Christian Spiritual Counseling

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The Fortitude of St. John The Baptist and Do You Want To Take Christian Counseling Courses

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

Christian Counselors Can Use St. John The Baptist As A Paradigm of Fortitude

So many lose hope in Christ when their prayers are not answered the way they wish them to be answered.  Christian Counselors face this everyday.  The unrelenting questions of why did God not do this or do that.
Christians tend to relate to prayer as a contract.  If I say this or do that, then God must answer this or that.  As if a magical spell, they expect.  And when that expectation fails, they either blame their own faith or curse the heavens.   Some even doubt their faith.  Such misunderstandings of Christianity lead to many lost souls.
One paradigm to emulate is St. John the Baptist.  If any a man was close to Christ, it was this man who was not only a brother of Christ in faith but also physically a cousin by blood.  St. John lived his life for God, offered everything and became the forerunner of the Messiah.  He even baptized Jesus!
With such a lofty resume, St. John was still imprisoned.  St. John was still beheaded.  Yet, St. John, if anyone, would have a legitimate gripe with God, but he did not.  He did not demand that his cousin and God made man, Jesus, save him.  He did not curse God that the gates of Herod did not magically open for him at night.  Instead, he accepted his cross.  St. John accepted the will of the Father and submitted his will to him.  Do not think for a moment, St. John did not fear death, or wished for rescue, but in his faith, his prayer joined with the will of the Father.  This is a fortitude that we must emulate in our own pilgrim voyage on Earth.  We cannot expect deliverance from everything, but what we can expect is God’s grace to carry us through it.
Even Christ, who desired to save St. John, could not for it was not the will of the Father.  This same fortitude manifested in Christ when he submitted himself like a lamb to the slaughterers.  In our sicknesses, crosses and pains we experience in life, we must learn if not now, soon, that prayer is not always about deliverance but for the most part acceptance of the situation–and when, if it does, when the Lord does spare us, let us give him praise, but no more praise than if he did not.
If you are interested in a Christian Counseling Certification, please review the program.  If you would like to take Christian Counseling courses, then please review the program.

Mark Moran, MA

The Burning Bush or Best Friend? and Do You Want to Become a Christian Counselor?

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

Christian Counselors Can Help People Find A Balanced Relationship With God

In the Old Testament, Moses approached the Burning Bush and was greeted with the awe inspiring words, “I Am Who Am”.  These words portrayed a being that is eternal and is the source of all.  Moses, immediately removed his sandals and fell before God.  The mere presence turned his coal black hair to ghost white.
In the New Testament, Christ washes the feet of the apostles so that they may be clean.  He allows himself to be their friend and a suffering servant on the cross.  The apostles worship him but also hug him and share life with him.
So what is the proper relationship with the Trinity?  Is it one that sees One God and Three Persons as an Omniscient, Omnipotent, Eternal and Ever Present Deity that created all and keeps everything in existence or is it a relationship of conversation with a man named Jesus who shares our trials and sufferings?
Should we bow in adoration or hug and hold in friendship?  Should we tremble in fear, or rejoice in love?  Are we a mere creation or a good friend with God?
The answer is both.  It is not a matter of focusing on one extreme over the other because in reality there is no extreme.  The only error would be eliminating one for the other.  If our relationship with God is a relationship where we cannot look him in the eye EVER or come to him as a child or friend EVER then we are missing the point.  Sometimes, God deserves complete and humble adoration–especially during ceremonies or adoration.  Other times, it is good to come to him as a scared child or good friend for counsel and love.

