Day 6
Saving Grace: (30 Seconds) If you accept the challenge of becoming a saint, the enemy will attack you. Ask for help and protection.
St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle.
Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the Devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly hosts, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan, and all the evil spirits, who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen..
Athletics: (5 minutes) We will use the acronym S.P.O.R.T.S to focus on 6 virtues that will keep you focused all 40 days. Virtue of the day: Repetition...while doing the same thing over and over sounds boring, it is what makes a champion...and a saint. You become a great free throw shooter by shooting lots of free throws. You become great at throwing curve balls by throwing curve balls over and over again. You become a great saint by praying and practicing your faith every day. The best part is, while repetition is initially boring, it turns to recreation after you master what it is you are doing. Winning is fun, but winning comes from practicing over and over, which isn't always fun. Being Catholic is fun!!! But you have to put your time in first and strive toward sanctity.
Today, say at least one decade of the rosary (10 Hail Mary's) and discover the power of repetition. Focus on the first sorrowful mystery, the agony in the Garden. Think of times in your life when you felt the fear of anticipating a difficult experience you were about to undertake. For me, waiting to take an exam or run a race comes to mind.
INSTRUCTOR'S MANUAL (41 Minutes) Watch session 2 of the Great Adventure Bible Study: The Early World....the story begins. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YdaN3VZEEA
Need to Know Him: (1 Minute) When you pray, what do you ask Jesus for? The Anima Christ is one of the most powerful prayers I have ever read. It is a great prayer to print off and say after you receive Holy Communion.
The Anima Christi
Soul of Christ, sanctify me
Body of Christ, save me
Blood of Christ, inebriate me
Water from Christ's side, wash me
Passion of Christ, strengthen me
O good Jesus, hear me
Within Thy wounds hide me
Suffer me not to be separated from Thee
From the malicious enemy defend me
In the hour of my death call me
And bid me come unto Thee
That I may praise Thee with Thy saints
and with Thy angels
Forever and ever
Amen
Theology of the Body: (30 seconds) God is Love and we are made in His image. To image God, you must image Love. To image love, you must know what love is. The following meditation is powerful and will transform you if you are able to do it consistently during this 40 day challenge. Simply Read the following famous scripture passage about love, but instead of using the word Love, replace it with your name. So for example when I read this passage, it will sound like this....
"John is patient; John is kind; John is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. John does not insist on his own way; John is not irritable or resentful; John does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. John bears all things, John believes all things, John hopes all things, John endures all things. John never ends. " (From 1 Corinthians 13:4-8)
If you are like me, this sounds awkward. That just shows how much we need to change. What we think becomes. Think about this being true today and each day. Eventually it will be true.
Sacrifice and Service: (2 minutes) A family that prays together, stays together. We should pray with and for the people in our family, especially our own children if we have them. I suggest that you assign each family member a day of the week (there can be more than one person to a day if you are blessed with a large family) and let every family member know that on that day, everyone will pray for that person. If you still have small children this is really, really powerful as they grow up. When you say grace before meals, don't just rattle off the common "Bless this O lord...." Grace before meals prayer. It is a great prayer and fine to use, but can be overused and become meaningless when memorized and the words aren't thought about anymore. I want to call out all fathers especially and challenge you to say a prayer for your children. I know how hard this is, because I've never been good at spontaneous prayer, but it doesn't take that much. Something simple like this...
"Lord, bless this food...help it to nourish us so we can serve you better. Bless Isabelle today. Thank you for bringing her into our lives. Thanks for her many gifts and talents and how much she helps us. She is a great big sister. We are really proud of how she shared her candy with her brother and sisters yesterday. Help her piano lessons to go well today. Keep her safe from dragons and help her to grow strong in her Catholic faith. Let her always know how much you love her and how much we love her. Amen." People are often desperate for a word of appreciation and encouragement...especially from their parents, who often have to spend most of their time trying to correct their mistakes. This is a great opportunity for that.
Our family prayer schedule is...
Monday: Isabelle Tuesday: Isaiah Wednesday: John Thursday: Moriah Friday: Hannah Saturday: Kristin
Everyone in our family knows this schedule, and hopefully they will always know to keep that person in mind on those days.
