Deepen Your Love for God with this Retreat

The Greatest Commandment states that we are to love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind, and with all our strength, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. In Lord, You Know I Love You, Jennifer Fitz offers a guided retreat designed for use by individuals or in a group setting. This is actually two retreats in one in that it has sets of questions for both personal and professional discernment and development. 

Why should you do this retreat? “Because God loves you, and He wants you to experience the unspeakable joy that comes from living your life utterly, totally, completely given over to Him.” This retreat is designed to help you regroup and prepare for the next spiritual battle you need to engage in.

The “Four Spiritual Food Groups” are heart, soul, mind, and strength. Fitz explores what it means for us to love God with each of these dimensions of our personality. She asks probing questions that lead to deep reflection on the true state of our relationship with God and how we can deepen our love for him. 

Her questions for professional discernment can lead to a more God-focused and mission-focused organization as well as a clearer picture of one’s role in that mission.

This retreat has the power to bear great fruit for both individuals and groups.  

Purchase this book (or anything else!) on Amazon after clicking this link and help support this site: http://amzn.to/2tl6YYg

Listening for God's Voice

This is part of the reflection by Karla Manternach from Living Faith on December 9th (but it is a good reminder at any time).

Even when I feel empty and frustrated at God's apparent disinterest in me, I know my prayer is an expression of trust. When we are faithful to prayer, we open our hearts to God's guidance. God's guidance rarely comes as a booming voice saying, "THIS IS THE WAY!" Rather, it comes as a tiny nudge, a nagging feeling. Submitting to God's will is like inching your shoulders just enough to turn your back to the wind and feel it behind you, pushing you along.

Where Did You Find God Today?

Several years ago, I had a spiritual director who encouraged me to reflect on the following question: “Where did you find God today?” That is the question at the heart of Andy Otto’s new book, God Moments (Ave Maria Press, 2017).

Otto, who has a master’s degree in theology and ministry, is a Catholic writer, speaker, blogger, spiritual director, and podcaster who teaches theology and is the campus minister at Mercy High School in Red Bluff, California. He spent almost three years as a Jesuit seminarian before discerning he was called to marriage. In this book, he seeks to share Ignatian spirituality based on awareness of God’s presence, the importance of prayer, and discernment of our vocation and important life decisions.

God has given each one of us good things and can and does use our encounters with the everyday to speak to us. God can speak to us through other people, things we read, and the beauty of creation. He can even speak to us in the messiness of life, in those difficult moments we would rather not endure.

In order to be aware of these encounters and fully appreciate them, we must engage in prayer and rest in God’s love. “Making self-reflection and prayer a daily pattern can move us toward the human beings God wants us to be.”

Only once we have prayed and tuned into God’s movement in our lives can we truly discern what God wants us to do. “Discernment is a form of decision-making that involves God’s desires and my desires.” Otto emphasizes that discernment is for choosing between two morally good choices. He also acknowledges that “sometimes we have to decide to give up on our desires because there are more important things happening.” In those instances, God can help us discover a new dream. 

Sometimes, discernment requires a great act of courage. “Courage allows us to dive in and take a risk trusting that God has a hand stretched out and is saying, ‘Don’t worry – I’ve got your back.’”

God Moments is particularly relevant for younger adults who are still trying to figure out where God might be calling them in terms of vocation, but Otto’s work also serves as a reminder for the rest of us to look for God in our everyday lives. God Moments is recommended for anyone seeking to be more aware of God’s movement in his or her life. 

Discerning a Vocation

Discerning a vocation is a big deal and one that should be taken seriously by young people. That isn't always (or even frequently?) the case, however. For the past year or so, when we say the rosary at night, I pray with my big boys that they choose the right vocation in life and be the people God wants them to be. I don't know what God has in mind for my children. I know where their strengths and weaknesses lie, but what they are supposed to do with them is still a mystery to me and to them. Neither one of them has an interest in becoming a priest, but they don't show much interest in marriage either. Of course, puberty may change that! Whatever they do or become, I want them to be the men God created them to be.

On the other hand, the young man who wrote the following blog post: Vocation Discernment may very well have a vocation to the priesthood. I know him and in my humble estimation, he has the intelligence and personality to make a good one, if that is what God is calling him to do. And that's the thing - he's really working to figure that out - whether God is calling. Maybe you could say a prayer for him as he works through this process?

I wish all young people, my own children included, would take discerning who and what they are supposed to be in life as seriously.

Does the Holy Spirit Choose the Pope?

