Live Today Well, Chapter 14

Wow. We have come to the final week in our Live Today Well book club that began back in winter Ordinary Time. It is also the final week of our classes here where I work, so that seems extra fitting. I'm excited about where we'll go from here! But first, we are slated to talk about "Mass and the Grace of Encounter." *happy sigh* Let's dive in, I have my tea!

St. Francis refers to the Mass as "the sun of all spiritual exercises," and pinpoints it as a "sacred moment." It is:

"...set apart (the root meaning of holy) in both time and place, for it celebrates God's doing, not ours."

Beautiful, yes? The Mass as the Church's Sun. That image really strikes a chord within my heart. When I was a child I thought (like many children, and certainly my own) that the Mass was BORING. I had no understanding of what we were doing or there to accomplish, it just seemed rote and monotonous to me. As an adult, I came to an understanding of the meaning of the Mass, and that changed everything for me. The Mass certainly has its comfortable rhythm from week-to-week, but it is anything but rote and monotonous.

During the Mass, St. Francis emphasizes being engaged with our surroundings via our faculties: our minds and hearts:

"First of all we should place ourselves in the presence of God...When the celebrant invites the faithful to repentance we should acknowledge our sins, be truly sorry for them, and ask God's pardon."

Thus, he is expressing a concrete way to attune ourselves to the divine presence at Mass. And we continue in this vein up through the Eucharistic prayers and reception of the Eucharist.

"Then, in the time that follows our reception of the sacrament, we can really commune with God. Here again, the sensible moment (i.e. the taste or act of digestion) can pass quickly. For this reason, it takes an intentional act on our part to appreciate th4e real presence of God now within us."

I love this. Intentionality. This has certainly been a theme throughout our time with St. Francis de Sales this year. We do what we do on a daily basis with intention: we think about it first, we offer it to God and seek His insight, and we act on it. Even in the simple tasks of our everyday lives. When receiving the Eucharist:

"...we can think of ourselves as being in this moment in the same state as that of Mary, who literally carried the Lord within her, and we can respond accordingly."

YES. This is my favorite line of the entire book. As a mother, I remember carrying my children within me (although I know many people, both men and women alike, become parents without going through this process). In either instance, the point is poignant. Receiving the Eucharist is no mere swallowing of a piece of bread. It is receiving the Lord within our very bodies. It is significant and meaningful. We need to be mindful of not taking this for granted and setting our minds and hearts accordingly.

"Divinely blessed in this sacred moment of the liturgical celebration of the Mass and in the reception of Holy Communion, we are empowered anew to live the good life."

Well. What did you think?! I got a lot out of the book. As you know, I have a difficult time sticking with spiritual non-fiction. I have a short attention span, and heavy content gets me down quickly. I thought this book was very approachable in style, and reading it one chapter per week really made the process smooth for me. I'd love to hear your thoughts on both Chapter 14, as well as the book club experience as a whole!

Live Today Well, Chapter 13...

Well, looky here! We're into the Easter season, and into the final 2 chapters of our book club. Well done, yes?! We started back in February. I'm very impressed with us! ;-) I'm very excited about where we can go after this in terms of a summer book club. I have some ideas for that, and we can chat about them next week!

OK, but for now, we're set to talk about the Sacrament of Reconciliation, better known as Confession. We all dread this one just a wee bit, right? :-) At least you do if you're me! Let's dive in.

I know that I dread Confession because I feel so guilty about the things that I need to confess, and I feel like a perpetual failure since I seem to repeat things a lot. Does anybody else relate to this? Interestingly, St. Francis has this to say:

"confession and penance render a man infinitely more honorable than sin renders him blamable" and that "the greater our misery, the more is the mercy of God glorified." Our author notes: "With this attitude in mind, we might approach the sacrament more frequently and more profitably."

I like this positive spin. Instead of feeling guilt and despair, I should feel hope and gratitude. Since our approach to the sacrament actually highlights God's mercy, we should go MORE often, rather than our natural inclination towards less.

Our author also addresses preparing for Confession, reminding us of the daily practice of the Examen. As well, if we go to Confession for frequently, it will be MUCH easier to recall what we need to confess. If we wait too long, it gets impossible to recall everything that we should.

Crucially, in terms of what we should confess, St. Francis suggests:

"...that we not only confess what we have done (or failed to do), but, more importantly, that we acknowledge the reason for it and the motive behind it. These are what allow us to see ourselves as we really are and become the place where we focus renewed energy, with the help of divine grace, in becoming who we are called to be."

This selection really spoke to me. If there are things that I need to confess again and again, WHY am I continuing to do them? It's not simply a matter of resolving not to do it again, then eventually caving and doing it again, it's a matter of what is causing that temptation or weakness to be present. This was a very useful insight for me.

What were your thoughts on the Confession chapter? Next week is our final chapter, and it's about the Mass! I'm really looking forward to that one. I have very much enjoyed our endeavor together with this book, but now that we're at the end, I AM excited about moving on to something else. I can't wait to chat about it with you!

Live Today Well, Chapter 12...

I cannot even believe that it is already Holy Week! And here we are in our little book club, about to talk about the chapter on virtues, and about to wrap up in just 2 short weeks! I hope you've enjoyed this process as much as I have, and have also gotten a lot of spiritual fodder out of our discussions! This is the most participation I've ever had in a Catholic Book Club series, and I'm just thrilled about it!

So today we are talking about "Living the 'Little Virtues.'" I wasn't sure exactly what this meant prior to reading the chapter, and here we find out:

"These 'little' virtues may be lowly in terms of not garnering great public esteem; practicing them is not something for which people are widely known. But they are not at all little in terms of being easy to do. Nor are they small in the value they they hold for those who practice them. In fact, these are the sort of good deeds that, from the inside out, change lives forever - not only our own but also those with whom we interact each day."

I just love that emphasis on the word "little," reminds me of St. Therese of Lisieux. And St. Therese, to me, emulates everyday holiness, I like those kinds of down-to-earth saints. :-) And what are these little virtues?

Humility - To St. Francis de Sales, this is "an honest estimation of who we are - in both the positive and negative realities of our personal identity." This one is painful, but we need to face it. :0 Especially when my patience is worn thin at work or with my kids, I know that negative qualities about myself come out. We have to be honest with ourselves about what these are if we ever want to overcome them.

