For the past fifteen years I have been a spiritual seeker (and hope to continue). I have attended a variety of churches, Unitarian Universalist taught me how to care for Mother Earth, how to make change with social justice and I met a minister there who challenged my beliefs (in a good way), by asking me to define what I believed and to shake out the old cobwebs of my childhood. With the task, I created a “mission statement” of my beliefs. It still involved Jesus and a Christian approach to my life, so “questioning everything” was no longer filling my spirit.
I moved onto Episcopalian, which became a church similar to my protestant upbringing. But this church was also missing the other part of my life; my husband. We all reach enlightenment in our own time, but a longtime prayer had been, that one day – we would walk the path together.
The pieces were all coming together.
Through the many years of soul searching; I semi-regularly attended retreats, classes and an occasional mass; all at Catholic monasteries, retreat centers or churches. The Catholic beliefs pulled at my heart, I always felt great peace in my spirit when I was in the presence of people from this religion. It was a calm I had never experienced before.
I began Spiritual Direction late last summer. I was evolving in more than spiritual ways, I was coming from full-circle from cancer. I was shaking off the old and injured parts of my psyche, ready for new. It was there in those gatherings of discussion, did I realize that I wanted what I had always experienced in monasteries and classes, I wanted to become Catholic.
Symbolism, rituals, peace of heart, calm spirit, the focus on prayer, the great love that Jesus has for me, the desire for something so much greater than myself.
I now attend weekly RCIA classes to become an official Catholic. It is a place to ask every question pertaining to the Catholic church, faith, “why do they A, B or C.” I was ignorant in the parts of Catholicism I didn’t know. There are still questions and I haven’t got the rosary down yet, but I’m a work in progress.
And now, I walk the path; separately and together, with my hubby. It seems that this “faith thing” is now coming together!
#beblessed #faithisnotareligion #wisdom
THE PIECES 