If our relationship only encompasses one aspect of this relationship, then we are improperly worshiping God.  We insult him by our lack of fear if we only see him as a good “buddy” but we also strip him of his love if we only see him as a “Zeus” type figure on Olympus.
We need to have a multi-dimensional relationship with God that respects his title as “Creator of the Universe” as well as understanding his loving and compassionate heart.  In this, we can focus in our meditations upon various aspects or relationships we have with God.  The first step is to focus on the Trinity.  We can worship the fullness of God and at the same time for different occasions focus on different Persons of the Blessed Trinity.  Furthermore, within the sacred mystery of the Logos, we can also worship the God-Man Jesus Christ–whether focus at one time is on His Human Heart or Divine Love.
Even so within the Divine Persons, we can find a little of both.  If we look at the First Person, we see the Creator but within that we also see Fathership.  In the story of the Prodigal Son, does not the Father run to the son who returns?  This was totally unknown to Jewish custom and beneath a Father to run to his repentant son!
In the case of the Logos, we see Jesus Christ as a suffering servant and best friend of humanity but he also refers to Himself as “I Am Who Am” and we also have images of Christ as a fierce judge or Pantocrator who will separate the wicked from the just.
These images show us that we must have a creator/creation relationship that gives God his just due adoration but we also must possess a parent/child or friend/friend relationship as well.  The only issue is when to utilize what relationship when or where.
In many cases, it it the Holy Spirit Who will inspire you to determine what relationship is appropriate at what given time.  Some are more obvious but some are determined by the gentle whisper of the Third Person Who will always gently guide us to Him and the Father and Son who is ultimately one God, undivided and perfect.

Allow us to praise God for the wonderful mystery of the Trinity and the many aspects and relationships it affords us!
If you are interested in Christian Counseling Courses, please review the program.  For those who want to become a Christian Counselor, these courses can help lead qualified professionals to certification.

Mark Moran, MA

Christian Counseling Training Program: Do You Believe in Ghosts?

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

Should Christian Counselors Give Credence to Ghost Stories?

As Christian Counselors, it is the duty to not only help people mentally but also spiritually.  With this in mind, what if a client speaks of ghost stories or things that go bump in the night?
In answer to the heading, as Christians, we all believe in ghosts or spirits.  We should also take credence in most ghost stories.  Of course subjective elements of the person’s mental health should guide us in whether or not it is a legitimate story or not.
Since Christianity accepts the reality of a spiritual world and the tearing of the soul from the body due to death, one must accept ghosts and their interaction with the physical world as a metaphysical reality.  Our faith dictates it.  All to many times, we separate ghosts from the soul when in reality the soul is basically a ghost!
The biggest metaphysical question is where does the soul go after death.  Christianity universally proclaims the soul goes to Heaven or Hell, but many within Christianity also believe in a temporary middle ground.  Some would call this Purgatory.  While primarily a Catholic doctrine and rejected by most Protestants, the idea of Purgatory as a state of further purification before entry into Heaven could explain the existence of ghosts who serve their time on Earth?
Other explanations include attachments or unfinished business of the soul, while other explanations are the souls of the damned who haunt the living as they suffer their separation from God in a permanent state of Hell.
With so many ghost stories, I am sure some are legend, but also since it is such a universal human experience, I would be less than inclined to deny it as science attempts to do.  The reality is, we are all ghosts, just some of us still have our bodies!
If you are interested a Christian Counseling Certification, then please review the program.  The Christian Counseling Training Program consists of core courses that the qualified professional must complete to become certified in the Christian Counseling Training Program.
Happy Halloween!

Mark Moran, MA

Christian Counseling Training: People to Die Unto Themselves

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

Christian Counseling Training: What is Dying Unto Oneself?