Gentleness - "Gentleness invites us to be honest about, and accepting of, others." I like this. I can do that. Then I read this: "After all, the more we learn to embrace the truth that we are not perfect, the less we will expect or demand that others be perfect towards us. Yet how often do we expect things in life to be different?...We expect our work to produce positive results in proportion to the effort we put into it. We expect other people to act as we would in the same situation. All too often, and all too easily, we dwell in a world of 'should.' And when things do not measure up to the image we have in mind, when life does not go as we think it should, or people do not act as we want them to, we often get angry."

#whoa

Let's pause for a moment here to reflect on the powerful nature of the point made above. :0 I actually wrote: "!" in my book next to this passage. This is why I struggle, and have been struggling, since the fall semester began. I get exasperated with careless, inconsiderate people, because I expect and want them to behave differently. I can still want them to, but I can't expect them to. That is not for me to worry about. Regardless of their behavior, I have to react to them with the same kind and loving guidance as I would anybody else. When we react with gentleness, we will "...show docility toward those with whom we find fault, our natural passion gives way to a more reasonable response." This REALLY made a big impact on me. Gentleness. It comes naturally to me, but my work environment sometimes brings out those negative qualities mentioned up in humility, above. ;-) Going to be working on both of these!

Simplicity - By this, St. Francis means that our approach to ourselves, others, and life in general should be: "forthright, plain dealing, and otherwise free from pretense." I have a Scentsy warmer that says "Live Simply" on the front. I'll think of St. Francis whenever I turn it on. ;-) "To be simple...is to be cognizant of the opportunities afforded for good that take place in the ordinary responsibilities of our vocation."

Opportunities afforded for good in the ordinary places of our lives. I need to tape this to my forehead. :0

What did you all think of this chapter? There was a LOT of fodder in this one for me! Next week, we're going to talk about reconciliation!

Live Today Well, Chapter 11...

Well, I made it to Thursday. In a week like this, I consider that a win! Today, we move into the third and final section of Live Today Well, and herein we focus on specific sacred moments in our faith: prayer, virtue, Mass, Reconciliation. This first chapter focuses on prayer, so lets dive in!

I really needed this chapter, because although I think of God often throughout the day, I feel like I don't dedicate enough time to set aside, quiet prayer. My mind is always whirling, and I squeeze prayer time in (when I remember to) around all of that. Not exactly a stellar model. And so what does Salesian tradition have to say to help us out in this regard?

The Salesian model is based on meditation for prayer time. This is defined as:

"...a prayer of the mind and heart. It follows the example of Jesus, who at important moments in his public ministry would often go off by himself to a quiet place to pray and thus to be in communion with the Father and the Spirit...Conceived as a form of inspired imagining, it focuses more on listening to God than on speaking to God."

To prepare for this type of prayer, St. Francis recommends the following:

(1) Presence. We focus on God's presence by recalling that He is everywhere, that he is indeed present within us, and that He is gazing down on us from heaven. We should also picture Christ near us by imaging him walking beside us.

(2) Imagination. I love this step. We can use our imagination to focus on a particular place or scene in which God acts, such as in a biblical story. We could picture ourselves being present at the Last Supper, or the healing of the woman. This makes it easier for us to imagine Christ working in our own lives, in the present day.

(3) Consideration. Now, we allow the Spirit to guide us from thought and feeling, into action. Based upon what we just re-imagined in our minds of how God worked in the lives of other people, and knowing that He is present with us (albeit in a different way), how might He want us to act now?

(4) Affection. When we think of our affection for the Lord, it inspires us to act in holy ways.

(5) Resolution. With all of this in mind, we make a resolution to act in a certain way that aligns our human reality with the divine mystery we have envisioned:

"Devotion, according to St. Francis de Sales, is not simply a thought or a feeling. The good life is one that is lived!"

Amen, am I right?!

St. Francis also promotes a form of prayer called aspirations, in which you repeat short sayings to yourself as you move through your day. Such as "Jesus, I trust in you." I enjoy this form of prayer as well, since it lends itself nicely to my always preoccupied state of mind. ;-)

What did you all think of this chapter on prayer? Will you incorporate any of the suggestions into your day? I'm going to try and work on the imagination part more, and allow my mind to be quiet while doing so. For Holy Week, we move on to virtues! Please do post your prayer thoughts in the comments. :)

Live Today Well, Chapter 10...

Happy book club day everyone! I could really use book club today to cheer me up, as my work week has a been just a wee bit long. Trying to keep my spirits up, and here we are about to sit down for a very serious discussion about detachment.

😂

But we press on. :-) Chapter 10 of our journey together though "Live Today Well" focuses on retiring for the night, and detaching ourselves from earthly worries in favor of an abandonment to God's Will and Providence. So, what exactly does this mean to St. Francis de Sales?

When we ready for for bed, we are faced with our last opportunity to live that particular day well. Man, I have been screwing this up my whole life. :0 I'm usually all absorbed in what to-do's from my list will carry over to tomorrow and busily worrying about those things.

"St. Francis speaks of the need to be attentive - to engage in conscious thinking about things that matter in a way that would otherwise not happen naturally. As with all progress in the good life, this, too, takes some effort, especially at the end of the day, after our minds have been focused on so many other matters."

Whew, he does understand. :-) So, we're doing our very best to redirect our attention:

"To facilitate this spiritual attentiveness, St. Francis suggests that we associate it with the nightly routine of undressing...in this way, the spiritual merges more easily with the material, and we learn to divinize even this ordinary need."

I like this. I like attaching spiritual significance to mundane, everyday tasks. When I was in my early 20's, I discerned whether or not I was called to the religious life. Obviously, we know how that ultimately turned out ;-), but one of the appealing things to me about religious life was (and remains) how each small thing in their everyday lives are dedicated to God. As laypeople though, we can have that too, if we are attentive to St. Francis is sharing with us here. Even the act of putting on our pj's can be a time to turn our minds to God and dedicate that time to Him.

"We should always try to fall asleep with some good thought."

*unladylike snort*

I'm usually falling asleep thinking something that is anxiety-inducing. And you know what's worse?

"If we awaken during the night, we will stir up our heart immediately with these words: 'At midnight someone shouted: The groom is here! Come out and greet him.' (Matt. 25:6)."

*solidarity fist bump*

When I wake up in the middle of the night, I have to consciously turn my thoughts away from things that worry me. Because at 3 am? Those things seem a QUADRILLION times worse than they do during the light of day. Now, I doubt I'll remember this exact Scripture verse, but that's not really the point. We should try and turn our thoughts to the fact that God loves us and will always take care of us and our worries.

