Heart of a Soldier

Men and young boys are often bullied and harassed for not having or wanting sex, because “real men” are supposed to be able to get as many chicks as possible.

Babies are being murdered in the name of “bodily autonomy.” Several women are being pressured into getting abortions they don’t want by pushy boyfriends and husbands who don’t want to deal with the responsibility of being a parent, and many other women are being taught that abortion is the only option for when an accidental pregnancy arises. In contrast, there are also many men who will never get to meet their wanted children, because the women they had sex with went behind their backs to erase the situation.

Instead of educating young people about the risks of unsafe sexual activity, society taught them that the “need” to have sex as much possible should take top priority over everything else. Not only does this mean that taking responsibility for your choices—figuring out a safe future for another human being instead of getting an abortion, for example—is discouraged, but it also means that people have begun to see sex as a completely self-serving act in relation to how they treat their partners.

A woman has developed a sex addiction after a lifetime of being told that her primary purpose is to be sexually appealing to men? No problem! The internet will give her plenty of advice on how to “safely” continue treating herself like a living sex toy!

A woman feels the need to wear short skirts and heavy makeup at all times because she has been taught from a young age that sex appeal=beauty=worth as a person? No problem! The sex-positive feminists will protect her from all the evil misogynistic haters who would force her to think critically about her choices!

A woman is forced to work in the sex industry because she can’t make a decent wage anywhere else? No problem! She has access to a whole community of people who can remind her how “empowered” she is for choosing to sell her body rather than starve to death!

A pregnant woman is in danger of having to drop out of university because her school doesn’t provide any resources for pregnant or parenting students? No problem! She can just have an abortion!

A pregnant woman is in danger of losing her job because her boss views having a family as a distraction from work? No problem! She can just have an abortion!

A pregnant woman is being abused or even prostituted by her partner, and he would literally murder her if he found out she was pregnant? No problem! She can just have an abortion! The clinic staff will barely ask any questions, and she can go right back home to her abuser, secure in the knowledge that she is a liberated woman.

MONEY. WE WANT MONEY. MONEY MONEY MONEY MONEY MONEY. WE CAN DO SO MUCH WITH IT. WE HAVE ACCESS TO DEALS YOU COULD NEVER. MONEY

That aside.

 I’m only going to talk about food items but if your food bank takes personal items, a lot of times diapers, feminine hygiene products, etc, are very very welcome. 

1) Canned chicken and beef 

looooooove this stuff. It’s expensive, it lasts forever, it tastes good and it can be used a variety of ways. This stuff is fucking catnip to food banks, it’s so hard for us to provide proteins. 

2) Fancy nut butters

Peanut butter is a standby for food banks as a shelf-stable inexpensive protein, but if we have a family with a kid with a peanut allergy that’s not going to work. Non-peanut butters are expensive and it’s something we hardly ever see donated. (we also like peanut butter, but that’s easier for us to buy ourselves than non-peanut butters)

3) Canned or packaged tuna

You may notice a trend here in shelf-stable proteins. And yeah. That’s basically it, so I’m not going to keep harping on it. But this stuff is a godsend. 

4) Easy breakfast things for kids (Granola bars, instant oatmeal, and the like) 

Whatever Donald Trump tells you, most people who get food from food banks are actually working their asses off and so they have to leave Obama to raise their baby or whatever, and they don’t have a lot of time in the morning. Things like this that kids can make for themselves are expensive. (Another trend you may be noticing–donate shit that costs a lot of money. That helps us more than all the shitty green bean cans in the world) But they are so helpful for busy working families where the parents may not have a set schedule and sometimes little Amanda is making her own breakfast before she runs off to school. Don’t let kids go to school hungry. 

5) Shelf-stable juice

Close your eyes and just repeat the name of Jesus.

Write a letter to God every night for a month. Promise yourself you won’t let anyone read them so you can forget the fancy language and get real.

Read the Song of Songs like Christ is the bridegroom and you’re the bride. Because you are.

When things get crazy, go to adoration at night.1 Don’t try to stay on topic–just talk through all the mess in your life. Talk in circles and get frustrated and pull out your shopping list and process until your mind finally slows down. Work through it all and then just let yourself be. It’s a very loud silence, that.

Pray the news. Beg mercy for sinners, healing for the infirm, justice and peace and God’s will in all things.

Go somewhere beautiful (I recommend Montana) and revel in the majesty of God.

Hold a crucifix while you pray.

Pick a small but regular sacrifice (no sugar in your coffee, no condiments, no added salt). Thank Jesus for his sacrifice every time you make yours.

