Good morning ~

Yesterday I was reading the Prayer for the Morning in the Magnificat® and as I was reading Psalm 86, it struck me as odd that I’m telling God “All the nations shall come to adore you and glorify your name, O Lord.”

Praising God is a beautiful and necessary part of prayer, but this phrase made it seem like I’m the one reassuring God that the nations will return to Him.

That struck me as really odd.

There is no way I could know the future. It sounds, frankly, like a conversation I had with my girlfriends back in high school: “Don’t worry Rachel. I bet he regrets breaking up with you. He’ll be back.”

Upon meditation over the Psalm, it occurred to me that this is God reassuring us that this nastiness and suffering caused by governments, entities, and people is temporary. It has an end. He is telling us “They will come back to me. There is no need to worry.” 

He is telling us what is to come, and in turn we repeat these promises to remind ourselves, become steadfast in our hope, and praise God.

Love & prayers,
+Megan

Good morning  ~

I’m hitting the road later today (weather permitting) for our family’s Thanksgiving gathering. I’ll be praying for you and your safety this week.

I wanted to leave you with a prayer of Thanks today, but I realize that not everyone has a joyful celebration ahead of them this week. Some of us find it down-right hard to be grateful when we’re in the middle of turmoil and personal crisis. 

With that in mind, here’s a prayer I think might fit the bill:

Father in Heaven, I am grateful for this moment in time that I can simply speak to You. Open my heart to recognize all the gifts You’ve provided today, this week, this month, and this year. 

Thank You for the strength You give me each day, for the blessings seen and unseen. Help me recognize Your work so that I can give You praise and thanksgiving. Plant the seeds of gratitude and generosity in my heart so that I might spread Your blessings to those around me.

Amen.

Have a blessed Thanksgiving,
+Megan

Hello ~

There are so many “shoulds” and “have tos” and “gottas” this time of year, I thought I’d slow down a bit and simply take a minute to thank God for the beauty within our faith.

As Catholics, we get to pray with all our senses. The smell of incense, the taste of the Body and Blood, and all the other beautiful elements of art and physical experience we get to experience and use as reminders.

I love the smell of incense in church. It reminds me of my childhood church. It calms my mind and gives the the sense of being home.

But beyond the beauty that we personally experience, there is beauty in the Truth. 

The vastness of our faith can be intimidating, but if instead we look at it with wonder, awe and curiosity it becomes energizing and intriguing. 

All are welcome. God is Love and Mercy. He gives us hope. And that is so beautiful.

Love to all,
+Megan

Good morning, ~

Last week I was talking to my spiritual director about protecting myself as I continue to strive to grow closer to God. She sent me the prayer below in the mail (like old-school snail mail and I loved it!).

Spiritual warfare is no joke. We might not recognize it when it happens because the symptoms can be explained away as just being part of every day life – feelings of lonliness, anger, confussion; sickness or repeated injuries; distracted from prayer or Mass; or even being alienated from those around you.

I don’t know how to tell the difference, but I do want protection. So alongside the prayer to St. Michael, this is now part of my morning routine:

Put on the Armor of God

The Helmet of Salvation
Thank you, Lord, for my salvation. I receive it in a new and fresh way from You, and I declare that nothing can separate me now from the love of Christ and the place I shall ever have in Your kingdom.

The Breastplate of Righteousness
And yes, Lord, I wear Your righteousness today against all
condemnation and corruption. Fit me with Your holiness and purity—defend me from all assaults against my heart.

The Belt of Truth
Lord, I put on the belt of truth. I choose a lifestyle of honesty and
integrity. Show me the truths I so desperately need today. Expose thelies that I am not even aware that I believe.

The Shoes of the Gospel of Peace
I do choose to live for the gospel at any moment. Show me where You are working and lead me to it. Do not let me become slack in my walk.

The Shield of Faith
Jesus, I lift the confidence that You are good against every lie and every assault of the enemy. You have good in store for me. Nothing is coming today that can overcome me because You are with me.

The Sword of the Spirit
Holy Spirit, show me specifically today the truths of the Word of God that I will need to counter the snares of the enemy. Bring them to mind throughout the day.

Finally, Holy Spirit, I agree to walk in step with You in everything—in all prayer as my spirit communes with You throughout the day.

Love and prayers,
+Megan

Hi ~

The other day I noticed I was holding back in my prayer. I was neither expressing everything I was feeling and experiencing, nor asking for everything I needed or wanted. 

(Even typing this, the word “wanted” feels really heavy.)

I was “cleaning up” my life before coming to God in prayer, much like I do on Facebook. I wanted to appear generous, sensible, put-together, and “good”. 

Did I think I was going to fool Him? Or was it just habit because, you know, Social Media? Or was it because I didn’t think I was worthy? Or perhaps I thought I was bothering God with trivial things?

Each of these probably contributed a bit in their own way, but upon reflection, I also thought that if I were to ask for and recieve a gift from God – a literal answer to my prayer – that there would be an obligation that came with it, as if His gift would come with strings attached.

And because I didn’t want to deal with strings, I didn’t want Him to put me outside my comfort zone, I’d rather not have a prayer answered.

As we say here in South Dakota… Uffda.

So I’ve written myself a note in my prayer journal to explore “obligation” in the coming days and see what God is trying to tell me. I’ve learned over these last couple of months of expanding my prayer time that when I find resistance, that’s probably where I need to dig deeper. 

Love and prayers
+Megan

Good morning  ~

I wanted to send you this prayer that someone had shared with me. I hope you find it to be a good start to your day today (or tomorrow, or the next day…)

Lord,

I give you all that I am this day.
Please brush away my weariness,
So that I may be inspired in my work.
Help me to discover new ways to reveal your love to all I meet.
Keep my mind clear and focused on all I need to achieve,
And give me the wisdom to overcome difficulties and find solutions.
I look to you and trust you are with me this day.

Amen.

Love & prayers,
+Megan

I don’t know if you ever have the same experience, but it seems over the last few months that I keep recognizing Catholic teaching everywhere – even in the most unexpected places and from people who aren’t even Catholic.

One of the biggest is the dignity of life. I was loosly watching Netflix’s documentary on Bill Gates while folding laundry and a phrase caught my ear that made me put down the towel I was folding and rewind it.

Bill Gates was discussing the massive projects that the Gates Foundation was tackling – namely eradicating Polio and stopping the hundreds of thousands of childhood deaths caused by diarrhea.

The billions of dollars they’ve spent on these projects? To that he says the outcomes totally worth it because there is nothing more precious than a human life. 

When I was digging around looking to educate myself on Catholic Social Teachings, in every document I found,  “Dignity of the Human Person” (or some iteration of that) was always first on the list.

If you’re curious about the list, here it is from the Minnesota Catholic Conference:

• Life and Dignity of the Human Person
• Call to Family, Community, and Participation
• Rights and Responsibilities
• Option for the Poor and Vulnerable
• Dignity of Work and Rights of Workers
• Solidarity
• Care for God’s Creatures.

I’ve never claimed to be the best chatichised Catholic on the planet, and as of 24 hours ago I didn’t even know that there were 7 themes of Catholic social teaching.  But now my curiosity is piqued and and can’t wait to learn more, and hopefully challenge myself out of my comfort zone. 

I hope you’ll join me 🙂

Love to all,
+Megan