Back to... Routine?

Routine can be a wonderful thing.  It establishes consistency.  It can make life predictable in a reassuring way.  But routine can also become monotonous and boring.

The first day of school is rapidly approaching.  Students at Cosgriff, as well as students attending Salt Lake City and Granite School District schools, will return in just a little less than two weeks!  Teachers come back to school next week.  Parents may be sighing in relief that their children will have a more structured day once again.  On the other hand, they may be feeling the stress of trying to prepare for a new school year in the little time that is left to them.  Kids are probably dreading the end of summer vacation.

Some measure of routine is good for everyone.  An established routine can make an otherwise chaotic environment calmer.  One does need to be careful not to get into a rut, however, relying so much on routine to structure one’s days and weeks that when something disrupts routine, it throws off the entire situation.  In order to avoid this, one could change a small part of the routine, or add something new to it.

Think about this in terms of your spiritual life as well.  Have you fallen out of routine over the summer with Mass attendance?  Now is the time to get back into the routine.  Have you gotten into a rut with your prayer life, saying the same prayers over, and over, and over again?  Try adding a new one.  The parish Facebook page posts a “Prayer of the Week” you could try incorporating each week.  Or you could try starting a new devotion.  The Catholic Church dedicateseach month of the year to a different devotion.

What routines can you establish to strengthen your prayer and add consistency to your life?

Marian Titles: Spiritual Vessel, Vessel of Honor, Singular Vessel of Devotion, Mystical Rose

This week, we continue our series on Titles of Mary with the next four titles given to Our Lady in the Litany of Loreto.

Spiritual Vessel

As I wrote last week, each title of Mary refers to her in her relationship to God the Father and to Jesus.  Mary was the Theotokos or “God bearer”.  She was a vessel for our Savior, Jesus Christ.  The following three titles of Mary in the Litany of Loreto expand upon this theme in different ways.  Firstly, Mary as spiritual vessel refers to her devotion to and openness to the messages of God the Father through his angels.  She was “spiritually minded” according to Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman.  This means that she was able to see past the physical realities of this world and interact with the spiritual presences around her – the angel Gabriel, for instance.  These spiritual presences were a comfort to Mary throughout her life as she was witness to the life of Jesus, her son.

Vessel of Honor

Mary is a vessel of honor because she was chosen to be the Mother of Jesus from the moment of her immaculate conception.  God gave her sanctifying grace from the very first instant of her existence, honoring her for her future role.  Throughout her life, Mary demonstrated her special privilege, remaining free of sin.

Singular Vessel of Devotion

To understand this title of Mary more fully, we need to look closely at the word “devotion.”  Definition 2a of “devotion” from Merriam-Webster’s dictionary states that devotion is “the act of dedicating something to a cause, enterprise, or activity.”  Mary did this in giving her entire life over to God’s work and God’s will for her.  Because of her integral role in salvation history and her willingness to take part, Mary shows us the epitome of the word “devotion.”

Mystical Rose

This title of Mary moves away from the vessel theme, and introduces a new section of the Litany of Loreto, containing some of the more ambiguous titles for our Blessed Mother.  Biblical scholars believe that this title arose from a likening of Mary to the Rose of Sharon of the Old Testament, which refers to the beloved of God.  Mary was the beloved Mother of Christ as well as the specially favored one of God, so this title is fitting.

Next week:  Mary as Tower of David, Tower of Ivory, House of Gold, and Ark of the Covenant

Enhance your Experience at Mass

Have you ever noticed that sometimes the readings at Sunday Mass seem to be particularly relevant to what you are going through in your life at the time?  I have been noticing a link between the message of the readings and what our RCIA candidates and catechumens are learning about in our Tuesday night sessions.  We examined the sacrament of Baptism in depth shortly after the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord.  Shortly before we took a deeper look at the Mass in RCIA, we had readings which detailed the beginnings of Jewish worship practices.  This week we looked at the sacrament of Reconciliation, which is very appropriate with Lent, the penitential season of the Church, right around the corner.

Of course, sometimes it is more difficult to find a link between your current circumstances and the readings at Mass.  To reflect on how God is speaking to you in the readings each week, you could consider practicing what the Church calls Lectio Divina.  Lectio Divina has four steps: Read (lectio), Meditate (meditatio), Pray (oratio), and Contemplate (contemplatio).

Read:  Choose a scripture passage.  It can be a passage from the Liturgy of the Hours or a reading from the daily or upcoming Sunday Mass.  Read it slowly.  Perhaps, read it several times.

Meditate:  Ask yourself what God is trying to convey to you through this scripture passage.  Were there parts that challenged you?  Parts that comforted you?  If you practice Lectio Divina in a group, after a period of silent meditation, you may share some of your thoughts with the group in what is called a “shared echo”.

Pray:  Speak to the Lord in whatever way the scripture passage inspires you to.  You may offer praise and thanksgiving to God, or you may ask for pardon or for a specific petition.  Or, you may just have an informal conversation with God about what is happening in your life at the moment.

Contemplate:  Think about the major themes in the scripture passage you read.  How do they apply to your life at the moment?  Do you need to make a change in your life to better follow God’s path?  If so, how?

If this kind of prayer sounds appealing to you, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and Catholic.Bible publish a weekly Lectio Divina resource for the Gospel reading for the upcoming Sunday.  You can subscribe to receive it by e-mail.  Simply complete the form at the bottom on this page.