Month: February 2022

You, my buddy, are an inspiration! Many people become stuck because they make some progress, feel satisfied, and then complacent, and then, well, things normally don’t go as planned. The Lord warns the lukewarm that they shall be spit out of his mouth in the book of Revelation (3:16). To begin, there is never a time when you are too old to begin, never a time when you are too old to fight, never a time when you are too old to love and be loved, never a time when you are too old to make spiritual progress, never a time when you are free of sin, imperfection, and blind spots, and thus never a time when you are too old for spiritual direction. In fact, because you are closer to the Lord than you have ever been (in terms of time), it is even more critical that you do your best to be ready to meet him face to face.

The spiritual direction might come out of the context of Friendship. There is a reason God has brought you together – but probably a different reason than what you might think. A few reasons why your friends can be your Spiritual

Directors:

Friendship leads itself to emotional ties by its very nature. How do you recognize when you’ve crossed the line from healthy interdependence to attachment? The best indicator is when emotions start to obstruct dialogue on a daily basis. Healthy relationships have an element of detachment that allows the director to perceive and diagnose without the emotional clouding that can occur in friendships (more about this in a minute).

Healthy friendships are, by definition, motivating. They concentrate on the positive aspects of each individual. This suggests that conflict isn’t a common occurrence. It doesn’t mean that it should be true, but it is almost always true. As a result, when friends enter spiritual direction relationships, the director is justified in judging (making judgments) and suggesting adjustments (providing direction), which triggers emotions in the directee and makes the connection seem less safe than previously. This is a challenging obstacle to overcome.

When a director is a friend, we are more likely to feel obligated to ensure that they have a favorable impression of us. As a result, when they make judgments, we feel scrutinized (in a negative way) and are inclined to start nitpicking over little inaccuracies. In this instance, the director is likely to be unimpressed. This emotion stems from a sense of pride and vanity, as well as a need for praise (sometimes from both sides of the relationship).

We don’t see blind spots or delusions because we don’t see them — we can’t see them on our own. This is frequently the case due to our familiarity with them. Have you recently examined your vehicle closely? Take a walk around it. Make a mental note of every scratch, ding, or imperfection. Why don’t you see those on a daily basis? This is due to the fact that things have become “normal” for you. The defects are present, but everyday exposure dulls our perception of them (unless, of course, we are obsessive about such things). Spiritual defects go away because we see them every day and consider them to be normal. Friendships might be affected in the same way. If we have flaws or attachments that do not irritate our friends, they will become invisible to them, and they will be unable to assist us in overcoming them. Worse yet, when they have the same flaw or fault as ourselves, we are encouraged to continue in our own sin and weakness. This is a regular occurrence when it comes to the sin of gossip. Because they are so close to us, or because they are so much like us, or because they habitually participate in the sin or dysfunction with us, our blind spots become theirs.

All of this is to say that spiritual friendships are extremely strong and significant. After taking a break for a bit, you and your friend will be able to revive a healthy spiritual connection. You can achieve this by joining them in a spiritual reading and discussion group.

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The resurrection of Jesus Christ on Easter Sunday is the holiest day of the year. However, we all eagerly wait for Christmas like nothing. It’s an exciting period from Thanksgiving until Christmas. Decorations, beloved dishes, and delicacies are exclusively used during this season. Family traditions are carried down, and we build our own additions to our history to some extent. Birthdays, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and wedding anniversaries are just a few of the significant days we commemorate throughout the year. No celebration, however, compares to the joy of our God becoming one of us at Christmas.

It’s critical to remember Jesus as the reason for the season, as well as to tune out the consumerism and excesses in the society around us. Unfortunately, we spent far too much of our adult life holding this thought in our heads but failing to take the necessary measures to integrate it into our hearts. It is in that space with God where we can all recover the innocent and exciting anticipation of a child awaiting her Savior.