Pray the Our Father slowly. Take ten minutes to pray it once.

Ask the Blessed Mother to hold your hand and walk you to Jesus.

Tithe your free time–if you work eight hours a day and sleep eight hours a day, spend 48 minutes in prayer over the course of the day.

Think of how your small children tell you they love you–over and over, at any opportunity, with deep feeling and deep beauty even when it’s deeply awkward. Talk to God like you’re a little child.

Sit in a circle with your closest friends and take turns talking out loud to God.

Pray the Mass like it’s the Last Supper–because it is. Listen to Jesus like it’s your last night with him.

Pray the Mass like it’s Calvary–because it is. Look at his body stretched out, lifeless for you on the Cross. Receive his body broken for you in the Eucharist. Ask for the grace to live a life that’s worthy of that love.

Pray the Mass like it’s the heavenly banquet–because it is. Look for what’s true and good and beautiful. Thank God for the gift of the liturgy.

Go to a church and sit in silence until you just can’t stand it any more. Then sit for another five minutes.

Listen to an Ignatian Meditation. (More here.)

“For everything that has been, thanks. To everything that will be, yes.” -Dag Hammarskjold

When you kneel before the priest in confession, be mindful of the fact that you’re kneeling at the foot of the Cross accusing yourself before the God who hangs dying to save you. Hate your sin but let him love you just the same.

Memorize a Bible verse first thing in the morning. Make it your theme for the day.

Every night, write down every sin you committed that day. Do it until you just can’t take the weight of all those sins, then go experience the sweet release of absolution. After your confession, burn the list.

Pray the Litany of Humility until you mean it. Ouch.

Read Psalm 136, which describes everything God has ever done as being done because of his love. Go through your life from the very beginning and list everything that’s happened to you. Follow each event–good or bad– with “for his love endures forever.” Let him show you how he used every single thing for your good.

Talk to a friend about your relationship with Jesus. Sometimes talking about God becomes talking to God.

Remember: “[God] will give us feelings of love [toward Him] if He pleases. We cannot create them for ourselves, and we must not demand them as a right. But the great thing to remember is that, though our feelings come and go, His love for us does not. It is not wearied by our sins, or our indifference; and, therefore, it is quite relentless in its determination that we shall be cured of those sins, at whatever cost to us, at whatever cost to Him.” -C.S. Lewis2

Read the day’s readings each day. Write down five things you learn.

Some time when you’re not tired, lie down in the sun and try to be still with the Lord. You may drift in and out of sleep but you may also surrender your mind and actually manage silence.

Pray over pictures of starving children. Ache for them as Christ aches for you.

Do something mindlessly physical while you pray–run or crochet or paint a wall. Engaging your body can make it easier to surrender your mind.

Make a list of everything you love about the Lord–who he is, what he’s done, how he loves you.

Pray for an image of your relationship with Christ–lovers, knight and squire, father and child, king and slave, comrades at arms–and learn through that.

When you can’t take it any more, drive to the middle of nowhere and let God have it. It’s not the nicest prayer, but it’s some of the most real.

Hit your knees first thing in the morning and thank God for everything that’s coming at you that day. Think through everything you’re expecting to deal with and thank him for the good, the bad and the ugly.

Offer each day–all prayers and sacrifices and blessings–for a specific person.

Do 15 minutes of spiritual reading. Spend 15 minutes talking to God about it.

If you speak another language, try praying in it. It’s harder to daydream in a foreign language.

Do lectio divina.

Rock out to some passionate praise music–“Lord I Need You,” “How He Loves,” “Amazed.”

Pray some intense hymns–“Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silent,” “It Is Well,” “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross,” “Come Thou Fount.”

Pray some intense poems–John Donne’s “Sonnet XIV,” Francis Thompson’s “Hound of Heaven,” Bl. John Henry Newman’s “The Pillar of the Cloud.”

Do a daily examen.

When you’re suffering, thank God for all he suffered for you. Ask him to use your pain for his glory and the salvation of souls.

“Lord Jesus Christ, son of the living God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” Over and over until you mean it.

Pray a scriptural rosary.

Treat the Mass like the sacrifice it is. The whole thing is about Jesus giving himself completely for you, so listen to the readings like a challenge to surrender. Then offer your joys to him when the priest offers the bread. Offer your sorrows when he offers the wine. Offer your whole self when Jesus gives himself to you in the Eucharist. Come out changed.

At the end of the day, talk to Jesus about everything that happened that day. Thank him, beg his forgiveness, ask for strength for tomorrow.

Go through the motions if it’s the best you can do. It’s better than nothing.

(source)