While the martyrs sacrificed their entire being to Christ through death, their initial death was interior.  The martyrdom was merely the fruits of their inner spiritual submission.  Christian Counseling can help many discover their own spiritual martyrdom through death for Christ via submission.
Many will never encounter the executioner’s blade, but many of us will encounter our own sins and lifestyles which can be as deadly as any weapon.  The saints and mystics all encountered themselves and overcame themselves, allowing their version of self to die and become martyred to the life of Christ.  The grace of the Holy Spirit overcame them and they became like Christ.  Through the entire submission of will, they became like the martyrs in all but physical and violent death.
Christian Counselors can help their spiritual children die and be reborn in Christ.  Obviously the sacraments and personal commitment to Christ make us all “reborn” but a true death of self involves more than sacramental grace and courageous proclamations.
A true death of self is putting one’s will, one’s desires, one’s sinful pleasures, one’s ideas and one’s joys second to Christ.  Christ’s will matters most.  The soul that has died for Christ has put on Christ and no longer lives for itself but only Christ.  This involves so much more than merely attending Church or proclaiming a Christian doctrine, but involves submission of the will.  This submission is far from general but a submission to everything that Christ wills.
Many feel these types of submissions are vocational on a macro level.  While this is part of it, it is far from all of it.  True submission and death for Christ involves the micro level as well.  This is where most of us fail and the saints succeed.  Complete submission involves doing things we do not want to do–that may even be entirely non-religiously related.  It involves biting one’s tongue when it is easier to speak gossip, it involves fighting a personal temptation that haunts us on a daily basis, it involves cleaning those dirty dishes you did not soil, it involves going to one’s mundane job because if you do not, the family will starve.
The sacrifice and submission puts our own ego away and accepts the crosses and martyrdom Christ has chosen for us.  How can one dare to proclaim a grand martyrdom when one cannot simply kneel for that extra second, or fast on that particular day?  It is the little things that matter because they are the things we do not choose.  Many choose to go to Church, or give to a charity, or help a friend in need, but it is when we do not choose, that we truly die for Christ.  These sacrifices may not be glamorous as great penances or huge religious rallies for whatever cause, but they are the one’s that are the hardest to submit to.
So unlike Peter, who promised to die for Christ, but could not even avow for him that same evening, let us submit and die for Christ in the smallest things–the things we do not choose.  Then we will truly embark on spiritual martyrdom.
(And of course, Peter later did die for the faith–and very heroically!)
If you are interested in Christian Counseling Courses, please review the program. Our Christian Counseling Training consists of core courses that the qualified professional must take to become certified in Christian Counseling Training.

Mark Moran, MA

Christian Counseling Certification: What is Halloween?

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

Christian Counseling Certification: Trick or Treat or Good and Evil

How do Christian Counselors address Halloween?  Halloween has it origins from the ancient Druids who would seek sacrifice of children for their pagan deities.    This dated back to the Samhein.  This was the last harvest of the Fall and was also associated with the coming of Winter.  The dead were considered to have more power on this day and variety of sacrifices were offered for protection–some of which were human.
Later the feast would represent All Hallows Eve, or the eve before all Saints Day.  Still the day in accordance with its pagan history and its influence in the occult is far from saintly.  While secular society has commercialized it into a day of fun and tricks with parties, trick or treating and costumes, many neo pagans maintain its sacredness.
Christians contend it is a day of evil where pagan deities are once again revered and the power of Satan is at its highest.  The neo-pagan connection with the dead is highest this day as various pagan celebrations commerate the last harvest and the memory of the dead.
While many neo-pagans may deny any satanic activity, Christians contend the evil nature of the feast and practice pious traditions of prayer and protection.  In such ways, even the ancients prayed for protection with the carving of Jack-O-Laterns.  While Christians instead seek the protection of Christ, one can still see the fear and dread people have of evil spirits on this day!
Christian Counselors should not entirely deny people the festivity of Halloween.  Instead, they should emphasize how the eve gives way to the dawn of All Saints Day and of Christ’s ultimate victory over evil.  Furthermore, one should not avoid the secular festivities of the day but enjoy the fun of costumes and the chance to play tricks and scare one another.  If one wishes, wear a costume that reflects goodness instead of evil.
Yet underneath the festivities,  Christians should still say at least a small prayer and remember the evil roots of this obscure holiday.
If you are interested in a Christian Counseling Certification, please review the program.  Our Christian Counseling Certification program covers core courses that the qualified professional must pass to become certified.

