Articles by Sean McPherson
Preparing for Santa Claus… in November
Nov 23, 2010 / 00:00 amThe end of autumn is an incredible time of intensity. We are all asked to start fighting new challenges. For the first time since spring, we must look at the trees without leaves. We must cope with the fact that our NFL team might not make the playoffs this year. As a student, we stare right down the barrel of numerous weighty assignments and the ominous thought of upcoming finals. These struggles, in some way or another, plague everyone. They fatigue the mind and body, and they can make it easy to forget the fundamental Christian virtue of charity. Here are some basic tips for not losing sight of what is really important in life during trying times like those before winter.As always, keep your prayer life strong and active. While your mind may wander incessantly about the present events, remember that being in the presence of God still brings grace into your life. A good technique to begin prayer time is to simply repeat the simple prayer, “Jesus,” over and over again. The Catechism says that “The name of Jesus is at the heart of Christian prayer” (435). Saying his name brings us directly into His presence no matter what our state of mind is. Throughout the day when any temptations or frustrations plague us, we can repeat His name over and over again in order to refocus our lives. It has never failed me.Remember to live in the present; worries about what is to come compound the stress of each day unnecessarily.The best way to do this is to increase your hospitality. No matter how busy we are, if we continue to acknowledge the presence of Christ in our neighbor, order can be maintained. It does not entail great and extravagant deeds - simply listening to someone rant for a few minutes or taking the time to compliment someone’s new hairdo work quite well. These simple expressions allow us to recognize others and escape the heavy focus we place on ourselves in a very profound way. Recently canonized Holy Cross brother, St. Andre Bessette, is a fantastic intercessor for this intention. He lived his life as a humble doorkeeper who loved everyone who approached him. Through his little acts of kindness, people experienced conversions and miracles in their lives upon meeting him. God is so often waiting to reveal Himself to others through us if we just let Him.Finally, respond to what the world throws at you as a child. Do not be afraid to be vulnerable with friends or family. Take time for recreation and keep holy the Sabbath. An afternoon of finger-painting can really do wonders. Revisit fairy-tales that used to enthrall and inspire you. Make snow angels and snowmen if possible. When we do these little things, we do not let our lives become too serious, making joy much easier to express. With these three basic joys, received through prayer, hospitality and living life with the wonder of a child, charity will begin to pervade our daily life. By nature, the joy we have must spread. Ultimately, it will lead us to a more satisfying fall and prepare us for Christmas. When December rolls around we will be less afraid to express that we still believe in Santa Claus. This enables us to fully rest in the joy of Jesus’ birth and truly be happy to receive whatever “gifts” God throws at us this year.
Best new day of my life
Oct 5, 2010 / 00:00 amOver the summer, I worked a campus maintenance job which required a 6 a.m. wake up with an eight-hour shift. It was a struggle for all of my co-workers and I to be alert and excited to start the day. One of my co-workers brought humor to every morning by jokingly claiming that each day was going to be the new best day of his life. I did not take this off-handed remark seriously at first, but the phrase did continue to resonate in my mind. It made me wonder if this day really could be the best day of my life, and if it was, what kind of great things the day would hold: Maybe I would win the lottery today, or Taylor Swift would write a song about me! But would those things really ensure that it was the BEST day of my entire life?
Literature: a discovery of relationship
Aug 24, 2010 / 00:00 amLooking back on my first year of university, being in the true realm of academics for the first time, one of the most important lessons I learned was the necessity of reading good literature. Serious analysis of such literature is the means for becoming a full human being who can bring God to every relationship.
Fight summer boredom – pray the Rosary!
