Peace be with you!

In this week’s video session (our eleventh), Fr. Freeh challenges us to examine our commitment to our spiritual life.

Getting up in the morning with a sense of purpose. Taking time for prayer and reflection, and going to bed with heartfelt gratitude for what God has accomplished through us during the day, is a formula that all adds up to a truly spiritual way of life. We won’t arrive at that happy state unless and until it becomes our deepest desire. — Fr. Vincent Freeh, MSC

In other words, we do what we want to. This is the difference between grumbling our way to school or the office, and leaping out of bed for Christmas or the first flight out for a dream vacation: The desire of our heart. 

So, we have to ask: do we really want an authentic relationship with God, regardless of the cost? Do we want the Holy Spirit to fan the embers of our faith into a life-changing conflagration? The desire for God has a radical impact on our lives, re-ordering our priorities, re-directing our efforts. As St. Paul describes here:

Furthermore I count all things to be but loss for the excellent knowledge of Jesus Christ my Lord; for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but as dung, that I may gain Christ — Ph. 3:8

Reflecting on my own response to this challenge, I am forced to recognize both the longing in my heart for a closer relationship with God…and fear of the consequences. I might have to make uncomfortable choices, even sacrifices. How often do I fail the simplest of tests? (Making a list for the next confession. Need another sheet of paper….)

And so I return once more to prayer, the root of the spiritual life I now have, and I ask God for a great grace: the desire for holiness.

The seed of this desire was planted in baptism. Now, I ask God to provide the water, and the grace of growth. In the last few weeks, I’ve come to understand that asking for this grace is itself a response to the prompting of the Holy Spirit. So even as I lament my failures, I have hope for the future because

“Whenever we take a step toward Jesus, we come to realize that He is already there, waiting for us with open arms.” — Pope Francis I

I hope you’ll join me in praying for desire for holiness. Not just for ourselves, but for a world desperately in need of God’s love and light.

Read Sunday’s Scriptures.