Mark Moran, MA

I Believe, Therefore I Understand

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

Christian Counselors As Guides Towards Faith

For centuries the debate of faith versus reason has gone back and forth.  Aquinas and Augustine championed the Christian metaphysical views. Later they were challenged by the Empiricists and Logical Positivists who denied the existence of anything that cannot be physically verified.  In return, various Christian apologetics responded that one cannot study metaphysics as a physical science for it transcends science and the tools of science cannot comprehend or measure it.  The purpose of today’s blog is not to be a course study in apologetics, but instead is intended for Christians who already believe, or may sometimes feel doubt in their faith.  Hence today’s blog is more pastoral.  Christian Counselors will find many spiritual children who may doubt their faith but not have surrendered it.  Today we present some thoughts regarding counseling the doubtful.

First and foremost, any doubt against faith is from Satan who wishes to uproot our faith in Christ.  While it is always good to question in order to become stronger, it is never good to doubt what you question when it comes to the faith of Christ.  St. Augustine stated that he “believes so therefore he can understand”.
How can one dare to understand the deepest mysteries of the Trinity, our origins and the many other mysteries that are our faith?  Only extreme hubris would attempt to understand the infinite mysteries of faith.  Instead we must accept faith and then hope to understand.  God will not grant sacred illumination to the proud or the intellectuals who hope from a finite perspective to divulge the infinite.  Wisdom is given to those who humbly accept not the pompus and obnoxious minds of our generation.

So, as a child, one must accept what God has revealed.  This is a supernatural gift, the gift of faith.  It is a virtue that is instilled into our souls at Baptism and it grows as we grow in our love of God.  While intellectuals may scoff at such childlike dependency and present scientific findings that seem to contradict faith, one who is guided by God finds no doubt.  While the empiricists search the lower essence of man for answers, the gift of faith enables even children to search the higher levels of man’s essence for answers.
Is this to discredit science? Is this to discredit reason?  Absolutely not!  Reason is quite useful in understanding why we believe.  However, reason and the intellect can only go so far.  The will then must assent to the grace of the Holy Spirit to bridge the gap between finite and infinite.  Science, as a profane study, can never reach the lofty heights of theology as a science because it cannot operate in the metaphysical realm.  It lacks the spiritual lens and is incapable of working with the grace of God.  Its study belongs to the observable but this study is not in contradiction to faith.  It leads to faith.  Only those who hope to destroy faith, utilize science as a tool to undermine it.  For if God is author of both faith and science, then both are truth but at different levels.
So, we again attest, faith before reason because faith and metaphysics is the highest science.  Through faith, God allows us to understand.  Is not one of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit understanding?  Only after the infusion of the theological virtue of faith, can the gifts of the Holy Spirit manifest.  It is thus through Baptism that we become equipped with the necessary tools to believe.
While some psychologists may attempt to classify faith as a pathological state, in which some cases it can be, one cannot undermine true faith.  True faith does not harm the other faculties of the soul.  The intellect still responds rationally and the mind is at peace.  There are cases where “faith” seems to uproot the rationale mind.  These cases are not true faith for they cause division within the mind of man and cause pathological disorder.
So when doubt occurs, the Christian must embrace this powerful gift.  The virtue of faith is fed by the Holy Spirit and any Christian who faces doubt must submit his will to God.  This trial can at times be difficult.  It may be presented by a seeming paradox between science and faith or a mystery that one cannot completely comprehend.  In these cases, allow the power of faith to heal the doubt and produce peace.  These things are not meant for us to understand or comprehend.  Christian Counselors do not need to present a solid  presentation every time one feels a loss of hope, but instead they need to direct that person to prayer and allow the Holy Spirit to bring calm and then understanding.
The understanding may not even be of the particular mystery but an understanding that one is not meant to comprehend this mystery at that time.  This prayer can also soothe the soul in reinforcing God’s presence.  The sense of God’s presence can soothe the childlike mind.  When a parent holds a child who is traumatized, the child’s peace and security is not because he understands the situation but only the warmth and presence of the parent.  Faith works this way and removes the fear and gives peace.
As one assents to the powers of faith and allows its particular spiritual fragrance to subdue the soul, one will gradually grow deeper and deeper into spirituality and the mystical realm.  One’s spiritual eyes will open and God’s revelation and words will grow.  Ultimately, a peace will overtake the soul as a result of God’s presence.

