Soul Food April 2008

"How to Keep the Presence of God" from The How-To Book of Catholic Devotions by Mike Aquilina and Regis J. Flaherty

“It is possible while sitting in your workshop stitching leather to consecrate your heart to God. It is possible . . . for the person standing over a pot cooking to make fervent and frequent prayer, even though it is not possible to enter a church. For God takes no thought of place. This alone He requires of us: a mind and soul that love the things of God.” — St. John Chrysostom

“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself for me.”  — Galatians 2:19-20

“Pray at all times in the Spirit.”  — Ephesians 6:18

“Do everything as though you really saw His Majesty before you; by acting thus a soul gains greatly.”  — St. Teresa of Jesus

“If we keep ourselves always in the presence of God, the thought that He sees all our thoughts, that He hears our words and observes all our actions will preserve us from thinking any evil, from speaking any evil, and from doing any evil.” — St. John Chrysostom

Psalm 139
Whither shall I go from Thy Spirit?
 or whither shall I flee from Thy presence?
If I ascend to heaven, Thou art there!
 If I make my bed in Sheol, Thou art there!
If I take the wings of the morning
 and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
even there Thy hand shall lead me,
 and Thy right hand shall hold me.
If I say, “Let only darkness cover me,
 and the light about me be night,”
even the darkness is not dark to Thee,
 the night is bright as the day;
 for darkness is as light with Thee.
--Psalm 139:7-12

Prayer to Keep the Presence of God

Lord, God Almighty, You have brought me safely to the beginning of this new day. Defend me today by Your mighty power, so that I may not fall into any sin, and that all my words may so proceed and all my thoughts and actions be so directed as to be always just in Your sight. Through Christ my Lord. Amen.

How to Witness to the Faith

Someone has said that to be a Christian is to be on “mission.” The key in devotion to Christ is obedience, and Jesus told His disciples to go and make disciples of all nations. So there is no doubt about our obligation to preach the Gospel and witness to the faith.

Vatican Council II emphasized the role of the laity in the Church. Lay people are called not only to a life of holiness but also to the task of taking Christ into the world. Lumen Gentium, one of the documents of Vatican II states: “The laity are called in a special way to make the Church present and operative in those places and circumstances where only through them can it become the salt of the earth. Thus every layman, in virtue of the very gifts bestowed upon him, is at the same time a witness and a living instrument of the mission of the Church” (no. 33).

How are we to fulfill our mission of bringing the Gospel to the world? First we must be striving to live a Christian life. This does not mean that we need to be perfect “saints” before we begin to witness. It does mean that our own lives need to be committed to God and His ways. Most people can accept that we are struggling to live Christian lives. But they will never accept the Good News from someone who is not striving to live it.

We should also be involved in what Cardinal Newman called “the apostolate of personal influence.” We all have a circle of people with whom we share our lives: family, work, professional organizations, neighbors, and social groups. Our example and our friendships can be a great channel for the grace of God to work in people’s lives.
Our friendships need to be sincere. We don’t want to make a friend so that we can then make a “conquest” for the faith. Rather we make friends out of a genuine concern for people and to follow the example of love displayed by our Savior. With friends we will talk about sports, what the kids are doing, our thoughts on various issues and, when appropriate, what we do as a Catholic.  This should not be done in a pushy manner. Religion doesn’t need to be included in every conversation. But in a strong friendship we will be talking about all the life situations that are important to us and so we will naturally include our faith.