Practice Praise
Praise be Jesus Christ, now and forever! Praise be His Most Holy Name. Praise to Him who is, who was, and always will be. Praise God the Almighty, the Alpha and Omega, the Way, the Truth, and the Light.
I am sorry, Lord, for my forgetfulness. I am sorry, God, for my lack of practice in praising You in ALL things. I am sorry, Lord, for the many times I gripe instead of showing gratitude. I am sorry, God, for my lack of discipline and allowing my feelings to dictate my words and actions instead of my formed will.
Thank You, God, for being present in Your most Holy Church. Thank You for access to the Sacraments. Thank You for Your Presence in the Tabernacle. Thank You for disciplining those You love to grow as disciples and encouraging us to PRACTICE our faith!
What do you find yourself practicing daily? Do you practice medicine? Do you practice a sport or an instrument? Do you practice your faith?
I have been practicing my faith for over 30 years! I have been reading, writing, attending, adoring, praying, gathering, partaking, retreating, serving, giving; if there is a “to do” list of all the things someone can do to practice their faith, I bet I have done it.
In many fields, if someone has been at it for 30 years, they would be considered an expert. Living the faith can seem so opposite of many worldly standards! That is definitely the case for me. The more I practice my faith, the less qualified I feel!
Our family has had quite a season of trials recently – normal trials of broken cars, sicknesses, busy-ness, the business of life in general that can seem overwhelming sometimes. For me, this season was one of those times. I found myself extra agitated at “the little things”-- the unwashed dishes, the uncooked meal, the empty toilet paper roll — little things. It is times like these that my feelings dictate my words and actions instead of the will I have been practicing forming for over 30 years.
Thanks be to God that we have access to the Sacrament of Reconciliation and that I can sit in the very Presence of God while I wait in the sanctuary. The waiting allows me, not only to examine my conscience, but to sit and listen for His discipline.
As I sat, I first jotted down all that was on my mind – basically griping to God, or throwing my tantrum might be a more accurate way to put it. Thankfully, God speaks the language of Monica, and knows exactly how to snap me out of it. I could almost hear, “ Pity, party of one. Pity, party of one.” Yep - that’s me!
I then wrote in my prayer journal, “ I KNOW I should praise and thank, but instead I gripe. Mary, help me to PRACTICE PRAISE!” Then, it was my turn in the confessional.
My penance just so happened to be to prayerfully read Psalm 63. Can you guess what God was speaking to me through this Psalm?
I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory.
Because your love is better than life, MY LIPS WILL PRAISE YOU.
I have no doubt that I am being asked to practice praise! I pray that I can live this out more fully. I pray that when, not if but when, I experience trials, I can not react with feelings and gripe, but that I can practice responding with praise. I pray that my practice will bring about the perfecting of my faith through the action of praising God in all things! I pray that I will move from a pity party to a praise party!
Share how you have been disciplined lately. Share what you practice so that your reaction to trials is a response rooted in discipline instead of feelings. Share, share, share! You never know who needs to hear your story.
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