Workout Wednesday with Fr. Marino

WORKOUT WEDNESDAY Fr. Marino H. Msigala, O.F.M. Capuchin A Midweek Spiritual Workout with PEACE PRAYER OF ST. FRANCIS Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace: where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. On this  SPIRITUAL WORKOUT WEDNESDAY, pray the peace prayer and plan to bring consolation, understanding, love, and pardon to someone who needs it. To the world, you may be one person, but to one person, you may be the world.    

W ORKOUT  W EDNESDAY A Midweek Spiritual Workout with Fr. Marino H. Msigala,  O.F.M. Capuchin   FLUTE VS STICK The student asked, “Teacher, what’s the difference between a flute and a stick in the mud?” The teacher answered, “The stick in the mud is full of itself. The flute has been emptied of itself so it can make music.” On this Spiritual Workout Wednesday, ask yourself how you might empty yourself during this Lenten Season so that you will be able to sing Alleluia at Easter.

WORKOUT WEDNESDAY A Midweek Spiritual Workout with  Fr. Marino H. Msigala,  O.F.M. Capuchin   ACTION PLAN FOR LENT   "Fasting is the soul of prayer, Mercy is the lifeblood of fasting. So, if you pray, fast. If you fast, show mercy, If you want your petitions to be heard, Hear the petitions of others. If you open your ear to others, You open God's ear to yourself." ~ St. Peter Chrysologus   c. 380/406–450 , known as the " Doctor of Homilies " for his eloquent preaching, was an Italian bishop and Doctor of the Church. Born in Imola, he was consecrated Bishop of Ravenna in 433 and died around 450, with his feast day celebrated on July 30 On this  SPIRITUAL WORKOUT WEDNESDAY , "Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return."  Genesis 3:19.” R epent and believe in the Gospel.” Mark 1:15.  

WORKOUT WEDNESDAY A Midweek Spiritual Workout with  Fr. Marino H. Msigala, OFM Capuchin THE MESSAGE OF OUR LADY OF LOURDES   Today’s memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes is also World Day of the Sick. The Blessed Mother’s message at  Lourdes , delivered to St. Bernadette in 1858, is  a call to personal conversion, praying the Rosary, and offering sacrifices and penance for the salvation of sinners . It emphasizes God's love for the poor and humble, highlights Mary as the Immaculate Conception, and offers hope, healing, and compassion to the sick and suffering. Our Lady does not promise true happiness in this life but assures us that eternal happiness awaits those who love God and serve His people. She emphasizes that true fulfillment is found in God’s Kingdom and not in this earthly life. On this  SPIRITUAL WORKOUT WEDNESDAY , consider the message of Our Lady of Lourdes, pray the Rosary for the sick and suffering, and offer a personal sacrifice for sinners who h...

WORKOUT WEDNESDAY A Midweek Spiritual Workout with Fr. Marino H. Msigala, OFM Capuchin DEATH TOOK 100, WORRY TOOK THE OTHERS Death was walking toward a city one morning, and a man asked, "What are you going to do?" "I'm going to take 100 people," Death replied. "That's horrible!" the man said. "That's the way it is," Death said. "That's what I do." The man hurried to warn everyone he could about Death's plan. As evening fell, he met Death again. "You told me you were going to take 100 people," the man said. "Why did 1,000 die?" "I kept my word," Death responded. "I only took 100 people. Worry took the others." Worry is, and always will be, a fatal disease of the heart, the mind, and the soul. It signals the end of faith. Worry indicates a lack of trust. Worry results from thinking it’s all up to us. Worry destroys peace. On this  SPIRITUAL WORKOUT WEDNESDA...

  WEDNESDAY WORKOUT A Midweek Spiritual Workout with  Fr. Marino H. Msigala, OFM Capuchin WHAT ARE YOU? St. Thomas Aquinas said... "The things that we love Tell us What we are.” On this  SPIRITUAL WORKOUT WEDNESDAY , think about what you love. What does that tell you about what you are? Is that what you want to be?  

WORKOUT WEDNESDAY A Midweek Spiritual Workout with  Fr. Marino H. Msigala, O.F.M. Capuchin   WEB OF PROTECTION During World War II, a US Marine was separated from his unit on a Pacific Island. The fighting had been intense, and in the smoke and the crossfire, he had lost touch with his comrades. Alone in the jungle, he could hear enemy soldiers coming in his direction. Scrambling for cover, he found his way up a high ridge to several small caves in the rock. Quickly, he crawled inside one of the caves. Although safe for the moment, he realized that once the enemy soldiers looking for him swept up the ridge, they would quickly search all the caves and he would be killed. As he waited, he prayed, "Lord, if it be Your will, please protect me. Whatever your will though, I love You and trust You. Amen." After praying, he lay quietly, listening as the enemy began to draw close. He thought, "Well, I guess the Lord isn't going to help me out of this one." T...

