Ignatian prayer


An Ignatian
Prayer....

Lord, teach me to be
generous.
Teach me to serve you as you deserve,
to give and not to count
the cost,
to fight and not to heed the wounds,
to toil and not to seek
rest,
to labor and not to ask for reward,
save that of knowing that I do
your will.


Tuesday, September 1, 2015

Another moment of Grace!

You would think after three prior Confirmations of my daughters, the fact that my son is getting Confirmed today would be routine for me. It is not. Each one of my children has traveled their own spiritual journey and as their Mom I am aware of how important my own faith experience has been and will continue to be on them. Today is a reminder to me that everything a parent professes and lives out has an influence on their children.
This process of preparing my child for this day has taken a special priority in our family the last few months and it has made this day very special to me. I have gotten to know my son a bit better and it has given us an excuse to pray together more often than normal.
Often I hear people say "I will let my child choose for themselves what they want to believe" by not advocating any particular form of spirituality or religion. I agree with that sentiment. The child must be allowed to choose for themselves. However, I am not so naive as to think that I don't have any influence on what they end up choosing. What I believe affects what I say and how I live. My spirituality or religiosity or lack of has an impact on how my child sees their world and their unique place in it.
My own walk in my Catholic faith has had its complexities and its nuances.  There was a time when I walked away from the foundation my parents had laid out for me. They were wise enough to give me the freedom to wander, although they never stopped praying or loving me. In the course of many years I found that the promises of the world, the goals I had set out and achieved, and the dreams that had "come true" never measured up. I always felt a longing for more.
Our Christian faith has a word that describes what happened to me over the course of those years. That word is "Grace" with a capital "G". I encountered Grace and my life started anew. This occurred at a time when my children were still very young.
As I look back I realize how radically different I had approached life before.  Upon discovering God's love and mercy, I realized that anyting good and true causes me to want the best for others, including my children. I was compelled to share this discovery with my family. This new vision of Grace led me back to my Catholic roots. Returning to my "home" I uncovered what it meant to be a follower and lover of Grace (Chirst). The treasures of my Catholic faith awaited me and I was elated and also ashamed that I had not understood what I had left behind. This was a maturning point in my spiritual life.
What it means to be Catholic is that we are to love life and to know that we were created for abundant joy! The Church points to that vision of who God is and what he wants for us and helped me to tap into the reality that God is alive within me and He is in our midst. The Church's mission is to tell and show everyone who God is!
How I was lead astray is the reality of most most people (even my own children) because we as human beings are so easily distracted. As well, the Church as the body of Christ, although divine is also human. At times the Church cause us great hurt. However, that does not mean that Grace is not present in God's people.  I found that out when I walked back in through the church doors at Incarnation in 1996 with a whole new understanding of who God is and who I am because of him. He is Grace in spite of everything!
Today my son will stand up on his own and affirm that he desires to be a part of our Catholic faith community. I pray that he will experience the beauty and truth to be found in God's people and his Church despite the wounded souls he may come across at times. I realize that his path is his own. He will choose daily which way he wants to go, as I do so as well.
My child has a purpose in this life, each one of us does. As his mother I can help him as he matures in his faith, to always be open to an encounter with Grace. I rest assured in the fact that Grace is within him already. In the meantime, I will continue to pray for each one of my children and live my life aware of who Grace is and what He has done for me. He is Abba, He is God. A God who became man, died cruelly on a cross for our sins. He resurrected for us. We are a people that continues to remember him in our Eucharist and we partake of this mystery each time we come together at Mass. It all matters. He lives within each one of us. This is Grace, with a capital G. I can confirm that and I am thankful my son will too.

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