The 3 R’s of my spiritual journey
Fall foliage in the hills above Florence, Italy in Nov 2019
First it was the three P’s, now it’s the three R’s. Who knows, maybe next it’ll be the three S’s? Anyhow, if you were to ask me what my daily spiritual practices look like, I’d say it boils down to three R’s: reading, reflecting and rosary.
Let’s start with reading. Lately I’ve been reading anything I can get my hands on from Bishop Barron. After enjoying all of his teaching videos and listening to his weekly podcasts and sermons, I’ve started delving into his writing and boy is it good! For starters, I got the new Word on Fire Bible which includes the four Gospels. Packed with rich insights and beautiful artwork, it’s a feast for the eyes and a delight for the mind, heart and soul. It’s a great addition to your Catholic library and the remainder of the New Testament will be published next year. I also picked up two of his books that are a collection of short essays: Vibrant Paradoxes and Seeds of the Word. Those are great as well. It’s nice to have a scholar who’s done all the heavy lifting for us. He distills everything down to the salient points of why we believe what we believe. His writing is succinct, his points are well formulated and his concepts always follow a logical flow. It’s a pleasure to ready anything BB writes (around my house he’s known as BB).
Next comes reflecting. I start each day with a cup of green tea and an hour with my best friend Jesus. I thank him for my many blessings; I share what’s on my heart; I reflect on how the journey is going and I ask him for the grace to do better each day. I also pray for the Holy Spirit to grant me a heaping dose of his many fruits: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control. Ask and you shall receive! I’m confident the Holy Spirit will always supply what we need to help us live our Christian faith and bring glory to God.
Last but certainly not least is the rosary. I started praying the rosary 8 years ago when I was battling cancer and have continued doing so daily every since. It fits really well into the rhythm of my daily walk and has been a powerful tool in my spiritual tool belt. A wonderful byproduct is that it has drawn me into a really close relationship with the Blessed Mother. I love her so much! She comforts me when I’m down and she reminds me that no matter what difficulties we may face in this life, the Lord will never leave us nor forsake us. Her last recorded words in scripture (uttered at the wedding feast at Cana) were, “Do whatever He tells you to do.” Those are some powerful words to live by!
The three R’s have made a big difference in my walk with Christ, and I hope they provide some inspiration for your spiritual journey as well.