WORKOUT WEDNESDAY  A Midweek Spiritual Workout with  Fr. Marino H. Msigala,  O.F.M. Capuchin ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE When it comes to life, The critical thing Is whether you Take things for granted Or if you take them with gratitude.”                                         ~G.K. Chesterton, 1874-1936, English Catholic apologist and writer   On this  SPIRITUAL WORKOUT WEDNESDAY , choose gratitude. If the only prayer you ever say is “thank you,” that would be enough. Cultivate an attitude of gratitude.  

WORKOUT WEDNESDAY A Midweek Spiritual Workout with Fr. Marino H. Msigala, O.F.M. Capuchin WHAT ARE THE ROPES THAT BIND YOU?   As I was passing the elephants, I suddenly stopped, confused that these giant creatures were being held by only a small rope tied to their front leg. No chains, no cages. It was apparent that the elephants could  at any time break away from the ropes to which they were tied, but for some reason,  they did not.  i saw a trainer nearby and asked why these beautiful, magnificent animals just stood there and made no attempt to get away. “Well,” he said, “when they are very young and much smaller , we use the same size of rope to tie them, and, at that age, it’s enough to hold them. As they grow up, they are conditioned to believe they cannot break away. They believe the rope can still hold them, so they never try to break free.” I was amazed. These animals could at any time break free from their bonds , but because they believed they cou...

WORKOUT WEDNESDAY A Midweek Spiritual Workout with   Fr. Marino H. Msigala, O.F.M. Capuchin   BEGIN THE REAL WORK OF CHRISTMAS   When the song of the angels is stilled When the kings return to their kingdoms When the shepherds return to their flocks Then… The work of Christmas begins: To find the lost To mend the broken To heal the sick To feed the hungry To console the sorrowful To release the prisoner To include the marginalized To love the unloved To rebuild the nations To nurture interior peace To share peace with others ~ edited from a poem by Howard  Washington Thurman, A merican author, philosopher, minister, theologian, Christian mystic, educator, and civil rights leader   (1899-1981) On this  SPIRITUAL WORKOUT WEDNESDAY , begin the real work of Christmas today and continue throughout the new year.

WORKOUT WEDNESDAY A Midweek Spiritual Workout with  Fr. Marino H. Msigala, O.F.M. Capuchin PRACTICE THIS Believe like Mary. Trust like Joseph. Hope like the Shepherds. Seek like the Wise Men. Worship like the Angels. Love like Jesus. Act like His follower. On this  SPIRITUAL WORKOUT WEDNESDAY , listen to the words of the Evangelist, “ And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. ” (John 1:14) and celebrate the miracle of Christmas.  

WORKOUT WEDNESDAY  A Midweek Spiritual Workout with  Fr. Marino H. Msigala,  O.F.M. Capuchin WHAT’S THE USE OF PRAYING?   A man was asked about his habit of praying. “What’s the point of praying? Why do you spend so much time praying? What do you gain by praying so much?”   The man replied, “Nothing… I gained nothing, but let me tell you what I lost: anger, impatience, pride, greed, depression, insecurity, and the fear of death.   Sometimes the answer to our prayers lies in not gaining, but in losing, and, in the end, that is the ultimate gain. On this  SPIRITUAL WORKOUT WEDNESDAY, take a few minutes to think about your prayer life. What have you lost through prayer? More importantly, what have you gained by that loss? Unexpected blessings await! Pray unceasingly!    

WORKOUT WEDNESDAY A Midweek Spiritual Workout with  Fr. Marino H. Msigala, O.F.M. Capuchin THE ADVENT WREATH,  A CIRCLE OF LOVE The Advent wreath is a continuous CIRCLE of branches from an evergreen tree that signifies God’s unending love for us. The FIRST purple candle, the PROPHECY candle, represents HOPE and harkens back to Isaiah’s foretelling of the birth of Christ and all the promises of the Old Testament that would be fulfilled by the birth of Jesus. The SECOND purple candle, the BETHLEHEM candle, symbolizes PEACE and reminds us of Mary and Joseph’s journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem before she gave birth to Jesus. T he THIRD candle is pink and is called the SHEPHERD’S candle. It represents the JOY of Gaudete/Rejoice Sunday. It reminds us of the joyful anticipation of the shepherds who returned to Bethlehem to see Jesus, even before the arrival of the Magi. Advent is almost over, and we rejoice that Christmas is near. The FOURTH candle is purple and is ...