This is a wonderful answer by Fr. James Martin on a question weighing on a lot of minds as the conclave starts tomorrow: Does the Holy Spirit Choose the Pope?

It also has some great tidbits on discernment and free will in our own lives.

Set the World on Fire

Every now and then, I'll come across a quote in more than one place within the matter of a few days. I usually take that as a sign that God is trying to tell me something. Last week, this was the quote that kept finding me:

"If you are what you should be, you will set the whole world on fire!" -St. Catherine of Siena 

Ok, so obviously I am doing something wrong, because I haven't set anything on fire. At best, I'm a little candle with my little light flickering, and I'm fighting hard to keep it lit. But, still I feel like I'm where I'm supposed to be at the moment and I do the best I can. 

If you are struggling to figure out what God wants from you, Catholic Digest has some recommendations in their January 2013 issue on books to aid discernment. 

These books are: The Messy Quest for Meaning: Five Catholic Practices for Finding Your Vocation by Stephen Martin. It focuses on the questions, "What was I put here to do? And how do I do it?"

 Surrender! The Life Changing Power of Doing God's Will by Fr. Larry Richards. Fr. Richards teaches readers how to hear God's voice and discover His will. 

LAST CALL Twelve Men Who Dared Answer by Ronda Chervin shares the vocation  stories of twelve men who entered the priesthood later in life. 

Tuning In to God's Call by Fr. Andrew Carl Wisdom and Sr. Christine Kiley is filled with reflections, prayers, and tasks to help readers determine if God is calling them.

 

Discernment - What is God's Will for Me?

"What is God's Will for Me?" - That is one of those questions that we ask ourselves so often. The issue of discernment - where God's will and our free will intersect - is a big one. We want to make good choices and do what God wants for us, but sometimes it is so hard to tell.

Joseph Pronechen explores the subject in his recent article for the National Catholic Register: What is God's Will for Me?


Father Jonathan Morris, director of the Catholic Channel on Sirius XM Radio and religion and ethics contributor for the Fox News Channel, says the No. 1 question we should ask is: “Is what I am considering doing going to bring me closer to heaven? And if it’s not, then we don’t do it.”
If we’re still not sure, seek answers from the Bible and Church teaching.

Jesuit Father Mitch Pacwa, host of EWTN Live and author of How to Listen When God Is Speaking: A Guide for Modern-Day Catholics (The Word Among Us Press, 2011), explains this method.
“The first and most basic principle is that a person needs to have enough humility to accept God on his own terms,” he says. That means accepting what the Lord has revealed about himself in Scripture, Tradition and the magisterium.

“Discernment comes into play quite legitimately when you have two options, both of which are good in and of themselves,” Father Pacwa adds.

For instance, discovering what state in life one is called to: priesthood, married life or religious life.
“All of these in and of themselves are apparently good,” he says. “The question is of knowing which one of those goods is the best way for me to give greater glory to God.”

Two attitudes help us better able to discern God’s will, Father Pacwa says. “One: What is for the greater glory of God? How am I going to give him better service and greater glory in my life?  Two: being truly equal-minded toward all good things.” This means wanting to do whatever God wants because I trust that he has the greatest good for me involved in that.

Please read more here: http://www.ncregister.com/site/article/what-is-gods-will-for-me/#ixzz23rGQ2OnI

Do You Get Stuck in Decision Quicksand?

Every day we are forced to make hundreds of decisions - most are fairly inconsequential, but others are truly life-changing. When you are faced with a decision, what do you do? Do you find yourself struggling to decide, and then once you have made your choice, wish you had made a different one?

Jennifer Fulwiler talks about this common problem in Trust God with Decisions Big and Small

Do the Next Right Thing

Lots of people talk about the importance of making plans in life - the five year plan, the ten year plan, etc. I've never had much luck with those, however. Sure, I have dreams of what I'd like to do and accomplish, but then life (God?) happens and I end up on a different road.

Therefore, I like the idea of doing the next right thing. Often, that is as far down the road as I can see.

This was a quote from Joyful Meditations for Every Day of Advent for today:

Our best first remedy is prayer. Asking God to show us the next right thing to do helps us to get unstuck, stop feeling sorry for ourselves, find clarity in our thinking, bring order to our lives, and treat others with respect and dignity. We might need to ask God to show us the next right thing to do a hundred times a day.

