Where's God in all of this?

By -

 


 

I was listening to an interview by the CBS anchor Norah O'Donnell and Oprah Winfrey. I find Winfrey interesting, but I don't really go in so much for her philosophical ideology, which I often find shallow, if not altogether seriously lacking.

But, in this interview I heard her define happiness as satisfaction, enjoyment and purpose.

I thought this was interesting because I wonder how many of us, upon reflection, can say we have all three of these, or at least all three at one time. That might be worth thinking about.

What do you think? How do you define happiness?

As Winfrey continued, she recited the last two lines of the popular Invictus poem:

"I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul." (William Ernest Henley, 1875)

As a Christian, something seemed off to me, since those words were missing a sense of dependence on God, an awareness that we are not alone in our life. Naturally, I had to look up Henley, and, not surprisingly, learned he was an avowed atheist.

The sense of courage in the poem and inner strength is nice, but without knowledge of God, we are simply limited by what we alone can manage. It's really sad if we think everything is dependent on us.

When we know God exists, and that he loves us beyond all measure, we really don't have to be the master of our fate. We can make choices, of course, that lead us down one path or another, but the only "master" of our life is the one who created us.

Let's work on cooperating with God, knowing he is the "captain" of our soul. Be watchful that you are not drawn into enticing words that are void of acknowledgment of God. 
 
Work with God, not as if he doesn't exist.

Janet Cassidy

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Memorare

By Helen Gonsalves -
Image
This popular prayer, a favorite of many Catholics, dates back to the 15th century and takes its name from the first Latin word of the prayer, "memorare," which means "remember." The Memorare is of unknown authorship, although it has been attributed to St. Augustine (354-430), St. John Chrysostom (c. 347-407) and, with more reason, to St. Bernard of Clairvaux (c. 1090-1153). St. Bernard's sermons on Mary were famous, and it was his Cistercian monks in the monastery of Citeaux in the 12th century who popularized the name "Our Lady" for Mary. The Memorare has also been attributed to the French cleric Claude Bernard (1588-1641), known as the "poor priest" of Paris, whose homilies contain passages that echo its words. No matter who wrote this prayer, it was Father Bernard who did much to popularize it, teaching it in hospitals and prisons, where Mary's intercession was effective in working miracles of grace. The first manuscript of the Mem
Read more

The Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary

By -
Image
This is the image most often associated with the writings of the Belgian mystic Berthe Petit. She promoted devotion to the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary. During my preparation for the retreat I am giving at the end of the month in Pantasaph, North Wales, I began reading a book by the late John Haffert (once the lay leader of the Blue Army of Fatima). His theory in the book, which speaks of God's "last effort" to convert the world before the coming chastisement, is that we are now living in the third or fourth "day" of the Fatima week. At this time, according to Haffert, we should be promoting devotion to The Immaculate Heart of Mary. I also consulted another book by Dr. Courtnay Bartholomew (whom I have been privileged to meet) which also speaks of the importance of this devotion, linking it with the writings and visions of the mystic Berthe Petit, and the importance of the full title of the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart. These things will feature in
Read more

Why Modesty Is Not Subjective

By -
Image
Hi there, ya'll!  The modest fashion world is one very diverse place.  Even among Catholics, the definition of "modest apparel" can vary greatly from person to person.  Recently I joined a Facebook group that advertised itself as a haven for Catholic women of all ages to share ideas for modest style and makeup and was hoping to learn more about modesty from my fellow Catholic sisters.  After a few days of being a member, though, I sadly left the group feeling a bit discouraged.  No two members seemed to agree on ANY aspect of modesty whatsoever, and the prevailing theme of the whole group was that modesty is subjective, it means something different for each woman and each woman gets to decide what she considers is "modest".  One woman very emphatically declared that she wears bikinis every summer to the beach and doesn't feel that this violates the virtue of modesty in the least.  The same woman also announced that she was never going to caution her d
Read more