"Psychologically, going to sleep invites us to let go of the cares and concerns of the day in order to get some rest. Spiritually, it calls us to let go of our dreams and desires, in the faith-based recognition that God's care for us is greater than anything we seek in this life."

Soothing, yes? I have endeavored to do this for a long time, and will re-up my resolve on it after reading this. I think that this statement sums things up nicely:

"Theological thinking does not happen easily during the day, let alone in the fitful hours of late night or early morning. Buf if we can attune our senses at these times to the meaningfulness of God's manifestations at similar times - his birth and deal and Resurrection - we open ourselves to the experience of divine grace and the power to overcome our deepest fears."

I related very much to the examples in this chapter. As a person who struggles with anxiety, the late night (and *early morning*, THANK YOU, glad I'm not the only one who feels this way about the morning! :0) moments can be when it's toughest to focus our thoughts in a positive direction. This chapter was a good reminder to me to keep vigilant on this.

If you can believe it, we only have 4 chapters left! And we're now moving into a new section called "Sacred Moments." For the next 4 weeks, we'll be discussing prayer, the Mass, the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and practicing virtues. Perfect for the end of Lent/beginning of Easter, yes?

What did you all think of Chapter 10?

Live Today Well, Chapter 9...

It's hard to believe we're already at Chapter 9! This is really flying by. And I've been enjoying reading this book with you!

Today we review the chapter on the Examen: "Reviewing Our Daily Progress." As is usually the case, this chapter fell on the perfect week. Work has me a bit on edge right now, and when I get into that place where I notice myself being a lot less patient and uncharacteristically angry about things that annoy me, I know that I have some serious examining to do. :0 "Justified" righteous indignation really doesn't make one feel better, now does it? At least not in the long term. And so I've been thinking that some nightly reflecting on my reactions throughout each day may do me some good.

"...before the final act of going to sleep at night. St. Francis de Sales recommends that we take a few moments to consider how we have progressed along the way...the goal of this examen is simply to gauge our growth today so as to become aware of those things on which we need to improve tomorrow."

BOOM. I always need to work on things tomorrow. 😂 As we go through an examen, we should offer thanksgiving to God for the day, confess our faults, and ask for the grace of the Holy Spirit to know our faults clearly:

"Shining a spiritual light on our ourselves, we will see how we rationalize (:0) our shortcomings so as to give a more positive spin to the way we live; in this, we turn a blind eye to the truth about ourselves that should be our real concern."

*delicately clears throat*

I have no idea what St. Francis is talking about here. None at all.

!

There is a set aside section on facing temptations, and in it St. Francis notes that "with the single exception of sin, anxiety is the greatest evil that can happen to a soul."

We all know how I struggle with anxiety. And indeed, it ties very much into everything that I do in a day: how I react to people and situations, where I allow my mind to dwell. Indeed:

"This is especially true of thoughts that we purposely dwell on, which gives them power to grow and to influence what we say and do."

*gulps*

All.the.time. All the time! This is me.

And so what are we poor, sorry, anxious souls to do?

"We will make a firm resolution to correct ourselves with the help of God's grace, which we should request with all the love and devotion within our power."

This is all that God asks of us. It's really quite simple. We are the ones who make it complicated.

"After this, we will recommend our soul, our body, our whole being to the mercy of God. We will pray for the Church, our parents and relatives, and all those toward whom we have a special obligation; we ought not to forget the poor souls in purgatory. We should greet Our Lady, our guardian angel and holy patrons."

This is lovely, yes? It reminds me of childhood prayers before bed. And really, why do we give that up when we grow up? Childlike trust that God will take good care of us and ours is truly a good and holy thing.

What did you all think of this chapter? What jumped out to you? Next week, we're going to talk about detachment and retiring for the night!

Live Today Well, Chapter 8...

Happy Wednesday all! Guess where I am today? Yep, home again snowbound. With my bored children. Oh joy! And the IRONY of this being the day we talk about Chapter 8: "On Leisure: Interacting with Others,"when I secretly want to interact with *nobody,* is definitely not lost on yours truly. ;-)

#longsufferingsigh

This has been the least fun stretch of "time off" than I can remember in a long time. :0 And one would think that having a snow day would mean that my children would sleep in. One would think. Apparently the difference between them being half unconscious and in tears under their covers at the thought of waking up, and bounding out of their rooms wide eyed and bushy tailed, is 20 minutes.

😡

But here I am, taking a quick break to write in with my thoughts on Chapter 8. Once again, the subject of the chapter spoke quite directly to things happening in my own little world. Our author tells us that to St. Francis, our leisure time has as its focus:

"...more to do with the persons involved than with any particular activity."

I remember this from the eating chapter as well. It's not just about our food. It's about the people we're sharing it with.

"When we recreate, we will ask Our Lord for the grace to say and do only what contributes to his glory."

Immediately, my mind strayed over to my job, where I've been struggling for these many months.  In the moments between classes, when I have a few downtime interactions with students and my colleagues, have I always been keeping Our Lord in mind and responding only in ways that will contribute to his glory? Well, on the whole, I don't do badly in this regard. But 100% of the time? Nope. That's an easy answer. A definite Nope.

St. Francis emphasizes that it's important to take time for recreation, to relax our mind and body:

"These activities contribute to our overall well-being and, as such, should be considered valuable means for helping us become who we are."

I got this covered. Knitting, dancing, reading, writing, scentful research. The list goes on and on. ;-)

One interesting thing that he notes is this:

"All that is needed is the common prudence that gives due order, time, place and measure to all things...If we spend too much time on them, they are no longer amusements for tasks in which neither mind nor body is refreshed but rather stupefied. and worn out...If the stakes played for are too high, the players' emotions get out of control."

This definitely touched a chord with me. My personality is one that has a difficult time focusing on more than one thing at a time. I've found that very challenging about having children - they lack awareness of others around them and are constantly interrupting, thus it's difficult for me to think about the multiple things going on all at the same time. I notice that when I start to focus on something, I become engrossed. Then it's difficult for me to change my focus over to something else, and I can linger on things too long. Definitely something to ponder on how I can improve.

We need to take into account our *interactivity*.  These can be everyday encounters, but they are necessary for our virtue in our state in life. Apparently, the introverted St. Francis created a rule for himself that he should never avoid meeting or socializing with other people.

😱

Indeed. This is a tough one for us introverts. And how should we go about this?

"Let us not come to conversation with a sad and disagreeable countenance, but rather with a pleasant and affable one."