We must have faith that what is unseen will one day be seen.  In the meantime, God has given us supernatural gifts that alleviate the finite mind’s worry.  Ultimately, let us be rewarded for our faith when Christ’s promise is fulfilled:  “Blessed are those who have not seen, yet still believe”
If you are interested in taking Christian Counseling Courses, please review the program.

Mark Moran, MA

Certified Christian Counseling: Do We See Christ In Everyone?

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

Certified Christian Counseling:  For The Least Of My Brethren?

Christian Counseling needs to restate the divine mandate from Christ that echoes in our minds whenever we see someone in trouble that when “you do it for the least of your brethren, you do it for me”.
Christ used numerous references emphasizing the acts of mercy throughout Scripture.  Most notably, the parable of the Good Samaritan illustrates how someone should go beyond the norm to help one’s brother who is in trouble, danger or need.
From a modern perspective, nothing has changed.  We are still commanded to care for others and help those in need.  While I would not suggest endangering one’s life by picking up a hitchhiker or endangering your family’s needs by giving all your funds away, I do suggest a closer look at what matters most.   Yes, we are commanded to give to the Church that ten percent and our spiritual talents, but do we just give the minimum?  What do we owe a God who not only created us, but died for us?  We owe him much more than the mere minimum.
In understanding this, we need to examine what else we can do for the Church and the least of our brethren.  God is far from asking that we forfeit our entire inheritance, but he is asking that we examine our choices and what we do very closely.   How materialistic are we when we spend unneeded amounts of money on clothing when there is a homeless shelter down the road with individuals who would gladly wear our scraps?  Do we help clothe the naked in that regard?
What about when we waste our food?  Do we think of feeding the hungry?  Or do our over excessive desires lead us to over priced dinning experiences while the starving man down the road raids the restaurant dumpster?
We are called to a much higher standard and unfortunately materialism leads us to excess and blinds us of spiritual treasures.  It also blinds us to the one’s we do not see that are suffering everyday.  Why not sacrifice one week of a fine dinning experience and instead donate or give food to a shelter with that “extra” money?
Finally, I feel we sometimes only regard treating the least of brethren as another Christ to only a homeless man shivering in the snow or a starving child in a third world nation.  How do we treat other people we interact with each day?  Do we treat other people with respect as we would treat Christ?  Are we polite, genuinely caring and open to their concerns and worries?  Do we yell and scream at a person, if while driving, he or she cuts us off?  Do we maliciously mock someone and downgrade others for sport?  Do we not offer our time and help to those who need a simple favor?
If we deny these people who have small needs throughout the day, then we are failing Christ’s command.  Simply by  bringing someone a coffee at work, or offering someone that extra buck for lunch fulfills this divine command!
If you are interested in Christian Counseling Courses, please review the program. If you are interested in doing certified Christian Counseling, then please review the program.

