I'm an adult convert to Catholicism (from evangelicalism), and I've found Catholic practices to be so rich and transformative. I love how you highlight the wide applicability of these practices to anyone. Examination of conscience has been meaningful to me, and I appreciated the way you describe how to do it in such a clear and simple way. I've also really benefited from lectio divina as a way of reading Scripture and also the world around me in a more meditative and heart-centered fashion.
I'd never heard of "offering up" suffering for the sake of others who are suffering, and I love that idea and will integrate that into my daily life as a mom! You've also encouraged me to find little ways to fast in daily life--I agree that it makes life so much richer and connects me in tangible ways to God. Thanks for this great piece!
I'm a convert, too! I converted without a previous faith tradition, but I often think that I think my faith would have floundered in a tradition that didn't offer this array of practices - different personalities and temperaments find different practices more meaningful, and also certain phases of life call for changing things up. Like you say, offering up is a great one in the busy season of early motherhood, as it isn't really "extra", but a way to make your daily life prayerful.
I've been Catholic for 3.5 years now, and I still struggle with fasting (especially from food and other small luxuries). And yet, I can see that the cycle of feast and fast corresponds well with the natural ups-and-downs of human life--not every moment can be one of wild joy and celebration. Some days are bread and water...and nothing more.
I'm realizing that some of my discontent on a gloomy evening during a busy week often comes from a sense that I am "owed" more--that I ought to be allowed to be happy and do whatever I want at the end of a long day, even if it's not really the right time for it. So right now I am learning to accept that some days (or weeks, or months) are "fasting" days, waiting for the time of feast to come again.
Becoming content with a cycle of feast and fast means learning to accept the empty weeks and the grey days as a kind of fast that eventually gives way to joy and celebration when the appropriate time comes.
"I do also know from experience, though, that accepting it, working with it, and learning from it, invariably brings more peace than resisting it tooth and nail."
This has been my experience, too. Resisting suffering seems to make it worse (I'm thinking of one of my labor and deliveries here), but surrender is easier said than done!
This is a thoughtful post you've written. I once met a woman who - though she said she wasn't Catholic - would make the Sign of the Cross over herself.
yes, i think a lot of people find comfort in those physical gestures even if they don't "really" believe. i think it's very human to want to appeal to something greater than ourselves in times of stress or difficulty, even if we don't follow a particular faith tradition.
I'm an adult convert to Catholicism (from evangelicalism), and I've found Catholic practices to be so rich and transformative. I love how you highlight the wide applicability of these practices to anyone. Examination of conscience has been meaningful to me, and I appreciated the way you describe how to do it in such a clear and simple way. I've also really benefited from lectio divina as a way of reading Scripture and also the world around me in a more meditative and heart-centered fashion.
I'd never heard of "offering up" suffering for the sake of others who are suffering, and I love that idea and will integrate that into my daily life as a mom! You've also encouraged me to find little ways to fast in daily life--I agree that it makes life so much richer and connects me in tangible ways to God. Thanks for this great piece!
I'm a convert, too! I converted without a previous faith tradition, but I often think that I think my faith would have floundered in a tradition that didn't offer this array of practices - different personalities and temperaments find different practices more meaningful, and also certain phases of life call for changing things up. Like you say, offering up is a great one in the busy season of early motherhood, as it isn't really "extra", but a way to make your daily life prayerful.
I've been Catholic for 3.5 years now, and I still struggle with fasting (especially from food and other small luxuries). And yet, I can see that the cycle of feast and fast corresponds well with the natural ups-and-downs of human life--not every moment can be one of wild joy and celebration. Some days are bread and water...and nothing more.
I'm realizing that some of my discontent on a gloomy evening during a busy week often comes from a sense that I am "owed" more--that I ought to be allowed to be happy and do whatever I want at the end of a long day, even if it's not really the right time for it. So right now I am learning to accept that some days (or weeks, or months) are "fasting" days, waiting for the time of feast to come again.
Becoming content with a cycle of feast and fast means learning to accept the empty weeks and the grey days as a kind of fast that eventually gives way to joy and celebration when the appropriate time comes.
That is such a wise insight, thank you for sharing.
"I do also know from experience, though, that accepting it, working with it, and learning from it, invariably brings more peace than resisting it tooth and nail."
This has been my experience, too. Resisting suffering seems to make it worse (I'm thinking of one of my labor and deliveries here), but surrender is easier said than done!
This is a thoughtful post you've written. I once met a woman who - though she said she wasn't Catholic - would make the Sign of the Cross over herself.
yes, i think a lot of people find comfort in those physical gestures even if they don't "really" believe. i think it's very human to want to appeal to something greater than ourselves in times of stress or difficulty, even if we don't follow a particular faith tradition.