Who do we worship?

Do we really worship God?  Do we give Him his dues?  Or do we just roll around on Sundays, shut the alarm clocks, sleep "five more minutes" and then realize we are so late for Church and just have breakfast/brunch and watch a rerun on Keeping up with the Kardashians?

I know, it is so tempting to sleep in on Sundays, especially when Mass is offered so early in the USA.*  Especially when it seems to be the only day we can sleep in.  Or when it seems to be the one day we can really rest after spending Saturday catching up with everything else we didn't do during our busy weekdays.  I know.  I have been there.  I have missed Holy Sunday Day of Obligation because I was so busy just... catching up on some really needed zzzz's.

But who do we really worship?  It's one thing to miss Mass one day for whatever reason, and another to miss Mass because we're binge watching THAT show one Netflix or Keeping up with whomever!

Piggybacking on my post from 6/20/2016, Of Clutter and the Kingdom of God, are we really putting God first?  Just a thought to put out there in your mind.  I am not talking about clutter and stuff now.  I am talking about people you put above God.  You know, that TV show you follow.  Or that artist you just can't get enough of.

Are you putting them above God?  Are you missing Mass, not saying your usual prayers, looking at sinful stuff (yes, I am looking at you, 50 Shades of Grey fans and others) because you just think that Mass is boring?

Just remember that Mass is practice for Heaven.  Can we at least dedicate one hour a week to God?  That's all He asks from us, and He still doesn't usually get as much, but those soap operas, oh My Word, we are not missing them.  Oh my Lord.  We are not missing that opportunity to binge watch Game of Thrones (or whatever other show you binge watch)??

Just something to think about.  Most parishes offer several opportunities to receive Our Lord in the Eucharist in the Mass several times a weekend (with Saturday Vigil(s) included), and we still somehow just not plan accordingly.


*In Mexico, there used to be Sunday Masses as late as 1800h.

Of Clutter and the Kingdom of Heaven.

There is no doubt that we are a capitalist country (USA), in a consumerist culture.  We are constantly bombarded by ads that tell us we need this and that product.  We are then told that to be happy we need to have more.  And when more is not enough, we are told we need better stuff, and then when better isn't enough, we need more again, and then better and so on and so forth.  Next thing you know, we need storage spaces outside of our houses, because we have outgrown our homes, so we get a storage space.  (Did you know that storage space companies are well and thriving? I'm sure you did.)  Then we think that we have too much stuff because not only have we outgrown our houses but they are overflowing with stuff and clutter, so we hire organizers to help us with parting ways with the stuff we don't really love, need, or no longer serves us.  (Or we buy books on how to get rid of clutter, either way, I am sure you get my point.)

But, is this really the way Jesus called us to live?  Does Jesus really want us to live in cluttered homes, in a never-ending circle of unhappiness and stuff?  Didn't He say at some point (and someone please help me with the exact Bible verse) to give up all earthly riches in order to enter the Kingdom of God?  Aren't we called to be humble?

I am speculating, because I couldn't find any studies to back this up, but America has to be one of the most cluttered countries.  We are also a self-proclaimed Christian nation.  If this is the case, if we are Christian, then why are we so obsessed with acquiring stuff?  With flaunting what we have (and what we have thanks to debt)?  With impressing our neighbor?  With keeping up with the Joneses?

When did the devil get a chance to ingrain himself in society to such a degree?  That we see it normal and a blessing to be overflowing in things that in the end are nothing but vanities?  When did we, as a Christian nation, put "stuff" first, even above God?

I am trying not to judge, but how many people do you know who would rather go to the shopping mall for 4 hours to spend money acquiring things they don't really need than to go to church?  How many people do you know would rather shorten Thanksgiving dinner or skip it all together so they can go get that fancy whatever-it-is-they-suddenly-decided-they-needed-thing on black Friday?  How many people are so in debt over stuff they really didn't need?

Just some thoughts that came to my head as I was organizing my closet, and getting ready to donate clothes I no longer wear and stuff that I bought when I was feeling down and decided that "retail therapy" was the way to go.  (Yes, I am guilty of consumerism, too.)

Reporting on the 7 day challenge.

My gosh, has it been hard to be a vegetarian for 7 days!  Not because I love meat (which I do), but because being a mom on the go, I often eat out, and there aren't many vegetarian options out there!  Usually a salad, please hold the chicken!

I have a couple of days left in the challenge, and I am kind of happy that the fast will end.  I will probably keep fasting, but intermittently.  I know, it's kind of cheating, but I can't really be a vegetarian like I used to... It's just a convenience thing.  (I know, fasting is supposed to be inconveniencing...)  Just not my kind of lifestyle anymore.

But I was thinking vegetarian on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays?  Or other kind of fasting?  There are many possibilities.  But for now, it has been hard!  I know it gets easier the longer you do it and the more you are committed to it, because like I said, I used to be vegetarian (like 12 or 15 years ago...)

The purpose of the fast was to strengthen my prayers.

7-day challenge in June.

Inspired by Fr. Dave Dwyer's 30-day challenge of the Busted Halo Show, I decided to do my own 7 day challenge.  I unfortunately only caught the tail end of it, and as much as I love the Busted Halo Show, I will be perfectly honest, I am probably not going to have the time to look for the podcast and listen to it.  It would probably serve me well to do so, but I likely won't.  Since their 30-day challenge starts on June 20, I am pretty sure they will talk about it again, so I will probably talk about it again when I hear about it next.

But for now, from today to June 13, I will have my very own challenge.  You can join me, and I highly encourage you to join me.  I will give up meat and soda.  I will become ovo-lacto-vegetarian for those 7 days.  I will offer this sacrifice for Christians persecuted around the world, especially in China and the Middle East, as well as for the religious education of children who are not being educated in the Faith, but that otherwise have no reason to not be catechized, especially my son, who lives with his agnostic father.