Start a Change with Prayer!

Gregory Mussmacher God Bless!!

Start a Change with Prayer!

Another great e-mail blast from Father Leo, God Bless Him!!

This past weekend marked a time of much change . The celebration of Labor Day in the U.S. begins a transition from the lazy days of summer to the busy start of the school year. This weekend, the seminarians began their first full week of the new semester, while college students got acclimated to their new courses. For seminarians and students, that’s a big change . Finally, this past weekend in the St. Joseph Cathedral of Wheeling West Virginia, I witnessed the wedding of a young couple whose lives are now transformed in the Sacrament of Marriage. Here’s the before and after picture.

Change is inevitable, and yet we often forget that it will happen to us. The father of the bride, in a heartfelt speech, recalled the many changes he experienced watching his three daughters grow from newborn babies to married women. And now with his youngest daughter married, he humbly admitted he never expected this change to be so difficult!
The fact that we are creatures of habit means we crave stability. Stability is a good thing; however, a life without change can lead us to a life of routine, which a s comfortable as it seems, will only dull our senses, stunt our emotions, and limit our potential to grow. Change is tough , but it is necessary for growth. As Christians, we are on a pilgrimage throughout life and are always changing. It’s called ongoing conversion.
After one year of seminary formation work, I realize how good change requires prayer. The orientation period for seminarians provides great opportunities for prayer and our new men need it. They faced a tough week of learning what it means to be a seminarian, a completely new lifestyle for them. The men took time to re-orient themselves through prayer t his weekend while they were on a silent retreat. They prayed like they have never prayed before! I snapped this picture of the seminarians asking for prayers at the tomb of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, buried less than two miles from the seminary.
Talk about a saint who experienced change. St. Elizabeth Ann Seton was an Episcopalian wife and mother, who became a widow at a young age . Her biography tells us she accepted these changes through prayer. She experienced even more change when, after years of serious prayer, she converted to the Catholic Faith, despite the possibility her family might disown her. She moved from big city Baltimore to very rural Emmitsburg, MD. She took on a religious habit with a mission to educate poor children. While raising her own children in very poor conditions, she felt the pain of having to bury three of them. St. Elizabeth Ann Seton handled each of these changes with such prayer and grace that she eventually experienced the greatest transformation of all: she was canonized a saint. Prayer is the only thing that will get us through difficult changes. This time of year, accepting your kids have grown up and are going to college can be painful. It’s hard for me to accept that Tim and Megan Watkins, now off at college, are the same children in the original Grace Before Meals video trailer that was filmed 6 years ago! Check out the trailer and you’ll see how quickly they have grown up .
If it’s hard for me to accept they are growing up, what’s it like for their parents? For students leaving home for the first time, the experience can be a painful change, too. Believe me parents, I do a lot of talking with college freshmen who are a bit sad to be away from home. Yes, they miss you too! This change isn’t easy for them either.
I consider how seminarians must also change but from within, which is the most difficult change to make.
Prayer doesn’t always change the situation, but it can help us understand and accept the lessons that change brings .
This past weekend marked a change for many of our Grace Before Meals families. When it gets tough accepting these changes, you may want to slightly modify your g race before meals. Instead of rushing the prayer before you eat, take some extra time and say an special prayer for parents feeling the change of an empty nest; for newly married couples living a life no longer for themselves but for the other; and for seminarians called to re orient their lives to do the Father’s will.

Timmy’s Meal Before College: Beef and Zucchini
FYI: Timmy Watkins is the second of Tim Watkins' three children. Tim Watkins is the producer of Grace Before Meals and a good friend who has invited me to his house for dinner on many occasions, though I usually do the cooking! H is wife is a great cook and kind enough to give me free range of her kitchen. Timmy has been my assistant chef for many of these meals, but this meal was my going away gift to him before he left for college.
Click here for the recipe.

A Prayer to Say During a Change in Life
Heavenly Father, help us to accept change with grace. Help us to ask for grace when change comes into our lives. Help us to see how these changes, no matter how painful , can be great sources of grace for us! We ask this through Christ o ur Lord. Amen!

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