Your School of Love: A Spiritual Companion for Homeschooling Mothers by Agnes M. Penny

Author:Agnes M. Penny [Penny, Agnes M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781618905987
Publisher: TAN Books
Published: 2014-07-31T05:00:00+00:00

21

PRAYER

“Prayer is a place of refuge for every

worry, a foundation for cheerfulness,

a source of constant happiness,

a protection against sadness.”

—ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM

MOTHERS live lives of constant self-giving. Our time is not our own. Even our meals are not our own, for what mother does not find herself rising many times from the table to cut up some food or to bring in the dessert? Even our sleep is interrupted at times, especially if there is a baby in the house or if the children are sick. Furthermore, any “free” time we do find usually goes to housework or lesson plans or running errands to pick up something for our children—it’s not really about our own needs at all.

Fortunately, as mothers, we feel happy and fulfilled when our time and energy are spent on those we love. Nevertheless, we do need to make sure we put aside some time every day for our own needs. As we have mentioned, we need some form of exercise, which refreshes both mind and body, lifting our spirits and keeping our bodies healthy. We also need some way to socialize or converse with other adults, particularly our husbands, but also on occasion some other mothers like ourselves who can sympathize with our doubts and worries and share our joy over our successes. However, even more important than our need for exercise and adult conversation is our need for prayer. We absolutely must make time every day to build our relationship with Our Lord. If we aren’t growing spiritually, then we are regressing. There is no standing still in the spiritual life.

Praying with our children is a wonderful and necessary custom, but since we often find ourselves focused on making sure they are behaving properly—kneeling up straight and not mumbling, for example—we should find a time when we can be alone with Christ. If necessary, we can sometimes combine this time with our exercise; we can pray while we walk or jog. We could use a walkman or an iPod with an audio recording of the rosary, or listen to the Gospel or some other holy book. Spiritual reading should be included in our daily regime if at all possible. A good spiritual book challenges our spiritual status quo and encourages us to grow in holiness and wisdom, as well as inspiring us to pause and pray as we read.

We may be tempted to let our spiritual reading slide because we are constantly confronted by so many immediate chores that need doing. We may even feel slightly guilty for spending time on ourselves. However, we must remember that our own job goes beyond fixing meals, doing laundry, and correcting papers; we are the molders of our children’s souls. Our mood sets the atmosphere of the household; our perspective shapes the opinions and ideas of our children, and our spiritual state can either limit or expand their spiritual horizons. We want to raise our children to be saints, but we cannot give them what we do not have;

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.