I meditate on the last four things, regularly and most of the time different promptings are placed on my heart.  But there is one that is steadfast, the account that I will have to give for my time.  

Make no mistake about it — I do not have it all together!  I have many responsibilities as a homeschooling mama of 7 with a married daughter, health ailments, bouts of overwhelmedness that lead to a paralyzation of sorts, my battle of the flesh, and more…so much more.

I give thanks for it all because it brings me to my knees and makes me more dependent on God.  Yet, I know that I must do better with the time that continues to be gifted to me.  

Do you meditate regularly on the Last Four Things? Are you able to give an honest & favorable account of your time?

These necessary reflections lead to my final suggestion for #comingtotradition this Lent (always).

The Rule of Life (ROL) is a must!  It’s not something new or something reserved for religious orders.  It’s for all!  

All the saints and many holy laities will speak to their ROL.  I’ll leave you with the following direction from Monsignor P. Lejeune in his Counsels of Perfection for CHRISTIAN MOTHERS.  

“You must have a (written) rule, otherwise your life will be squandered in a thousand follies and futilities…

…unless you are bound by a rule, your lives will drift unceasingly; …float along guided only by caprice, and the sense of duty will be almost entirely lost. In that case it is your own will that you have followed…and not the will of God.

…what a sad life is that which is not regulated. It is a life which, from a worldly standpoint, may have a certain respectability, but which, from the supernatural side is a mere farce. Will you tell me what that day weighs, in the divine balance, during which you follow your own will with never a thought for the will of God?

I have no hesitancy in saying that a life without a rule, is a life wherein the supernatural, that is, the part of God, has little or no importance.

…first determine the hour of your rising and retiring…place in your rule: morning and evening prayers should be said kneeling…there is hardly one among you who cannot spend a quarter of an hour each day in spiritual reading. Those of you who have the time, and who are unwilling to be satisfied with merely earthly piety, ought to make a meditation every morning, and also to attend Holy Mass each day, or at least several times during the week.

Give your attention, above all to the most important duties. I mean those of your interior, and station in life. Then attend to the less important duties; the remainder of your time may be spent on duties of pure decorum–if any more time remains.

Since your rule has been made for God, it is for God that it should be followed out. This rule is the expression of the will of God in your regard, which must of necessity be very dear to you. Bring, then, to the accomplishment of each of these articles, a true spirit of faith, and a truly supernatural motive, and place yourselves a hundred times daily under the eye of God, saying frequently to Him and love: “All for you, My God.”

Let us meditate on the Four Last Things through Lent and tend to our Rule of Life in efforts to properly order our days throughout the year for the time that God gifts us!

• Counsels of Perfection for CHRISTIAN MOTHERS PDF 
• Counsels of Perfection for CHRISTIAN MOTHERS MP3
  • COUNSELS OF PERFECTION FOR CHRISTIAN MOTHERS.  Father P. Lejuene explains in very practical ways what real Christian Perfection is.  He goes through the various Spiritual Exercises and explains how to derive the most benefit from them.  He addresses his book to Christian Mothers, but it is very beneficial to all.  Imprimatur 1913.  Three Tapes read by MH.  
  • T1S1 Listen Download
  • T2S1 Listen Download
  • T2S2 Listen Download
  • T3S1 Listen Download
  • T3S2 Listen Download