Saving Grace: (30 Seconds) If you accept the challenge of becoming a saint, the enemy will attack you. Ask for help and protection.
St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle.
Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the Devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly hosts, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan, and all the evil spirits, who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen..
Athletics: (5 minutes) We will use the acronym S.P.O.R.T.S to focus on 6 virtues that will keep you focused all 40 days. Virtue of the day: Repetition...while doing the same thing over and over sounds boring, it is what makes a champion...and a saint. You become a great free throw shooter by shooting lots of free throws. You become great at throwing curve balls by throwing curve balls over and over again. You become a great saint by praying and practicing your faith every day. The best part is, while repetition is initially boring, it turns to recreation after you master what it is you are doing. Winning is fun, but winning comes from practicing over and over, which isn't always fun. Being Catholic is fun!!! But you have to put your time in first and strive toward sanctity.
Today, say at least one decade of the rosary (10 Hail Mary's) and discover the power of repetition. Focus on the first sorrowful mystery, the agony in the Garden. Think of times in your life when you felt the fear of anticipating a difficult experience you were about to undertake. For me, waiting to take an exam or run a race comes to mind.
INSTRUCTOR'S MANUAL (41 Minutes) Watch session 2 of the Great Adventure Bible Study: The Early World....the story begins. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YdaN3VZEEA
Need to Know Him: (1 Minute) When you pray, what do you ask Jesus for? The Anima Christ is one of the most powerful prayers I have ever read. It is a great prayer to print off and say after you receive Holy Communion.
The Anima Christi
Soul of Christ, sanctify me
Body of Christ, save me
Blood of Christ, inebriate me
Water from Christ's side, wash me
Passion of Christ, strengthen me
O good Jesus, hear me
Within Thy wounds hide me
Suffer me not to be separated from Thee
From the malicious enemy defend me
In the hour of my death call me
And bid me come unto Thee
That I may praise Thee with Thy saints
and with Thy angels
Forever and ever
Amen
Theology of the Body: (30 seconds) God is Love and we are made in His image. To image God, you must image Love. To image love, you must know what love is. The following meditation is powerful and will transform you if you are able to do it consistently during this 40 day challenge. Simply Read the following famous scripture passage about love, but instead of using the word Love, replace it with your name. So for example when I read this passage, it will sound like this....
"John is patient; John is kind; John is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. John does not insist on his own way; John is not irritable or resentful; John does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. John bears all things, John believes all things, John hopes all things, John endures all things. John never ends. " (From 1 Corinthians 13:4-8)
If you are like me, this sounds awkward. That just shows how much we need to change. What we think becomes. Think about this being true today and each day. Eventually it will be true.
Sacrifice and Service: (2 minutes) A family that prays together, stays together. We should pray with and for the people in our family, especially our own children if we have them. I suggest that you assign each family member a day of the week (there can be more than one person to a day if you are blessed with a large family) and let every family member know that on that day, everyone will pray for that person. If you still have small children this is really, really powerful as they grow up. When you say grace before meals, don't just rattle off the common "Bless this O lord...." Grace before meals prayer. It is a great prayer and fine to use, but can be overused and become meaningless when memorized and the words aren't thought about anymore. I want to call out all fathers especially and challenge you to say a prayer for your children. I know how hard this is, because I've never been good at spontaneous prayer, but it doesn't take that much. Something simple like this...
"Lord, bless this food...help it to nourish us so we can serve you better. Bless Isabelle today. Thank you for bringing her into our lives. Thanks for her many gifts and talents and how much she helps us. She is a great big sister. We are really proud of how she shared her candy with her brother and sisters yesterday. Help her piano lessons to go well today. Keep her safe from dragons and help her to grow strong in her Catholic faith. Let her always know how much you love her and how much we love her. Amen." People are often desperate for a word of appreciation and encouragement...especially from their parents, who often have to spend most of their time trying to correct their mistakes. This is a great opportunity for that.
Our family prayer schedule is...
Monday: Isabelle Tuesday: Isaiah Wednesday: John Thursday: Moriah Friday: Hannah Saturday: Kristin
Everyone in our family knows this schedule, and hopefully they will always know to keep that person in mind on those days.
