put out into the deep

One of the most powerful ways to incline God's ear to your prayer is to fast. I am so very wimpy at fasting but every Lent, I get the chance to improve. This year I plan to put up sayings about prayer and fasting for the extra encouragement. It is a grace that only God can give so I will pray for the grace to fast. They say it is our spiritual tithe.

This is a good list to prepare for Lent and for the coming Ash Wednesday (from Catholicity):

THE ULTIMATE LENT LIST

1. Pray the Rosary every day.

2. Receive Communion at Mass every day.

3. Go to Confession every Friday or once a week.

4. Pray the Family Rosary every day or once a week.

5. Pray the Stations of the Cross every Friday.

6. Pray in silence 15 minutes a day.

7. Make a Eucharistic visit every day.

8. Pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet every day.

9. Fast on bread and water one to three times per week.

10. Read a spiritual book (Do my novels count? You decide).

11. Give a painfully large donation to charity. (Try adding an extra "zero" when you write the check.)

12. Donate to charity instead of buying something for yourself.

13. Pray "Jesus, I love you!" in the first waking seconds of the day.

14. Listen to Catholic CDs or stream Catholic talks during your commute.

15. Do something romantic or sacrificial to improve your marriage.

16. Volunteer anywhere: at your kid's school, homeless shelter, etc.

17. Visit a home for the elderly.

18. Read a Gospel or all four Gospels.

19. Memorize ten favorite Bible verses.

20. Did we mention fasting one to three times a week?

21. Distribute Mary Foundation materials in nearby parishes.

22. Oh, why not? Pray in silence for an hour every day.

23. Set more time aside to be with your children or grandchildren.

24. Give up something you absolutely love, crave, or spend time on, or that annoys others, including:

• lying
• your cellphone (or texting, shopping online, social media, etc.)
• television or your favorite television show
• television before a certain hour
• television after a certain hour
• eating while watching television
• coffee or tea (yes, coffee)
• coffee or tea you don't brew at home
• caffeine in any form
• diet soda (or soda)
• donuts
• hamburgers
• pizza (yes, pizza)
• chocolate
• anything with chocolate flavor
• all snacks or desserts
• going to movies or Netflix, Hulu, Redbox, etc.
• non-essential Internet
• March Madness
• following your favorite sports team
• video games
• slouching
• gambling (legal or otherwise)
• celebrity magazines
• golf (an objectively grave moral evil) (only kidding)
• booze (yes, booze)
• a destructive, irresistible "friendship"
• foul language
• picking your nose
• showing up late
• not grooming properly
• not flossing every day (yuck!)
• sports, music, or talk radio
• fantasy sports
• restaurants
• eating lunch outside of work
• driving when you could walk
• sleeping in late
• hitting the Snooze Button in the morning
• fast food drive-throughs
• not cooking breakfast for your kids
• shopping for clothes or food
• not stopping by your neighbors to say hello
• failing to visit or call your relatives
• soap operas
• the beach (for those of you lucky enough to have one nearby)
• the woods, lakes, or mountains (ditto)
• working on cars
• working in your shop
• chess, checkers, cards, board games
• fishing, hunting, four-wheeling
• skateboarding
• some of your "me" time doing any hobby
• your absolute favorite hobby (aha, you just fainted!)
• not reading
• reading (ha!)
• not exercising regularly (here's how to start)
• exercising (too much)
• nagging your husband (you know who you are)
• criticizing your wife (she knows who you are)
• interrupting others
• not smiling whenever you meet someone
• crossword puzzles, jigsaw puzzles, sudoku
• knitting? (you addicts understand)
• those filthy, filthy cigarettes (this book actually makes it easy)
• half or a third of those cigarettes
• vaping
• cigars, gum, and "phony candy" breath mints
• not taking real breath mints
• cookies
• chips or pretzels (I skipped pretzels when I was a kid)
• cellphone calls in your car (more difficult than you think)
• podcasts (or listen only to religious podcasts)
• all non-necessary texting
• not eating your vegetables (even you adults)
• ice cream, donuts, cake
• your favorite dish
• fudging on your tax return
• gossiping at work—say something nice instead
• gossiping anywhere
• stealing "little stuff" from your employer, including time online
• relations with your spouse (on certain days or weeks)
• not having relations with your spouse (if it applies)
• thinking about yourself when you wake up or go to bed (pray instead)
• thinking about yourself when you drive (pray instead)
• talking when you could listen
• buying anything you don't really need
• not making your bed

I often forget to list down my blessings in my journal. I often thank God in my prayer time but it is better to write them down so as not to let these moments be forgotten! A nice idea would be to have a blessing jar with all the different things one is to be grateful about written down on pieces of paper. Then, you can have an instant pick-me-up whenever you pick one to read!

Here are my 10 blessings for today:

1. God's love and goodness expressed in answered prayers - in particular, the one where I asked Him for a husband that every time I would look at, I would feel His love for me. After 3 years of marriage, this still rings true.

2. Help for High School
Today a total stranger called up telling me that their company is hoping to partner with our non-profit organization to help the children with their English. Our group called He Cares Mission provides educational support, health services, values formation, housing, family counseling for the children from informal urban settler communities. Wow, she was so happy to connect and was so grateful. WE are so grateful to hear from her and her plans!

3. SRA Materials
Another blessing connected to He Cares Mission is that a community of Christians called Ang Ligaya ng Panginoon (Tagalog for "The Joy of the Lord") donated SRA reading materials for the language proficiency of our students! We still need to prepare for that but that is so exciting for the hundreds of students we are encouraging to stay in school. For more information on He Cares Mission, visit VolunTutors and the He Cares website.

