Living Catholicism: Personal Spiritual Growth

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September 28, 2007

Personal Spiritual Growth - for Adults

Our lives are busy and complicated. And they never seem to slow down. Which makes it difficult for anyone to work on their spiritual growth. So I thought I would offer some tips that I've read or learned about over the years and perhaps they can help. These are focused on building your relationship with God and your personal holiness.

Ask. Perhaps the easiest step is also a very effective one. Jesus wants us to grow in holiness and come closer to Him. And Jesus can give us the grace and desire to achieve this. So start by going to Him in prayer and asking for His help. By the way, if you aren't praying daily, you aren't likely to grow closer to Him!
Make time for God. The first tip seems obvious, but it's difficult in practice: on a consistent, daily basis make time for God. This means schedule spiritual reading (either the Bible or another religious book) every day at a set time. By making it a part of your schedule, you can develop this as a habit. And just by reading you can help grow your understanding, love, and relationship with Jesus Christ.
Depend on the Sacraments. The Sacraments are our built-in path to holiness. They are the path God gives us to Himself. So by frequenting the Sacraments - particularly confession and the Eucharist - we can move our minds and conform our wills more fully to God's. This is the easiest way to Jesus!
Ask Mary for Help. The Blessed Virgin Mary is human like us, but she's also perfectly pure and holy. I recommend praying a Hail Mary every morning and asking for her intercession in your day. She is especially helpful in confronting consistent sins that we tend to accumulate over the years and commit on a regular basis.
Add Reminders to your Home and Office. If possible, put Catholic statues, pictures, or icons in your home and office. Add an inexpensive Rosary around the rearview mirror in your car. Get a Catholic CD to listen to as you drive. These little reminders during the day help strengthen your will and bring your mind back around to God repeatedly. Keeping God in the front of your mind will go along way to developing a closer relationship with Him.
Spend time in Eucharistic Adoration. It's difficult to understand the impact of spending time in front of the Blessed Sacrament until you do it. But I think this is a great way to jump start spiritual growth in your life. At times I've done this during lunch or before work or even on weekends. Any time works - Jesus sits waiting quietly for us to come and ask for His help.

Just a few thoughts on how to grow spiritually. I also recommend taking a few moments every night to think about your sins that day and ask God to forgive you and help you not to commit those in the future. Hope this helps you further your relationship with Jesus!

God bless,
Jay

Posted by jay at September 28, 2007 11:51 AM