WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO MAKE SPIRITUAL PROGRESS?

Very often I am asked in Confession or Spiritual Direction how it is that we know if we are making spiritual progress or growing in holiness?  So I would like to offer some ways of gauging our Advent progress in virtue and holiness.  First of all, we all know how fast the time before Christmas zips by with one day blurring into the next. So it is really necessary, to counteract this mad race of events and tasks with some quiet time for reflection.  We need to identify a few minutes of each day during which we focus on who we are and on the meaning of our life.  This prayer form is often called “Meditation”.

When we listen carefully in prayer, the Nativity and the Incarnation teach us so powerfully the truth of our identity.  We are so beloved of God that God chose to become one like us in order to tell us with divine/human words and actions who we really are. “You are my Beloved Child”.  In addition to paying attention to our true identity, it is equally helpful to reflect upon “Why we are here” the meaning and purpose of life.  We will discover in moments of tranquility and prayerful centeredness that we exist out of love and for the purpose of love.  The more unselfishly and passionately we love, the more we fulfill our life’s destiny and experience true and lasting happiness.

Another important gauge of growth in the spiritual life is how sacrificial our loving is? We will benefit immensely during Advent from a thoughtful and prayerful consideration of the important people and relationships that make up the tapestry of our lives. Once we do this we will discover multiple opportunities for unselfish acts of love and consideration.  A simple, truthful compliment accomplishes far more than we think. Each time we affirm the worth, uniqueness and special gifts of another, we help that person to be more courageous, hopeful and joyful.  Counting how often we compliment those we love is a great tool for measuring Advent spiritual progress.  Our ministerial volunteerism in one of our parish ministries is also an opportunity to get out of our own preoccupations and focus upon the needs of others.  As Jesus has taught us “What you do to the least of my sisters or brothers, you do to me”.

Advent in an important way also teaches us that we do not journey in faith as a solitary.  We journey in faith as a member of the Pilgrim People of God.  We are part of a People, chosen, saved and guided by the grace of God.  Our devotional chapel is a perfect place to express the communal dimension of our life of faith.  At times we will be praying alone and have the Lord present in the Holy Eucharist as our companion.  At other times, we find ourselves praying with others and for others in the spirit of true Christian solidarity.  So another helpful Advent measure is how much time we have spent in our chapel?

As Advent begins to wind down, it is a perfect time to pause and measure progress and perhaps re-commit so that Advent doesn’t come and go and we find ourselves still stalled in the same place on our spiritual journey.

– Msgr. Michael D. McGraw