Oh boysies. 😂 When you're feeling out of your element, it's easy to approach social interactions with a guarded and disagreeable countenance. But when we bring a pleasant disposition, that bodes well for the interaction that follows. I need to continue to build myself up in this way.

There is a lovely set aside section on "True Friendship," and our author notes:

"Having good friends is necessary...so that we can 'encourage, assist, and lead one another to perform good deeds.'"

This made me think of my own precious posse of friends. Shauna'h, Allison, and Sam. *heart*

This chapter gave me a lot to think about. At the start of the semester, I feel like I was doing better with seeking out pleasant everyday social encounters and smiling at people more. Now, the semester has ground me down a bit and I'm avoiding people again. :0 But I'm going to work on it!

What did you think of Chapter 8, all? Next week we're talking about the Examen, and reviewing our daily progress! Clearly, I need this.

😇

Live Today Well, Chapter 7...

It's hard to believe that we're already in the first full week of Lent. I can already get a gauge: A few things are going really well. Others are...not.

#typical

But onward we press, Christian soldiers! Today we are at Chapter 7, so about halfway through our book. And we're focusing here: "On Work: And Taking Spiritual Repose."

I thought it was an interesting dichotomy between the two parts of that title. When I'm at work, I'm not thinking about repose. I'm thinking about doing the things I need to do, which are decidedly *not* the things I would do in my free time, if given a choice. And my free time is when I think of repose. Relaxing. Unwinding. Doing the things that I enjoy. So what is it that St. Francis is suggesting about work?

"On entering the place of work, we should place ourselves in the presence of God, asking for his grace to make use of this time in accordance with the holy purpose for which it was instituted."

OK. So when we get to work, we should take a quiet moment to ask God to be with us and bless our work that day. That sounds like a great start to the work day. Then:

"When we begin our work, we should say interiorly: 'Speak, Lord, your servant is listening' (1 Sam. 3:9-10). O my God, make me worthy to accomplish your holy will."

I'm starting to pick up on a theme here. Even though we're at work with lots of things to do, and people around us, we can interiorly speak with God and ask for his help. Indeed, our author then chimes in:

"St. Francis de Sales counsels the use of silence, consideration and imagination. These acts enable us to make a little spiritual retreat during the day, which the saint characterizes elsewhere as 'one of the most certain means to spiritual advancement.'...there are likely times during our work, whatever it might be, in which we labor in silence. We can transform these times into precious moments by being quiet on the inside as well."

I LOVE THIS. The author also mentions that during our work day, we can "retreat into our inner world," and "take some sort of break, even if only in our minds." Now granted, I'm an introvert. Sometimes I worry that I'm tucked up inside my own head a little bit TOO much. But in those times, I'm really talking to myself, if you will. Thinking about things I need to do, or ideas that I have and how I want to implement them. I'm not talking to GOD. I think that's the crucial difference.

I also like the three buzz words for us to remember: silence, consideration, imagination. Reminds me of a few chapters back where we learned about ask, offer, accept. I still think of those three terms all the time and try to implement that throughout my day. So now we have silence, consideration and imagination. And we would think of these three things at work in particular. I absolutely love the idea of carving out silent time in our head even if our job is presenting us with a scene of chaos. As an introvert, I crave silence. And with consideration and imagination, we refocus our thoughts so as to become conscious of what we can do in that moment (and those coming up) to do better at our jobs, painting a mental picture of what we want that to look like. So, I could picture myself being this patient and understanding teacher, even if at that particular time I am feeling not so inspired.

"By practicing these spiritual exercises while we labor, the real work that takes up each day becomes not simply the accomplishment of secular tasks, but the sanctification of who we are, in view of the eternal work of salvation that God has worked for us."

Lovely, yes? Especially when I'm in class, I'm going to seek out those moments of silence in my head, and seek out God, rather than the crazy worries that would otherwise make their way through my little brain. I'm hoping that this eases the anxiety I struggle with every single day.

How about you all? What did you think of the suggestions in Chapter 7? Next wee we move on to our leisure time, and how we interact with others. Another introvert alert! :0

Live Today Well, Chapter 6...

Rain was falling as we all woke up this morning, which seemed fitting for Ash Wednesday, no? And we have a new graphic as we move into a new season with St. Francis de Sales and Live Today Well!

#exciting

So incredibly fitting that we're discussing Chapter 6 today, which is entitled: "On Meals: Finding the Extraordinary in the Ordinary." The chapter talks about fasting, and indeed, we are fasting today!

#fortuitous

So what do we have by way of inspiration for meals?

"We should not go merely to eat, but to obey God and to take part in shared experience of community with one another."

Here, we read about a two-pronged approach to meals. God created our bodies such that we must eat to survive, thus we are obeying Him by eating. At the same time, a very routine and mandatory part of our day can be used as an opportunity to focus on others, rather than ourselves. We can talk to them and relate to them in their daily journey. If we re-intend our approach to meals in this way, we take an ordinary even, and make it extraordinary. The potential is there, if only we seize it.

On fasting, we learn:

"The practice of denying ourselves in some way at table reminds us that our personal instincts and existential needs do not control our freedom. Instead, we choose to forgo some delectable delight, such as a favorite condiment or a tempting dessert, or even a second helping. In this way, we can exercise a bit of mastery over our senses and thus give priority to the spirit over the flesh."

I love the relatable detail in here. It's very easy to take a second helping when you're really not all that hungry, simply because you are enjoying the food and think you deserve to continue to unwind after a long day. Changing our perspective on how we see meals overall - as an opportunity to focus on the needs of those we are eating with, and an opportunity to deny ourselves in a small way after eating (and enjoying, I think that's important) our food for sustenance - causes us to choose to be conscious of a small way to give back to God.

I like this very balanced approach to fasting. Fasting can be detrimental to one's health for any number of medical reasons, and St. Francis points out that fasting is really about our *attitude* more than anything else. On a day in which you're trying to fast, sacrifice the ketchup on your hamburger that you enjoy so much, or sacrifice having dessert. It's important to have a positive relationship with food. We should enjoy what we eat, but we can also exercise self-control in small ways to make a big difference in our spirit.

What did you all think of the suggestions in this chapter with regards to approach meals and fasting? Next week we turn to our attitudes at work. Oh boy. :0

Live Today Well, Chapter 5...

Well. Things had been going so good. :0 Let's just say that my euphoric little St. Francis-along got put to the test this past week. All of that business about praying upon rising, setting up a positive mindset for the day, and anticipating challenges and solutions before the fact so as to retain interior peace? All tested this week, for sure.

