Difficult Teachings – You Can Lose Your Soul
Difficult Teachings – The Eucharist
Difficult Teachings – Lay Down Your Life
The Generosity Habit – Regrets
The Generosity Habit – I Can Do So Little
The Generosity Habit – Confused About Needs and Wants
//Dynamic Catholic//
Best Lent Ever – Generosity Looks Good on You
Generosity is not passive. It’s alive and dynamic, proactive, always looking for ways to express itself. When I ask people to tell me about the most generous person they know, this is the type of thing they say, “She is always looking for opportunities to be generous.”
The most generous people I know are not just thoughtful and generous with their money and things. They are generous in every way imaginable. This all-around generosity makes them much loved by everyone who knows them and a beacon of God’s love in their community. Their generosity is proactive. They don’t wait to be asked.
Here’s an example of creative, proactive generosity. Life-changing generosity.
Anastasia Petrov is a Russian immigrant and a nurse. “I love America,” she says to me with her sixty-two-year-old smile. A few years ago, one of the nurses she works with at the hospital got cancer and had to take some time off work. Anastasia didn’t know her very well, but she knew that the other nurse had three kids and that she needed to work. Anastasia knew this woman would be out of sick days very quickly and one day at lunch Anastasia heard some of the other nurses talking about doing one of those online funding projects to help out.
“We can do better than that!” Anastasia said to her colleagues. They all turned and stared at her; you see, Anastasia was a quiet woman. She was a listener. Plenty of lunch breaks would pass without her saying a single word. “What do you mean?” one of her colleagues asked her. “Everyone loves Jane [the sick nurse]. She is always doing kind things for people. We all have three twelve-hour shifts a week; all we need to do is find three nurses to volunteer an extra shift each week and Jane can keep getting paid until she is well and can come back to work.”
The other nurses stared at her with astonishment and admiration. “I’ll organize the schedule,” Anastasia added. And so she did. Each week while Jane was out of work, Anastasia found three nurses to do an extra shift so that Jane could continue to be paid her full salary.
I learned about this from Sophia, another nurse at the hospital. “How long was Jane off work?” I asked. “Three years!” Sophia replied with a smile. “Anastasia is amazing,” she continued.
This was life-changing generosity. It was creative and proactive.
Now, here is today’s generosity habit.
Make someone’s day! Go out of your way to do something to make someone’s day today. You don’t need me to tell you what to do. The creative genius of generosity is alive and well within you. Seek its counsel and follow where the spirit of generosity leads you. It doesn’t have to be something spectacular. Small and simple acts of generosity can make people’s day.
Matthew Kelly
//Dynamic Catholic//
The Uncomfortable Truth about Forgiveness
The Uncomfortable Truth About Forgiveness – The Biggest Forgiveness Misconceptions (& how to get past them)
THIS WEEK’S GOSPEL IS JOHN 4:5-42
Forgiveness is one of those things we often get wrong. Both in action and in outlook.
Perhaps we think it is easy, until someone wounds us deeply.
Or we think it’s a sign of weakness, until we realize the strength it takes to give and receive it.
Maybe more than anything else, we think forgiveness has a limit. That there are some things that can’t be forgiven, shouldn’t be forgiven.
Today, Allen reflects on a powerful moment where Jesus shows us the truth about forgiveness.
//Dynamic Catholic//
The Power of Single-Tasking
“The fastest way to do many things is to do them one at a time.
The ability to focus for extended periods of time is a very powerful skill, and one that is become increasingly rare in our society. People who are able to focus on one thing at a time have a major advantage in a world crippled by multi-tasking. Single-tasking is a skill worth nurturing.
The power of single-tasking is that it forces us to decide what matters most and give it priority. This unleashes positive effects on every area of our lives.
Here are some of the benefits of single-tasking. People who focus on one task at a time are happier, less anxious, more productive, have more energy and enthusiasm, are more fulfilled, less stressed, more creative, more disciplined, have longer attention spans, are better communicators, and they have better relationships.
What exactly is single-tasking? The practice of dedicating oneself to a given task and minimizing potential interruptions and distractions for the appropriate period of time.
Multi-tasking is ruining our brains, destroying our lives, and undermining our relationships. Single-tasking is the key to doing your best work, improving your relationships, and eliminating much of the stress and anxiety from your life.
Multi-tasking is a temptation and a myth. The busier you are, the more you have to do, the more you should employ single-tasking. Try doing one thing at a time, through to completion. You’ll be amazed just how powerful this simple principle is. Start unleashing the power of single-tasking in your life today.”
//Dynamic Catholic//