Catholic Devotions Meme

.

CATHOLIC DEVOTIONS MEME

.

1. Favorite devotion or prayer to Jesus?

The Divine Mercy Chaplet has been my main prayer. Although the Morning Offering is important. I used to say the Litany of Humility too but then I quit, thinking I had way too much to be humble about. But I can see where my stubborn pride keeps me from attaining many of my spiritual goals. “Please, Jesus, I’d rather do it myself!”

2. Favorite Marian devotion or prayer?

You can’t beat the Rosary. I always used to have trouble with my mind wandering when I said the Rosary and it was never very effective for me. But then I became acquainted with various Scriptural Rosaries that make it much easier to concentrate on the prayers.

For example, I will be saying the Luminous Mysteries today, as it is a Thursday, I apply each seven aspects of each of the Mysteries to a decade of my Rosary. The first Luminous Mystery being the Baptism of Our Lord by St John the Baptist, I try to find seven aspects/events at that occasion that I concentrate on after two “intro beads” then and a “concluding bead.” Some mysteries are much easier to parse than others.

Being able to keep my mind (almost) from wandering, it makes it much easier to say the Rosary regularly, and I have been pretty good, but not perfect, about saying it daily the past few months.

3. Do you wear a scapular or medal?

When I was a lad, I wore the brown scapular for a time, but then they either broke, I would forget to put them back on after baths or I would decide that the chances of me dying soon were slim so I’d wait til I was older. Well, I’m older.

When I was in the Army in Basic Training, I did wear a St Christopher Medal (before he got de-canonized) because I knew I would be running around with doofuses with loaded guns (one of the worst doofuses ran across a log over a pond with his loaded rifle pointed right at me -- I found out later -- as we were “attacking” some imaginary foe. They made him a cook).

A friend informed me a couple of weeks ago that she had a Miraculous Medal blessed by Pope John Paul II that she had received two of from a mutual friend and I am now wearing that with my St Christopher chain. I still have Chris’s medal.

4. Do you have holy water in your home?

That’s something that I have never done. I’ll have to muse a bit about that.

5. Do you 'offer up' your sufferings?

Rarely. I’m one of those independent types that like to rant, rail and suffer and only when it gets really bad do I occasionally think of requesting help from Divine Intervention. A major character flaw. It might come with the male genes, I think.

6. Do you observe First Fridays and First Saturdays?

I used to try to observe them now and then and always after three or four I would miss one and then not resume the practice the following month. I have been attending a Holy Hour and Marian Mass on Saturday mornings more or less regularly these past six months, but the “less” keeps me from getting those major league indulgences.

7. Do you go to Eucharistic Adoration? How frequently?

For almost a year I was very good at going weekly to Adoration at a parish near me. Then I had some car problems and getting there at 6:00 on Friday mornings was too far to walk, especially as our (laughable so far) Winter was coming. But I’m going to sign up again in January. “Bill”, my car, named for the number of repair bills it takes each month to keep him going, seems to be somewhat perky these days.

I mentioned in #6 that on Saturday’s I have been going to a Mass/Holy Hour combination where we start out with the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, then a Rosary, then Benediction, then the Mass, where we stalwarts, 30, maybe, do the responses in Gregorian Chant.

8. Are you a Saturday evening Mass person or Sunday morning Mass person?

I think I have only attended a Saturday Vigil Mass a few times. For some reason, I feel it to be “cheating.” As if I have never cheated on most of my other devotions!

I have been more likely been seen at a Sunday Evening Mass, which is REALLY CHEATING, to my way of thinking. We are supposed to “Keep Holy The Lord’s Day.” The “quibbler” in me can understand that Sunday might begin at dusk on Saturday, but even here in the far north, kinda, (45 degrees N), dusk doesn’t come at 4:00 p.m. so all those early Saturday Vigil Masses must be cheating.

And certainly those 7, 8 and 9 p.m. Masses on Sunday Evenings (commonly held for us hedonists in large cities) are actually being held on Mondays (unless there is a “hedonists’ Church calendar). But I seem to have no problem with them.

I asked a noted canon lawyer about this issue once, but he ignored me. I probably forgot to enclose a stipend.

9. Do you say prayers at mealtime?

[Shame] No, except in my Lutheran sister-in-law’s home, or, occasionally, believe it or not, at Arby’s or Taco Bell with a friend who always says grace before meals, no matter where he is.

10. Favorite Saint(s)?

When I began my reversion back to the Church after 20 years of being away, I decided I needed some help from Saints. But I figured all the “main ones” would be so popular that they wouldn’t have time for me.

So I chose two who were still only “Blesseds” and who were Polish because at the time, I was engaged in a lot of my Polish Family History. Blessed Maria Faustina (Who taught me the Chaplet of Divine Mercy and whose Diary I read excerpts of every day) and Blessed Maximilian Kolbe (Christian name: Raymond), who got me to sign up for his Militia Immaculata a few weeks ago after dragging my heels for a long time.

Talk about dumb luck!

11. Can you recite the Apostles Creed by heart?

I’m pretty good with the Apostles Creed (named for 12 subjects, not the 12 Apostles) because of the Rosary. I would have a difficult time with the Gloria or the Nicene Creed saying them perfectly.

12. Do you usually say short prayers (aspirations) during the course of the day?

Most of my “aspirations” are not printable on a Catholic blog. Fortunately virtually all of them are known only to me, God and my Guardian Angel.

The Jesus Prayer probably is the most common prayer that I use. It is great while walking: “Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me, a Sinner.”

13. Bonus Question: When you pass by a automobile accident or other serious mishap, do you say a quick prayer for the folks involved?

I don’t recall that I have passed by very many, if any, serious automobile accidents. But, having lived in a large city for almost 40 years, I have been acquainted with several sites where people have been murdered, and I often say a quick “Eternal Rest Grant Unto Him/Her O Lord . . . .” as I pass by.