Do You Want to Hear My Lecture?

 

 

As of late, I have been asking our (adult) daughters, "Do you want to hear my lecture?"  Most often I'm met with hesitation and a wary response.  Surprisingly, I never get "Sure, Mom, that would be great!"

It's a good question, I think, but if I am being honest, their answer to it doesn't really matter, because, as they quickly realized, they're going to have to listen to my lecture anyway.  

The topic doesn't matter.  It can cover a variety of things that I am convinced they need my opinion on in their life. The question is sort of my way of preparing them ahead of time for whatever I need to say, and hopefully, it will provide the ramp on which to say it.

My question to them is a relatively new phenomenon that I started accidentally, so I'll have to let you know if it becomes a thing, and actually works, or if I am forced to stop it.

Anyway, I guess the key is that it's about what "I" need to say. It may or may not be what they actually need to hear (although, in my opinion, they do.) It's a good thing our daughters have a sense of humor and (so far) take all of this in stride. 

It's still early, I've only used it twice (once on each of them), so like I said, I'll let you know if it's effective in case you want to use it, too.

All of this--to get to my point--is to say that holding someone captive to our viewpoint is nothing more than "talking at" them.  Truthfully, this doesn't usually work very good.  If we want to have a genuine conversation about, say, religion, for example, we really do need to be good listeners.

It is amazing what you learn when you give other people a chance to say what they think.  If you listen carefully, you will often be surprised. I still like Tom Hanks acronym to remind himself to listen--WAIT--which stands for "Why Am I Talking?"

Today is National Day of Prayer, and my hope is that you will offer a prayer for someone, or something, you care deeply about, because we have a Father in heaven who always listens to us and never asks, "Do you want to hear my lecture?"

Janet Cassidy
janetcassidy.com
https://www.facebook.com/reflectionsinfaith/
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It's time!

 

It's time to get back to church.  

As the pandemic was winding down, I had a conversation with a lady in a medical office.  She admitted to me that she had gotten comfortable staying home, watching Mass online, and that she intended to return in person, but just hadn't yet. 

I ran into a guy in the back of church one day, a few years ago, and he was ranting on about how it was the devil's plan that we would stay away, and temporarily shut down churches. He thought that everyone should have continued to gather--to heck with the supposed danger of getting sick or dying.

The truth is, I expect there are many people like the first lady that just got comfortable being home and still have not returned.  There are many rationalizations for staying home, but most of them, in reality, are just excuses at this point.

For those who still have not made it back, I suspect you probably did not realize what was happening in the first place, because if you did, you would have raced back to church as soon as the opportunity safely presented itself.

I disagree with the guy who thought this was the devil's plan, and that the danger was to be ignored, but staying away when it is no longer necessary requires some honest self-reflection.

Now for older people, or those whose health is compromised and so forth, of course, the online service may be the best idea.  But for those who continue to stay home, just because, I hope you will return.  

The community that is created in a parish is very real.  Familiarity to our  fellow worshipers is important. But beyond that, the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist is a beautiful gift to be cherished and received whenever possible.

Be an encourager today if you know someone in need of a little motivation to return to church. Sometimes an invitation is all it takes.

Janet Cassidy
janetcassidy.com
https://www.facebook.com/reflectionsinfaith/
https://www.youtube.com/@janetcassidy

 

St. Catherine of Siena, a great mystic

 

In today's saint, like so many others, we have a powerhouse of strength and holiness.

Here is a short video on the life of St. Catherine of Siena, that I hope you will take the time to watch.

St. Catherine of Siena, Pray for Us!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLlkdymNajw 

Happy Feast Day!

Janet Cassidy
janetcassidy.com
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