After several more failed attempts to fix my malfunctioning printer, I called HP support tonight. I must admit that I didn’t have high hopes, but I was out of options. My fears were confirmed when I was transferred to 3 people in 20 minutes, all of whom had heavy Indian accents. Finally, I got to speak with a printer technician named Arajit who seemed very willing to help me. As he attempted to diagnose my problem, we spoke about the weather, the time difference and made other small talk. It was a surprisingly pleasant experience. Even more pleasant was the fact that he was able to fix my printer!

If last night’s prayer was answered immediately and I was able to fix my printer, I wouldn’t have been able to practice being patient, to recognize that a broken printer wasn’t really that big of a problem and I would have missed out on a nice conversation with a man in another country.

Thank you, Lord, for teaching me something new every day! Oh, and by the way, please bless my friend Arajit in India this evening… I was really able to see you at work in his kindness to me.

Today the Church celebrates the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This memorial is based on the tradition that, as a small child, Mary was presented to The Lord by her parents in the temple. Throughout her life, Mary fulfilled this ?giving of her life to God? in a very special way.

Scripture mentions nothing of her life before the angel Gabriel appeared to her (Luke 1:26-38), but that story speaks volumes about Mary?s total submission to the will of God. Mary said ?yes? when asked to do something that was beyond human understanding. But by her ?yes?, she became the Mother of God and assisted in bringing about the salvation of all mankind!

Mary said ?yes? to Gabriel because she was truly dedicated to living out God?s will in her life. She fulfilled the promise made when she was presented in the temple. In a similar way, all of us who were baptized were presented to the Lord. Are we saying ?yes? to everything God asks of us? Do we willingly accept all of the difficulties that life presents to us each day? Do we try our best to be cheerful and brighten the day of those individuals who God places in our path? Do we truly seek to follow God?s will even if it is difficult?

Sometimes it?s not fun, but it wasn?t fun for Mary either. She understands?Ask her to help you. She will bring you closer to her Son and that?s a good place to be!

Here it is … our 2nd press release! This one is more detailed than the first:

http://www.catholicprwire.com/headline.php?ID=5404

Please continue to keep our apostolate in your prayers as we seek to “proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ” over the Internet.

As promised yesterday, let?s look at what some of the Saints say about daily annoyances and irritations.

St. Therese of Lisieux proposed these 4 steps for dealing with life?s irritations:
1. Do not be foolish and squander the opportunity to draw closer to God through your daily irritations.
2. Try hard to enjoy the annoyance
3. Acquire a taste for the annoyance.
4. Pray constantly for the sense of humor needed to endure steps 2 and 3.

While following her advice is not easy, it does provide some food for thought. Is there any possible way that we can ?enjoy? being stuck behind a slow driver or listening to a coworker?s constant complaints? If not, how about at least trying to find something slightly amusing about the situation?

St. John Vianney had this to say, ?I have had crosses in plenty, more than I could carry almost. I set myself to ask for the love of crosses ? then I was happy.?

Finally, St. Teresa of Avila states, ?We gain more in a single day of trials that come to us from God and our neighbor than we would in 10 years of penance and other exercises that we take up ourselves.?

Since these Saints are declared by the Church to be in Heaven, they must have done something right while on earth. Even though we may find it difficult to follow their advice, it gives us a goal to aspire toward. After all, as Christians our ultimate goal is to end up where they are. Unfortunately, some of us may find their suggestions annoying or irritating…

You can always try reading this post again for some suggestions…

Check out our first press release:

http://www.catholic.org/prwire/headline.php?ID=5402

Catholic PRWire is a division of Catholic Online providing news and information to Web sites, wireless operators, corporate and government desktops, information distributors and other commercial and news media applications.

Having a bad day today? Feeling sad? Are you in pain? Is someone in your family sick? The Church teaches that we can offer up our sufferings and unite them to Jesus? agony on the cross. In this mysterious way, Our Lord allows us to assist Him in the salvation of the world (Col 1:24). This is truly an incredible concept that is made possible when we unite our sufferings to that of Christ. Accepting suffering is also a way for us to express our love for God.

St. Teresa of Avila states,?In Heaven we shall have no further need of suffering to prove our love, because then we shall love in the unfailing cloud of the beatific vision. But here below, where we love in the obscurity of faith, we need to prove to God the reality of our love. If our love is perfect, it has this quality of leading us to forget our own pleasure in order to please Him whom we love; it has the power to make us accept our trials with joy and take the bitter with the sweet, knowing that to be His Majesty?s will.?

Today, even though it may be painful, let’s try to embrace our crosses and thank God for the opportunity to express our love for Him. Even if we aren’t suffering greatly at the moment, we all encounter minor annoyances throughout the day. Such things as traffic, bad weather, tiredness, difficult coworkers can all be offered up and united with Christ’s suffering.

Or, we could just complain about them…

Tomorrow we?ll look at what some of the saints have to say about daily annoyances.

While many of us are saddened that our country recently elected a president who could potentially do great damage to the progress made by the pro-life movement, we shouldn’t forget to pray for his conversion. God is all-powerful and could easily change the heart of ANY pro-abortion politician. In this, the year of Saint Paul, we are reminded of a man who strongly persecuted Christians and then went on to write most of the New Testament! Today, let’s begin to pray for Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Nancy Polosi and all other pro-abortion government officials. Let us ask The Lord that, as with Saint Paul, the “scales will fall from their eyes” and they will see abortion for what it is – the cold-blooded murder of innocent unborn children.

Today the Church celebrates the memorial of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, who was well known for her kindness to the poor. Elizabeth was born in the 13th century and was very wealthy, but constantly gave her possessions to the poor. You can read more about her life here.

Reflecting on her life reminds us of our own responsibility to those in need. As Jesus said, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.” Then the righteous will answer him and say, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?” And the king will say to them in reply, “Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.” (Matthew 25:34-40)

There are many charitable organizations that could use our assistance. Check our website for some recommendations. There are also many food drives taking place at this time of year. It’s also important to remember that the “poor” aren’t only those with few possessions. Some people are poorly educated in their Faith and you can help them learn more about Christ, others are lonely or sad and you can assist them by a kind word or deed. However we do it, when we reach out to the poor we are helping Jesus Himself!

As we enter the final two weeks of the liturgical year, many of the readings discuss the final judgment and our readiness for that event. The fact that Jesus hasn’t returned in 2000 years leads many of us to believe that He won’t return in our lifetime. One thing that we often forget is that many of us will be meeting Him in less than 30 years! In addition to the “general judgment” when Christ will return at the end of the world (and our bodies are reunited with our souls), the Church teaches that each of us are judged immediately after our death. This is known as the “particular judgment”. At this time it is decided whether we will spend eternity in Heaven (possibly by way of Purgatory) or Hell.

Today’s Gospel reading (Matthew 25:14-15,19-21) tells the story of the servants and the talents. It is clear that the message Jesus is relating is that we are going to be judged by how well we used the “talents” that were given to us. If we were to die tonight (and be judged), do we feel confident that the Lord will say to us, “Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come share your master’s joy“? If not, why not pledge tomorrow to start using your talents to advance the Kingdom of God?

Even if it’s just a kind word, a smile (when you may not feel like it), asking someone how they are doing (and really listening to their response), being extra patient with a co-worker or your spouse. Maybe it will be doing something like volunteering to help out with a ministry at Church or visiting the elderly. The important thing is that we look at the unique talents that God has given us and determine through prayer how we can best use them to serve the Lord. As we do more of this, we will be better prepared when “the day of the Lord will come like a thief at night” (1 Thessalonians 5:2).