5 Steps to Spiritual Renewal

Dearest Friends,

Recently, I've been feeling bogged down by the day-to-day duties and stressors of college life. There's always so much to be done, and so much going on in the mind of a student, that it's quite easy to become distracted or distant from that which keeps us grounded: God.

So often in this crazy world, we try to fill our lives with earthly things: food, drink, pleasure, media----and for what? To fill the void of humanity.

Indeed, this life cannot satisfy our deepest, inmost desires: only God can. And we are so fortunate to receive this fulfillment even during moments on Earth! God grants us His grace through the sacraments, delivers us His goodness through family and friends, and satisfies our longings in prayer. We just need to let Him in.

As I mentioned, this void has felt more and more apparent in my life as I become swallowed up in distractions, selfish wishes, and anxieties commonly experienced in a college setting. I knew I needed a re-start, and so ventured to morning mass to find some answers.

And as always, God delivered. In my reflections before mass, I asked God for guidance in seeking spiritual renewal, and what did He do? He gave me five succinct steps to fill this void:

1) Restore and renew love for Christ

2) Be filled with God's Spirit and Grace

3) PRAY

4) Serve

5) Embrace sufferings

---

1) Restore and renew love for Christ

We so often forget to think about all that God has blessed us with. Reflecting on His blessings, His sacrifice for us, and His daily devotion in caring for us, we can be reminded of His love for us, and begin to love Him again.

2) Be filled with God's Spirit and Grace

Us Catholics are so very fortunate to have regular and daily access to physical outpourings of Christ's grace, which bring peace and comfort surpassing anything we could receive from earthly sources. While earthly pleasures like food and drink may satisfy us temporarily, they only last for a moment, and may even occasionally result in suffering. But God's grace is like a reservoir, readily available to fill those "voids" we experience so frequently.

3) PRAY

Once we have our spiritual "food," we can dedicate our energies to prayer. We can pray in thanksgiving and petition for ourselves, for our loved ones, and for our world. This does not have to be prayer that takes hours upon hours of one's day; instead, we can remember to pray in the quiet, simple moments: walking to class, driving to work, or waiting for a meeting or class to start. God grants us these pockets of time for these purposes; His constant presence is yet ANOTHER source of life on which we can rely for satisfaction!

4) Serve

Invigorated yet again by conversation with God, we are then invited to embark on His vocation for us; whether we are called to the single, married, religious, or consecrated life, we have the tools (steps 1-3!) to assess God's Will for us in every moment. United with Him, we now have the strength, energy, and willingness to serve our loved ones and neighbors in conversation, in physical signs of love, and in our daily work. For students, this step may seem difficult to fulfill, as we have so many academic obligations to address. However, we can still serve our Lord by focusing on our academic efforts to the best of our ability, approaching our work with sincerity and patience-----all for His glory.

5) Embrace suffering

This is a tough one, certainly a step we cannot fulfill without God. To be like Christ means to imitate Him in our daily living. We are thus called to follow God's Will for us in each and every moment, even if it brings us suffering. This is particularly difficult because no one enjoys suffering, and to willingly seek out suffering for Christ (as our incredible saints once did!) takes an unbelievable amount of humility and trust. Embracing suffering takes time, but draws us so much closer to Christ in His love, because we share in His sacrifice of the cross.

---

This, my friends, is a process that is not meant to be journeyed upon alone; we need our Father in Heaven, as well as an encouraging community of faith. Do not be overwhelmed by this either----He is not going to abandon you. If we break down our lives moment by moment in prayerful thought, we will be able to find Christ in a way we never thought we could.

Peace be with you all as you continue along your faith journeys!