Jul 20, 2010 / 00:00 amIt is now mid-July. The sun shines at its hottest, the rain ceases to fall, and vegetation struggles to survive. In some ways, my spiritual life seems to undergo similar conditions as boredom dries up much of my urge to pray. Prayer can be difficult when we are tired, hot and anticipating the start of the upcoming school year. But there is still a month of summer left, and our spiritual lives need the water of prayer to make it through. I have learned that during this time in the “desert,” the best way to persevere is to be nourished by Our Lady, and one way to do this is the recitation of the Rosary. I do admit that my answer to overcome boredom is a bit odd - a 20-minute long prayer of repetition on a set of beads. Would not a more exciting solution be better? Although it may seem like a tedious experience at first, I do think that the Rosary is a very exciting prayer (and so do a myriad of saints). Firstly, the prayer requires constant movement of the fingers from bead to bead. In other words, fiddling is necessarily. I personally use fiddling to focus in nearly all tasks which require attention. I really like to fiddle. Praying the Rosary satisfies the human need to fiddle, which makes anything more enjoyable. Secondly, the prayer entails the use of the imagination. If prayed properly, the Rosary is not just 50 Hail Mary’s and five Our Father’s, but a sincere reflection on the life of Christ. By sincere, I mean that the events which are meditated on should be used to better relate to Christ in our own lives. This is done by letting God use our imaginations to teach us more about Our Lady and her Son. When I do this, I can more clearly understand how human Christ was, and how he went through the same sufferings, anxieties, and joys that I experience every day. Finally, the Rosary is exciting because of its great tradition. All of my favorite saints - Pier Giorgio Frassati, Maximilian Kolbe, and Francis Xavier - made a habit of reciting the prayer daily as an essential aspect of their spiritual lives. All across the world each day, millions of Catholics also imitate the saints and recite the Holy Rosary. Every time we pick up the sacred beads, we are joining millions who have gone before us and live with us now in a genuine effort to communicate with Our Lord. The Rosary is a beautiful statement that says, “I am proud to be Catholic!” The prayer beads of the Rosary, in addition to rejuvenating our spiritual lives, can also enhance our temporal lives. By learning to meditate and concentrate in prayer, focused on each bead, our attention spans are naturally refined. This leads to the ability to more easily read novels, listen to others, and reflect. All of these activities can fill our time and ease our boredom, and the concentration we learn in praying the Rosary can help us excel at them without needing to strain. Since starting the Rosary, I am less-easily distracted, and I become bored less frequently. My mind can focus on the things in my life which really matter, especially the joy of daily life. I encourage you to pick up a Rosary- maybe you even have a pile of them that has accumulated over the years - and start trying to pray it, discovering the spiritual adventure that it can take you on each time you do. Whether it is once a week or every day, remember that it will nourish you in both times of joy and trouble. It will make you happy to be Catholic and even more attentive to the needs of others. Praying the Rosary with sincerity will certainly change you, and it will help you change the world.
The Third Beatitude: Blessed are the Meek
Jun 16, 2010 / 00:00 amI would be remiss to talk about the topic of sainthood without recalling a conversation I recently had with one of my best friends, Brianna. She is actually Sister Brianna now, as she is a member of the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia stationed in Nashville. She recently came home to visit for the first time since August, and it was also the first time that we - her high school friends and I - experienced how truly happy she is being a sister. As she told us all about the daily life of Dominican Sisterhood, the part of her description that caught my attention most was how she devoted every part of the day to God. Whether it was remaining in silence, cleaning the chapel or attending choir practice, everything she told us about was related back to God and helping her grow. She did not have funny stories about parties, and she did not go on a lot of crazy adventures - she simply loved God in the repetition of daily life. As I reflected upon our gathering, I realized precisely what Sister Brianna portrayed - that the memories and events that make me happiest are the ones that are simple. Thinking about years past, I can vividly remember playing basketball with friends outside at midnight and then staying up really late and simply hanging out. I can hardly forget the stupid YouTube video which we watched almost every day that always made us laugh hysterically. There are numerous memories like this for me. No great experience was needed to create a joyful and lasting memory. In my spiritual life too, it is the little, repetitive things that raise my spirit to Christ the most. A short daily prayer to my favorite saint or a short visit to the Marian Grotto are what sustain me when things get tough. These prayers work best when they are not constrained just to the chapel, but echo in my thoughts at each moment of the day. I think this is what Sister Brianna does, and I see it at work in my own life. When I fail to do it, I am not nearly as happy, but when I do, it seems that everything tends to work itself out. The idea of simplicity and repetition are incredibly countercultural and difficult to uphold as the most important part of the day, especially in the midst of constant media. However, since they create a rhythm to life, they are an effective means of writing a glorious song to God. It is through this ‘Holy Monotony’ that Sister Brianna is so happy, and through it we can find meaning in Christ’s words that the ‘meek will inherit the Earth.’ Those who live a simple, holy life will find happiness, while those who just pursue the world and all of its excitement will be left only wanting more.
