Reformatting

A few days ago, I finally did what I’ve needed to do for more than a year now – I reformatted my hard drive. Since I am one of the most computer illiterate people I know, this was no small feat; I’d never attempted it myself for fear of irreversibly damaging my machine.

But my hard drive was bursting to the seams with a whole load of data which was impeding my system’s performance and locking up my computer every so often, so I knew my trusty laptop was in a very unhealthy state and needed to be cleaned out soon. I backed up all my files into several CDRs, said a little prayer, and stepped off from the point of no return.

Happily, the operation went well, and very soon my laptop was resuscitated and running, with a new lease on life. I’m only now starting to add the essential programs I require for my daily “computing” needs, having junked or stored away much of the unnecessary and computer-artery clogging data I’d accumulated over the years, and am still in the process of sorting out my messed up files.

As if by accident (but of course we believe that there are no such things), my laptop spring-cleaning coincided with the reformatting of my spiritual perspective. I hardly noticed it at the time, but it seems that over the last couple of years I’ve been accumulating a lot of spiritual junk as well – excesses and incompatible “programs” that were bogging down my progress and “locking up” my spiritual hard drive. And so I had to reformat it as well, deleting everything, backing up what I could, and building from scratch.

The only thing I could trust in to take me through this was stability of my “operating system,” the firm foundation I call my Lord and God. Thankfully, this particular O/S is extremely user-friendly for idiots like me who need step-by-step instructions just to get to the next, well, step. Only when He had reestablished Himself as the basis for everything, the ultimate, barest essential I had to run on, the building block and cornerstone, could I start to add complementary “programs” that would help me become functional again.

The Church, and the Sacraments. Scripture. Prayer time. Works of mercy. These were the basic programs that got me back on track and running – my spiritual MS Office, anti-virus software, internet browser, and DSL connection (I don’t even think this can be considered a “program,” but I never claimed to be a computer geek…). As time has gone by, I continue to add on “programs” that I know I need but which I am a little more cautious of installing – this time around, after the trauma of almost crashing my “system,” I need to first test and see whether they’re compatible with my O/S and core software before I download and install them into my machine. Community – the smaller version within the Church. Good Christian inspirations who not only proclaim Christ, but actually live according to His example, practicing what they preach, or better yet, preaching the Gospel without words. The love of friends, Christian or not (but who will be soon…). And so on and so forth.

Reformatting – spiritual or technical - is cathartic. It’s an operation that allows us to determine what our priorities are, what we need to “survive,” and what we need to get rid of to be able to move on, boot up, and get online without delay or unnecessary molestation. Its consequences can only be good…so long as you let your O/S take control. ;-)

Armor of Saint Patrick

Some mornings I find it hard to jumpstart my day, especially in prayer. Happily, we have Friends in Heaven who know exactly what it is to be on this human pilgrimage, and the prayers they left us express what is deepest in our hearts, even if it has not yet surfaced in our minds. Today's jumpstart is courtesy of Saint Patrick. :-)

Lorica of Saint Patrick

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through a belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
Of the Creator of creation.

I arise today
Through the strength of Christ's birth and His baptism,
Through the strength of His crucifixion and His burial,
Through the strength of His resurrection and His ascension,
Through the strength of His descent for the judgment of doom.

I arise today
Through the strength of the love of cherubim,
In obedience of angels,
In service of archangels,
In the hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In the prayers of patriarchs,
In preachings of the apostles,
In faiths of confessors,
In innocence of virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.

I arise today
Through the strength of heaven;
Light of the sun,
Splendor of fire,
Speed of lightning,
Swiftness of the wind,
Depth of the sea,
Stability of the earth,
Firmness of the rock.

I arise today
Through God's strength to pilot me;
God's might to uphold me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look before me,
God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me,
God's hand to guard me,
God's way to lie before me,
God's shield to protect me,
God's hosts to save me
From snares of the devil,
From temptations of vices,
From every one who desires me ill,
Afar and anear,
Alone or in a mulitude.


I summon today all these powers between me and evil,
Against every cruel merciless power that opposes my body and soul,
Against incantations of false prophets,
Against black laws of pagandom,
Against false laws of heretics,
Against craft of idolatry,
Against spells of women and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge that corrupts man's body and soul.
Christ shield me today
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
So that reward may come to me in abundance.

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks of me,
Christ in the eye that sees me,
Christ in the ear that hears me.

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through a belief in the Threeness,
Through a confession of the Oneness
Of the Creator of creation

- St. Patrick (ca. 377)

Litany of Humility

One Friday, on the feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, one of the parishes I attend Mass at held a Holy Hour before the exposed Blessed Sacrament. I'd never quite had the experience of the communal Holy Hour before, especially since I'd committed my Friday evenings for the last two years to doing other things for Him, so this particular Friday was my first "away" from the usual Friday worship I'd been so used to. And yet it was an intensely worshipful experience nonetheless.

After a recent Sunday Mass, one of my new friends brought his "wards" to adore the Blessed Sacrament. None of the kids had ever been in the Adoration Chapel before, and were naturally curious about why this was such a solemn, quiet place. And my friend explained it so simply and yet so precisely: "Prayer isn't just talking to God all the time; sometimes we have to come to Him to listen what He wants to say to us." Adoration, after all, is not about us. It's all about Him - our beautiful, magnificent, glorious Creator who alone is worthy to be adored. And where better to adore Him - body, blood, soul, and divinity - than in the Most Holy of Sacraments He so lovingly bestowed upon His beloved children to guide and strengthen them while still on pilgrimage.

One of the prayers spoken by the priest during that Friday adoration was a litany I'd never heard before, but which stirred my spirit in its profound counter-cultural radicalism:

O Jesus, meek and humble of heart, Hear me.

From the desire of being esteemed, Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being loved, Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being extolled, Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being honored, Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being praised, Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being preferred to others, Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being consulted, Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being approved, Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being humiliated, Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being despised, Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of suffering rebukes, Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being calumniated, Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being forgotten, Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being ridiculed, Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being wronged, Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being suspected, Deliver me, O Jesus.

That others may be loved more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be esteemed more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That, in the opinion of the world, others may increase and I may decrease,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be chosen and I set aside, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be praised and I go unnoticed, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be preferred to me in everything, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

- by Merry Cardinal del Val, Secretary of State to Pope Saint Pius X
From the Prayer Book for Jesuits, 1963

"Behold these are not the times to believe everyone; believe only those who you see are walking in conformity with Christ's life." - St.Teresa of Avila

The Centerpiece

My Mom has been big on renovation lately; one of her pet projects is transforming the receiving area of her house into hotel lobby-chic by planting a huge floral centerpiece in the middle of the room.

This got me thinking, just a few minutes ago, about how God wants to be the centerpiece of our lives. How He should be.

Everything else – furniture, other decorations, paintings, the carpet - is built around a big, beautiful centerpiece. We acquire new pieces for the room or the table with the centerpiece foremost in our minds, thus -

Everything should complement the centerpiece; if something we now have does not match or clashes with the centerpiece, get rid of it.

If something distracts your attention from the centerpiece, throw it out. If something does not draw attention to the centerpiece, it draws attention away from it – put it away for good.

And when the centerpiece is truly what and where it was meant to be – central, primary, foremost, and main – people walking into our lives, just like the guests walking into my parents’ house, will first see what is the biggest and the most beautiful in us. Our Centerpiece. :-)

Be blessed, beloved.