I love a good holiday and all the attendant decorations, special foods, and parties. With the 4th of July past, and Labor Day still a month away, I’m ready for an event fix. Luckily there are plenty of unofficial celebrations, like National Ice Cream Sandwich day, which happens to be today. As happy as I am to commemorate this with a trip to the freezer, it doesn’t really lend itself to the spiritual life. Unless you want to remind me that gluttony is Not Good.
Fortunately, I discovered another unofficial national celebration that is much more beneficial, if not quite as tasty. Today is the second day of National Simplify Your Life Week. There are some web articles out there with handy tips on how to declutter your closet, home and garage. But I didn’t find much on how to declutter your spiritual life.
We can all benefit from the periodic overhaul of our spiritual lives in order to make sure we are continuing to grow closer to Jesus Christ and find more time to spend with Him. Here are some questions that we might use to declutter ourselves and get our spiritual lives back on track.
1. How much time am I spending in community prayer?
Am I attending daily Mas s whenever possible? If it’s possible and I’m just not going, why is that?
What in my routine is keeping my away from the Eucharist? What habit do I need to give up in order to clear space in my schedule? Do I need to go to bed earlier so I can make morning Mass before heading off to work, or is it more complicated than that? Can I make that change once a week or more?
2. How much time am I spending in private prayer?
Do I say those prayers out of habit, without really considering the meaning of the words I am saying or remembering to Whom I am speaking? Now would be a good time to slow down again, speak prayers slowly and meditate on the meaning of what I am saying. This might take longer, or we may find we are saying fewer oral prayers and that’s okay.
3. How much time am I spending in the study of God’s word?
Catholic scripture scholarship has come a very long way and there are many excellent Catholic study series that can open Gods’ for us in new, deeper ways.
Does my local parish sponsor a study? If not, maybe I might consider starting one in my parish, or hosting a small group in my home.
4. How much time am I spending in spiritual reading?
We are so lucky to have nearly 2000 years’ worth of scholarship to draw on, with more good works being published each year. If you prefer to relax with a good fiction book, choose a good Catholic author to read. Not all religious fiction is stodgy and pedantic, and you might even find yourself getting hooked! The Catholic Writers Guild website can give you many excellent suggestions.
Not all of these suggestions will work for everyone, since we all find ourselves in unique situations and circumstances, but hopefully one or two will give some food for thought. I would love to hear your suggestions too!
Copyright 2014, Carol Ann Chybowski
Carol Ann Chybowski
Carol Ann Chybowski is a long time member of the Catholic Writers Guild. She has published book reviews at various websites and appears in two volumes of A Community of Voices: An Anthology of Santa Barbara. When not busy about her parish, Carol Ann can be found knitting, gardening, or on horseback.
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