Surrender
Mar 23, 2010 / 00:00 am“It is better to limp along the right path than to walk strongly in the wrong direction.” ~ St. Thomas Aquinas
Proactive Virtue
Jan 19, 2010 / 00:00 amAt some point, every student has been a victim of his or her own procrastination. Many see academic procrastination as something inevitable in the life of a student because a busy schedule or a heavy workload compel one to always be behind in studies. Others deem procrastination as a good thing and rely on it to succeed - the pressure of completing an assignment can cause the body to release endorphins which give one an “academic high,” making it much easier to focus on the work at hand. These claims make a valid argument for procrastination; however, they fail to recognize that it hinders any personal growth in virtue. Therefore it has numerous harmful effects on those who consistently practice it.On the surface, procrastination appears to have many academic benefits, as it can often drive one to excel in a short amount of time. It is essentially a good thing - that is, if the object of school is only to earn high grades. But that is not the sole purpose of an education. Rather, education helps a student discover and question new ideas and be innovative. If a paper is done the night before, there is not time for external exploration or development of abstract thoughts. School thus becomes a constraint, a burden, rather than being properly freeing. It can hardly take its rightful place as a great gift from God.An exceptional student may not have trouble remembering information even when it is crammed, but this still does not justify procrastination, which makes one rely on the academic high and replaces the development of important virtues such as time management skills. This is a virtue that penetrates almost all areas of life. In a relationship - whether as a spouse, parent or friend - if things are consistently put off until the last minute, someone will eventually be let down in major ways that can permanently damage that relationship. One’s relationship with God is no different; when prayer is put off it almost never gets done. The same goes for other spiritual resolutions. Just as there are few excuses for putting off prayer until the last minute, so too there are not many to justify pulling an all-nighter to finish an assignment that was given to you a month in advance.I realize my tone above seems quite harsh. I make such strong claims to stress the importance of developing virtue through time management. This is a skill that does not simply affect grades, but dictates many of one’s interactions with other people and God. Most importantly, good working skills strengthen the interior life and can allow you to have a true day of rest on Sundays, where God can refuel you for the upcoming week. This has tremendous affects on conquering sins that may continually reoccur, as well as helping to drastically improve grades.If you currently have poor working skills, there is no reason to panic or get discouraged. Simply make a plan and start trying to work ahead; stop telling yourself that it is just the way you are. Virtue always entails practice, and you will make mistakes. I have made a goal for this upcoming semester to work diligently from 9:00 to 5:00 so I can have the evenings off. Although I have already gone against my schedule, I continually strive to be better at staying on task. By doing so, I believe it will help me grow in knowledge of my studies with God, and help lead me to Heaven.
God’s spoiled children
Sep 21, 2009 / 00:00 amWhile trudging along to a 5:00 p.m. theology class, I was exhausted. The whole week was draining from tests to late night study sessions and the classroom was the last place I wanted to be. The teacher began and I did my best to pay attention to the lecture – and to my surprise, the Old Testament, Biblical History class opened my eyes.
Frodo and The Lord of the… decisions?
Aug 16, 2009 / 00:00 amIn life, we are constantly faced with challenges and decisions. How is it possible to know God’s Will when a choice can indelibly change the future? We can find some light on this subject by diving deep into the popular story of Frodo Baggins in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Lessons from Manual Labor
Jul 21, 2009 / 00:00 am“The Lord God then took the man and settled him in the garden of Eden, to cultivate and care for it.” (Gen. 2:15)
A Christian's Summer Work-Out
Jun 23, 2009 / 00:00 amSummer break is an extraordinary feeling for all of us students, whether we are in 1st grade or 15th. The relief from rigorous academics, more free time, and the warm weather satisfies all but few. Summer itself has always been my favorite season. Since I was eight years old I have played competitive summer baseball, but this year, graduating from high school, I did not. Not playing has really given me a break during the summer for the first time in a while.