Ding ding ding!
I have recently begun using a hand bell in our home... This thing has been awesome to have, so I am going to refer to it as THE BELL.
...It's kind of fun...I'll admit it.
Why?
For one, I had figured it would be easier to assemble the family together (ok, well the kids...let me not give you the impression that I use this to summon my husband at my feet). Using this trusty little bell is WAY easier than scrambling throughout the house, repeating myself 50 times over. My voice is...annoying.
I've wanted to get one for a while actually, but I honestly didn't think I'd find one in aisle 8 at Shoprite or even in Walmart. A handbell, really? And I wasn't up for ordering one online or spending the extra money for something 'silly' like that. Eh, so I put the idea in the back of my mind...you're so lame Jess.
And then voila! I was in Goodwill browsing around for some brass candlesticks for our new prayer room when my eyes came across THE BELL.
I brought it home, buffed it up with baking soda and vinegar and it didn't look half bad. Not to mention it's nice and solid.
Bill had suggested a couple weeks ago we start praying the Angelus together each day at 12noon and 6pm, so we have been using it for exactly that. (I was also thinking of ringing this in Bill's ears for the 6am Angelus prayer together too but then I decided to be nice and let him enjoy his sleep). Wherever we are, when noon and 6pm comes, myself or Bill will ring THE BELL (or if one of the kids are around they will do it) and the family comes running together. Well, not Bill, he remains rather nonchalant about it but I do know that deep down inside he is bubbling with excitement like I am every time THE BELL rings. (I sound like a dog). The kids - oh the fun age they are at! - come running: "The Angelus!" and we'll pray together. We've been in the house - in which case we'll gather in our prayer room - or if we're outside, the kids are playing out back or we're out front by the street riding bikes, we'll just pray where we are at that time.
Gathering for the Angelus, not as picture perfect as you think. John-Paul is hiding under the chair after I took his rock away because he and Teresa were fighting over it as they came into the room before we prayed.
As I slowly add things back into our day to assume some kind of routine after adjusting to the arrival of Ronan, I've started using THE BELL for gathering the kids for our morning prayer. Having THE BELL is awesome because it's such a simple solution for a way to get the troops together. It also reminds me of how religious communities of nuns, hermits, priests, and brothers live - having scheduled times of common prayer throughout the day - all typically summoned by the ringing of THE BELL. Then, they come together in the name of our Lord to worship Him.
It's not always easy. For example, yesterday I was in a super frustrated moment with the boys when "ding, ding, ding!" there goes my phone alarm telling me it's 6pm. Time for the Angelus!
Not feeling it...
I think to myself: "Should I ignore it and not ring THE BELL? I'm just NOT in the mood right now.."
But it's good because it challenges me to rise up out of my anger/frustration/irritation/annoyance/disgust/impatience/exhaustion and set it behind me to let God take control. I was totally not feeling it last night; it was a sheer act of the will. But our emotions in reality need to be checked and moved by our will and reason, not the other way around...otherwise we will be like emotional rollercoasters, swayed by even the slightest breeze of discord and conflict.
Our prayer life will be inconsistent and inconstant if we wait only for those times we "feel" like praying. No, we make a decision - not a feeling - to follow God and we stick to it in each circumstance and situation and moment. We make a choice with our wills to put God above our petty selves. That's the commitment we must give to God and it must be governed by our will and our reason. In fact, our emotions must be subordinated to our reason and our wills. Emotions are not bad, but they must be governed because they are one of the lower faculties of our soul and are easily swayed and influenced by various objects. To grow in the spiritual life, we must hold them up against the light of sound reason and truth.
"Should I ignore the Angelus and withhold from my family the graces God would give us otherwise...all because 'I'm not in the mood.'?" ...."Or should I step out of myself and put God first, in my own life and in my family, right here and right now?"
That is the question we should all be asking ourselves.
...THE BELL. It's a lot of fun and I'm glad we acquired it into our family structure and routine!
A bell-ringer who takes her job seriously