I headed into the confessional recently feeling pretty discouraged.
"Same sins as last time," I was tempted to say, but I didn't. Instead, I tried to get to the roots of some recurring issues, one of which is always "carelessly and willfully giving too much time to entertainment and social media..."
My priest offered a new penance, one he's never recommended before. He handed me a copy of the following Prayer to St. Joseph:
I love the wording of this prayer so much, I've written the parts in bold on a Post-It note and stuck it on top of my computer screen.
I'm certain this quick glimpse of the prayer has actually stopped me from abusing social media a few times, and I'm thankful for even this tiny bit of progress.
O glorious St. Joseph, pray for us!
*Prayer taken from the Treasury of Prayer booklet; Lehighton, PA; Revised edition November, 2020.