If You Quit, You Can't Blame God

We all feel tempted to quit sometimes. Whether they are related to relationships, parenting, or work, there are moments in life when we simply want to throw up our arms in frustration and give up. And, sometimes, we want to blame God. After all, God allowed circumstances to be so hard. Obviously, God doesn’t want us to accomplish whatever it is we are trying to accomplish. Otherwise, the road wouldn’t be so full of potholes and mountains.

I recently had the pleasure of attending the premiere performance of “Present Company Excluded,” a play written by Doug Foresta. Based on the life of Herbert Roth, it tells of a young Jewish boy living in Roth, Germany in the years leading up to World War II. As Roth prepares for his Bar Mitzvah, he questions everything about God. Why doesn’t God talk to him the way he talked to Abraham? Why did God allow his mother to die? Why is God allowing his father’s business to fail and his friends to ignore him simply because they are Jewish?

Towards the end of the play, his step-mother, who Roth wants nothing to do with, is encouraging him to come with her to apply for a visa to leave Germany and go to America. His father has already failed in this task and Roth sees no point to trying again. He has resigned himself to his fate and feels that God is keeping them in Germany. His step-mother tells him that they have to keep trying, because “If you quit, you can’t blame God.”

There is a great deal of truth to that statement. Indeed, it can be very difficult to discern what God wants from us in life. There are certainly times when it seems every door is being slammed against us. It seems that there is no point in continuing and that God must want us to take a different path. Sometimes, He does.

But if that is the case, then the window will open. Other opportunities and circumstances will come our way. If we continue to pray, however, and trust that God is with us, and no other paths open up to us, then we have no reason to quit the road we are on. Yes, it may seem impossibly hard and the outcome uncertain, but we need to keep trying. We need to keep getting up every morning and do our best and leave the rest to God.

God is the one ultimately in charge. I love the statement by Blessed Mother Teresa, “God doesn’t call us to be successful, only faithful.” Our success or failure is determined only by God. He has His reasons for having us on the road we are on. The roadblocks, too, are there for a reason. Although, often it is only in looking back that we can appreciate them. As Roth stated in the play, his mother dying led to his hated step-mother joining the family. She would be the person who would ultimately save all of their lives. God does work in mysterious ways.

Yes, circumstances are hard. But, if we quit, we need to own it. If we stop trying, we can’t blame God and say that it is His fault that things didn’t work out.

To find out more about "Present Company Excluded," please visit www.dramastudio.org.

Inspiring Words from Matthew Kelly

Matthew Kelly, the New York Times best selling author of Rediscover Catholicism, was recently profiled in St. Anthony's Messenger about life now that he is father. He was asked what aould be 3 - 5 steps to "achieving the best version of myself." He replied:

I can give you one step: ask yourself at the beginning of each day, "What can I do today to become a better version of myself?"

That is a good decision-making tool. Am I using my time wisely? Is what I am doing right now helping or hurting my efforts to be a better person, to live life the way God wants me to, to ultimately be with God in heaven?

Keep Your Eyes on Your Own Paper

The title of this blog post comes from one of the comments on this article: Other People's Souls. Simcha Fisher offers a good reminder to focus less on what other people are doing in their lives and more on what is going on in your own. Here is a brief excerpt:

So, it’s fine to take a look around myself and think, “Could I be doing things differently? Is my spiritual life in a rut? Am I following my vocation, or just following the path of least resistance?” But once I’ve considered these questions honestly, I need to just get back to work. Of course I’m doing things differently from how other people are. Of course some worthy works are being neglected. That’s because I’m following my vocation, and a vocation is just a means to an end, not an end in itself.

We all ought to have the same priority of pleasing God. But casting a fishy eye at other people’s choices almost never gets us there.

Does God Actually Have a Plan for Our Lives?

When my time in this world is over, I hope that I have the opportunity to ask God one question. Actually, I would like to ask many more than one, but if could ask only one it would be: Was there a plan for my life?

A good friend and I debate this frequently. I argue that God does, in fact, have a plan for each one of us, determined before we ever take our first breath. If we tune in (also known as prayer), we can tap into that plan and do what we were sent to this planet to accomplish. My friend is of the opinion that we are put on this earth and then it is up to us to use our free will to live our lives. What happens to us is a result of those decisions. We are in charge of our destiny.

I understand the opposing view point. After all, we do have free will (although I’ve never really understood the balance between our free will and God’s omniscience – that’s another question for the Almighty). We don’t want to be mere pawns in a supernatural chess game. In addition, saying that God has a plan can be seen as a cop-out or an opiate intended to bring comfort, especially in the face of great pain and tragedy in life. People grieving do not want to be told it is God’s will. How can such extreme suffering be part of God’s plan? What kind of a loving God is that?

