What’s in Your Spiritual Go-Bag?

Julie Vickery identifies five spiritual aids to help the wayfarer overcome obstacles and avoid pitfalls in the pathway to eternal life.

With the Lenten Season just ahead, many of us are likely reflecting on the state of our spiritual life and wondering what changes we need to make that will help us grow closer to God in the coming months and years. The spiritual aids outlined below are aimed toward helping the spiritual wayfarer assess where she is in her spiritual life, what obstacles may be standing in the way of growing a stronger love relationship with God, and how to overcome these difficulties.

Each of the five helps listed below is meant to help the reader move forward in small, easy steps that can be adjusted for every state and stage of life. They are:

Daily prayer

Prayer is the fuel that powers the spiritual journey, and it also serves as the primary marker of where we are in our relationship with God. In short, prayer is a dialogue. God — who first loved us — ceaselessly calls out to us, wanting us to open our hearts to Him and receive His grace. If our response is a self-centered soliloquy, we need to change the way we pray. We need to do less talking and more listening. In other words, we need to move toward prayers of praise and worship, surrender, and love of God and neighbor.

Reading the Bible

Close reading, the practice of looking beneath the literal meaning of the texts to discover deeper, or hidden meanings, is an excellent way to read the Bible for growing in the knowledge and love of God. When Jesus spoke to the crowds, He expected His listeners to take away the words He said and ponder them, until a deeper meaning emerged. When we close read the Scriptures, we are essentially doing the same thing as the crowds who heard Jesus speak.

Holy Reading is learning from the writings and lives of the saints

A “take-with” book is a wonderful way to absorb the more difficult teachings of a favorite saint or holy person in small portions, over time. A “take-with” book is a small but powerful work which can easily fit into a pocket or purse — such as the ones pictured below.

Devotions

These are forms of popular piety that “enrich Christian life” (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1679): pilgrimages to holy sites, such as Lourdes and Fatima; processions; praying the Rosary; the wearing of medals (for example the Miraculous Medal) and the veneration of relics, observing First Friday and First Saturday, etc.

Self-knowledge

We can only grow a close relationship with God (or with others) when we know who we really are and where we are in our spiritual journey. A spiritual journal is an excellent way to discover these truths, as they contain our innermost thoughts about our relationship with God and with others, as well as our desires for change and growth.

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5 aids to overcoming obstacles and avoiding pitfalls in our spiritual life. #catholicmom

In short, five aids to overcoming obstacles and avoiding pitfalls in our spiritual life are:

1. Prayer: the fuel that powers our journey
2. Scripture: the knowledge and love of God
3. Holy reading: spiritual direction from the writing and lives of the saints
4. Devotions: shaping our personal pathway to piety
5. Journaling: keeping track of where we are in the spiritual life that leads to heaven

The spiritual life is never still. We are either moving ahead or falling backward. But, no matter where we are in our relationship with God, He is always calling out to us, seeking our “Yes!” to His desire for our love and total surrender to His will.

Copyright 2021 Julie Vickery
Images: Canva Pro; Copyright 2021 Julie Vickery, all rights reserved.