Happy Easter!!
This Sunday we celebrate "Divine Mercy" Sunday. May these 12 Spiritual Principles to live by daily, shared by Fr. Tom Donaldson, CSsR, inspire us this Easter Season.
12 Spiritual Principles ~ Fr. Tom Donaldson, CSsR
1. ACCEPTANCE
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Once you deeply accept that only you have the power to move forward in your life, then you can take the action to do it. But there are also things that you cannot change, and the work here is to accept that you can't manage that situation or this person or that thing. There is power in powerlessness also, because it frees you from conflict and allows you to enjoy the rest of your life.
2. LIVE YOUR TRUTH
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You'd be surprised how many lies I told myself and how many times I suffered because of them. Indeed, the lies I told myself fed into the lies I told other people and left me isolated when all I ever craved was connection. Can you believe that? My cure for loneliness was isolation. But I changed all of that when I started to speak my own truth and gave the people around me the opportunity to truly know who I was and what I stood for.
3. REMAIN GRATEFUL
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I try to practice gratitude. I can lose sense of the things that really matter, and fall away from gratitude. Everything in your life is worth exploring, whether it be the fact that you can walk and run or the knowledge that, if it ever gets to be too much, the world is designed to accommodate you and help you not feel so abandoned or alone.
4. HAVE FAITH IN YOUR RELATIONSHIPS
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We come into the world, each of us, with our own baggage (sometimes it's an abandonment issue; sometimes its simple trust issues, etc....). We acquire these as children, but we discover that these lessons no longer serve us in adulthood, and we become forced to re-parent or reeducate ourselves. Part of this means learning how to trust our friends and partners and spouses. People are sometimes going to let you down. This is a fact of life. But it is our responsibility to not create an arena for them to do so.
5. BE OF SERVICE
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It isn't an act of kindness if you expect something for it, and once you remove the payoff from the equation, you will find yourself catapulted to the next level of true selflessness, and that is the understanding that the reward for loving is loving; the reward for being of service is being of service. And the self-esteem that comes from reaching out and helping other people is invaluable. Because it gets you out of your own head and helps you not feel overwhelmed by problems or other concerns. It helps you feel connected.
6. LAUGH AT YOURSELF
- It never ceases to amaze me how sensitive I am. People who care about me - who I know absolutely love me - will sometimes point out one of my idiosyncrasies or talk about something stupid I did in mixed company and, for a long time, it would hurt my feelings and I would over-react. Granted, we all need to monitor how we are perceived (you don't get a second chance at first impressions), but learning how to laugh at yourself can help build stronger relationships.
7. LIVE IN THE MOMENT
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Your past is inescapable, your future is unavoidable, but your present is forever unrestrained. We sometimes spend more time obsessing over things that have happened and dreading some unforeseen future that we forget the simple truth that, right now, in this moment, we are okay.
8. PRACTICE RESTRAINT OF PEN AND TONGUE
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This was a hard one for me to learn. But then I realized that a lot of the conflict in my life was of my own design. I had to adopt a new way of relating to other people. I had to ask myself, "Does this need to be said?", then, "Does this need to be said now?" and finally, "Does this need to be said By Me?" The three simple questions, in one fell stroke, eliminated so much pain and drama in my life that it left a huge space in my life that could only be filled with a new influx of love and understanding.
9. LEARN TO FORGIVE
- This one's a hard pill to swallow, because I'm not a huge advocate of "Turn the Other Cheek"; I believe that you have to talk about (and really process) some wrongs that have been done to you before you can get to the part where forgiveness is possible. But, I also believe that it gets easier every time you do it, and that the emotional work involved is worth the effort it takes to get there. Some transgressions are unforgivable, true. But most aren't. Bear in mind, I am not telling you to run out and forgive everyone; I am telling you to LEARN to forgive, because that's where the spiritual growth will come from: it will come from the journey toward forgiveness.
10. REMAIN TEACHABLE
- Allow yourself to have an open mind. Accept that even the worst-dressed person at the party may have something interesting to say to you and put your hand out to say hello. Rediscover your sense of wonder. No matter how old you are, the world still has a lot to show you. We are not human beings having a spiritual experience; we are spiritual beings having very Human experiences. Avail yourself to each and every one.
11. EVERYTHING YOU CAME HERE LOOKING FOR, YOU CAME HERE LOOKING WITH
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I cannot tell you how much time and energy I wasted searching for some sort of outside "thing" to fix me. And everywhere I went, the answer was always the same: We're Perfect. In and of ourselves, we are whole and complete. Inner Peace comes from accepting this as Your Truth. Granted, there are things about ourselves that we can change, and there are outside things that we can acquire that will enrich the quality of our lives, but none of those things are the destination of any spiritual journey; every spiritual journey is designed to help you find yourself. Or maybe better said: To allow God to find you!!
12. BE COURAGEOUS IN LIFE
- Maya Angelou is a celebrated American author and poet who once taught that Courage is the most important of all the virtues because, without it, you cannot practice any of the others consistently. It takes Courage to Love, Courage to Risk!
Saturday we welcome Bishop Rassas to St. Mary's to celebrate the sacrament of Confirmation with our students. Led by the Holy Spirit may we live joyfully in the Lord. May our newly confirmed give thanks to God for the faith they are called to live and encouraged to share.
God bless with you with a heart rejoicing in the Lord this Easter!