Yet, in spite of all that, I do still believe that God has a plan for us. Scripture supports the idea. Perhaps the most-oft quoted passage is from Jeremiah, “For I know well the plans I have in mind for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare, not for woe! Plans to give you a future full of hope.” (Jer 29:11) The Psalms also give evidence that God will guide our steps. “I will instruct you and teach you in the way should go; I will guide you with My eye.” (Psalm 32:8) “For this is God, our God forever and ever; He will be our guide even to death.” (Psalm 48:14)

In fact, the whole of Scripture is the story of God’s plan for our salvation. All works for the good. God may not wish the sins and tragedies to happen, but He allows them to occur, and He is able to use them to achieve His purposes. God will not be thwarted.

A secondary reason that I believe God has a plan for each of us is that I have seen it in my own life. God’s plan is often only seen in retrospect, and I fully admit that I don’t understand all the various twists and turns my life has taken and continues to take. I’m pretty sure I got off the appointed path a few times. If God had a Plan A for my life, I think I’m now on Plan C or D.

But, even with all that, I can look back over my life and see God’s guidance at work. God hasn’t abandoned me, even when I sometimes feel as if He has. I’ve had second and third and fourth chances. The challenges in my life have each taught me lessons that have served me well as I have moved forward.

There have also been times I have been given glimpses of the future. People have made remarks to me, or I have dreamed dreams, that have been totally unexpected or out of context at the moment, yet years later, came to fruition. I think that has been one of the ways God has prepared me for the paths my life would take.

A last reason I am convinced that God has a plan for us is that so many things happen that are beyond our control. We tend to suffer from the illusion that we are in charge of our lives. Yes, we do get to make decisions, but life often throws us curveballs. The only decision we get to make is how we respond to them. Those “change in plans” often lead our lives in entirely new directions.

Does God actually have a plan for us? My answer is an unequivocal “yes.” I still hope, though, that God will explain it all to me someday. I’d like to know how it was all supposed to work out, where I made mistakes, where I made the right decisions, and the purpose of the hard times. I pray that one day I will understand.

"Why Did God Make Me This Way?"

"God has created me to do Him some definite service." Those words came from Cardinal John Henry Newman, who will be beatified this September. He continues "I have my mission. I may not know what it is in this life but I shall be told in the next. . . He has not created me for naught. . . Wherever I am, whatever I do, I can never be thrown away. If I am in sickness, my sickness may serve Him; in perplexity, my perplexity may serve Him; if I am in sorrow, my sorrow may serve Him. He does nothing in vain. He knows what He is about. He may take away my friends. He may throw me among strangers. He may make me feel desolate, make my spirits sink, hide my future from me - still God knows what He is about."

Those words apply not only to us, but also to our children. One of the roles of a parent is to help a child discern his or her vocation, not only in terms of marriage or religious life, but job choice as well. I've been reading "You Can Be Everything God Wants You to Be" by Max Lucado. The whole point of the book is that God has given you a specific purpose and the gifts to fulfill that purpose. The key to finding joy in life is to look at your gifts and figure out where you belong. And so, as my children grow up, I try to look at their gifts and steer them in the right direction.

I know that the final decision of what they do with their lives resides with them. They will no doubt take several career paths in their lives. This process is made more complicated by the fact that my older son has some recently diagnosed special needs. We always knew he was "different," that life was a little harder for him than for other kids (and by extension, for us). Yet, the formal diagnosis of that fact has caused me to reevaluate his future. What is possible for him? Where will life take him? He asked me "Why did God make me this way?" It broke my heart. It hurts to know that you are different simply by virtue of your birth. It hurts to see your child hurting. I had no good answer except to tell him that God made him that way for a reason, that he does have a special purpose in this world. While, at this moment, I'm not sure what that is, like Cardinal John Henry Newman, I trust that God knows what he is doing.

What if this is it?

This guest post by Dionna Sanchez really resonated with me.

*A MOM MINUTE*
What If This Is It? ~ By Dionna Sanchez


I was discouraged one day. I mean, we’ve all been discouraged right? On this particular day, I was discouraged about a certain dream of mine – a dream that just wasn’t coming to fruition for me and I’m not sure why. What I AM sure of, is that I was frustrated, feeling “down” on myself and my abilities, and just plain feeling like a loser.

I have never questioned God. But I have asked him “Why” on many times and this was one of those occasions. I felt like God was being silent with me and that hurt.

