Woe to Compare

One of the tenets of physical strength training is to listen to your body and go at your own pace. It can be tempting to compare our progress to others, but comparison can lead to discouragement and frustration. It can take the fun out of our little successes.

Theodore Roosevelt said, “Comparison is the thief of joy.”

In the spiritual life, comparison can also lead to discouragement. God gives each  of us different gifts and inspirations about how to use them. Praying for guidance, being faithful to the Sacraments, and learning about ourselves through the study of scripture are some ways God reveals who we are through Him and how we are called to use our gifts and talents to accomplish our unique mission.

St Paul addressed comparison in 2nd Corinthians 10:12, “Not that we dare to class or compare ourselves with some of those who recommend themselves. But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding.”

As Christians, we are called to support, encourage, love and be inspired by each other. We are on the same team! We are each given unique gifts for the purpose of lifting up the Body of Christ and bringing people to Christ. How ineffective we would be if we all had the same gifts! 

God is so generous, and has such great plans for each of us that if we wallow in the fact that some people have more gifts (or what we consider better gifts) than we do, we may miss out on our unique mission and purpose. Most certainly comparison opens the door to Satan to discourage us and perhaps even stop us from striving for holiness (and sainthood!) altogether.

Christ knows our individual strength and weaknesses and he works with us just as we are — so let us seek Him rather than looking to people to give us our mission and identity.  St. Francis de Sales said, “Be who you are and be that well.”

Let us pray for the humility to be honest with ourselves about our gifts and to patiently discern how to use them. Often our mission is small and hidden, but of no less importance than what appears to be someone else’s grandiose mission. May we be grateful for whatever gifts we have and pray to find God’s peace and joy in living authentically with Him as our guide.

Prayer: The Keystone Habit

Time is a precious commodity especially during the Christmas season. I hear people say that their busy lives don’t allow them time to exercise.

It’s the same with our prayer lives. We may have the desire to pray, but we don’t know how to get started, we can’t seem to find time in our daily schedule, or people and activities seem to zap our time and energy.

Now is the time for us to dig deep, flex those spiritual muscles, and make time for prayer as a top-priority, healthy habit for the New Year.

Do you think ofprayer as a healthy habit? Do you consider prayer the most transformational habit in your life? 

Giving God time in prayer not only deepens our relationship with him, but helps us grow in virtue and can help us reorder our lives—and not just our spiritual lives, but every aspect of our lives.

In business training, we learned about the Keystone habits — these are are habits that lay the groundwork for developing even more practical habits that will ‘supercharge’ our lives and help us become ‘successful’ in business and in life. There are different lists out there, but here is a basic summary:

1. Set goals
2. Manage you time well
3. Exercise
4. Practice daily gratitude
5. Learn a new skill

While these are effective habits, I would argue that Prayer is the Keystone habit that will lay the foundation for these five habits — and every other habit and activity in our lives. Through prayer, we learn to know ourselves better and to know ourselves through God. 

This enlightenment through prayer can change our behavior, clarify priorities, lead us to spending our free time in more meaningful ways, remove unhealthy attachments, connect us with people who inspire and encourage us, soften our hearts, bring us more peace, confidence, joy, love, wisdom, kindness, understanding, and so much more. 

The impact of prayer on our souls, and on the Body of Christ, is truly infinite!

“Give me a person of prayer, and such a one will be capable of accomplishing anything.”
~St. Vincent de Paul

Guest Post: Spiritual Fitness by Lisa Marino

It doesn’t take a doctoral degree to understand the poor health of our nation. Most can cite the rising incidence of diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease, let alone those we know affected by cancer and stroke. Yet, St. Mother Theresa of Kolkata, in her pure and holy wisdom, diagnosed the chief cause in 1975: spiritual poverty. 

“You, in the West, have millions of people who suffer such terrible loneliness and emptiness. They feel unloved and unwanted. These people are not hungry in the physical sense, but they are in another way. They know they need something more than money, yet they don’t know what it is.

“What they are missing, really, is a living relationship with God.”

Can you imagine? A simple woman living amongst the outcasts of society and the deathly ill for over 50 years. Sum up every cry she has heard, every wound she has touched, and every illness she has nursed and it still doesn’t even touch the sickness of our souls in the Western world. She once said, “It was easier to deal with poverty and death in India than the lack of spirituality in America.” 

I have no doubt most of you here are working towards a fitness or health goal- awesome! Keep it up! Always remember our bodies are a temple of the Holy Spirit and we are made to glorify God in our bodies (1 Cor 6: 19-20).  Being physically fit gives us the energy to work, to care for our family and friends, and to share the Good News with vigor.

So my question for you becomes: How much do you work out your soul? Not that this can be quantified by time or reps, but how is your living relationship with God? Have you stretched yourself to remain devoted to prayer, Eucharistic adoration, daily mass, confession, or a bible study? Spiritual fitness requires daily training even more than diet and exercise demand of us. 

The fruits of being physically fit are obvious: health, energy, confidence, and must I say appearance. The fruits of being spiritually fit are a bit more elusive. Yet I would argue they are infinitely more desirable than we care to admit: happiness, hope, mercy, love, purity, obedience, and peace to name just a few. Our souls are made to be refined like gold by fire, taking “feel the burn” to a whole new level (1 Peter 1:7). For the true journey we are on, my friends, is to be fit for heaven. 

Lisa Marino, PT, DPT