Men's Rosary

Order and process is important in most things in life. To successfully create a meal, we follow recipes. When an artist creates a painting, they follow the order and process of painting to have a wonderful, finished product. When building a building, plans are followed to insure a safe and dependable structure. When we ignore order and process, cut corners and do things the painless way; we find trouble. This leads to failed products and endeavors. This also creates much stress and extra work, as we must fix the shortcomings, or in worse cases, are faced with aborting the project and starting over. Not following order and process therefore can cause things in our life to be disordered and harm to come our way. The same happens in our spiritual life when we do not follow God’s plan. The reality is that in our spiritual life this disordered state will come at the cost of our soul. There are no shortcuts, there are no plan B’s, there is no easy and painless way. “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those that find it are few.” (Matthew 7:13-14)

Good created the world and man according to his will, his order. (Genesis 1 and 2) There was a process and there was an expectation that man would obey, even though man was free to disobey. Our first parents decided to disobey and sin against God (Genesis 3). We have been fighting this ever since, as original sin is the root cause of concupiscence. Their going against God’s order was a sin on their part and a sin transmitted to us “as a state and not an act” (CCC 404) It was through this fall that God chose to reveal his supreme love through Jesus Christ.

It is my opinion, that we complicate most things in life, including our faith and spirituality. We overthink things and try to solve the problems, find the perfect way to pray, determine what is the “right” way to celebrate Mass, decide where and whom we are to serve, know the “right” way to live. What we need to do is to quit thinking and figuring and deciding and start LISTENING! God’s will is what needs to be done. We pray for this in the “Our Father”; but do we mean it? Are we listening to know what God’s will is? More importantly, are we or are we willing, to unite our free will to his divine will? “The greatest glory we can give to God is to do his will in everything.” (St. Alphonsus Liguori)

We do not need to figure out how to do this because God has provided all the resources. We have the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1:17 and Deuteronomy 5:6-21). These are the basic moral and religious laws to live by. And we have the works of mercy “by which we come to the aid of our neighbor in his spiritual and bodily necessities.” (CCC 2447) The corporal works of mercy; feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, visit the sick, visit the imprisoned, and bury the dead direct us in the physical needs and well-being of others. The spiritual works of mercy; instruct the ignorant, counsel the doubtful, admonish the sinner, comfort the afflicted, forgive injuries, bear wrongs patiently, and pray for the living and the dead; help to guide, comfort, and support the emotional and spiritual well-being of others. All these, observed and practiced through the theological virtues of faith, hope, and love; the virtues infused in us by God at baptism and not generated on our own, only cooperated with; is what will enable us to live in imitation of Christ and love as Christ loved. “So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13:13)

As Christ lived a life in union with the will of the Father, so to are we to live. To unite our wills to the Father’s will requires a life of prayer to hear, and a life of obedience to act. We do not have much to figure out. God tells us what to do if we let him through listening and then we obediently act according to his plan for us. This is how to live an ordered life. Anything contrary to God’s plan is simply disordered, and we will suffer the consequence. I admit to trying to take control too much in my life. I am disappointed about the wasted time and lost opportunities. I suspect that I am not alone in this. The good news is that our God is a merciful God. He never turns his back on us; it is we who turn from him. He will not chase after us to force himself upon us, but he will always accept us when we turn and run to him.

“Live in faith and hope, though it be in darkness…Cast your care upon God for you are His and He will not forget you.” (St. John of the Cross)