When We Don't Prioritize God, It's Saddening but...
Do you feel guilty or sad when you're unable to prioritize God in your everyday life? Well, welcome to the club.
The other day I felt bad because I did not do what I should have done. Since I started being more religious than usual I wanted to be more prayerful too. I'm new to this so maybe that's why? Otherwise, too bad my old habits still kick in at times and so I did not prioritize my prayer time with God.
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Priorities Priorities
Are you one of those who puts God first in EVERYTHING you do? If you are then I commend you as I am not on that level yet. I don't think I've been doing it right somehow. (For a bit of context, read my previous blogs/posts since Lent.)
As a Catholic, we aren't strictly required to pray everyday nor at specific times except to go to mass on Sundays. AFAIK that's all we need to do often, aside from doing/taking part in the other sacraments.
Which makes me wonder if Muslims are able to adhere to their prayer time strictly... 🤔 I haven't checked yet but if they ALWAYS do, well I'm wowed by their practice.
Do Catholics in the Philippines (and elsewhere) Pray a Lot?
If you're wondering about it as a foreigner, well I can tell you that generally we are not hardcore Catholics. Not everyone is unless one has devotions and such. Perhaps there are Christians from other religions who have an abundant prayer life but I do not know about their practices.
Of course during the centuries of Spanish occupation, I know Filipinos were more prayerful. I have seen TV shows about it. Also those who have grandparents who survived the wars can probably attest to that.
A scene in the popular 19th century TV series Maria Clara at Ibarra where the characters are inside the prayer room in Maria Clara's house. source
As a Catholic, apparently there are 6 prayers that should be said everyday? (Just correct me if I'm wrong as I was just told about it by an online friend.) Actually I am clueless that there are Catholics who do such. I did go to a Catholic school and went to First Friday masses for some years and yet have never heard of such a thing.
The person who informed me lives in Zamboanga City by the way. For those who aren't aware, that's a place in Mindanao, South of the Philippines. And that location is where the people's language is a Spanish creole called Chavacano. I assume since that's the case, they must have more Spanish-inspired customs. Probably why she knows (and might still be practicing) these 6 daily prayers.
She told us what those are because many who commented on my social media post were also unaware of it. Here they are:
- 3 am - personal prayer
- 6 am, 12 nn and 6 pm - Angelus
- 3 pm - Divine Mercy prayer
- bedtime prayer
Of course she also noted that praying the rosary daily is a must too. I believe people did it at least once a day especially centuries ago. 🤔
Definitely I know all those prayers but never thought to pray any daily except when going to bed. (Praying prevents nightmares / bad dreams.) Meaning, most Filipinos don't really pray that much anymore.
A month or so ago, I even realized our clan/family isn't that prayerful or religious at all. That's why I suspect many of us don't have a peaceful, loving and happy extended family life. I mean, no we don't argue or have big clan fights all the time but not everyone are caring/concerned towards each other. I know that sounds normal but I don't think it should be.
Perhaps you can say we're just typical or average people who live to work or work to live. Not much of God is in the picture unless someone gets sick or hospitalized. That's the usual thing we humans do, right? It's not only Filipinos who do this.
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Generally most humans pray to God because a lot of us always ask for help in times of trouble but rarely or only thank / praise Him a few times. Surely you've done the same.
Whatever the case here's some info about praying according to the Church's teachings.
- The best Catholic prayers include ACTS: Adoration, Contrition, Thanksgiving and then Supplication.
- One of the benefits of praying to God (or our guardian angel, Mama Mary, saints, etc.) is it becomes our shield against the evil entities prowling this Earth.
The second one is why we now come to the part of school education.
The Importance of Catholic Schools
As we all know, parents send their kids to educational institutions. Children are doomed if the place they are sent to does not include any values formation subjects or religious teachings in the curriculum. That school would be quite a failure. For sure it will produce people who don't know how to behave well (respect others, obey the law, love God, etc.) and thus does not help but hurt societies.
Anyway, as mentioned since our grandparents didn't seem quite religious at all, I find it commendable they still sent most of their kids to private Catholic schools. The problem is, none of the kids developed a prayerful life or any religious devotion. 😆 Thus, my generation (in the family) aren't that devoted to God either.
Still that is one reason why we and our cousins got enrolled into Catholic/Christian schools. It was either in grade school or in high school or both, depending on the family circumstances.
Growing up I just took Roman Catholic teachings for granted. It was just part of my student life. As an adult, I realized learning about God and the religious practices ingrained in school life is really helpful to people. Too bad it only came in handy during a time of great need. As mentioned, normally, people only remember the Lord when in crisis. Sad but true.
However if you don't know why these schools are important, I'll tell you. Catholic schools help establish roots to build one's faith in God. Why is this worth noting?
Generally when a child/teenager becomes an adult, that person will experience all kinds of things. Bad experiences and evil thoughts can drive people to think or commit suicide or welcome the devil. Fortunately if the roots of Catholicism is in your heart, soul and/or mind, evil will not win over you.
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Being in such an education system is especially helpful to those who are like me who don't belong to a religious family. We don't pray anything together. None of us goes to mass together. Even during Christmas and other holidays, we and our relatives, none of us would pray to thank God for the food. I can go on and on but surely you get the picture.
Fortunately a parent taught me the prayer to one's guardian angel. I forgot why but maybe because I had a few bad/scary dreams when I was younger. Well since it was taught in the Catholic school they went to, that's how it eventually got shared to me. And because I've been praying it nightly back then, I believe it protected the younger me from evil.
As I've learned through the years from personal experience and according to Catholic priests: Prayer is an effective shield against the devil. Hey it can even be used to exorcise demons through the power of Jesus Christ and/or Mama Mary! Isn't it amazing?
If one does not know how to pray then what chance do we have against the bad entities everywhere? Surely you now see how important Catholic schools are. No school is perfect but definitely some have advantages over the other.
But wait! This is getting too long so I'll post the rest of this in Part 2. That's where you'll read about how I got over the sadness, what I think 'when people don't choose God...' and more.
Any thoughts on what I shared so far? Feel free to comment 😉
XOXO,
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