Put on some classical music, light some candles, and throw a towel over your arm! Create an atmosphere of the utmost class to serve fine cuisine of grilled cheeses or peanut butter & jellies. Dazzle your guests away with some sparkling cider and it will be a sure crowd-pleaser.
If you’re letting Jesus into those parts of your heart, He can offer you real healing; but He will also use things like counseling or therapy to allow you to experience His love and divine healing.
However, with that comes an internal pressure of “is what I’m posting “Catholic” enough?” or maybe on the other end where you ask “is what I’m posting TOO Catholic?” I know from experience that internal conflict is very real and can trigger shame for how much of our faith we share.
I scrolled through social media endlessly, including the oh-so infamous, TikTok. I found a solution to my boredom and decided to make a video, particularly about my unique (or so I thought) “type” I am attracted to. In a matter of hours, people were using my audio, reposting the video, sharing it, etc. I was living up to my high school superlative of “Most likely to be a meme.”
However, it almost always seems like this holiday stirs up a desire within our society to celebrate death and all things scary. Zombies, mummies, blood, vampires… ghosts and demons?! It’s almost like they are trying to scare us to death (hehe, puns).
Maybe the fire has become a spark. Maybe the emotional aspects of prayer have diminished and it has rather becoming a grueling task to tick off the to-do list. Regardless of whatever season you may be in, there is always a need to rekindle, revamp, and renew prayer.
If you are anything like me, maybe your first impression of self-care was just doing a face mask and going to bed early. While these things actually do make an impact on your day (like, let’s be honest, we are always a little bit more pleasant to be around when we’ve gotten 8 hours of sleep), there is hidden virtue in the act of self-care.
When we look to the Lord to satisfy our desire for happiness, we can become addicted to the gifts God gives, spiritual highs, the Catholic title, etc. We fall into this false mentality that God’s plan for us is what will bring us the most happiness. But the truth is that we are not meant to desire God’s plan because it makes us happy.
I felt hurt and betrayed by the Lord when I knew that He never relented, which left me even more confused and withdrawn. If He was perfect love, why was I angry with Him?
