Prayer "Analysis" The Apostles Creed

Well, once again, I haven't posted since the ancient times of who knows when. But, also once again, i really hope to start posting more. And, also once again, that will probably only last a few days/weeks. LOL the never ending cycle of blogging…

Anyways, have you ever noticed yourself "going through the motions" when you pray? You'll say the words, but they all blend together and you really aren't paying attention. I admit, this is me. A lot. 

So, to help all of us poor distracted sinners refocus our minds, I thought it would be cool to do a "prayer analysis" where, each week (hopefully it'll last!) I'll go through a prayer, bit by bit, trying to explain what it really means, until I run out of Prayers that I know. 

So to start, let's Kick it off with the Apostles creed.

I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of Heaven and earth.

You are stating here that you firmly believe that God really does exist, you acknowledge Him to be God. He is our Father, and the sole creator of all. 

And in Jesus Christ His only Son, our Lord. Who was conceived of the Holy Spirit, Born of the Virgin Mary,

Here you are stating that you firmly believe that Jesus is God's only Son. You are also stating that He was conceived, not of a man, but by the Holy Spirit. And was born of the Virgin Mary. Therefore, Since He was "Born of the Virgin" that means Mary was still a Virgin. And she still is…

Suffered under Pontus Polite, was crucified, died and was buried.  He descended into hell.   

Here you state that you believe that Jesus was crucified, and Died. I think it is still uncertain what the scriptures mean by "Descended into hell" but I could be wrong.

The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into Heaven, and sits at the Right Hand of God the Father Almighty. 

Here you state you belief that Jesus truly did rise from the dead. He ascended up into Heaven, and Sits at God's right hand. 

I believe in the Holy Spirit, The Holy Catholic Church, the 

Communion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection  of the body, and life everlasting. Amen

Here you state that you believe in the third person of the trinity, The Holy Spirit. You believe that the Catholic Church is the right way to go. You believe in the communion of Saints. You believe that our sins can be forgiven. You believe in resurrection. You believe that we can abstain life everlasting, in Heaven. 

Well, there it is. It's not perfect, and still has a few parts that i couldn't really explain. But there it is, none the less. 

Mental Suffering

I have been thinking lately about the immense pain that Jesus went through during His passion. I've been thinking a bit about His mental suffering, which i think, sometimes can be over looked.

One of His own friends betrayed Him, turned Him in for money, and kissed Him to tell them which one to take. One of His friends denied Him three times. In fact, nearly everyone in the city turned against Him. They spat on Him. They mocked Him. They made their dislike of Him known, very well. They dressed Him up in a ragged purple cloak, put a reed in His hand and a crown of thorns on His head. "Hail King of the Jews!" They cried, while spitting on Him and beating Him. 

11 of the 12 left Him, except for John, His beloved. 

Everyone in the world, except for Mary, has of will probably commit at least one sin during their life, choosing their own will over His ultimately good and Holy will.

Even one of the guys who was crucified with Him was rude, ink

Me and selfish towards Him. 

And That's just some of the mental anguish. I didn't even mention the physical suffering! 

I sometimes feel that my mental suffering is worse than my physical suffering. I feel that the betrayal and denial of friends, the mocking, the hatred, the spitting, the humility and utter abandonment of nearly everyone you hold dear, would be enough to make a person, well frankly, I don't know. I might just curl up in a ball and die right there. But Jesus didn't.

I think that sometimes it's hard to connect our mental suffering with the suffering that Jesus endured. When we think of the Passion, we usually go right to the stour going at the pillar, the crowning with thorns, and most of all, the Crucifixion. We think of the whips, the kicks, the Bruises and blood. We think of the beatings, the falling, the piercing of thorns and the nails. Which, don't get me wrong here, is ultimate, incredible, horrible, tormenting, worst-pain-you-could-ever-imagine, anguish. 

But i think maybe we forget the hidden pain sometimes. The utter abandonment. The betrayal. The denial. The hissing, roaring, jeering crowd crying out "Crucify Him! Crucify Him!" 

The fact that they would rather release a murderer than the Son of God. The mocking. The humility. The spitting. The-worst-mental-pain-you-could-ever-imagine, anguish. I think His Sacred Heart had already been pierced, with creation's hatred, before the lance even touched it. 

Suffering that we hold inside can, in my opinion, make our physical suffering worse. 

Ultimate physical suffering + Ultimate mental suffering = t

t= I don't think it's possible to imagine that level of suffering.