Mark Moran, MA

Guilt: A Natural Reaction to Sin

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

Christian Counseling Must Utilize The True End of Guilt Which Is Contrition

The sting of guilt can drive one to many roads.  Christian Counselors want to ensure that guilt drives one to remorse in a healthy spiritual way.   Too many times,  guilt can drive one to the extremes of depression or suicide.  One merely needs to remember the sin of Judas and how guilt instead of bringing him back to Christ, misled him to despair.  Christian Counseling must always be alert adverse reactions to guilt.
Guilt is a good thing, at least initially.  Guilt is a natural reaction within a certain and well formed conscience.  Unlike doubtful or even ill formed consciences which guide the sinner away from guilt, a healthy conscience understands the nature of an evil action.  This type of conscience will constantly whisper into the inner soul of the sinner, reminding him of his offense.  Unable to escape the all present voice of truth, the sinner eventually faces his guilt with remorse and contrition.  This of course is the healthy and intended way by Our Lord to handle sin.  Guilt leads to contrition.
However, as noted above, sometimes guilt can lead to suicide or despair.  This is not the intention of guilt but a distortion of it by Satan.  The prince of lies will utilize a mechanism that is meant to bring one closer to God and sabotage  it.  The sinner then instead of seeking repentance will find despair or grow so weary from the constant guilt, that he will run away and flee this emotion.  The sinner will then find solace in false doctrines of indifferentism or attempt to justify one’s sin.
The inner conflict of guilt will drive some to conclude that such “actions” are incompatible with modern society or that such actions are not really that sinful.  Such false reactions to guilt will in turn damage the well serving conscience.  As time continues, the conscience itself will become distorted as the habitual sinful act continues.  No longer will the conscience diligently guard the soul from vice but will become lax.  Too many times we see modern psychology consider such inner conflict to be pathological–the moral conscience torn between an immoral act.  This is merely the battle that wages within the soul to conform to Christ, or the world!
Christian Counselors must also guard against the reaction of despair or the sin of Judas.  Some will not fall into the trap of indifferentism or escapism but Satan will guide them down the path of despair or unworthiness.  The person will become so tormented by the act committed that he or she will attempt to run from God in shame.  While not everyone will commit suicide, many will feel unworthy to pray or face God.  As one hides from the grace of God, they become spiritually lax.  Think how ironic it truly is that a soul that is sick to avoid its medication?  Instead of finding a cure, the soul instead becomes even more gravely ill and eventually could face spiritual death.
Hence, Christian Counseling must foster the use of guilt to help others find true remorse and contrition and to help the penitent avoid the traps of the devil who will misuse guilt to gain souls for himself.
If you would like to learn how to become certified in Christian Counseling, then please review the program.  The process in learning how to become certified in Christian Counseling is a simple one that involves taking the core courses before certification.

Mark Moran, MA

God Finds Friends In Low Places and Become a Christian Mentor

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

The Lord Makes Christian Counselors Worthy

Recently I saw a very interesting post about the type of God people chooses for his ministry.  Upon further review, I was amazed at the people on the list and their “baggage”.  Among the many on the list was Paul-a murderer, David-an adulterer, Peter-a denier, Noah- a drunk, Moses-a stutterer and a host of other castaways.  I would have also included Mary Magdelene-a prostitute and of course St. Augustine-a sinful party boy!  As Christian Counselors, what is our past?
It gave me some inner hope and strength in regards to myself when I realized who Christ calls.  I would like to think I am not as bad as any of these individuals but I can contend with certainty I will never be as great either!
Yet the theme is consistent throughout the Church-God does not call the worthy, he makes them worthy!  Through inner conversion, the Holy Spirit makes clean what God chooses to use for the sake of his Church.
It is also interesting to note how Christ had much disdain for the Pharisees who proclaimed a holiness that was absorbed with hubris.  Christ did not choose the most intelligent or highly regarded men and women of his time to follow him, but the lowly–among poor fishermen!  Perhaps Christ saw the goodness and remorse in many of these sinners’ hearts.  Most importantly he saw their humility and acceptance that they were far from great or powerful.  In this regard, Christ understood that they knew more truth than any powerful man because humility reflects the reality that we are nothing.  Only through Christ do we become anything in this world.
And what a make over God can do.  Saul become Paul and the 13th apostle to the Church. David became king, a pslamist and repentant of his affair, Peter became pope and later died for Christ on an upside down cross, Noah built an Ark and became patriarch to the remaining human race,  Moses became a powerful figure in the liberation of the Hebrews, Mary Magdeline stood with him at the  foot of the cross and St. Augustine became a Doctor and Father of the Church.  The Lord does certainly work great miracles and many of these miracles are in the people he made clean to do his will.
With that, repent, but allow the grace of God to transform your ministry into what he wills it to be.  Become a vessel to his will and his ministry and only then will your ministry bear fruit
If you are interested in Christian Counseling Courses, please review the program.  If you want to become a Christian Mentor to other, our Christian Counseling Courses and Program can help you achieve certification.