WORKOUT WEDNESDAY A Midweek Spiritual Workout with  Fr. Marino H. Msigala, O.F.M. Capuchin   TOGETHER, WE WAIT Advent is a time of waiting. But not all kinds of waiting are alike.  In Advent, we wait in a unique way. WE ANTICIPATE. We wait expectantly for the Christ Child to come again, but we do not know the form that the appearance will take. We wait with anticipation that it will be something wonderful and maybe surprising. Will it be a gift in prayer? An encounter with family or friends where we know Christ is present among us? Will it be a sense of peace and calm? Only God knows what gifts He has in store for us. WE LET GO. We have to make room for God’s action to be something that we can welcome, something that we can pay attention to when it happens.   There was no room at the inn for Mary, Joseph, and Jesus, because it was too full. The stable was poor and simple, but it had space for them to take shelter. Are our hearts open to God? What a...

WORKOUT WEDNESDAY A Midweek Spiritual Workout with Fr. Marino H. Msigala, O.F.M. Capuchin   THANK GOD AHEAD OF TIME   "Thank God ahead of time" was the motto of Blessed Solanus Casey, O.F.M. Capuchin  (1870-1957) of Detroit, MI. It reflected his deep trust in God’s providence and his belief that gratitude was the sure sign of surrender to God’s will and confidence that God works all things for the good of those who love Him.   Blessed Solanus adopted this motto after facing personal and spiritual difficulties that tested his faith. Instead of becoming bitter, he embraced an attitude of gratitude. On this  SPIRITUAL WORKOUT WEDNESDAY , surrender yourself to God’s will and know that He works all things for the good of those who love Him. What are you asking of God? What is it that you seek? Thank God ahead of time and await what God has planned for you.

WORKOUT WEDNESDAY A Midweek Spiritual Workout with Fr. Marino H. Msigala, O.F.M. Capuchin CHANGE 3 WORDS AND CHANGE YOUR ATTITUDE I nstead of saying, “I have to… ” Start your day by saying, “I get to…” I get to go to work and earn money. I get to exercise and be healthy. I get to see my friends. I get to visit my family. I get to talk with people I love. I get to eat a good meal. I get to experience something new. I get to help another person. I get to go to church. I get to live another day. On this  SPIRITUAL WORKOUT WEDNESDAY, remember that tomorrow is not guaranteed. “Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.” (Proverbs 27:1). Make the most of each day. Start each day with “I get to…” I can…” “I have another chance…” Then, make the most of it.  Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. But today is a gift. That is why it is called the present.

WORKOUT WEDNESDAY A Midweek Spiritual Workout with Fr. Marino H. Msigala, O.F.M. Capuchin BROKEN OR GIFTED?   An elderly woman had two large water pots, each hung on the ends of a pole which she carried across the back of her neck. One of the pots had a crack, while the other was perfect and always delivered a full gallon of water. At the end of the long walks from the stream to her house, the pot with the crack arrived only half full. For a full two years, the woman brought home only one and a half pots of water. Of course, the perfect pot took pride in its accomplishments. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it could only do half of what it had been made to do. After two years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the woman one day by the stream. “I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house.” The old woman smiled, “Did you notice that there...

WEDNESDAY WORKOUT A Midweek Spiritual Workout with Fr. Marino H. Msigala, O.F.M. Capuchin   ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE   “Remember the past with gratitude.   Live in the present with enthusiasm.   Look forward to the future with confidence.”     ~ St. John Paul II   On this  SPIRITUAL WORKOUT WEDNESDAY , adopt an attitude of gratitude. Think about the blessings you have received from God and consider how you might share them with others. What you selfishly keep, you lose; what you generously share is yours forever.

WORKOUT WEDNESDAY A Midweek Spiritual Workout with  Fr. Marino H. Msigala, O.F.M. Capuchin   WHEN? IN EVERY MOMENT!   In happy moments, Praise God. In difficult moments, Seek God. In quiet moments, Worship God. In painful moments, Trust God. In every moment, Thank God.   On this  SPIRITUAL WORKOUT WEDNESDAY , make every moment count. Count every moment as a chance to praise, seek, worship, trust, and thank God.