I talked to Him and I cried out to Him. I told Him I would not lose heart even though at that moment, I felt like I had.

It wasn’t until a few hours after my conversation with God that He prompted my heart about something. “What if this is it?” What if my dream never happened? What if I never was “great” in my own mind – only “good?” How would I handle that? Would it be good enough for me or would I never be satisfied in my life… never content?

Those are very loaded questions, to which I’m not sure I have the perfect answers to.

I do know this. Ever since we are children, we are told that we can be anything. A lot of us are told how special we are and built up to do great things. But what if we don’t? What if we can’t? Do we feel “less than?”

I think God wanted me to truly ponder these questions that particular day. I think he wanted me to realize that sometimes His dream and my dream don’t always line up. But it doesn’t mean that He doesn’t think I’m “great” or “really special.”

I don’t know where you are in life or if you are struggling with wanting more for yourself. If you are anything like me, I’m sure you have many dreams and wishes unfulfilled in your life. I think dreams are great. But for the first time in my life, I think sometimes they can also be harmful if they cause us to feel uncontented with where God currently has us in life. Because what if that is “it?” What if that is THE destination where He wants us? Can you handle that? Can I?

It’s up to each one of us to look within our hearts and search for peace and acceptance. We can be “great” no matter where we are. It’s all a matter of attitude and choice. It doesn’t mean you have to give up on your dreams, merely be “content in all things.” That way if the ultimate prize that you have in your head DOES happen…..the blessing will only be felt deeper – for you – and – for me.


~ Dionna Sanchez is the Founder of EmphasisOnMoms.com. She desires to share her heart with women through her website and blog as long as God calls her to it.

The Choices We Make

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the choices we make in life. On any given day, we make any number of choices. Many are inconsequential – Cheerios or toast for breakfast, the red or black shoes, etc. Then, there are the decisions that change the course of one’s whole life – who to date, what college to go to, whether to get married or enter religious life or stay single, what job to take, where to live, and so on.

Steve and Isaac Yoder write a father and son column for “The Wall Street Journal Sunday.” The column for April 26, 2009 focused on Isaac’s need to make a decision on which college to attend. Both father and son suffer from difficulty making decisions. In this particular column, they were discussing an article by Professor Barry Schwartz on “The Paradox of Choice.” The point of Prof. Schwartz’s article is to make a decision based on your “core requirements” rather than searching for the “elusive best.” Those who are satisfied with less end up happier in the long run.

We make the best decisions we can at the time based on the information we have at the moment. If we are wise, we pray about them. Even with such solid decision making, however, there often comes a time in life when we look back and wonder “Did I do the right thing?” Did I actually follow God’s plan or did I totally screw it up and go on my own path? What would life have been like if I chose what was behind Door A instead of Door B? I was discussing this with the women’s Bible study I attend. One of my friends very wisely remarked, “Maybe you were meant to screw up the plan.”

It is true. Regret serves no real purpose. I have a good life and I am very thankful for it. Spending time wondering what might have been is time wasted. Life might have been better or worse. The only guarantee is that it would have been different. God is also bigger than any decision I have made or may make. I am firm believer that God can bring good out of anything. If we screw up the plan, God comes up with another one for us. God is forgiving and good. He knew when He gave us free will that sometimes we would make decisions other than the ones He would have made for us. I don’t think that means that God stops using us to achieve His purposes. It might take longer. We might have to get there by a more convoluted route, but if we try to live a God-centered life, God will somehow help us to achieve the life we were meant to live. I take great comfort in that.

Finding Where One Belongs

I went to go visit my best friend and her three month old baby yesterday. The baby is beautiful, an absolute gift from God. Like all new parents, my friend and her husband are studying her every move and characteristic, trying to determine where she fits in their family. Whose eyes and nose does she have? Whose hair color? Where did she get that way she sticks out her bottom lip? I did the same thing when my own children were small, as my own parents did with me. Even now, I look in the mirror and see characteristics of different members of my family. We all want to know where we belong, where we fit in the bigger picture.

The same thing happens with our place in the world at large. We grow up and try to figure out where our path lies. What is our role in the big picture? We believe that God put us here for a reason, but what is that reason? What is the particular contribution that we have to bring to life on Earth? That’s a question that does not always have an easy answer. Some people are lucky. They seem to know from a very early age exactly what they were meant to do, who they were meant to be. For most of us, however, life is more of an unfolding; careers more temporary. I know the question of where I belong is one I ponder on a regular basis. I also wonder where my children’s lives will lead them. I know that God put them here for a reason, too.