Christian Counseling Program: Tips to Find Sanctity on the Little Things

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

Christian Counseling Program: Christian Counseling and the Little Things

Great men become great because of even greater trials.  Yet, for most of us, great trials or moments that define history rarely occur.  Tales of martyrdom rarely accompany our death.  Instead we are called to live a life of Christian excellence.  Christian Counselors can guide many people to extraordinary lives of sanctity simply through the “little things”.  If you would like to help guide others, consider our Christian Counseling Program

The idea of sainthood or a virtuous Christian life was not considered during the age of persecution in the early Church.  Most saints were people who heroically died a martyr’s death.  This is not to say they did not excel in virtue but the primary focus of the early Church and sainthood usually included a martyr’s end.  After the legalization of Christianity, saint like individuals ceased to be killed but died naturally.  This led the Church to a new examination of people’s lives that exceeded merely martyrdom but also spirituality.
Many great saints sought the honor of martyrdom.  St. Teresa of Avila as a young child ran away from home to face the Moors in Spain, but was properly reprimanded for such a rash decision.  Instead her life was to be a spiritual one that excelled in pious virtue.  This is the type of life that God calls to many Christians.  This is the life that God wills for many of us.  He does not call or expect all to become famous figures in the Christian circle or suffer a heroic death but to simply testify and live according to his laws.  Those who conform their will to God’s will and live according to his precepts live a sanctified life simply by fulfilling one’s daily duty.  One’s daily duty may be as simple as cleaning one’s house, earning a wage for one’s family or helping others in need.  When one fulfills their daily duty and conforms one’s will to God, then their life becomes as extraordinary as the saints.  In fact, that is how one becomes a saint!  One can only wonder until they reach heaven, how many great saints exist that were never known but were kept beautiful secrets from the public eye.  These unknown saints are spiritual treasures to the Church that intercede for us on earth everyday.  These unknown saints understood the beauty of offering their will to God in the most smallest of tasks as each day unveiled itself.

So What Can You Do?

St. Teresa the Little Flower, not to be confused with St. Teresa of Avila, conformed her will to the Lord in every smallest action.  Her simple life rejoiced in the Lord in the smallest things, from sweeping the floor of the convent to facing her fear of spiders.  Every single thing she did, she offered it to the Lord.  Through this simple life, she would later be revered as one of the Church’s most known daughters and elevated to sainthood.  So what can you do?  You can start by emulating St. Teresa.  One can make everyday chores a prayer to God.  One can bite their tongue in humility when something angers oneself or offer up a fear or pain to God when it would be easier to complain.
I often joke that if St. Teresa had a computer or had to drive in traffic, she would not be a saint, but the reality is the frustrations of computer trouble or the annoying driver ahead are all excellent opportunities to perfect Christian virtue.  I am far from being the one to preach this but I hope to illuminate myself and you as well in these little things!  Yet the point is simple:  Work with what you have and offer it to God on a daily basis.  One day at a time, take the little things the Lord gives to you and turn them into prayers and opportunities to please God.
While it is hard to bless instead of to curse, or to clean something with a smile instead of a frown, or to be patient instead of in a hurry, we can all accomplish these goals with the grace of God.  The trick is being open to that grace and aware of the opportunities that God gives to us.  So while martyrdom may not be in our future, we can become a martyr for Christ by offering our will to him and becoming sanctified by the little things he gives us everyday
If you are interested in the Christian Counseling Program, please review it.  The Christian Counseling Program is open to qualified professionals.  Qualified professionals must complete the Christian Counseling courses that make up the core element of the program.  After completing the courses, one can become certified in the Christian Counseling Program.

Mark Moran, MA