Catholic Witness

1 I urge you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship. 2 Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.

Read this passage a couple times. As with a lot of scripture, it can seem simple at first glance but when you read it and pray it, there are so many more deeper meanings. As we begin a semester focused on sacrifice, this is a reading we should read every day.

God Bless! I hope everyone has a great Labor Day weekend!
10 DAYS TILL FIRST 530 MASS AND LIFETEEN/ EDGE NIGHT!

What if in the morning when I wake up
Even before I fill my coffee cup
I said thank you
thank you

What if i looked at the day and the hours ahead
and before I moved forward I bowed my head
I said thank you
oh, i said thank you

what if i looked at my life in a different way
took a little more time to stop and pray
i know it would change all the moments in between
so here i go

thank you for everything
thank you for loving me
it don’t even matter what tomorrow brings
well i will sing my

thank you for sun and rain
for what you give and take away
for all your goodness i will always say
thank you
oh, i said thank you

what if i lost everything that i had
i could smile and somehow still be glad
and say thank you
thank you

cause life is joy life is pain
but the prayer of my heart will never change
i say thank you
oh, i say thank you

what if i looked at my life in a different way
took a little more time to stop and pray
i know it would change all the moments in between
so here i go

thank you for everything
thank for loving me
it don’t even matter what tomorrow brings
well i will sing my

thank you for sun and rain
for what you give and take away
for all your goodness i will always say
thank you (yea.yea.yea.yea)

well i will sing my
thank you for everything
thank you for loving me
it don’t even matter what tomorrow brings
well i will sing my

thank you for sun and rain
for what you give and take away
for all your goodness i will always say (i will always)
for all your goodness i will always say-ay-ay-ay
thank you

—–

I first heard this song about 2 weeks ago. A customer came into work and while she was waiting, was going around passing out free Christian CD’s. Some of the guys were taking them just to be nice, but I was excited!

And now I’m so glad I got these CD’s. One of the Cd’s was the new one by 33 miles. It’s like the Rascal Flatt’s of Christian music. I had a friend riding in my car one day and had the CD playing but didn’t say anything till I got out. I asked who they thought it was and they said Rascal Flatts!

Back to the point though… This song is AMAZING!! Obviously, the theme of the lyrics is to give thanks to God for everything, small and big. But I think the message of this song is key to our faith. We always ask God for help, but do we always give him our thanks. Humility is something we all struggle with to some degree. But if we don’t humble ourselves to God, then we are assuming we don’t need His help. That couldn’t be farther from the truth!

So when you wake up tomorrow, pass that test, get the raise you’ve been wanting at work, or just have a friend who brightens your day, give thanks to God! We can’t do any of this on our own, whether we realize it or not.

Careless, I am reckless
I’m a wrong-way-travelin’-slowly-unraveling shell of a man
Burnt out, I’m so numb now
That the fire’s just an ember way down in the corner of my cold, cold heart

Lord, this time I’ll make it right, here at the altar I lay my life
Your kingdom come but my will was done, my heart is broken as I…

Cry, like so many times before
But my eyes are dry before I leave the floor, oh Lord
I try but this time, Jesus, how can I be sure I will not lose my follow through
Between the altar and the door

Here at the altar, oh my world so black and white
How could I ever falter
What You’ve shown me to be right

I’m trying so hard to stop trying so hard
Just let You be who You are
Lord, who You are in me
Jesus, I’m trying so hard to stop trying so hard
Just let You be who You are
Lord, who You are in me

Oh Lord, I

—-

Since the first time I heard this song, it has had a real impact on me in my prayer life. They talk about how we all come in to church, broken and cold-hearted, and leave all together and on fire for God, for a little while. We’re all guilty of it. Whether it be an amazing homily, great night @ XLT, or a weekend at Steubenville. We all have those moments when we feel on top of the world.

Why can’t we live those moments in everyday life. Everytime we see a beautiful sunset, a parent’s love, a call or text from that old friend that puts a smile on our face, or just waking up in the morning. Or in the troubled relationship, rainy day, or something else that didn’t go the way we hoped. God is present in all of these as much as he is in the Mass on Sunday. That may be a hard idea to grasp, but He puts everything in our lives for a reason. It’s easy to see Him in the good times, but when things get tough, so many of us doubt his power and majesty.

What I’m getting at is when we walk out of the church, walking on cloud nine, we should strive to stay there. Constantly offer your troubles up to God, and thank Him often for the good times.

I’ve actually tried one of these before, but forgot about the account. I never had a direction, a purpose, to have one. I actually looked up my old one yesterday and laughed at how pointless it was.

So… let’s see how this one goes. I will be sharing my thoughts and views on different things that happen in society, religion, and whatever else gets my attention (no… I won’t talk about blinky lights). I actually want to focus a lot on Christian music. Music has been a huge part of my faith development, and I find a lot of meaning in music.

God Bless!

chris