I didn't despair, and I didn't give up. And I didn't totally fail, which I call and out-and-out win. But it was harder. It started with apathy late last week. It was simply more difficult to feel joyful and enthusiastic in my classes. But I powered through it. I paused for a lovely birthday weekend, which I figured would recharge me. For all of its loveliness, I came in Monday morning feeling just as unjoyful and unenthusiastic about my classes as I had on Friday. I powered through it again, but much more weakly this time. And yesterday?

*shudders*

It was another of those: "Quick! We have to make these changes ASAP, so you need to do these 500 things in all 10 of your online course modules! Quick, before tomorrow!!" Next thing I knew, I was changing Week 5 documents to Week 6 documents, and vice versa, and clicking my mouse approximately 2,200 times per section, and I had myself all confused as to what went in what week, and what the heck I was doing:

"OK, This is the Week 5 quiz. I need to delete that one." *hits delete* "Wait. Was that actually *Week 6's* quiz but I changed the title too early?!" *CENSORED*

I made it. It was hard to stay positive amongst that nonsense again, but I didn't give in to the frustration that I have in the past. I pictured sweet tempered, uber positive Unikitty from the Lego Movie in my head, finally submitting to her signalling itchy horn and the fact that it IS possible for her to get upset and angry:

"THAT DOES IT! YOU ALL NEED TO BE *MORE FRIENDLY*!!!!!!!!"

And that satiated me. I was able to continue my mindless clicking in interior peace. 😇

And so here we are at Chapter 5: "On the Direction of Intention: The Key to Spiritual Perfection," and once again, this is perfect timing. This, all of this crap that I mentioned above? :-) I can resolve my intention to act in a certain way. I've improved, but I still have a long way to go. Let's see what St. Francis de Sales and Fr. Dailey have to offer us by way of wisdom on this issue:

"...the Direction of Intention is a simple prayer, uttered briefly at the outset of whatever we are about to do...creating in us a new spiritual habit - the habit of asking and offering and accepting before doing. By first directing the intention with which we act, we address what we do to God, whom we love. By fashioning our deeds in this way, we render indifferent acts good (rather than merely circumstantial) and good deeds even better (by adding a positive motivation)."

So, as we go about our day, we utter a simple prayer before embarking on something that does 3 things: asks, offers, and accepts. This is called "directing our intentions," and it means that we can transform our indifferent, circumstantial acts into good ones (like walking from one place to another, or attending a meeting), and our good deeds to even better ones (like when we interact with our colleagues or students). How does this prayer actually work?

(1) Ask for God's grace. "Asking shifts our focus of our attention away from ourselves and our natural self-centeredness."

(2) Offer to God all the good we will do. "...by intending to do what we do, not for our sake, but for God's, we trade the pleasure principle (acting out of self-interest) for a generosity principle (acting for the good of another). When we adopt this principle and direct what we are to do toward God, something natural becomes supernatural."

(3) Promise to accept whatever may come and bear with whatever may happen, even if this entails pain and suffering. "This act of abandonment puts into practice a 'providential' view of the world."

Asking, offering and accepting. "For St. Francis de Sales, living well depends not on positive circumstances or successful outcomes but only on the grace-filled transformation that occurs 'from the inside out.'"

On this, I need to be more consistent. So this isn't just in the morning after we pray our morning prayer, and set our mind to a positive attitude, planning for the challenges that may lie ahead. This goes for everything that occurs in our day. We offer this three-fold prayer (asking, offering, accepting) again and again and again. This could be a Lenten goal, for sure.

What are your thoughts on Chapter 5? Next week we turn to meals! Holy eating? How perfect for Ash Wednesday!

Live Today Well, Chapter 4...

Hi all! Having a busy, but much better, week here in my little part of the world. Reading Live Today Well with all of you has been life changing for me this winter, truly. I am SO glad that we are doing this, and the interior fruits have been outstanding! Last week in Chapter 3, we talked about prayer upon rising for our day. Today in Chapter 4 we're going to delve into properly situating our mindset for the day, so that we can remain disposed to live that day well in the Salesian tradition. Officially, we're talking about "On the Day's Preparation: Looking To Be Holy."

St. Francis sets forth 5 steps for our daily preparation after we pray our morning offering. Here they are:

(1) Invocation - We ask God for help to get us through our day. Our day will include both things that we seek out, and also things that will happen to us through no direct will of our own. We need His help to deal with all of these things in a holy and good way:

"In response to this divine goodness toward us, we put our entire day into a transcendent context and intend to spend the day faithfully with God, in and through the immanent things we have to do."

(2) Foresight - "This is simply a preview of conjecture of all that could happen during the course of the day. Thus, with the grace of Our Lord, we will wisely and prudently anticipate occasions which could take us by surprise." Right away, this quote grabbed me. I know that my downfall last semester was not properly preparing myself emotionally for the challenges teaching 15 classes could put upon me on a weekly basis. I was merely gritting my teeth to make it through the same lesson so many times without devolving to despair, but I did not anticipate all of the other issues that would crop up: the countless and overwhelming volume of email given that I had over 300 students to account for, careless and thoughtless student behavior, remembering all of my materials so many different times...the list goes on and on.

"...the responsibilities of of our personal vocation constitute the real place where we act out the devout life. But this conjecture involves more than just pondering our to-do list for the day."

So, SO true. We need to think about all of the possible threats to our patience and interior peace on a given day, and assume that we may be called upon to respond to those situations in a way consistent with out faith. Like, TODAY. :0

(3) Plan of Action - So we've anticipated the challenges to our serenity. Now we plan for how to deal with them:

"Each of these moments in our day holds the possibility of vice or virtue, which is why determining how we will respond requires careful planning on our part. The goal here is to envision these episodes ahead of time so as not to be caught off guard when they happen."

For me, I need to anticipate any number of frustrating teaching situations that can arise. Knowing exactly how I will keep my cool and continue to smile is a key part to my daily happiness.

(4) Resolution - In this step, we made a resolution, a *decision* to act in accordance with what we believe to be God's will, and in keeping with our goal of holiness in our vocation:

"This we can do cheerfully! The day will still have its challenges, to be sure. But by bringing faith into to the responsibilities we have to face this day, we can be consoled and strengthened, knowing that a loving and merciful God remains at our side."

This brings me SO MUCH SOLACE. This perspective has been incredibly enlightening to me: that even what crappy stuff happens, we can still be cheerful, simply because we choose to, and because no matter what, God loves us.

