THE INTERIOR LIFE

January 16, 2009

I have just spent two weeks making annual spiritual retreats, the first with brother bishops of the State of Texas, and the second with brother priests of the Diocese of Brownsville. It’s never easy to put aside my hectic schedule to make time for these retreats, but they are important  and I always come away from them renewed in spirit.

Most people would think it impossible for them to take two weeks out of their lives to do the same, so let me write about some simple things everyone can and should do for the growth and renewal of their interior lives.

Everyone would like to get more out of life. So much of our time, it seems, is spent taking care of daily chores, and attending to work, family, and social obligations. Most people would agree, I think, that their lives are fast-paced, if not frantic.

There seems to be so little time for our interior lives! What can we do to cultivate it? What can we do to attain the same experience that prompted St. Augustine to declare, “I sought God everywhere in the world, and finally found him within myself”?

The journey inward is a spiritual journey toward God. We will proceed, however, only at a snail’s pace,  unless we  have a concrete plan. Here is a “must do” list of daily activities for interior growth. The one condition that is absolutely necessary for these steps to work is unconditional trust that God loves you, is watching over you, and wants to share himself with you.

First, “Pray always and do not lose heart” (Luke 18:1). This seems impossible to do, because it would seem to require we drop all the activities of our lives, but that is not the case.  Instead, let us  begin each day by offering ourselves to God, and offering all our activity of that day as a sacrifice of praise to God. Let us  ask God to bless us and to be with us throughout the day. If we do this, we have already given our whole life a spiritual dimension.

Second, read from the New Testament of the Bible each day, for sixty seconds. The key is not to commit to reading a lot. It may happen, and happen often, that once we start to read, we become inspired to read on. But for the rule to work, we must  make a commitment that we will  never be too busy or tired to keep, so the rule is: open the book and read for sixty seconds each day.

Third, let us schedule – and we  do have to schedule – a time each day that will belong to God alone. Fifteen minutes is okay. We must not  set a goal that we cannot  keep. For some people morning is best, for others, it is a time during the day or evening. The point is: set a time that will be available every day. Spend the time in silence and let the Holy Spirit guide what happens. On some days the  mind will be empty or distracted. That’s okay. There is no need to “say prayers”, or to say anything at all to God, if it does not come spontaneously. Likewise, if God wishes to communicate something to us, he will. Often, not much seems to be happening, but God is working in our soul to heal, renew, purify and enlighten us, and perfect us in his love. The key is: take time to be alone with God each day. Communion with him will become easier and easier.

Fourth, at the end of each day, we must examine the way we  spent it. This enables us to recall all that went well, and to give thanks to God for it, and it helps us discern if we have been guilty of any irresponsibility or moral failing, repent and ask for God’s forgiveness. Without this examination, our chances of introducing positive changes in our lives are greatly diminished.

Fifth, let us resolve each day to help someone before the day has passed. Let us not  wait for a person in need to come by; let us, instead,  look around to see how we  can be of help to others. The main thing is: train yourself to actively look for the good that you can do.

Six, once a year, we should make a retreat, even if for only a whole day or a weekend. Get away alone, or take advantage of the various retreat opportunities offered through the Church.

Those are the “must do” rules. There is always the temptation to say “I don’t have time.” But when we  take time to develop our spiritual life, we will  discover new wellsprings of energy and inspiration to  better enable  us to carry out  our daily affairs  with vigor and joy.
When we start a diet or exercise program, it’s easy to be discouraged, because we don’t see immediate results. We have to patiently wait for our efforts to produce their rewards. The same holds here, but  one thing is sure. God will give himself to all in proportion to their desire for him and their effort to reach him.

+Bishop Raymundo J. Peña

last updated 09-Jun-2010 10:44 sitemap