Men's Rosary

Everyone wants a trophy, but they do not want to run the race!  What I mean by this is the seemingly growing attachment to entitlement or the effortless way.  There is nothing worth having in life that we have not worked for and put effort into.  We have heard it said that the best things in life are free.  I disagree.  All things come at a cost.  Sure, we may not have to pull out cash to pay for these so-called free things, like friendship, faith, and good health, but we have to put in effort.  Time investment for solid friendships, time in prayer for faith, care to eat well and exercise for good health to be maintained.  There is no easy path. “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.”              (James 1:12)  We must hold the course and do the work required to succeed.  This is also true of our spiritual life.

We can look at the lives of the saints and even some of those around us and yearn for the faith and peace they possess.  What we often fail to do is consider the effort, work, and sacrifice they made or are making to be at such a point in faith.  There is tremendous work and effort involved.  A life of faith is a contact sport.  We have to be willing to take some hits and get back up and into the game.  The way to a full spiritual life is through all the distractions and barriers that life put in the way as well as the efforts of the devil to keep us spiritually dead!  Just as a football player suits up for the game, so do we in our spiritual journey.  We put on the armor of God.  “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.”  (Ephesians 6:11)  There is no growth in faith or the spiritual life without action.  We are shown in Scripture the action of both ourselves and of God, almost equally.  We have to come before God humbly and asking for his help and blessings.  “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”  (Matthew 7:7)  So we ask, seek, and knock and God answers, informs, and opens.  The incredible part is that God is doing all the giving.  What we give back to God is the fact that we are coming to Him.  Sometimes it is not we who are knocking, sometimes God does the knocking!   “Behold, I stand at the door and knock.  If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.”  (Revelation 3:20)   Here God acts in knocking and we act in answer to him. We must be aware when God is reaching out to us.  In these times we need to reach out and grab his hand. 

Only a strong relationship or friendship with God will allow us to embrace all he has to offer and grow in our personal sanctity.  There is no shortcut.  The effort must be made to cultivate the relationship just as we would any relationship such as friendship or marriage.  We will get out what we put in.  Herein lies the cost, it is not free.  The cost, however, is miniscule compared to the reward of the friendship.  “Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has great reward.  For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.” (Hebrews 10:35-36)  In prayer we will find God and build our relationship with him.  And this is not only in set “prayer time” but it should be all throughout our day. We should live a life imbued with prayer.  We need to saturate our day with God’s presence in all things, even the most insignificant details.  “Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!” (1 Chronicles 16:11)  Being married, there is not a day that goes by that my wife does not come to mind several times during all the activities of the day.  There is not a day that goes by that I do not reach out to her to say hello and check in to see how things are going.  How much more do I need to do this with God, he who created me and grants my very being?!  My marriage would not be much if I just went about doing what I want and never took time to acknowledge my wife and bring her into my life.  Likewise, my relationship with God and my spiritual life will not be much if I go on with “life” ignoring God and going about my day. 

Life is work and priorities.  The question becomes, what level of priority do we place our spirituality and relationship with God and how much work are we going to put into it?  Prayer is the exercise which builds our spiritual muscle.  Without it we remain weak.   Even in the busyness of life, prayer must not be neglected.  “Half an hour’s meditation each day is essential, except when you are busy.  Then a full hour is needed.”  (St. Francis de Sales)  Through our faith we will experience all the things that people claim are free.  The cost will simply be our effort to unite with God and unite our will to his.  The important thing is to never give up, never tire of pushing through and ask for God’s help through it all.  In the end we will see our reward for fighting the good fight.  “But the one who endures to the end will be saved.”  (Matthew 24:13 )

“Prayer is a matter of coming into living contact with Jesus; it is not just recitation and repetition.”  (St. Teresa of Avila)