WHO will we believe?

Hubby and I went alone to Sunday evening Mass at our parish last night. This is an exceptionally rare occurrence occasioned by the fact that too many children were throwing up on Sunday morning for us to get out. My oldest (who is 18 and has not yet succumbed to the "creeping crud") had gone to Mass earlier, so we were able to leave the sickies home with him as the vomiting had subsided by that evening.

It was so wonderful to sit by my sweetie and listen to the Gospel (as oppossed to stopping the 2 yo from running to the choir to greet siblings) and hold hands during the Homily!

It is amazing what spiritual insights can come when one is not picking up Cheerios while Father explains the readings!

The point he made was that the evil one knows where to tempt us for maximum effect...

I am well aware of that fact as previous posts have attested to...

But what struck me yesterday was the willingness of Eve to listen to and believe the serpent DESPITE her close loving relationship with God.

Think about it, the serpent told her that God LIED! And she believed that ugly reptile INSTEAD of the awesome Creator who gave her and Adam a whole beautiful life and garden and (almost) everything in it! She and Adam walked with and talked with God on a regular basis and she STILL believed the devil over her divine Father!!

What's up with that?!

The power of temptation.

Father reminded us yesterday that temptation itself is NOT a sin.

Thank goodness!

But temptation is SO powerful that Jesus himself taught us that we NEED to pray "Lead us not into temptation" because it is so very powerful...and we can be very weak...

Few of us are really confused about the "right" things to do, but still we don't do them (St. Paul included)!

Why?

Laziness, fear, the intense desire for immediate gratification and pleasure, pride, selfishness...

The list goes on.

But so does the grace that can be poured on us in moments of temptation through our cooperation with the infinite merits earned by Jesus' suffering and death.

Eve did not have that in her defensive arsenal, but we do!

While we strengthen up our "spiritual muscles" this Lent, let's remember that we cannot do it alone (which JPII notes was Adam's sin, leaving Eve to deal with the serpent alone)...

Let us call on Christ without ceasing, and remember that the glitter of temptation is but a momentary and counterfeit dross...

The real gold is found at the foot of the cross.

Living Prayer

A fancy post on prayer will not happen today (and obviously did not happen yesterday)...

Spent Friday from 1 to 5 am in the Emergency Room with 4 yo who could not stop vomiting...he has strep throat and a double ear infection and needed serious meds to stop the nausea and keep the antibiotic down...

About 2 hours ago today (saturday) 6 yo started vomiting and complaining of sore throat so DH is back at ER (I told him he at least got daytime duty)...

Oh, and it is my ds#2 17th birthday today! He wanted gyros for dinner and a cookie cake for dessert and his older brother and younger sister each got him a shamrock shake from McD so he could drink 2 (because whenever he is done with one he says, "boy, That was so good I wish I had another!")

So, how does prayer fit in to all this craziness?

Not in a long theological discourse for sure!

It fits in while sitting in an ER praying for the drug to work and stop my little one from vomiting every 15 minutes...

It fits in while watching the first news reports coming out of Japan in the ER and praying for all affected...

It fits into being thankful that DH is home to take 6 yo to the ER during the daytime hours...

It fits into being thankful we have health insurance to pay for sick children and their medicine...

It fits into spending a moment with the daily readings from today's Mass on an iPad while nursing a clingy 2 year old...

It fits into desperately entreating the Lord not to let the 2 year old get sick next...

It fits into spending a moment of thanksgiving for my birthday boy and asking the Lord to bless and protect him this coming year and to help him make the decisions and do the work needed for his future....

One can never say they do not have time to pray.

Prayer can be the fabric that the threads of our lives are woven throughout.

Lord, help me to pray without ceasing, no matter what each moment brings!