Praying and Running

In today's(1/15/2012) Gospel reading for Mass , our Lord asks "What are you looking for?" of 2 men who follow after Him. I am sure there are many ways to contemplate this reading but one particular angle that presented itself to me was "How would it change my day to day plans when I answer this question to the Lord?" As a Christian, I profess to live a life of following Jesus. Therefore, I could expect at any moment for our Lord to turn to me and ask "What are you looking for?" If I recall this question as I go about my daily life, put myself in the place of the disciples and know that it is God that I am answering, how does that affect my answer and thus my actions throughout the day? It seems that using this question to make my day to day plans and decisions would be a great start in the struggle of trying live the Christian life. I know that answering the question is just the beginning but I think answering it in this light would help in moving ...

Count your blessings. We have all heard it and probably said it. It helps us get through tough times and put our trials in perspective. There is certainly nothing wrong with counting your blessings. But how often do we contemplate our blessings and what happens when we do. A while back I spoke to a priest because I felt like my relationship with God had kind of stagnated. The priest introduced me to the daily examen prayer . In the daily examen prayer you look at your day with gratitude and spend time reflecting on the blessing that you received that day. And even though there are other parts to the prayer, it was through it that I discovered the difference between counting blessings and contemplating blessings. I have become very interested in this prayer because through it I can really see how God is in my life. It allows me to understand how strong that relationship is. Before I found this prayer I might go all day without thinking about God much at all except...