The Power of the Mind

As you know, the mind is a very powerful thing. It can be used for good and it can be used for evil. The mind - its imaginations and wanderings - must be taught to come under the control of the will if we are to save ourselves from time spent in useless worry over things that might not ever happen, or in daydreaming about things that will probably never be. The wandering of our mind can cause our vision to become distorted, both in good ways and in bad ways.

Sometimes our mind causes us annoying distractions. You know how it is when you are praying the rosary and you're supposed to be meditating on the mystery at hand but instead you are planning tomorrow's school day and thinking about the places you need to go.

Or how about when you get a song stuck in your head and you find that you cannot get it out, no matter how hard you try. Sunday we watched "The Phantom of the Opera" for the first time. If you've seen it, you know that the music is strangely captivating. Now turn to Monday night as I approach my hour of adoration and all that keeps running through my head is:

"The Phantom of the Opera is here, inside my mind"

Not really what I wanted to be thinking about as I sat in front of the Lord. Fortunately I was able to spend a few moments and change the words a bit so that at least they were more fitting for the setting:

"My Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is in my soul"

Unfortunately, I have not always been able to do this. On my retreat this past July, I came across an excellent chapter in "My Imitation of Christ" by Thomas a Kempis. It is in Book III, Chapter 37 where the Lord says to Thomas:

"Give all for all; seek nothing; call for nothing back;
abide purely and with a full confidence in Me,
and thou shalt possess Me."

How beautiful, and just what I needed to hear - I read it every morning. As hard as I have tried, however, when I read this part, this is what I "hear" and see in my mind:

"Take what you can; give nothing back!"

AAAHHHH! It ruins it every time!

God Bless!