(5) Recommendation - In this step, we entrust ourselves to our Creator. And this is indeed "...the ultimate act of faith."

"We have done all that we could at this point (preparing and resolving). Now we recognize that all our concerns are best left in bigger hands..."

Following the advice in this chapter has transformed my days. Next week, we will discuss the intentionality of our days, and how every action in our day can become a supernatural experience. *heart!*

What did you all think of Chapter 4?!

Live Today Well, chapter 3...

This chapter could not possibly come at a better time for me, and it's ironic that I suspected this from the time we selected this book as our winter/springtime spiritual reading. Today's chapter is entitled: "On Rising - Starting Your Day Right," and let me tell you, I need me some solidly holy rising these days. So often, I have a Grump Face, accompanied by Grump Attitude for the entirety of my work day, and then in the evenings, I adopt Grump Face's BFF, Emotionally Drained Face. What does St. Francis de Sales have to say that can help us?

"That we are alive for another day is the gift each morning brings...It may take some practice, but it will prove beneficial to make this the first thought of the day, instead of reacting with annoyance or reluctance at having been awakened."

It may take some practice, you say? Why yes, yes, that is indeed the case. :0 And of course, HELLO Annoyance and Reluctance! You have have overstayed your welcome!

"Although a seemingly benign beginning to the day, the act of getting out of bed represents for St. Francis de Sales the profound reality of the resurrection and that gift of life beyond death to which we are ultimately called."

Getting up in the morning as symbolism of the resurrection. I have to admit, this is pretty profound for something I enjoy so little. :0 And I loved one of the included Scriptures references:

"I know that my Redeemer lives, and that on the last day I will rise again. My God, grant that this be to eternal glory; this hope rests in my inmost being." Job 19:25-26.

St. Francis encourages us to quickly and briefly lift our thoughts and hearts to God as we awaken:

"...sanctify these early moments of the day by means of thoughts and words already familiar to us."

I like this idea. Keep things simple! The author gives as an example prayers that we likely already have memorized, such as an Our Father or Hail Mary, or the very popular Angelus prayer (which I believe I have on a laminated prayer card on my memo board). Or, we could call on one of our friends, the saints, to pray for us as we go about our day. This has the added benefit of reminding ourselves that we are not alone as we navigate our daily challenges. In a nutshell, he's encouraging us to keep things simple so that we'll develop a *routine*. Once you develop a routine, you're much less likely to deviate from it:

"All of this is intended to turn our morning routine into a sacred one. Routines play a key role in human life. Able to be done without our giving them much thought, they are comfortable, and often, comforting, acts. Psychologically, even if not consciously, they represent a way of exercising a modicum of control over the chaos of our surroundings."

That really is key, isn't it? I may not be able to control everything that happens in my day. But I can control my happy little routine and the simple comfort and joy it gives me. If I hang on to that, I can hang on to my inner peace.

"As we begin to dress, we will make the Sign of the Cross, and say - 'Cover me Lord, with the cloak of innocence and the robe of love. My God, do not let me appear before you stripped of god works.'"

I love this idea. I know that religious have special prayers that they say as they put on each item of their Habit. Just because we're laypeople doesn't mean we can't do something similar in an effort to sanctify our days as well.

Next week in Chapter 4 we're going to be addressing mental preparation for our day. Oh boy. :0

What did you all think of Chapter 3?

WWSFD? What Would St. Francis Do? :)

Found during a tour of the new rectory/community center at our parish yesterday

Soooooo...this St. Francis de Sales theme for 2017 has taken a really interesting turn.:0 Here we have me going through the biggest crisis in my career since I left legal practice 14 years ago, and suddenly St. Francis de Sales is sending me subliminal messages left and right about the simple devout life, and leaving me love notes, apparently. :0 I feel like it's God telling me that I can't always change my circumstances, but I can change the way I see and react to those circumstances. Case in point is the following. Grab your tea or coffee cup!

Friday afternoon, let's just say that I had a WEE bit of a breakdown bad afternoon. I had 2 classes (my 9th and 10th of the same lesson that week), OK no problem, but then was just slammed with other unexpected "Quick, you must do this NOW before you leave!!" mini emergencies that have become so typical in our teaching experience this academic year: immediate fixes that needed to be made to our online Course Management System in all 10 of my sections, tons of grading, and answering/sending emails. Regarding that last item, I needed to send out emails to both the instructors and students (2 different emails) in each of the English sections, but one of our fixes involved sending a different message to people in Monday sections (yet 2 more different emails) as opposed to other sections, and in the frantic confusion, despite my care in distinguishing the Monday emails from the others, I sent the wrong email to the wrong people.

😱

I just...I had a moment. A series of moments, actually. I just felt furious that my happy, peaceful little job has turned into this frantic situation in which we're constantly in full out Panic Mode, and putting out fires. I always feel breathless, like I can't focus on any one thing, because there are 20 other debacles needing my attention, and like I am making so many mistakes due to the omnipresent confusion and developing emergencies. It has been a nagging source of frustration to me since mid-August.

 I took the weekend to settle down and re-evaluate things a bit. My job, despite its current set of challenges, has some really wonderful aspects, and I'm incredibly grateful to have it and contribute to our household in this way.  I also read Chapter 3 of Live Today Well for our book club over the weekend, which focuses on prayer upon rising for the day. It REALLY had an impact on me.

Like St. Francis de Sales teaches, I should focus on the positives, NOT on the negatives. This is Life: it is ALWAYS going to have some negatives. And if we dwell in that negative place, EVERYTHING seems negative, it's like a line of dominoes. However, if we make the choice to be happy, even in amidst a difficult situation, it makes the entire day seem brighter.

I've been doing that this week. And it's WORKING. I feel at peace and happy, and I see lots of student smiles coming my way. And it's not like the circumstances of the week are all that much better. Let's take Monday as Exhibit A. When the last item on your to-do list reads:

"Fix Blackboard/ Group Disaster thing,"

...that gives you an indication of what my day was like yesterday. :0 But you know what? It was *fine*. I was still happy and calm, even during an in-class Crisis Moment that developed into full out Chaos when the group assignments didn't happen in our Course Management System the way that they should have.

So I'm going to try to continue on this path. St. Francis has really come through at the right time. Have you had any St. Francis moments lately? I'd love to hear about them. *heart* And don't forget, Live Today Well book club tomorrow!

Live Today Well, chapter 2

So, this chapter is particularly well-timed for me. Let's just say that work has me in a bit of a grumpy mood and I *really* need a pick-me-up right about now.

