The First Consideration for the Rule of Life

Even little ones can start practicing a rule of life. 
See The Beginner's Rule of Life

I'm going to do a little series on the Rule of Life as Lent begins. Yesterday was part 1, Crafting a Rule of Life.  Today I'm going to begin going through the conference by Fr. Ripperger, essentially the How-to-do-it guidelines for developing a rule of life.

Father begins by saying the first consideration is keeping any private vows we've taken. Now, my husband and I have both made the total consecration to Our Lady according to St. Maximilian Kolbe and also to St. Louis de Montfort. Do they oblige under pain of sin? No, but they are a commitment that should be taken seriously and practiced with devotion.

My husband and I are also auxiliary members of the Legion of Mary and pray the rosary every day. Auxiliaries also have a trifold (the tessera) with prayers. We always say the opening prayers because we know them by heart. If we are out and about and praying our rosary in the car or elsewhere, we don't usually say the other prayers because we don't know them by heart. But omitting them also is not a sin.

So the situation of private vows is resolved for us. We dedicate all our prayers and actions in union with and through the Blessed Mother. I have never made any private vows. I have made some intentions and sacrifices, but, again, they are not under pain of sin. The only vow I've made before God that binds me more than is the public vow I made on my wedding day. While, like all married couples, we've had our ups and downs in our relationship, I realize how blessed I am to be married to a godly man who continues to be my sweetheart. Sometimes challenges and painful situations turn out to be blessings that draw you closer together. Larry and I really are living the golden years. We may dance more slowly and our days of vigorous square and swing dancing may be behind us, but we can still sway slowly to our wedding song, Moon River. 

The second rule of life has to do with developing a regimen, consistently engaging in a particular set of actions at the same time every day. This includes getting regular hours of sleep: going to bed at a specific time and getting up at a specific time. We practice a little flexibility there, especially me because I sometimes have serious issues with insomnia. If I have a bad night I may go to bed early the next night or, if I'm up for two or three hours at night I may sleep late the next morning. 

Praying the Angelus every day is a good
spiritual practice. See The Angelus Project.

The bare minimum for the layman, according to Fr. Ripperger, should be saying the rosary every day, making the morning offering, doing an examination of conscience at the end of the day, and spending at least 15 minutes in meditation, also some spiritual reading even if it's only five minutes. Father mentions specifically Humility of Heart and Imitation of Christ which offer short reflections. The reason for the regimen is the spirit of consistency and recollection and recollection "is the segue to consistently thinking about God" throughout the day.  

I'd like to think I've moved beyond the minimum, but I'll leave reflection on that until tomorrow. One thing that is a habit for me is to associate different chores with prayer. When the kids were growing up I did the wash praying for each child (and Larry) as I folder their clean clothes. I used to think of the sacrament of baptism when I took my shower. There are many things throughout the day that can spur prayer. Collecting eggs these days I think of the scripture passage, "What father gives his child a snake when he asks for an egg?" and thank God for my precious chickies. It's easy to think of God when the stars come out or looking at a beautiful sunrise or sunset. I try to say thank you every day all day. This morning it was for a good night's sleep after a three-hour night on Saturday. But I can even thank God for that. I need to get in the habit of using it for extra prayer. How can we not thank God throughout the day (and night) for all His gifts. 

I hope you're having a delightful Tuesday. Let's all remember to thank God throughout this day and every day as we go about our daily activities. 

May Jesus Christ be praised!

Holy Mary, pray for us.