By Doug on February 23rd, 2009 | Category: Uncategorized
Why Men Don’t Pray
(and how to see through our own excuses)
From Catholic Men’s Quarterly
by Fr. Thomas D. Williams, LC
Ask any catechized Catholic whether prayer is important, and he will immediately assure you that it is. He may even enthusiastically spout a series of reasons why we should pray. Then ask him how much he prays. He will probably look at the floor, shift his weight nervously from foot to foot, and murmur an inaudible excuse as to how tough it is these days…with work and all…and the family…
If prayer is so wonderful, why do so few people—especially men—practice it with any regularity? Prayer is the sort of thing we all know is necessary but never seem to find enough time for. Despite our good intentions, other urgent affairs always seem to take precedence over prayer time and effectively crowd our prayer.
This nearly pandemic neglect of prayer undoubtedly has multiple causes. The following list presents six of the more common rationalizations I have heard (and used!) over the years. Like most good excuses, each of these bears an element of truth, but also an element of falsehood. Unmasking them may help us overcome them.
1. “I don’t have time to pray.”
No one has time to pray, really. The idyllic notion of “free time” simply doesn’t exist. We all have twenty-four hours in a day, and we fill those hours with something. Yet in these twenty-four hours some men pray and others don’t. Why is that? Here a glance at Christ’s life can prove illuminating. The first striking feature of Christ’s prayer life is not the way he prayed, or what he said, but the fact that he prayed. Simply put, Christ was
By Doug on October 2nd, 2008 | Category: Uncategorized
When hard times hit, what should you tell your kids?
By Linda Shrieves
10/1/2008
McClatchy Newspapers (www.mctdirect.com)
The Orlando Sentinel (MCT) – Beware of what you say to kids.
When a parent says, “We can’t afford to eat that,” sometimes kids magnify that statement and imagine: “We can’t afford to eat!” Instead, tell them that the family needs to cut back on expenses and will be pickier about what you buy.
Put a positive spin on a bad situation by encouraging the family to work together to cut costs.
“It can be something that pulls a family together if they do it wisely,” says Dr. Marci Alessi, a psychologist in Winter Park, Fla. “The key is not to alarm kids, but to say, ‘We need everyone’s help.’”
If you’re worried about losing the house or having to move out of state for another job, keep it to yourself until you’re sure the move is coming. “It’s important for parents to insulate their kids from the severity of it until it becomes definite,” Alessi said. “Then you can tell them we’re definitely moving out. We have to find a smaller house.”
But she urges parents to remain calm _ because it will help the children cope with the change too.
Show kids that they can help, which will give them a feeling of control.
For instance, encourage the kids to look for ways to save money _ by borrowing DVDs from the public library instead of renting them, or saving electricity by turning out lights. Encourage them to think about how much money your family saves when you eat at home instead of eating out.
Try not to argue about money in front of the kids. “The first thing that kids
By Doug on September 19th, 2008 | Category: Uncategorized
By Doug on September 9th, 2008 | Category: Uncategorized
From US Catholic.com by Tom McGrath
Beyond the banging drums and clashing symbols, Catholic men have a lot to gain from tapping into an authentic men’s spirituality movement.
I was at my local big-chain bookstore one Sunday and decided to check out their books on male spirituality. Having trouble locating that section, I asked the young, multiply pierced woman at the information counter, “Can you direct me to your books on men’s spirituality?”
She snorted. “Books on men’s spirituality? I’ve never heard of any. I know we don’t have a section on that topic. Maybe you can look under war books. That’s quite sizable.”
“But you have quite a large section on women’s spirituality,”I said. Half joking I added, “Is there some sort of discrimination going on here?”
She bristled. “Hey, you’re talking to the wrong person about discrimination. I’m a feminist.”
“Me, too,” I replied. “I think the women’s movement has been a great gift to society.” Perhaps my voice rose; her colleague, an equally pierced young man, walked over. I pleaded, “But don’t you think it would be good for men to take a look at what’s going on inside them?”
To which her male colleague piped up, “Now that’s a scary thought!”
I guess it is a scary thought to many.
Read the rest here. This is an excellent article.
Why Men Don’t Pray
Recent Coments