Chapter 2 of Live Today Well focuses on St. Francis de Sales's Spiritual Directory, which he actually wrote for a specific religious community. It is intended as a beginner's guide to certain customs in the religious life, and the author here applies it to our lives as lay people. I have to say, this is an ingenious idea, and I was intrigued from the outset. This chapter, in addition to what we read last week, form the first official segment of the book, which summarizes the life of St. Francis and Salesian spirituality. Next week we'll get into lots of nitty gritty, but more on that at the end of the post!

St. Jane de Chantal summarizes what we are about to study in the introduction to the Spiritual Directory as this:

"...that our whole life and all our works be dedicated to union with God, so that we might assist in the renewal of the Church, and the salvation of our neighbor by our prayer, works and good example, and that we might excel in every kind of virtue..."

We might assist in the renewal of the Church and the *salvation of our neighbor* via our prayer, works, and good example. Wow. I really needed to hear that today, because my sour disposition is almost certainly bringing my neighbor way, way down. :0

We are then presented with three principles that characterize the Salesian approach to the good life:

1. The pursuit of holiness within the *everyday experience* of our lives. "In his view, the present moment of today is the only time over which we have any direct control. By focusing our energies there, we are more likely to remain at peace, neither disturbed about the past nor anxious about the future."
2. Personal growth takes place "little by little." "He recognizes, from his own experience, that personal transformation is a lifelong process and that it does not come easy. For that reason, he often reminds people not to be overwhelmed by their desire for holiness but instead to attend to their spiritual growth gently, by taking small yet continual steps forward."
3. Personal transformation works most effectively when it moves from "inside out."  "In this vein, the Spiritual Directory teaches us to act in such a way that we become, through practice, ever more conscious of the divine presence in our midst and ever more intentional in the human choices we make in response to that presence."

*deep sigh* This week, I started out trying so hard to stay optimistic and be grateful for things, thus creating a positive place for my mind, heart and soul to dwell.  Like I talked about yesterday. And what happened? 

"Over the edge!" as my colleague Cindy so aptly put it this morning. I feel cranky and overworked, and thus I am deliberately not trying to feel better. I feel justified in my misery. But who is this helping?

Sometimes, I suppose, it's all just an act of the will. Right now, at this moment (by which I mean that in 30 minutes I have to go and yet again teach the exact same lesson I've already taught 5 times this week, and somehow manage to do it displaying an attitude of something resembling enthusiasm) I can choose to be and act happy anyway. And indeed, the chapter sums up in related fashion:

"We too, can actually be happy-when our lives and work are grounded in an experience of holiness, as the exercises of the Spiritual Directory will demonstrate. Thus, with St. Francis de Sales as our guide, we are invited to discover everything that can be sacred in our life...Live today well, and the 'grace, peace and consolation of the Holy Spirit' will be yours!"

So I'm going to try again. It's very easy to be warm and kind to the students, that comes naturally to me, even when I'm in a bad mood. But it's not so easy to be enthusiastic about teaching material again and again that I'm so bored with. Gosh. It feels good to say that and be honest about it. :0 But at the same time, I don't need to dwell in that negative place. Despite my frustrating situation, I can choose to dwell in a positive place, and see the negative situation as a way of growing in holiness. Stick a halo over my head, I'm done! :0 That's as positive as I can get right now, take it or leave it! ;-)

Next week we move onto the largest and meatiest part of the book, entitled "Our Daily Routine." Each week from here on out, we'll look at a specific aspect of the Spiritual Directory, such as our approaches to things like rising for the day, preparing and eating meals, and working. I am completely in love with this idea, and cannot wait to dive into the details! We begin with chapter 3 next week: "On Rising: Starting Your Day Right."

What were your thoughts on chapter 2?

Live Today Well, Chapter 1

Oooooo, welcome to chapter 1 of our winter/spring book club endeavor! I have to say, this is perfect timing for me to be posting about chapter 1. Here's why:

St. Francis de Sales's feast day was yesterday. I had finished the novena and was all aglow. I stopped off at Confession on my way home from work, and *in the confessional* the priest talked about St. Francis de Sales and his message. I mean, seriously. Like Barb tweeted to me last week, I feel like I'm being stalked by a saint. :0 There's a definite St. Francis de Sales vibe to our year, for sure. And let me tell you, I NEED IT. More on that later on in the post.

All right, so chapter 1. I thought the way we would do each chapter discussion is for me to provide a short general overview. Then I simply will pull out some passages that really resonated with me, and subsequently reflect on why those lines spoke to me. You can also comment on those passages, or others that resonated with you that I did not mention. Let's get started!

Chapter 1, "The Devout Life," is devoted to a brief biography of St. Francis de Sales, and one of his spiritual proteges, St. Jane de Chantal. Many years ago, I read Introduction to the Devout Life, so I knew that St. Francis's overall philosophy is that holiness is possible in all walks of life; specifically, he was referring to laypeople. That was somewhat unusual in St. Francis's time!

I also loved learning that youngster St. Francis excelled in a liberal arts curriculum at the university level, and took classes in such things as horsemanship, fencing and dancing. :0 A kindred dancing spirit! No wonder I like him so much.

Our first quote:

"...he came to understand that a devout life can be lived in and through our normal routines and responsibilities. But even there, or especially so, it became clear to him that 'Christian life required strategy. A Christian should live in  the world without being of the world, and to do this required art.'"

I just love this guy! I think we can all relate to having mundane things to do in our day. Things, frankly, that we do not feel like doing. These things though, are very much part of our quest to be devout.

"Put simply: living today well means fulfilling life's responsibilities, no matter what they are, in a way that strives for good in response to God's grace. We live this good life carefully when we do what we do with intentionality, rather than by accident or out of mere routine."

Insert a heart here. I LOVE this way of looking at our everyday lives. I have some intense stuff coming up at work, stuff that I really don't want to do. But thinking about this view of intentionality puts things into a much more positive perspective for me. 

St. Francis also loved preaching, and not always in the traditional sense. His printed pamphlets are the reason he is the patron of writers and journalists, and this really speaks to my Dominican heart!

"...do all through love, and nothing by force."

Additionally, I relate quite well to his thoughts on spiritual failures of the repeated variety:

"The key to growth in holiness, he would constantly teach, is always to begin again, to keep moving forward, confident that the good Lord will provide."

I could spend an entire dissertation just on this sentence alone. Confession anyone? I mean, ugh! I feel like I'm confessing the exact same things every time I go! Can I *never* do any better?! But the key is to keep trying.

