Being a Catholic is a daily thing. There are Masses to attend (or watch online), rosaries to pray, online prayer sites to visit, examining one’s conscience, Saints to remember and pray to, and prayer requests to send out. I haven’t had the energy to go to Daily Mass, but I do watch Mass online if I don’t go, and I always pray my rosary. Today I will be praying the Luminous Mysteries, which are always said on Thursdays, also known as “The Mysteries of Light.” They are relatively new to me, having only been included in the rosary cycle for the last twenty years- since I graduated high school and wasn’t praying the rosary, so I didn’t know about the new mysteries for many years. They were introduced by Pope St. John Paul II. I loved that Pope dearly, he was Pope my whole life until I turned 20. I remember when he passed away, that was so beautiful to know he was in Heaven. And now that he has been canonized, we are even more sure of that.

The one thing I didn’t throw out (besides my crystals, which I think are beautiful) during my paganism-purge was my incense. I just love the scents. When I was a Pagan, I felt trapped only burning certain incenses on certain days for various reasons, such as the Moon sign, or this or that intention or “magickal” purpose. Now that I’ve returned to the Church, I’m free to burn any incense whenever I please. This morning I’m burning a Frankincense. I also have Myrrh incense. To me, those are “holy” incenses, because Jesus was given frankincense and myrrh at His birth. My Sierra Cedar incense also includes frankincense. I used to buy my incenses online, but I’ve learned that my local indie natural foods store has good incense for a good price, and I can sniff before buying. Some of the incenses that I bought online smell awful and I had to throw them out or put them out on the curb. Maybe someone else will like them, we’ve all got different tastes.

I still do yoga and my Ayurvedic morning routine. I’ve learned that you can do these things without sinning, as long as you keep the Lord in mind when you do them. I don’t buy into the “spirituality” behind yoga, I just consider it to be good stretching. And the Ayurvedic stuff, well, I came across a Catholic website that promotes Ayurveda, and it inspired me to combine the two as well. What they call “prana” is the Holy Spirit, who is the Breath of Life. As long as I am only praying to God/Jesus/Holy Spirit, it’s all good.

Ok, that’s enough ranting for now, I have some chores to attend to. Have a blessed day!