Prepare for disaster!!

Prepare for uncertain times.

I was just listening to the radio, and as usual, I had to turn it off after a half an hour. What I learned in a short time is that we are soon to have shortages and hyper inflation. Evidently everything from chlorine to gasoline, bread to beer, sodas to peanuts will become rare commodities and priced so high we will need a wheel barrow of money to purchase anything. So I thought I would write a public service note so to help everyone know what they must have for the pending doom.

The first “must have” is a book of litanies. As we all know the first order of business in any crisis is to keep a level head. “Nothing going on here, everyone just stay calm” is a great punch line these days, but it is based on truth. The calm mind finds a way; through any tragedy. How do we stay calm through troubled waters? We pray. I have found through the years that in crisis it is hard to pray. Our minds are so gripped by what is taking place that all we can get out is a mess of “Lord help me’s”. We need calm, and that calm is found in true prayer. Litanies are excellent for calming the mind. There are litanies to God, to Christ, to the Holy Ghost, to Mary…to all the saints, individually or en-masse. Have two or three of these books around at all times, and pray them every time you feel over whelmed. For an added spiritual bonus, rosaries work wonders to calm an unsettled mind also.

The next must have is a monthly confession schedule. Every-time we are faced with crisis, our own mortality confronts us. Nobody is ready to die, so we panic. The easy answer here is be ready to die. OK…I don’t mean to be anxious to die, just ready. Be in a state of grace. I hate planes. The thought of one person in the front making a decision of life or death for the rest of us on the plane ….that nobody can opt out of…makes me uncomfortable. So before I board, I make certain I am ready to die; I make my confession. Knowing this, coupled with the fact that nobody gets out of this world alive (unless you are assumed into heaven…) allows me to have a reasonable hope that if the worst does happen, I am ready for eternity. Make your confession often! I have noticed that too many in the Catholic Church believe that most sins are venial, and so they do not confess them, or just do not go to confession. Most of the sin we do can boarder on mortal, so why not get rid of it? Called the driver that cut you off a name, might be mortal. Watched a show that would have been R rated in the 70’s and X rated in the 50’s but now is on network prime time? Likely boarders on mortal. Talked about your neighbor in a not so flattering way? It needs to come to the confessional.

Lastly, put mass on your calendar, as close to daily as you can afford. Go to mass. Everyone knows that going to mass will usually pep us up. Daily mass will do super natural things to your attitude. There is a peace that is found in mass, that once multiplied by daily reception, really does help you see God and His workings around you. Give it a try! What’s more, we are starting adoration from 4-6:30pm on Wednesdays, give it a try, I think you will find a new person in the mirror after a few months.

Prayer, confession, mass, this should top your list of things to have during the next crisis…and maybe a stash of toilet paper. When life gets serious, it is time to get serious about our relationship with God.

God Bless

Fr Scott