So much in life seems left to chance, but as I have often heard it said, “There are no coincidences, only God-incidences.” So, then, I have to believe that the people we come across, the lives we touch, the jobs we do, all are part of some master plan. We have free will and obviously make choices about our lives, but God is there, working behind the scenes, helping to bring good out of the chaos. From the day that we are born, each one of us plays a role in so many people’s lives, often times in ways we never realize or imagine. We may never do something that goes down in the history books. We may never even make the local newspaper. Yet, our simple personal interactions can and do change other’s lives.

We all do have a role to play in this world. God made us all for a reason. We do need to pray to help figure out what that reason is, to help align our will with God’s will. Sometimes, the reason is not always evident (although sometimes in hindsight we can see it), but we need to trust that it is there, that our lives matter. We all do belong. We all have a place. God loves each and every one of us.

Emails from God?

At Bible Study on Friday, we were talking about how we would like to get emails from God - a to-do list for each day that we could simply download and follow. After all, it would be so much easier to do God's will if we actually knew what it was!

This excerpt from today's Living Faith entry by Sr. Chris Koellhoffer, I.H.M. speaks to that every desire.

When we look back on the lives of the saints, the great cloud of witnesses who inspire and inform our own journey to holiness, it can appear in retrospect that these holy ones knew at every moment exactly what God asked of them. In reality, there were not always clear signs or easy answers. They lived with the same struggles that are our daily bread. What set them apart is a willingness to live in the in-between times, to follow Jesus with openness, discernment and trust all the days of their lives.

All the Time I Need

I came across this very inspiring quote today in "Graced and Gifted: Biblical Wisdom for the Homemaker's Heart" by Kimberly Hahn:

I remind myself daily, "There is all the time I need today to do God's will today." Prayer is an essential part of that reminder. We are not coming to God and telling him our agenda; rather we are coming to share our hearts and hear his.

God Calls Us to Different Paths to Perfection

One of the most comforting things about reading lives of the saints is realizing just how different all these men and women were. Some lived their lives in cloisters and dedicated their lives to prayer. Others worked in the missionary fields or died as martyrs for the faith. Some were priests or religious sisters while others were married or single. Some lived their whole lives in holiness. Others were great sinners and had a profound moment of conversion. There is no one-size-fits-all path to sanctity. While the basics are the same – love God and neighbor, there are as many different ways of fulfilling those commandments as there are people in the world.

It is so easy as we go through life to look at others and think that their lives are much more “perfect” than our own. “Perfect” is not used here in secular terms, as in “She has the perfect house, car, husband, etc.” No, here, “perfect” refers to a much less-tangible quality: the inner peace and holiness and spiritual wisdom that we seek. We look at others and think that they have found the “right” path. If we just imitate them then we, too, will be on the road to perfection.

Certainly, much can be learned from studying the lives of the saints. We could do far worse than to imitate some of their behaviors and attitudes. The same can be said for those we meet in our daily lives who inspire us. Yet, imitation will only get us so far. We can't walk the same path as our favorite saint or our best friend because God gave us different gifts and different circumstances. Our task is to pray and discern where our gifts can best be put to use to help build the kingdom.

What is God asking of me today? How can I best show love? These are the simple questions with the not-so-simple answers that each one of us must consider on a daily basis if only because the answers change as our lives change. What God is asking today is different from what God asked five years ago or what God will ask five years from now. All we can do is humbly offer our lives to God and attempt to do His will wherever we find ourselves today.

I find this thought very consoling. Lately, I have been feeling very inadequate, comparing my own life to others and seemingly coming up short. This isn't hard to do when surrounded by amazing people. I'm blessed to have such wonderful people in my life and I struggle to keep up. It always seems like there is more that I could be doing. I know I am far from perfect and that I have far to go on my own road to sanctity, but I'm trying. In reflecting on this desire I have to be like others, I have come to realize that God is not calling me to be them. He is calling me to be the best me that I can be in the circumstances I find myself, no more and no less. I wasn't called to serve in the Peace Corps, or to travel the country giving lectures, or to be the mother of ten children. At least for the moment, I have been called to serve my local parish community, write articles, be the best wife I can be to my husband and the best mother I can be to my two boys.

I was reminded of St. Therese's image of the different flowers in the garden. What good does it do for a daisy to want to be a rose or vice versa? We each have our own beauty to bring to the world. God calls each of us to our own path to perfection. It is our job to walk the path, one step and one day at a time.