The forgotten 9th beatitude... lol

 

When I was in the process of converting to Catholicism when I was 23 years old, I was in danger of becoming an overly serious fuddy duddy.

Then the good, Irish American priest who was giving us instruction gave us one of the best antidotes to taking ourselves too seriously.

It was a lesson on the 8 beatitudes that Jesus gave us in the Bible during his Sermon on the Mount. The priest presented each one with the care and thoughtfulness that they deserve, and then...

He ended the lesson by saying "...but you knowww... most people don't know that there is a forgotten 9th beatitude that most people don't know about.

"Blessed are those who can unwind the uptight..." he said with a wry smile.

Point taken. I can only imagine what our good priests have to put up with with the overly serious.

Thank you, God, for giving humans the gift of an appropriate sense of humor.

And thank you to all those Looney Tunes creatives who gave us a small part of what was a wonderful childhood.

I still laugh at them when I see the old clips. 

I know, I'm dating myself.

Some recent advice from a Fransican friar

Last year, I went through a bit of an upheaval after my dad passed, and I sought the advice of a Franciscan priest that I've known over the years to get his perspective from a religious point of view. I wasn't looking for medical advice from a priest, and I didn't need it as I have a good psychiatrist for that.

He asked me to tell him my story and what I've been through since converting to Catholicism as a young man and subsequently being diagnosed with a mental illness after having a breakdown in a seminary when I was 26 years old.

I gave him the abridged version of my life in about 20 minutes, and he immediately gave me 3 things to focus on.

1.    Manage your sleep well.

2.    Eat healthy food.

3.    Live a boring life. He said a boring life is a spiritual life.

 I laughed at that last one and said I think I can handle that. It took the pressure off of always trying to put on a show for other people. I am happy with my quiet life.

He said he has a regular communicant at the Franciscan shrine where he serves who has pretty severe schizophrenia, and he said you'd never know it to speak to her.

That shrine is dedicated in name to Our Lady Comforter of the Afflicted, and it is in a beautiful setting next to a large gem of a municipal park.

I take my medications religiously and adhere to the good medical advice that I get from doctors, but I need to be fed spiritually as well, and he patiently listened to me and did that for me that day.

Our Lady Comforter of the Afflicted, pray for us.

1st and 2nd re-designed versions of my self-published book

If you prefer to buy through Amazon, my little self-published book is available there now via this link: https://www.amazon.com/Winning-Battle-Mental-Illness-compassionate/dp/154398780X/

You can search for Daniel A. Popovich or the book's title on Amazon or Bookbaby.com as well.

It was very educational and therapeutic to write and self-publish even such a small book. Not to mention fun.

This is the redesigned 2nd edition. (Also available on Amazon or Bookbaby.com.

What works for me?

 

I often ask myself that question about the direction my life is taking.

What is working for me and the converse of that, namely, what isn't?

Can I give a concrete example of what I am talking about?

Okay, I have some goals, long-term and short-term, that I have laid out over the years and recently that I would like to accomplish in my lifetime. They are personal yet very practical.

One such goal is to remain mentally and spiritually balanced for the remainder of my life.

I have found that one of the keys to doing that successfully over the years has been my religious use of medications to help manage my bipolar disorder.

About 22 years ago, I was granted a minor miracle by Our Lord when I made a decision to give the psychotropic medications that I was being prescribed a real chance to help me by staying on them through a crisis I had been having at the time.

One of the key elements of my religious life that allowed me to do that was my devotion to the Catholic sacramental way of life, particularly the worthy reception of the Eucharist, or Holy Communion, according to the rules of the Church.

I was granted a grace to be able to see my medications (and, in fact, so much of our lives) in a sacramental way.

A sacrament is a religious ceremony or ritual regarded as imparting divine grace, and grace is ultimately the help we receive from God.

So, I was able to see the medication as something that might help me (a grace) as I have been helped by God all my life through the Holy Sacraments of the Church since my baptism as an infant.

Is my life perfect? NO!

Am I making real progress toward my goals? YES.

Real, measurable progress.

What was the title of this post?

"What works for me?"

I think that is a very reasonable question to ask myself now and then.

Have a great day today.

You DO deserve it! (In my humble opinion.)

Gardening + religion + Photo Shop

 

An old (short) book I wrote

 

Self-published in 2019 during a very difficult year for my family and me.

I had to express what helped me get through a tough time in my life.

Available on Amazon or Bookbaby.com

An Easter cross

 

My intention with this blog is to share a little of my simple artwork and to offer a commentary on what I believe it means to me.

I really don’t know what I am going to create visually until I just start doodling and get into it.

This one I call “The rainbow cross”.

Initially, I painted the colors on a blank canvas just to brighten my mood. Then I added the empty cross at its center.

As I thought about it later, after it was quickly done, it reminded me of Noah seeing a rainbow when he was delivered safely to dry land. Perhaps a foreshadowing of the Promised Land.

I always thought the crucifix, with Christ nailed to the cross, was the definitive symbol of Catholicism. Then I realized that we are still in the Easter Season, I believe, and that we are ultimately “Easter people”.

He rose again from the dead, and all that was left on Calvary was an empty cross. He showed himself to his disciples after the Resurrection, taught them, and sent them to preach the gospel of repentance and forgiveness of sins, and to baptize all the nations in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

He then ascended back into Heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father, and then sent us the Holy Spirit to guide his church here on earth.

The picture was a gift to remind me that, though I am a sinner, Christ conquered sin and awaits us after we complete our journey here on earth.

What do you think?