December 11, 2011 Mom as an Active Contemplative

Lord, I want to always have your name on my lips, have thoughts of you always on my mind, and have every act, a service of love and devotion for Your Glory! Amen

Reading 2 1 Thes 5:16-24

Brothers and sisters:
Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing.
In all circumstances give thanks,
for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.
Do not quench the Spirit.
Do not despise prophetic utterances.
Test everything; retain what is good.
Refrain from every kind of evil.

May the God of peace make you perfectly holy
and may you entirely, spirit, soul, and body,
be preserved blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The one who calls you is faithful,
and he will also accomplish it.
This week in my readings, I came across the phrase "active contemplative"...it was about the lifestyle of the Jesuit religious...but I thought it perfectly described what I am trying to be as a Mom...I want to always be conscious of God...What does He want from me? What does He want from my children? How should I act in any given situation? Am I doing something just because our culture says it's what moms should do rather than how God would want things done? I strive to be always thankful...and always aware of how much God loves me...and how much God loves every person that I come across throughout my Day.  I want to be a vessel for God's love, for Him to use me to point others to Him.

 Sometimes I wonder if I can do all of that...with the many voices that are calling to me throughout the day...I often wonder if I should have chosen the religious life, because I could pray in silence, I could  actively and overtly serve God every day of my life, and (I think) live with less worldly distractions.


I know though that God called me to my Husband, I love him madly! And through Michael He has called me to my role as the mother of three beautiful and ACTIVE children...Kate 3, Liam 2, and Mary 1...Whenever I get a chance to sit down and read the word of God (during nap time, in the morning before the kids wake up, or at night when they go to sleep) I do, then when I'm doing my work as wife and mother I think about what I have read and what God is calling me to at that moment.  So I am, in a sense, an Active Contemplative.  I just am blown away, that in the week that I'm contemplating this phrase, we have this scripture at Sunday Mass!