Month: April 2014

Beware of Group Think

I was recently watching The Wolf of Wall Street, about debauchery, deception, hard selling tactics that capitalize on greed. It was the worst movie I’ve ever seen in terms of the language, sex, drugs, and overall sinful , moral less behavior. It was repugnant and I was very disappointed. I should have turned it off. I actually felt sick to my stomach at the depravity of so many people willing to follow a bad leader.

When money and greed are your idols, God is not present. When group think sets in, we let our guard down. We think we can behave badly because others are behaving badly. This group think has been around forever. The bible is full of stories of group think, people behaving badly and God’s disappointment with his children. Jesus died to set us free from
the trap of sin that spirals out of control. When we turn to Jesus, or when we are humbled and brought low and look up to see Jesus, he is there with us. He forgives us and tells us to forgive others. “Let him who is without sin cast the first stone…Has no one condemned you? Then neither do I condemn you, Go and sin no more”.

I don’t recommend the movie mentioned. It does not entertain and there is no good message in it. Buyer Beware. Hollywood’s Best Picture nomination and rating system are very flawed.

Let us pray. Oh God, guard us from Group Think and bad behavior. Help us to think of you and things above. May your hand be upon us keeping us from evil that we may do no harm. Help us to turn away from our sin and turn to you through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen.

Be careful out there.

Love, Mymom

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Meanness

Mean or snide comments are mean and snide. What are we thinking when we make them?? We are all guilty of making “funny” remarks at the expense of others. Guess what – those comments are sinful and hurt others. Don’t do it. Just don’t be the devil’s voice in the world. As for forgiveness if this is you. Apologize. Encourage each other and build each other up. Kind words. Remember “if you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all”.

When we are the victims of mean or snide comments, resist the urge to retort angrily. Take a deep breath and ask God to help you to forgive. That person may not know how badly they hurt you with the mean comment. Be courageous and tell them. Remember Jesus loves you truly. You are a cherished child of the one true King, Jesus. Peace be with you.

Oh God, help me speak kindly and listen with forgiving ears today. Help me to use positive self talk when thinking of what was said to me and let go of the hurt. Help me to rest in the knowledge that you love us both. In Jesus Holy name. Amen.

Love, Mymom

Build each other up

Relationships are not a competition. There is no room for sarcasm, cynicism, or meanness. When you feel hurt, as simply and honestly as possible, say “ouch, that comment hurt. Was it your intention to hurt me?” When we feel hurt, we often want to give an angry or sarcastic retort back. Resist that sin and instead turn the other cheek as Jesus taught. Seek to understand. Communicate bravely your very vulnerable feelings. Love. Build each other up with loving words. Peace be with you. Let us pray. Oh God, please help us to listen as you listen, to pray for your help before speaking, to love as you love through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Love, Mymom

Forgiveness

Think about the rude person you work with, the mean kids in middle school, your ex friends who hurt you, your mom who you never seem to please, your absent dad, your husband or wife or boyfriend or girlfriend who did the unforgivable, the driver who flipped you off, your boss who is too demanding or not demanding enough, yourself for your owns sins of bossiness, gossip, meanness, stealing, lying, laziness, betrayal, the list goes on and on. Sin abounds. Small sins we Catholics call venial or great sins we call mortal. Sin abounds. The great news is that we can forgive others and we can be forgiven. When we fail to forgive others, that is our sin. Jesus can help us to forgive them if we ask for his help. Jesus will forgive us when we are sorry and ask for forgiveness.
Jesus died to wash away our sins and our guilt.

I’m preparing for the beautiful sacrament of reconciliation this evening. What a lovely thing: To reflect on the things I’ve done http://four.mary.org failed to do and to ask for forgiveness. To hear the wise counsel of our priest be forgiven and begin anew.

Thank you Jesus for your sacrifice, forgiveness, renewal, and for Reconciliation. In Jesus Holy Name, Amen.
Love, Mymom

P.s. For those of you who haven’t been in a while, reconciliation is another name for confession or penance. The format is still the same but we can sit facing the priest or sit or kneel behind a screen. It is our choice. We can go at a scheduled time or we can call our church to make an appointment with our priest. Come back to this beautiful sacrament. Peace be with you.

What you don’t talk about will not go away

There are very important topics that need to be part if your conversations if you are moving your relationship to a life-long commitment. Marriage, Faith, Religion, Children, Family, Property, Budget, Work, Schedules. It isn’t all about where we go to dinner anymore. It becomes about how we live our lives together toward our mutual benefit and serving God as we build a life together. How do we open our communication to start including these important topics? What do we do when we disagree? Conversations start getting hard. It is important to find your common ground. Don’t tackle every hard issue at once. Make a list of things important to you and begin to bring these subjects up. Make note of the differences and seek to listen and understand. Remember that issues you don’t discuss now will be issues for you in 5 years, 15 years, and in 50 years. Be brave. Aren’t the two of you worth it?
Oh God. Please help me to be brave and talk about the big topics in our relationship and help us to find our way to our life-long relationship based on our love for each other with you as our foundation. In Jesus name. Amen.

Love, Mymom