4. Job-matching Project
I recently got approval to include more recipients for a Job-matching service run purely by volunteers. This is a way for those who have been having a hard time in society - the homeless, uneducated and unskilled to have a brighter chance to start off in life. We are trying to provide work for those who wander the streets of Metro Manila, those who live under a bridge or in a cemetery and in informal settler communities. See more at Mang Urot

5. Nihonggo
On my 3rd year in Japan, I am starting to communicate with the locals better. My Japanese skills are fast improving. I have formed an English club for my Japanese teachers to practice their English. Some of them have volunteered for the Olympics so they need to be fluent come July.

6. The Olympics
I was invited to teach English to the Olympic volunteers. They are so cool. They have been prepping since last year so they can answer all the visitors' questions. They are so eager to help foreigners! I am so excited to spend more time with them!

7. A New Penpal
I was given a chance to help another inmate in a women's jail here. I have been a part of a prison outreach that helps English speakers. Since some of the inmates do not speak Japanese, they tend to get lonely and need emotional support. So I have been writing someone for the past few years. I will be getting in contact with another new inmate soon! So exciting!

8. Weather-wise

Spring is certainly in the air! I am still a slug when it comes to waking up but the slow rays of the sun brightening up our room helps a lot.

9. Checks

I am amazed at God's fatherly care in helping us out with our family investment. We got 1 year to pay without interest without even asking for this!

10. The ink dropper

In my native country one could buy a syringe at the drugstore. Little did I know that in Japan it is not available. I needed one to use in my craft diy projects so I was thinking mental somersaults in how to get it through the airport. Then I stumble upon one in my junk drawer. Just like that at the right time. Thank You Lord!

Ten is just too few for the multitude of blessings God gives us every minute of every day! I want to keep this habit of writing them down.

Once again, thank You Lord!

In gratitude for the many graces I have received, I am giving away a free font I made. You know how all things handmade (imperfect) is all the rage? Well this is definitely flashed. It’s called the Retrofit. To get to visit this page.

The Catholic Lenten practice was described by Archibishop Fulton Sheen as, "First comes the fast, then comes the feast."

Why do we fast? Simply put.... Fast = Freedom

Many cultural Catholics fast because, "oh, everyone is doing it". I admit I've done it without knowing why.

Our society today often tells us to "indulge" and "if it feels good, do it". The early Christians were made of stronger stuff.

Every able-bodied Catholic before the 10th c. did the Black Fast, which was only 1 full meal eaten after sundown. There was absolutely no meat, alcohol, eggs or dairy for the entirety of Lent. On Holy week, everyone subsisted on bread, water, salt and herbs.

These days the rule on fasting is just applied to Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. On days of Lent, one is not to eat meat on Fridays.

Why deny oneself of food? What is the freedom that God wants to give us through fasting?

Years ago, (as a really wimpy Christian) for the whole of Lent, I did not watch TV. Come Easter time, I was totally free of the burning desire to couch-surf and look for non-existent, satisfying TV shows! Yay! Freedom!

Fasting is freedom from worldly attachments. It is a time to put God first and saying, that He comes before our growling tummies. Still not convinced?

The bible is peppered with instances of fasting. Our Lord Jesus instructed us how to do it.

"And when you fast, be not as the hypocrites, sad. For they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Amen I say to you, they have received their reward." - Matthew 6:16

So the Lord wants all of us to do fasting. If so, that means it has great benefit for us!

As if this reason was not enough, fasting was an effective means of prayer. When we fast, something supernatural happens. God is able to hear our prayers more swiftly and clearly. In the story of Jonah, a whole (wicked) city was not wiped out due to the people's fasting from food and drink.

The Lord Jesus Himself fasted for 40 days and 40 nights on the Mount of Temptation. He was God but He still fasted to prepare for His public life of preaching, healing and teaching.

I remember doing karate class. Our teacher made us stand still for at least 15 minutes before we did anything else. The longer we stood motionless, he said, the more powerful our actions would be.

Just as one would prepare well to make a good confession, all of us must pray, meditate and think of what we ought to do during this coming Lenten season.

Let the words of the saints guide us:

“When a man begins to fast, he straightway yearns in his mind to enter into converse with God.” - Saint Isaac the Syrian

“Fasting is the soul of prayer, mercy is the lifeblood of fasting. So if you pray, fast; if you fast, show mercy; if you want your petition to be heard, hear the petition of others. If you do not close your ear to others, you open God’s ear to yourself.” - Saint Peter Chrysologus

“Fasting cleanses the soul, raises the mind, subjects one’s flesh to the spirit, renders the heart contrite and humble, scatters the clouds of concupiscence, quenches the fire of lust, and kindles the true light of chastity. Enter again into yourself.” - Saint Augustine

Here are some more bible passages on fasting:
Matthew 9: 14-15, Matthew 4:1-17; Mark 1:12-13; Luke 4:1-14, Acts 14:23, Nehemiah 1:1-4, Jonah 3:10, Judges 20:26

If the world today was in a contest with Sodom and Gomorrah vying for which was more evil, today's world would probably win. It is accepted behaviour to swear and to use God's name in vain. One can routinely see sacrilege on the news. The number of children aborted is astounding. Martyrs abound in this time compared to all other centuries combined. The world thinks it does not need God.

Well, the Catholic's answer is to fast. "For what doth it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his own soul? Or what exchange shall a man give for his soul?”. Matthew 16:26

Wishing one and all a Lent like no other! May your heart grow closer to Jesus as you grow in loving Him more than all!

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