Spiritual Development

As we close the final chapter of our book on The Friendship Project, we focus our intention on developing prayerfulness; a prayer routine, by purposely praying either alone or with a friend. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, states that “prayer is having a personal relationship with the living and true God,” (2558-2559). For a relationship to be sustainable, we need to communicate regularly and spend time with our friends; that same mindset is true in our relationship with Jesus. In order to be in relationship with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, we need to develop the virtue of prayerfulness in our daily lives.  

There are many ways we can incorporate a prayer routine in our daily lives. There are apps that we can download on our smartphones. A few apps that I have used are: The God Minute, which I listen to every morning, as I get ready for the day. I love this app because in 10 minutes, it gives you a scripture verse for the day, followed by a reflection that allows you to ponder and put into practice. Another app which I have found useful and contains a wealth of information is Laudate. Upon opening the Laudate app, you will find, not only the daily readings, the saint of the day, Order of the Mass, but also reflections, rosary, Chaplet of Divine Mercy, Liturgy of the Hours and much more! Then there are the Hallow app, Give Us This Day, and Word Among Us, which are all subscription based.

Our book teaches us to develop the virtue of prayerfulness in our daily lives because it “calls us to interact with God our Creator on a personal and intimate level.” (p.115) It is through our prayers to God, that we take time to slow down, develop spiritual friendships with others, and together walk the path toward holiness. Through these spiritual friendships in prayer, we embark on an epic journey towards Heaven.  On the other hand, without prayer, we can lose our way, fall into temptation, experience spiritual dryness, question our faith and drift away from our Lord.

So, as we celebrate the month of May with our Blessed Mother Mary and with our own mothers, either here on earth or in Heaven, let us deepen our level of prayerfulness by praying for our mothers by calling upon:

Heavenly Father, we thank you for the gift of all mothers for their nurturing love, gentle strength, and quiet sacrifices. Bless all mothers. Mary Mother of God, comfort those who are grieving or struggling, and let them know that they are cherished, valued and loved. We ask this through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

As we approach the final two chapters in our Friendship Project book, this month we will focus on the virtue of Generosity.  As our book so nicely defines, “Generosity is giving of oneself in a willing and cheerful manner for the good of others.” (p.97).

Generosity is deeply infused in our Catholic faith, rooted in Scripture through the teachings of Jesus, and practiced through our Catholic traditions and rituals.

In scripture the most famous quote is found in John 3:16 which expresses God’s immense love and generosity, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but have eternal life.”  This verse not only highlights the ultimate act of generosity of God giving us his only Son, but it also serves as a model of Christian generosity, encouraging us to give selflessly, just as God has given to us, through His Son Jesus Christ.

As we continue with our Lenten journey, which is a time of repentance, reflection and renewal, mirroring Jesus’ 40 days in the desert, we are reminded of the three pillars of Lent:  prayer, fasting and almsgiving.  Almsgiving is, in itself, an act of generosity.  It is giving of one’s self; your time, your talent, and your treasure.  It is through this giving of one self that we are sharing the talents and resources that God has given each of us in service to others.  We are in essence practicing two important aspects of Catholic Social Teaching: Preferential Option of the Poor and the principles of Solidarity and the Common Good, which encourages us to be generous with our resources; our time, our talents and our treasures.

Even though we live in a world that fueled by selfishness; a “what’s in it for me attitude,” we are called as Catholics to be generous, just as God is generous.  He created us; He loves us and gave us his only Son who died for us, which was the ultimate gift of generosity.

So, fill your hearts with generosity; being generous expands your hearts, refreshes your souls, and helps us to love more.  Fill your hearts with Joy.  The Joy you share with others will come back to you a hundredfold!!

Have a Blessed and Joyful Easter!  

As we continue to highlight a different virtue each month from our Friendship Project book club selection, we are reminded of a virtue that we sometimes overlook and neglect to practice;  that virtue is Gratitude. As stated so perfectly in our book, “Gratitude is one of the most beautiful virtues we can acquire. It makes our souls glow and helps us to develop a generous spirit”(p. 70).

This virtue is important to me and especially during February because we honor Our Lady of Lourdes on February 11th. I personally visited the shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes this past October when I embarked on a pilgrimage with Bishop Marc Trudeau and 38 other pilgrims, as we visited the shrines of our Lady of Fatima,the Cathedral of St. James at the end of the Camino de Santiago, and of course, the Sanctuary, Grotto, and Upper Basilica in Lourdes, France. Since 1858, millions have come to this Frenchtown, located in the Pyrennes mountains, as pilgrims of Hope, in search of healing of body, mind or spirit. It was at Lourdes that Our Lady appeared to Bernadette, a French peasant teen, beginning on February 11th for 18 consecutive apparitions until July 16, 1858.

