During the bombing raids of WWII, thousands of children were orphaned and left to starve. The fortunate ones were rescued and placed in refugee camps where they received food and good care. But many of these children who had lost so much could not sleep at night. They feared waking up to find themselves once again homeless and without food. Nothing seemed to reassure them. Finally, someone hit upon the idea of giving each child a piece of bread to hold at bedtime. Holding their bread, these children could finally sleep in peace. All through the night the bread reminded them, “Today I ate and I will eat again tomorrow.”
Linn, Dennis et. al, Sleeping with Bread
Each Monday, a small group of ladies participate in the meme Sleeping with Bread, started by Mary-Lue and based off the book and on the Friday before that, I post something I call Flashback Friday as part of that. As Mary-Lue describes it in her introduction, just as “the orphans held on to what nourished them and were thus able to sleep peacefully at night, the examen, based on the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius [of Loyola], helps a person hold onto what spiritually nourishes him by looking at what is giving him consolation in his life or causing him desolation. It allows someone to express his gratitude to God for the good stuff and turn to him for solace for the bad stuff.”
I thought it only appropriate to restart participating in this meme (last time: June 15) today, July 31, the Feast of St. Ignatius Loyola (for more on St. Ignatius, see here).
For what am I most grateful?
This week I am most grateful for:
- my wife, who is participating in The Love Dare, “a 40-day challenge for husbands and wives to understand and practice unconditional love,” and who, in turn, is challenging me to practice unconditional love with her also (reminds me: dishes piling up in sink).
- Lighthouse Catholic Media, which came to our church this past Sunday to set up what it calls a Parish Faithraiser Display. Bottom line, it is a kiosk at the back of the church where parishioners can pick up CDs of Catholic religious and lay leaders for free or a suggested donation of $3 per CD. In other words, the display is a resource for parishioners to take their faith to the streets.
- WeightWatchers which I just joined last week and by which I have lost two pounds already. I also belong to SparkPeople, but in the past, WeightWatchers helped me lose 100 pounds so I know it works. I still participate in SparkPeople because of a forum to which I belong there.
Least grateful?
This week I am least grateful for:
- not keeping up with giving 10 minutes a day to God each day as suggested by Catholic lay minister Matthew Kelly (podcast here) as I mentioned first here in May, and then last week here and here. However, I have done it at least twice week this week and this post actually arises out of giving that time to God this morning.
- not getting up early each morning as I first suggested last August on a running blog that has since gone defunct and reiterated in my last post on this blog. One of the things I’ve adjusted there is the time I awaken each morning to coincide with the time my wife gets up: 6 a.m. and switching the walking/running before my devotional time. I decided that realistically if I started with reading my devotions first, that I would be too tempted to fall asleep reading and return to bed. If you’re wondering about my schedule, I am a part-time correspondent with a newspaper, which affords me the time to adjust my schedule accordingly. This past week, I think I made it up once: on Wednesday morning. Since then, I haven’t done it.
However, I came across something in today’s first reading in the Office of the Readings that addressed both of these situations and something with which I have struggled previously: persevering in running the race and getting beyond the turning point.
It is not that I have already taken hold of it or have already attained perfect maturity, but I continue my pursuit in hope that I may possess it, since I have indeed been taken possession of by Christ [Jesus]. Brothers, I for my part do not consider myself to have taken possession. Just one thing: forgetting what lies behind but straining forward to what lies ahead, I continue my pursuit toward the goal, the prize of God’s upward calling, in Christ Jesus. Let us, then, who are “perfectly mature” adopt this attitude, and if you have a different attitude, this too God will reveal to you. Only, with regard to what we have attained, continue on the same course.
Philippians 4:12-16
My favorite part of this is “if you have a different attitude, this too God will reveal to you,” or, as it is translated in the Office of the Readings: “If you see it another way, God will clarify the difficulty for you.” I believe God has been more than “clarifying the difficulty” for me and revealing to me that the attitude of defeat is not one that I need to adopt. So I will continue on the same course, attempting the 10 minutes a day and attempting to get up early each day to start my day on the good foot, so to speak.
For my sister who thinks I have to have a YouTube video to go with every post 
:
In the early spring of 2008 I came to the place were I knew I needed to make some changes in my life to allow for more physical activity or asthma was going to take my life over. At least that is the way I felt at the time.
Over the last year and a half, I’ve managed to add exercise at first 3xs a week and now I’m up to about 5xs a week.
Today as I jogged 2 miles without stopping, I remembered that day in late February when it was all I could do to catch my breath after running only a few minutes to catch a train… and realized that a year and half later I’ve become stronger, healthier and about 25 lbs. lighter than when I started. Progress is good to see, but it sometimes takes a while to see it. Epically when you see ads that promise to help a person loose a size in a week. That is so unreal. Real is putting on the shoes and heading out the door for a year and a half and beyond.
So glad you are back to SWB Mondays. The scripture you shared today seems to be a perfect fit for my current state of life.
Now that I’m moving and eating better again, I need to add consistent prayer and devotions. Why is it so hard to balance those three at the same time?
“It is not that I have already taken hold of it or have already attained perfect maturity, but I continue my pursuit in hope that I may possess it, since I have indeed been taken possession of by Christ [Jesus]. Brothers, I for my part do not consider myself to have taken possession. Just one thing: forgetting what lies behind but straining forward to what lies ahead, I continue my pursuit toward the goal, the prize of God’s upward calling, in Christ Jesus. Let us, then, who are “perfectly mature” adopt this attitude, and if you have a different attitude, this too God will reveal to you. Only, with regard to what we have attained, continue on the same course.
Philippians 4:12-16
Not to short shrift all of what you said, but amen, sister. Amen!
As for balance, I don’t know, but when you figure it out, let me know.
Nice to see you back at Sleeping with Bread.
I appreciated your quote from Phillipians. It is a good exhortation to persevere.
I’m going to try to make it a more regular thing being at SWB, so hopefully I’ll see you more there on Mondays.
It is good that you have a list of being grateful and not once a week. I guess you are a religious person.
I am a religious person, but whether or not a person is, I don’t think matters to the basic idea of The Examen where you can ask yourself the following questions:
For what am I most grateful? Least grateful?
When did I give and receive the most love? The least love?
When did I feel most alive? Most drained of life?
When did I have the greatest sense of belonging? Least sense of belonging?
When was I most free? Least free?
When was I most creative? Least creative?
When did I feel most connected? Least connected?
When did I feel most fully myself? Least myself?
When did I feel most whole? Most fragmented?
If nothing else, it’s a good way to look back on the week from a psychological point of view and maybe, maybe even a philosophical one.