Miley Cyrus
Miley Cyrus’ song Flowers is a song about revenge and self-love. The lyrics expose her raw emotions following the break-up of her marriage to her husband Liam Hemsworth. It quickly shot up to number one on the Billboard charts.
I had experienced five days of restless nights. After attending Mass Thursday morning I received the revelation as to why. We Catholics have many feast days; Thursday was the Presentation of our Lord. The providence of God with this special day comes two fold. On Wednesday our Bible study subject was from Luke Chapter 2, the Presentation of The Lord. Our Blessed Mother Mary had to go through the Old Testament rituals of purification. Thursday’s Mass reading was the same verse we studied! The second connection? For the past 33 days I have been preparing my spirit through prayer for the Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary. Thursday, the same day that Joseph and Mary presented Jesus in the Temple, was my actual day of Consecration to Jesus. The connection is divine because I had no idea that these two days would coincide with the completion of my prayers.
The Attack
Because I suffer greatly from environmental allergies, I asked Mike to purchase Flonase, an antihistamine to relieve my problem. I take an over-the-counter allergy pill on a regular basis, but due to all the rain and mold in the air, my body suffered with itchy eyes, and itchy face, neck and head. I felt like an abandoned street dog loaded with fleas. Right before going to bed I took a good dose of the Flonase in each nostril. I organized my four pillows as usual: the Euro sham I set on a chair; and the decorative pillow I use as support so that the bed does not eat my regular pillows. The last two pillows I form into an “T” shape; it’s a long ritual but it works. But this time, my heart started beating at an accelerated rate, and I kept readjusting the pillows, I was miserable!
The Spiritual Battle
After Jesus’ Baptism Satan attacked Him in the desert. This temptation occurred right before the beginning of His earthly ministry. Jesus fasted for 40 days; He was hungry. Satan knew how weak our Lord was, so he took the opportunity to tempt Him. (Matthew 4:1-11).
Satan attacks us when we are physically vulnerable. Our minds give into the pain, because we are too weak to pray. This is when we need others to intercede on our behalf.
The Clock
We have this beautiful, antique pendulum clock that needs rewinding. Our grandson Jacob decided that we should wind up the old girl and put her to use. At first the chiming was charming, a welcoming sound – but that shortly changed. Because of my restless nights, the clock turned into an evil reminder, taunting me that I was still awake. At twelve midnight it sounded 12 times and then once on the half-hour. Of course if I can’t sleep neither can Mike; all my tossing and turning wakes him up. “I can’t sleep!” I cried out. Mike tried to calm me down by telling me that I’m too busy, that I have too many things on my mind. I answered, “Maybe it’s that stupid Flonase, maybe I took too many sniffs!” Mike replied, “You know that stuff cost $50 at Costco.” I told him,”You need to return it, it’s making me crazy!” Poor Mike.
Flowers In My Head
I grab the special Rosary on my night stand and start to pray. Then the song Flowers by Miley Cyrus starts playing in my head! “I can buy myself flowers, write my name in the sand, talk to myself for hours,” etc! With all my mental might I tried to block out the lyrics with a Hail Mary, but to no avail. Over and over again this song tormented my mind and deprived me of much needed sleep. When I finally thought my mind was at ease, the stupid clock would scream loudly with it’s chiming!
The Sacrifice
The Consecration to Jesus through Mary is a daily set of prayers that I needed to set aside special time for. These are long prayers that some days required having to recite the Rosary. So after daily Mass I dedicated time to pray and I did this faithfully for 33 days. I can proudly announce that I followed all the proper prayers and was ready to consecrate, but then I read that I had to go to confession before the consecration.
My Confession
I praise God that Fr. Gregory was hearing confessions. After Mass I quickly got into line. I was so relieved that there were only two people ahead of me. On the 34th day it was time for the consecration.
The Attack Before The Blessing
Sometimes there are things that we go through that cannot be explained. I believe that the sleep deprivation occurred because I was preparing for the Consecration. It was a means to distract me from the daily prayers. Satan knows that he can’t stop the blessings, but he will do everything in his power to attempt to spoil it. I thank God that we serve a God Who gives us only as much as we can bear. After the Consecration my sleep pattern has returned to normal.
1 Corinthians 10:13 New American Bible (Revised Edition)
My Prayer
