awfully rash judgement, Joysong.

God doesn’t not always arrange our careers and personal responsiblities around our self-perceived need to attend daily Mass. In fact, God usually does nothing to intervene in more dire circumstances, such as starvation and disease, which rains on both the just and the unjust. Your post saying the “God will always provide a way” is totally erroneous. It sounds more like name it and claim it theology.

Our faith teaches, instead, of perserverance in the face of suffering and calamity.
 
St_John said:
Maybe you should refrain from accusing me of having “little faith”, based on one post of mine, OK? That’s an awfully rash judgement, Joysong.

God doesn’t not always arrange our careers and personal responsiblities around our self-perceived need to attend daily Mass. In fact, God usually does nothing to intervene in more dire circumstances, such as starvation and disease, which rains on both the just and the unjust. Your post saying the “God will always provide a way” is totally erroneous. It sounds more like name it and claim it theology.

Our faith teaches, instead, of perserverance in the face of suffering and calamity.
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St_John said:
Maybe you should refrain from accusing me of having “little faith”, based on one post of mine, OK? That’s an awfully rash judgement, Joysong.

Ok, Thunderman… you are free to believe my intent was evil, for out of the heart the mouth speaks, no? It was meant as an encouragement to trust, but I can see how you would misunderstand.

God doesn’t not always arrange our careers and personal responsiblities around our self-perceived need to attend daily Mass. In fact, God usually does nothing to intervene in more dire circumstances, such as starvation and disease, which rains on both the just and the unjust. Your post saying the “God will always provide a way” is totally erroneous. It sounds more like name it and claim it theology.

If that is your belief, I won’t argue with you. Sorry.
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St John,

For what its worth I think you have plenty of faith. And I have not seen a better example of the dangers of over pious Catholics causing division in the Body.

These are threads that create disharmony.
 
three-sixteen said:
i wasn’t writing this post to judge anybody, lol. i just found what is the greatest 2 hit combo in the universe. ok? God Bless
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Well, if I could find a Noon Mass in my area, that would fit my schedule. Haven’t found one yet.😦
 
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