Mass: Workout Edition

If I were to tell you that the Mass is set up just like a workout routine, would you believe me? I know it seems crazy, but just like a workout helps your body, Mass helps your spirit. So where are these similarities?
Let's start big, muscle confusion has become more and more popular. It's changing up routines every couple weeks/months so the body doesn't become complacent. The Mass has 6 different seasons (Advent, Christmas, Lent, Triduum, Easter, and Ordinary Time). Each season compliments the others, but focus on different parts. For example, Lent is the time we are to focus on preparing ourselves for Heaven. We are called to pray, fast, and serve others during this time. Easter and Christmas are celebrations. So we focus on the joys of life.
Another way Mass and workouts go together is that they both have a warmup, workout, and cool down. Warmup is the opening song and prayers. From the blessing to the Penitential Rite (Lord have mercy), it is preparing us for the next step of the readings and Gospel. The Mass climaxes at the Eucharist. Once we receive Christ, we have a cool down of personal prayer and a blessing.
When it comes to working out, people say “I'm too busy. I’m tired. I wouldn't have a good workout anyway." Same things are said for Mass, "I can't go this week, too busy, not feeling well, etc." A bad workout is better than no workout at all. Even if you have difficulty focusing at Mass, it is still beneficial. But the most efficient way to grow spiritually is being involved when you attend Mass. It isn't a performance. We are a part of the Mass through our responses and body gestures. We stand when we pray, sit when we learn, and kneel for Christ in the Eucharist.
Every word/gesture was placed in the Mass for a reason. It is the most perfect form of prayer we can have on Earth. In fact, for that one hour, we’re a part of Heaven. But that’s another article.

Punishable By Death

     “Keep holy the Sabbath (Exodus 20:8).” That is the one of the commandments given to the Israelites. The punishment of not obeying this was death. Thousands of years later, the punishment is still death. Not so much a physical death, but a spiritual one. Jesus warned us “And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna (Matt 10:28).”

     Sometimes we work so hard that we forget what we’re working for. Math homework is completed for a grade rather than increasing one’s knowledge. Going to Mass becomes something for your mom rather than expressing your love for God. And the list goes on. The reason these misguided thoughts happen is because we don’t enjoy the things we’ve accomplished.

     God worked hard for 6 days, then enjoyed what he created on the 7th (Genesis 2:2). We’re asked to do the same thing. If we can get all of our work done during the week, then when Sunday rolls around, you’re free from that added stress. You can go to Mass and not worry about finishing up an assignment. You can watch football without trying to do homework between plays.

     Over the next few weeks, try to make Sunday a day of worship and rest. Just to give you a glimpse of what having a stress free day feels like, set your timer for three hours where you won’t worry about anything. Do something that relaxes you. It could be working out, cooking, watching a movie, etc. Don’t plan the rest of the week during that time, just enjoy it as a worry free time. You’ll find yourself working harder in order to enjoy more of that worry free time.

The Horrors of Praying in a Restaurant

     Let’s face it, prayer is becoming less and less common these days. When you’re out with your friends at a restaurant and your food is served, no one stops to pray, why should you? It’s not like saying a few words will make much of a difference. Besides, you don’t want to look like a Jesus freak or anything. People will stop hanging out with you. They’ll point and laugh at you in the halls of school/work for your 30 second prayer of thanksgiving. They’ll egg your house to show their disapproval. Do you see a trend? At what statement did you realize all these are bogus excuses? The Devil, the Father of Lies, puts these thoughts in our head to slowly pull us away from Christ. Once we feel this pull away from Christ, we can start saying no to the Devil, and yes to Christ.
     Christ is the light of the world, so when we say yes to Christ, it’s like keeping a candle lit. When a candle is lit, the area is brighter because light causes darkness to leave. You then allow the people around you to see the light and to use it to help them light their candle. It becomes a domino effect, you will notice you are receiving more respect from others.
     So next time you are questioning about whether to pray or not, do it because you are held to a higher standard. You now know you are blessed, you have a meal in front of you, you have a community of friends to share that meal with, and a shelter to stay warm and dry. That 30 seconds of prayer is to remind ourselves God has truly blessed us.

Time is Not Money...It's Much More Valuable

We know the saying “time is money,” but isn’t time more valuable? I can always get more money, but I can’t get more time with a lost loved one? I was blessed to have two loving parents, my dad relocated to Heaven last October. In the time my dad was on earth, he made the most of it. Although he worked, he only missed a handful of my soccer or baseball games. My dad was always in the crowd supporting me. My dad taught me how to love and respect others, play sports, work around the house, raise a family, and much more all before I turned 25. My dad loved and valued his family. He took us on many family vacations and that meant geared toward us kids, He would visit all of us at our jobs as we got older, to meet our co-workers and of course he knew our friends. He made time to make all of us feel special by spending one on one time with each of us. When the day came the Lord called my dad home, although we wanted more time with him, we knew we didn’t miss out on the time we did have. Dad knew the value of investing time with his family.
We don’t know how long we have in this world, so I encourage you to get more involved with your family and express your love, so that if something happens, you too, can have no regrets and if nothing happens, you have an awesome relationship with the people who love you the most.
One way to start a stronger family relationship is by having a family game night once a week or once a month and to get/stay involved with your family members’ events. The more we support each other, the stronger we become.

Building a Strong Foundation

When building anything, you need to start with the foundation. A foundation is picked before any work is done. There’s a reason they don’t build million dollar sky scrapers on sand. It would claps before they finished building it. So they pick rock because rock stands tall no matter how fierce the weather is.
Although we are not buildings, we require similar planning. But when the storms come, what can we cling to? Psalm 62:3 reads “God alone is my rock and salvation, my fortress; I shall never fall.” Storms are going to come our way. It could be a breakup, illness, depression, losing a job, result of bullying, a classmate or loved one who died, etc. But if you build your foundation on God, you’ll make it through.
So how do you build on this foundation? It’s simple, more God in the foundation. A foundation is our most essential things. The things we fall back on when all else fails. It could be the Bible, family, friends, sports, sleep, Xbox, Instagram, alcohol, sex, pornography, drugs, or anything else. Our foundation needs to be strong. When you fail a test, what do you turn to? Why do you turn to it? Do you see God in it? If not, what are you going to do about it? This isn’t a guilt trip, but it is a wakeup call. If you turn to drugs, you get that escape for only a short period of time. And when you come back, it’s harder than when you left.
If you build your foundation with God through your family, friends, and scripture, when the storm comes, you can look out your window with a smile and thank God for the water that keeps your lawn green.