In summary:

"Thus, to 'be who you are and be that well' means to recognize and respond to the moments of grace and the opportunities for charity that are presented to us each and every day."

Chapter 2, "Francis's Spiritual Directory" will present us with a guide to live these everyday moments well.

Reading this book has already helped me. I'm finding myself thinking before leaping to impatience or frustration, sort of a "What Would St. Francis Do?!" kind of scenario. ;-) And it's helping, it really is. Difficult things that have come up in the past week, at work and at home with the kids, I've been able to deal with in a much healthier way than in the past. I'm really hoping this continues.

What were the highlights of chapter 1 for *you*? I'd love to hear from you in the comments!

Live Today Well, an introduction...

Yay, I'm here! Yesterday decidedly did NOT go as planned, and my blogging time slipped through my fingers like so many grains of sand. Today was better, though still a bit crazy, and that will be the reason that this post will go out much later than usual. Alas.

Today though I wanted to talk about our plans for Live Today Well: St. Francis de Sales's Simple Approach to Holiness. We had talked about making this an Ordinary Time project, and I made a graphic and got all fancy. ;-)

My book came, I excitedly stroked it, checked out the Table of Contents, flipped through it, and did all the happy things I usually do with new books. And I realized that this will take us longer to read than just during this winter Ordinary Time stretch leading up to Lent. We had also talked about doing a separate Lent read-along of a totally different book during that liturgical season. My plan is to read To the Field of Stars: A Pilgrim's Journey to Santiago de Compostela, as my favorite podcaster Fr. Roderick is going to be walking this very pilgrimage this spring. So, by my way of looking at things, we have a few options.

(a) We read 1 chapter per week of Live Today Well. We stick to an Ordinary Time schedule, and break it up between winter Ordinary Time, picking back up after Lent/Easter. During Lent, we would read To the Field of Stars.

(b) We read 1 chapter per week of Live Today Well. We start next week, go all the way through winter Ordinary Time, and continue on into Lent and Easter. We will finish during the last week of April, about 2 weeks into the Easter season. Then we start To The Field of Stars. This timeline works out well for Fr. Roderick's pilgrimage (and he'll be podcasting the whole journey), as he's planning to embark during the Easter season.

(c) We read 2 chapters per week of Live Today Well. We start next week, and take the next 7 weeks to do this, finishing up about 2 weeks into Lent. Then we start either To the Field of Stars, or some other spiritual book.

Thoughts? My inclination would be (b). I don't want to rush Live Today Well. It's not a heavy read, but it's jam packed with information I need right now in my life, and will need all semester. Taking until late April to finish it is very appealing to me, since it spans that full season of my life. I also don't want to break up the flow of our reading and discussions by taking a break from it for Lent. To the Field of Stars, now that I look at it closer (and I don't even know if any of you want to read that along with me, so let me know if you do!), would be a lovely Easter read and would then coincide with his trip to Santiago de Compostela.

I know a bunch of you bought Live Today Well and are planning to read along, so I would love to hear from each and every one of you how you would like to proceed!

*beams*

Tea Time with Tiffany #79 - St. Francis de Sales & keeping up the positivity...

Hi everyone! My spirits are high for this week's edition of:

Today I talk about our favorite January pal, St. Francis de Sales, and about how belly dancing has inspired my view on success in teaching. Yes, really. :0 That's why you come here right, for the eclectic mix?!





**To subscribe to the audio version of Tea Time with Tiffany, just search for it in iTunes or use this link to subscribe via Feedburner in your podcatcher of choice. Intro music is "Tea Ceremony" from PlayonLoop.com

Items mentioned in this episode:

• D'oh! This rosary was sitting right in front of me, and I forgot to show it in the video. :0 St. Francis de Sales Rosary in Allison's Etsy shop. Don't forget the coupon code CATHOLICMOM for 10% off!
• St. Francis novena starts January 15th
• Live Today Well - Book based on the writings and philosophy of St. Francis de Sales. I'm going to put together an Ordinary Time read-along leading up to Lent!
• New Year's resolutions 

 Are you joining in the St. Francis novena or Ordinary Time read-along? Would you be up for a Lenten book club? I'd love to hear from you!

Winter inspiration and planning mode...

Happy Wednesday everyone! This morning, I was thinking about how pleased I am (and unexpectedly so! :0) with how much response I got to my January piece for Catholic Mom:

I guess I wasn't prepared for how many people have a devotion to St. Francis de Sales! He's a very quiet guy in my mind, that St. Francis. He's not the OTHER St. Francis that everyone always talks about. This Francis's feast day is in January, when everyone is bemoaning how much they loathe this post-Christmas winter time of year, and I think he gets overlooked a lot. I found him because he is the patron saint of writers, and for the past few years I've prayed his novena in mid to late January. When I write for Catholic Mom, I tend to write pieces that are very tied to the seasons and/or liturgical calendar. Last year I wrote about the feast of the Baptism of the Lord, so this year I switched over to St. Francis de Sales, whose feast is January 26th.

A few things resulted from all of this. First, I did set up the page for the St. Francis de Sales novena, which starts this Sunday January 15th, so if you'd like to join in, please do! There is a link on the page to the daily prayer, and we can be praying in community! I have a group of friends set up to pray it, and it will be all warm and fuzzy. The other thing is that in the comment discussion, I found out about a book based upon St. Francis's writings and philosophy towards holiness. The book is this one:

...and I have to say, I got rather intrigued after reading the sample. I think this would be a very useful book for me during the semester crunch that proved so crippling to me in the fall. I'm thinking that this may provide excellent journaling fodder for us during this stretch of Ordinary Time before Lent. Indeed, we still have some time before Lent, as Ash Wednesday isn't until March 1st this year.

Thoughts? St. Francis de Sales had a very understandable, relatable vision of holiness for laypeople. I like his everyday occurrences view of how we can become happy and holy. Let's just say that after Barb alerted me to this book in the comments over at Catholic Mom, I innocently added it to my cart over at Amazon, and then by the end of the day, had checked out. :0 It's now winging its way to me, and will be here tomorrow.

😇

Do you want to read along?! There is also a Kindle version available, so an instant download possibility. Right now, the book is $11.99 in print, or $9.99 for Kindle, over at Amazon. Take a look at the preview, and let me know your thoughts!

*Fun side note! If you would like a St. Francis de Sales rosary like mine, Allison currently has it listed in her Etsy shop, and use coupon code CATHOLICMOM for 10% off!