I currently am in St Louis and spent the day at the Fulton Sheen: America’s Saint Conference hosted by the Fulton Sheen Movement.

Phenomenal day of coming to know more about the life and work of Venerable Fulton Sheen in the company of many fervent disciples of the Lord.

The biggest takeaway from the day was this quote from Fulton Sheen regarding how to pursue sanctity was this advice from Christ: “If you do my will, you will know my doctrine.”

And what prevents us from doing Christ’s will?

Apathy and lack of discipline.

Both of these obstacles need more of God’s grace than our own power to overcome them.

So how might we remedy this?

Again, Venerable Fulton Sheen gives us the answer. It is simple, but it will take away or apathy and increase our discipline.

It is a daily holy hour.

One unbroken 60 minutes with the Lord. Ideally this hour would be before the Eucharistic Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. If not possible, then spend the hour in quiet prayer and mediation before a crucifix or an image of Christ crucified

Why this recommendation?

First, it will train our eyes to see how God sees, especially to see our brothers and sisters as God sees them.

Second, it will teach us how to keep our eyes on Christ and not be distracted by anything or anyone.

Remember, Saint Peter did walk on water. He successfully walked on water as long as he kept his eyes on Christ. The minute he took his eyes off the Lord, he began to sink, and the same happens to us whether we realize it or not, so we need to allow God to train our eyes.

Second, a holy hour will train our ears by teaching us to stop talking and to listen.

We bring so much of the world with us into prayer that we need to have time to set all of it before the Lord, which is what He desires. But an hour also gives us enough time to be quiet and listen to what the Lord has to say to us.

Third, and most importantly, we should do a holy hour because the Lord asks for it.

Christ asked His disciples, “Could you not watch one hour with me?”

To watch an hour with the Lord is to help make reparation for all of the evil in the Church and the world. During our holy hour, we have the opportunity to intercede for the Church and the world. What a privileged place to be!

Tomorrow is the Beatification Mass of soon to be (officially) Blessed Fulton Sheen. If today is any indicator, then tomorrow will be overwhelming with many blessings and graces that will flow out into the larger Church. Even if you are unable to be physically present, you can ensure that those graces and blessings will overflow throughout the world by taking the recommendation of Venerable Fulton Sheen himself and committing to making a holy hour from this day forward.

I also wrote the daily reflection for WINE (Women of the New Evangelization) blog today. I invite you to check it out.

More tomorrow!

Venerable, soon to be Blessed, Fulton Sheen, pray for us!