I, too, was in search of physical healing since I was diagnosed with follicular lymphoma beginning in 2019 until 2024, and had undergone four cancer treatments and one round of radiation treatment prior to my trip to Lourdes. I was sick before this trip, sick during the trip, and three weeks upon my return. All during the pilgrimage, I prayed for healing, I prayed to our Lady of Fatima; I prayed in every church, cathedral and basilica we visited, and finally at Lourdes. I prayed that the healing waters at the Grotto in Lourdes would cleanse me of my cancer.

The trip was grueling and exhausting, but I persisted. I believed that I would be cured of this cancer.

In December of 2024, I underwent an endoscopy to see if the cancer cells were still in my stomach. Soon after the endoscopy, I received a phone call from my oncologist that there was no sign of cancer in my stomach. A few hours later, I received a second phone call from my gastroenterologist that the pathology report found no cancer. The doctors were amazed!! I, too, was amazed and full of gratitude and thanksgiving- thanksgiving to my God and thanksgiving to Our Lady of Lourdes. I believe I was given a miracle! So, during this month of February, as I celebrate my cancer-free diagnosis and especially on the feast day of Our Lady of Lourdes, I continue to pray to her for healing for others; either physical, spiritual, or corporal. I come before her with unbounded confidence and implore her maternal intercession for all those who are suffering in any way. I continue to give thanks and gratitude for her favor, and I will always share this love of gratitude with others, in all her glory.  Amen

As we embark on another New Year and begin making our list of all of our goals and unhealthy habits we want to change for the New Year, let’s take a look at one of the virtues outlined in our Guild Book Club selection, The Friendship Project. In chapter four, the virtue of prudence is defined, discussed, and delicately detailed with examples of how this virtue can give us clarity, discernment and joy, allowing us to see what God wants us to do, rather than what we want to do. We have all been in situations where we are overbooked, overworked and overwhelmed with a “To Do” list that seems endless and neverending. This is the actual, precise point in our lives where the virtue of prudence can help us to evaluate our current situation, and guide us to do what God’s will is for us, in order, live our lives to the fullest. So, how do we develop this virtue of prudence into our daily lives? One way is to set goals for yourself, evaluate your own God given talents, time and strengths and pray for guidance. Let the Holy Spirit lead you and guide you to develop Christ-centered friendships with others. Let your light shine on others. Mark your calendar to remind you to make a phone call to a friend that you have not spoken to for quite some time or meet with a friend after church for breakfast. Slowly, you will begin to see where God is leading you to develop friendships, share you gifts and talents and shed your light of goodness, joy and happiness upon others. My prayer for this New Year is that all of us will be filled with the Holy Spirit’s light, guidance, and the intercession of Our Lady of Grace; so that we are ready to respond fully to God’s will and live our lives to the fullest. Happy Spirit-filled New Year! 

During the season of fall we relish in the beauty of change, whether within our hearts and minds, or physically in our feelings as cooler weather approaches with celebrations of Thanksgiving, Advent, and Christmas.

As St. Paul writes in the letter to the Hebrews, “Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and the evidence of things not seen.” (11:1)

I have lived by this passage for many years and it has helped me to personally navigate in times of doubt, indecision and uncertainty. I have also read that long after St. Teresa of Calcutta’s death in her private diaries, she revealed that, after her original call to help the“poorest of the poor and dying,” she spent most of her life in a state of spiritual darkness, even doubting the existence of God. While some were shocked to learn that such a holy woman of faith could suffer so much doubt and spiritual anguish; she never lost faith. She continued to move forward and pursue her vocation despite her spiritual darkness. Thus, we all must have faith in the plan that our Lord has for each and every one of us. Let us remember that faith is a gift from God. It is a virtue that allows us to submit to the belief of those things that God has known for us, but we have not yet seen.

Let us pray:

Heavenly Father, we come to You with a heart full of faith, trusting that You have a plan for us, even when we cannot see it. Help us to remember that Your ways are higher than our ways. Grant us patience and understanding when we face uncertainty, doubt or challenges. Strengthen our faith to embrace the path You have set before us. Instill in us the gift of Faith.

Amen.