How To Lead A Focussed Life

Story of my life, really?! Maybe even so for many of us.

How many of us have complained that there simply isn't enough time in the 24 hours we have each day to fulfill all our obligations? I know I certainly have.

And, we all know that if we're not careful with our priorities and time management, the probability of getting stressed out from all these "important" activities is high.

Taking myself as an example, these past few weeks has seen me up to my eyeballs literally with one commitment or another - every one of which seems ridiculously "important"! Which is one reason that I've not updated this blog for some time....

But then, as dumb as it may sound, how does one figure out how much enough or isn't? Where does one draw the line? It seems only a thin line divides these two extremes.

Then, as seems to be the norm in my life, I stumble upon something that makes sense. I got this email from the Daily Good website. It talked about this book review by David Myers, on the book "Rapt" by Winifred Gallagher.

According to David, the author has some answers on how to live a "focussed life" today, with all its complications. This statement caught my attention:

Quote: "She cites Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, at Claremont Graduate University, who argues that between the anxiety of being overwhelmed (and stressed) and the apathy of being underwhelmed (and bored) lies a zone of engagement in which people experience "flow." He arrived at the flow concept after studying artists who spent hour after hour painting or sculpting, working as if nothing else mattered".

Just these couple of lines tell me how much the book is worth. But hey, don't take my word for it!

Read the complete review here.

To get the book, go here.

Stay with me, Lord

A friend sent me this prayer via email. I'd like to share it here:

Stay with me, Lord
Prayer of St. Pio of Pietrelcina after Holy Communion

Stay with me, Lord, for it is necessary to have You present so that I do not forget You.
You know how easily I abandon You.

Stay with me, Lord, because I am weak and I need Your strength, that I may not fall so often.
Stay with me, Lord, for You are my life, and without You, I am without fervor.

Stay with me, Lord, for You are my light, and without You, I am in darkness.
Stay with me, Lord, to show me Your will.

Stay with me, Lord, so that I hear Your voice and follow You.
Stay with me, Lord, for I desire to love You very much, and always be in Your company.

Stay with me, Lord, if You wish me to be faithful to You.
Stay with me, Lord, for as poor as my soul is, I want it to be a place of consolation for You, a nest of love.

Stay with me, Jesus, for it is getting late and the day is coming to a close, and life passes; death, judgment, eternity approaches. It is necessary to renew my strength, so that I will not stop along the way and for that, I need You. It is getting late and death approaches, I fear the darkness, the temptations, the dryness, the cross, the sorrows. O how I need You, my Jesus, in this night of exile!

Stay with me tonight, Jesus, in life with all it’s dangers. I need You.
Let me recognize You as Your disciples did at the breaking of the bread, so that the Eucharistic Communion be the Light which disperses the darkness, the force which sustains me, the unique joy of my heart.

Stay with me, Lord, because at the hour of my death, I want to remain united to You, if not by communion, at least by grace and love.

Stay with me, Jesus, I do not ask for divine consolation, because I do not merit it, but the gift of Your Presence, oh yes, I ask this of You!
Stay with me, Lord, for it is You alone I look for, Your Love, Your Grace, Your Will, Your Heart, Your Spirit because I love You and ask no other reward but to love You more and more.

With a firm love, I will love You with all my heart while on earth and continue to love You perfectly during all eternity. Amen

Death on a Friday Afternoon

This is an excerpt from the book Death on a Friday Afternoon: Meditations on the Last Words of Jesus from the Cross by Richard John Neuhaus, who passed away on January 8, 2009. He was the founding father of the online journal, First Things.

Start here.

Easter: Hope for the World

An Easter message from Brother Alois of the Taize community. Simple yet profound.

Read it here.

Above is a glass stained window of the Easter Resurrection by Bro. Alois.

To know more about Taize, go here.

Could We Start Again, Please?

It's time between the darkness of the tomb of Good Friday and the dawn of the resurrection of Easter.

From Jesus Christ Superstar: "Could we start again, please?"

The song, in my mind, captures the disciples finally coming to realize as to who Jesus really was, his mission and his purpose. Which leaves them bewildered, lost and feeling utterly hopeless. And wanting to start all over again with him.

Gethsamane

From Jesus Christ Superstar (1973).

The song: Gethsamane.

24 Reasons for Spending a Holy Hour before the Blessed Sacrament

From the Catholic News Agency, a reminder of the importance of the Holy Hour.

1. You are greatly needed!
"The Church and the world have a great need of Eucharistic Adoration." (Pope John Paul II, Dominicae Cenae).

To read the rest, go here.

Remembering Oscar Romero (2)

Click here for the Stations of the Cross from El Salvador.

The Stations of the Cross in the chapel at the University of Central America, a Jesuit college in San Salvador, El Salvador, are especially graphic. They portray in unflinching detail, the torture visited upon Salvadorans by right wing death squads and the U. S. backed government during that country's civil war in the 1980s. These stations serve as a reminder that many people walk the way of the cross every day, denied justice and dignity as Christ was, by powerful political forces.

(For other mediations on the Stations go here or here.)

Heaven On Their Minds

From Jesus Christ Superstar (1973)

Heaven On Their Minds

He saved You. Now You can save Others.

Here's an interesting site that I just found: 40 Prayers for 40 Days, run by the Catholic Medical Mission Board, since 1928. In their own words:

Easter is a time of renewal and celebration for people around the world. Sadly though, many children, women, and men in developing nations have little reason to celebrate. They are dying from preventable and treatable diseases simply because healthcare is a luxury that few can access. That’s why CMMB’s work is so critical. Please take a moment to explore the lifesaving work that CMMB does around the world, and consider supporting this vital work with a generous gift. With your help, people will be healed and made whole. That’s a remarkable way to commemorate this Easter.