On spiritual growth...Catherine de Hueck Doherty

Last week I read a quote by Catherine de Hueck Doherty that caught my attention.  It was in A Guide to Prayer For All God's People (the red book), published by the Upper Room.  It was in the "Readings for Reflection" section for the 4th Sunday of Advent, "When God Comes", page 45.  It is a quote about love, pain, and spiritual growth.

Here is the quote:

     "Where there is love, there is pain.  But whatever our walk in life, this kind of pain is God's way of teaching us how to pray.  Everything that happens to us spiritually, everything that causes us to grow, will bring us closer to God if we say yes.  This is what spiritual growth means.  It doesn't come from what we do, necessarily, from all our actions and good works.  Sometimes it comes from simply sitting and seeing the shambles of what we tried to accomplish, from watching what was seemingly God's work go to pot.  You can't do anything about it, but watch.  This happened to me.  I knew dimly then what I see more clearly today, that this was the moment when God really picked me up and said, "Now I am offering you the union you seek.  the other side of my cross is empty.  Come, be nailed upon it.  This is our marriage bed."
     All we can answer in response to that invitation is, "Help me, God!  I don't have the courage to climb on this cross."
                                                                                --From Soul of My Soul

Not knowing who Catherine Doherty was, I looked her up and learned.  Here is a good website to learn more about her:  Catherine Doherty Website  She loved God.  She was a powerful speaker and writer.  A quote from the Madonna House website: "Catherine Doherty was a woman in love with God. The implications of that love story, as it unfolded throughout her life, brought her enough adventure, heartbreak and joy to fill several lifetimes." Madonna House Website.  The Madonna House is a training center that she founded.

Now I will need to add to my reading list!  She has written quite a few books that capture my attention.  Plus, on the website I found a poem, "Journey Inward" that was powerful! Journey Inward by Catherine Doherty

Back to the quote that originally got my attention.  Once again, I am reminded that we cannot escape pain.  And, I'm good with that.  That is something I've been living into over quite a few years now.  My thought is that there is going to be pain in life.  So, do I choose to live through the pain that will bring me to a healthy place or do I choose to live with the pain that will keep me unhealthy?  Pain can teach us how to pray.

A line that caught my attention was: "Everything that happens to us spiritually, everything that causes us to grow, will bring us closer to God if we say yes."  This line resonates within me.  There have been quite a few opportunities to say yes over the past 5 years.  I am grateful.  It hasn't been easy or without sacrifice.  I am being refined through the fire, the Refiner's Fire.

Though I rarely have the courage to attempt the opportunities that come my way, I hope to continue to say yes to God.

Whatever you are facing, whether there is pain or struggle on your journey or not, know that God is with you.

~Debra