About a year ago, I stumbled across Matt Pratt’s “Pints with Aquinas.” He’s my new late-night go-to entertainment after my wife falls asleep while we watch something on Prime, Netflix, or The Peacock.
Recently, I tapped into his talk with Fr. Thomas Joseph White titled “What is Predestination?”
Though informative, I have to admit that most of it was above my pay grade. About 43 minutes in, however, everything changed. Matt asked Fr. White, “How does this affect our spiritual lives… What would you say to those struggling with scrupulosity?”
Full disclosure, though I had heard of the word scruples, I had to look up the definition of scrupulosity and see how it connected with my Catholic Christian faith.
Fr. White began to describe the no-brainers: Prayers to Christ; going to the sacraments — especially Confession and Communion; and trying to live the moral teachings of the Church with Hope.
Like he said, no-brainers. It all begins here. CLICK.
Things began to change for me when Fr. White said that he tells people that they have to make seven acts of Hope a day.
“What does that look like?” Matt Pratt quickly added to which Fr. White presented a simple scenario.
When you arrive at your desk and before you start your day, you say something like this:
“Lord Jesus Christ, I hope in You, my Savior. I want to devote my day of work to You. I believe in Your Providence. I trust in You. I trust in Your Mercy. I trust in You to forgive my sins. I’m going to try to forgive other people for their sins. I want to live in Your Mercy. I want to hope in You. Everything that happens to me and everything I do can be a means that can conduct me to Sanctification and Salvation.
I’m going to use everything you give me today to try to be conformed to the Mystery of the Cross and Resurrection. I hope in You.“
From there, the gems of salvation started to overflow.
- Hope is the spiritual boxer’s virtue.
- Develop that boxer’s perseverance stance of Hope throughout the day.
- If you get punched by the Devil, you hit back with hope.
- Learn not to talk back to the Devil, but talk to Christ and say “I hope in You.”
- Hope is the fighter’s virtue that gets you through the fog of war of day-to-day life.
- Of Faith, Hope, and Charity, Hope is the under-nourished virtue.
- Dive into the safety net of God’s Mercy.
- Radically Trust in the Mercy of Christ.
- Live with the vulnerability that you can’t save yourself!
- Learn to treat Christ as a person and trust unconditionally in the Mercy of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Wow!
So, starting today: If you get punched by the Devil, get up! and hit back with Hope. Jesus, I trust in YOU! Amen!
Corporation YOU!
James is the author of Corporation YOU: A Business Plan for the Soul, The Christmas Save, and two children’s books: The Second Prince and Klaus: The Gift-giver to ALL!
As a writer, James has been featured on The Inside Success Show, Bob Salter (CBS Radio), Mike Siegel, Mancow, and more.
Beyond writing, James worked with At-Risk youth in Southern California for over six years. His contributions to the classroom — featured on local television and in the LA Daily News and the Los Angeles Times’ Burbank Leader — earned him the honors of “Teacher of the Year”. James was also twice honored by a CASDA Scholar as the teacher who had the greatest influence on that student. As an educator, James also appeared twice on America Live with Megyn Kelly.
Today, James lives in New York where he continues to teach — and write. Besides his books, you can follow his musing on this blog Corporation You.
To contact James or book an interview, please contact Mark of Goldman/McCormick PR at (516) 639-0988or Mark@goldmanmccormick.com.
Corporation YOU 