One of the most challenging and rewarding experiences in my life is my vocation as a parent. I’ve been blessed beyond measure with two beautiful children and three bonus children, one of which was born twenty-eight years ago today.
Today is the day I receive my spiritual direction certification. After two intense years of study and growth, I now join the ranks of others who serve in this ministry to walk alongside others to seek and find the voice of God.
We are sent by God, the father of mercy, to distribute this treasure to those in need. The works of mercy are charitable actions by which we come to the aid of our neighbor in his spiritual and bodily necessities. Instructing, advising, consoling, and comforting are spiritual works of mercy, as are forgiving and bearing wrongs patiently. St. Thomas Aquinas defined mercy as “the compassion in our hearts for another person’s misery, a compassion which drives us to do what we can to help him.” Are you a missionary of mercy?
One day a while back I was struck by the notion of wanting to “learn love.” I’d hit a wall with my teenage daughter who was struggling with her mental health and the love I was giving her wasn’t enough. The pain of this situation drew me towards my own transformation. And what a gift it was.
Yesterday I went for some diagnostic testing that my previous mammogram triggered. When I first got the news, I was petrified and went to the worst-case scenario, but as scheduling would have it, I had to sit in waiting for a month to go back in.
In faith, we sow all sorts of seeds, and yet often the ones that grow abundant in fruit surprise us. We plant all sorts of seeds: our work towards justice, taking care of others, both in prayer and relationship. We offer them all to God. We trust that what grows is God speaking in our world, through us.
A seed can exist for a long time but unless it falls into the soil and cracks open, nothing further comes of it. Their life is inside, but it’s a life that grows by being given away and mixing with the soil around it. Paradoxically, when you look at a great tree, you simultaneously see none of the original seed and nothing but the original seed, now flourishing.
Do you do the things you love to do? Do you have a list at the ready of those soulful activities that bring you joy? You know the ones where you’re lost in the moment and it’s pure magic.
To mature spiritually, we need to grow in wholeness which is body, mind, and spirit, living an integrated life. This way of living is hard, not for the faint of heart and what’s meant by the “narrow gate.” By living our best life, we worship God to the fullest, giving praise and all glory to our Creator.