blogpage

Food for Thought (Spiritually Speaking)

Covered

Covered
Apr 10, 2024 by Colleen C Orchanian

I was listening to a podcast with Fr. John Riccardo who was sharing his morning prayer routine. He said that he begins by covering his day in prayer, explaining that he looks at each item on his agenda and prays specifically into the situations and meetings on his schedule. What a great idea!

Promises Promises

Promises Promises
Apr 03, 2024 by Colleen C Orchanian

Have you ever heard of a pinky promise? Kids sometimes do that when they have a little bit of doubt about what the other person is saying. If I pinky promise, I really mean it.

We make promises at different times in our lives, and some of those promises mean more than others. Take for instance our wedding vows. A vow is defined as a solemn promise or an oath. When a bride and groom take their vows, they respond, “I do” to a series of questions.

As a Catholic, there is another time when I will say, “I do.” Every year at Easter Mass we renew our baptismal promises. 

To Change or Not To Change

To Change or Not To Change
Mar 27, 2024 by Colleen C Orchanian

My sister Theresa just changed her hairstyle. A few months ago she got a new car. A couple of years ago she moved into a new house. I, on the other hand, have not changed my hairstyle in 30 years. My car is 8 years old, and I’ve been at the same address for over 20 years. I don’t like change. Theresa seems much more comfortable with it.

That got me thinking about the nature of change – and how willing or unwilling we are to make a change.

Greater Than

Greater Than
Mar 20, 2024 by Colleen C Orchanian

I’m teaching 5-year-old Noah how to use the “greater than” sign in math. For some reason, this was a difficult concept for me as a child. I had trouble remembering which side of the symbol went with the biggest number. I understand it now and wonder why it was so difficult before. Obviously, the biggest side goes with the biggest number.

This challenge I faced in my (very much) younger days is similar to my difficulty recognizing the “greater than” concept in my faith life. We all might acknowledge that God is greater than anything or anyone.

Power of Love

Power of Love
Mar 13, 2024 by Colleen C Orchanian
St. Thomas Aquinas defines love as willing the good of the other as other. From that definition, we know that love is not an emotion. It’s not about how we feel – the warm and fuzzies. It’s about what we do—the actions we take. Love is demonstrated by our words and deeds.

Things Learned in Spiritual Direction

Things Learned in Spiritual Direction
Mar 06, 2024 by Colleen C Orchanian
I am a spiritual director. Spiritual direction is a process where one person assists another in recognizing the movements of God in their life. I meet with people regularly to talk with them about their prayer life, help them listen to God’s voice, and recognize attacks of the enemy. Here are seven things I've learned from being a spiritual director.

Solidarity

Solidarity
Feb 28, 2024 by Colleen C Orchanian

Lech Walesa became the leader of Solidarity in Poland and led a successful pro-democratic effort that ended Communist rule in that country in 1989. He was a shipyard electrician, not a politician or a powerful man. But he showed the power of solidarity – coming together as a group. That group freed a nation.

Solidarity applies to our faith life as well. We have strength in numbers.

Thy Will Be Done

Thy Will Be Done
Feb 21, 2024 by Colleen C Orchanian
St. Teresa of Avila wrote, “Don’t think that through your own strength and effort you can arrive. It’s beyond our power. But with simplicity and humility say, ‘Thy will be done.’”

Superheroes

Superheroes
Feb 14, 2024 by Colleen C Orchanian
As Christians, we are superheroes. We have superpowers. Our superpowers are the supernatural gifts given to us by God to fulfill our purpose in life.

Fitting In

Fitting In
Feb 07, 2024 by Colleen C Orchanian

We all need to feel like we fit in somewhere - but where? Where should a Christian fit it? How do we find the group that accepts us and challenges us to live our faith more completely? 

More More More

More More More
Jan 31, 2024 by Colleen C Orchanian
If asked, most people would say they want a better prayer life. That doesn't necessarily mean their prayer life is dry; more likely it's because they know God always has more. But what is more? 

A Good Person

A Good Person
Jan 24, 2024 by Colleen C Orchanian

We read Psalm 44 at Mass the other day and I was struck by the last line: Deliver us for the sake of your merciful love. Another translation says, Redeem us because of your love. I thought about the reason given for God to hear the prayer of the psalmist. It's because of God's merciful love, not because the psalmist deserves it. And that made me wonder how often we think God will hear our prayers because of our own actions – our own goodness.

The Anointing

The Anointing
Jan 17, 2024 by Colleen C Orchanian

I am anointed. You are anointed. God has anointed us in our baptism to serve Him and build up the Kingdom of God. How can we live out our anointing every day? 

The Ripple Effect

The Ripple Effect
Jan 10, 2024 by Colleen C Orchanian
When a stone is dropped in water, ripples expand outward in every direction. The ripples keep expanding, although we may not see the extent of their reach. In the same way, our actions have a ripple effect in the world and can set off a chain of events that touch the lives of others, even people we have never met.

Lingering

Lingering
Jan 03, 2024 by Colleen C Orchanian

We often rush through life, through prayer, even through relationships. We try to be efficient with our time, but that's not the way to approach time with the Lord. We should linger with Him. Linger with thoughts about Him. Linger on Scripture. Linger in His presence.

Re-gifting - Pass It On!

Re-gifting - Pass It On!
Dec 27, 2023 by Colleen C Orchanian

We receive spiritual gifts from God that we are called to re-gift - to pass on to others. What are those gifts and how do we do it? 

Peace Be With You

Peace Be With You
Dec 13, 2023 by Colleen C Orchanian

"Peace Be with You!”

We say it at every Mass, wishing peace to those around us. We all, I think, want to feel peace in our hearts. But how do we have that? And how do we help others find peace?

Feed a Cold, Starve a Fever

Feed a Cold, Starve a Fever
Dec 06, 2023 by Colleen C Orchanian
You may have heard that saying, feed a cold, starve a fever. Or maybe you heard it the other way around. Either way, the idea is that there are some things you feed and other things you starve in order to stay physically healthy. When it comes to our spiritual health, we also have things we should starve and other things that we should feed. In a broad sense, we starve anything that comes from or leads us to the enemy and feed anything that comes from or draws us to God.

Prayer and Fasting

Prayer and Fasting
Nov 29, 2023 by Colleen C Orchanian

A friend's mother is having serious medical challenges right now. She (my friend) woke up with the words "fast and pray" on her mind and asked me how to do that. I'll share some thoughts in this blog that might be helpful for those who are wondering the same thing.

Iconic Rules

Iconic Rules
Nov 22, 2023 by Colleen C Orchanian

My mother has begun to paint icons, sacred images of Jesus, the Virgin Mary, the angels or one of the saints. There are many steps in the process, and the teacher provides very detailed instructions that allow anyone to succeed, even someone without an artistic gift. One of the most interesting things about the process is the Rules for the Icon Painter. It is interesting how applicable they are to all who want to serve God.