According to St. Ignatius of Loyola, prayer should begin with a specific request for God’s favor, one that will strengthen your connection with Him. This request can be made during the whole Advent season (just as we do for Lent).

Then there are the ‘actionable’ pledges. “I’m going to be kinder to people”…”I’m not going to lose my temper”…”I’m going to spend less time on the Internet” are fantastic objectives that require actual actions that particularly include God in our efforts. Otherwise, we’re restricted to our own talents, which we all know are woefully inadequate! “I will spend 15 minutes in silent prayer each day letting God show me why I get angry/disinterested in others,” or “Outside of work-related Internet use, I will only spend 15 minutes on the Internet for my own interests after spending at least 15 minutes in silent prayer with God,” are examples of effective commitments. It’s crucial to set aside time each day for private dialogue with God, and even saints started with just 15 minutes. Begin each day by praying for God’s grace to keep your promise to Him, and then reflect on how it went. He’ll show you how to recognize His presence even in the tiniest of times, as well as how your own brokenness makes keeping these commitments difficult.

Christmas is a time for families to get together and ‘be family.’ Our damaged nature, on the other hand, might make these times together challenging. We are not alone in our anticipation of the Christ child; rather, we are accompanied by the Holy Family during Advent. Mary and Joseph serve as role models for us to follow. They also want to help us through the most challenging relationship situations. Perhaps the nicest present we can give to our extended family is to pray for each of them every day for the rest of Advent. Each is God’s gift to us, but we can’t perceive it because we’re human. Only through God’s love can we perceive the beauty in the souls He has placed in our lives.

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The laments of the earth, the tears of the human heart, and the cries of God all converge in the Lord’s Nativity. These common sighs and sorrows reveal silences shrouded in Divine Power, from which the Savior emerges.

God has never been apathetic to the misery of even the tiniest of his creatures, despite the fact that unaided reason is unaware of His presence. He is always working for them. That is why like a shepherd seeks for lost sheep in a desert or a parent seeks out his lost son, we find Him searching in the world’s silences and poverty throughout the Scriptures.

The Living God becomes embroiled in the plight of the forgotten, ignored, and rejected until he, too, is forgotten, neglected, and rejected. When his children call out to Him, no matter how lost they are, He is not repulsed. He joyously welcomes them home and accepts the consequences of their transgressions, enduring them with the wisdom that recognizes that evil has its bounds. Love is more powerful than hatred, and it outlasts anger and bitterness. Love restores what we have shattered.

In the short term, such a course leads to shame, and in the heat of the moment, it appears to be a definite defeat. God’s love, on the other hand, can never be vanquished. God chose the humiliated and lowly out of pure love, even to the point of his own humiliation and death. His love, on the other hand, is stronger than death, and the pandemonium of Hell has no power over this Light. As a result, He lifts those who are bowed down and prepares them for the long journey home. All of this and more is made possible by the modest “yes” of individuals who choose to serve Him. These are the souls that He invites into even deeper silences, expansive spaces that the world cannot comprehend, nights so dark that they alone can hold a light brighter than a day.

He encourages those who choose to trust Him to travel where no other creature has gone before. He extends this offer by surrendering his son to them. The invitation is one of faith, the decision to trust even when the option appears to be the most difficult. This is because God can only be welcomed via faith, and trust only gets strong when it is put to the test. The Word comes to those who will receive him in times of stress and adversity, and he sees his Father’s power in them, which thrills Him. He appears in the form of a baby, vulnerable. He comes as the Father’s pure gift for no other purpose than love, love, and love alone.

The Father has spoken his Word into the world’s quiet. The Word penetrated and resounded into humanity’s deepest quiet. That deepest stillness took the shape of “let it be done to me,” and it was not only a silence of the spirit but also a silence of the body, taking flesh in a loving womb because it was so perfectly kept in a humble heart. Sin is unaware of this quiet, but the Word transmits strength to fight sin via it. This same force, a metamorphosis in light and love, is waiting to be realized in our own lives

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