For about the last 15 years, I’ve made efforts to invite people into my life who’ll help nurture my spiritual journey. I’ve yearned to have partners to discuss the faith, pray with me, and, often, just serve to remind me of the foundations of my faith (like simply “have faith” when I fall into worry and despair). I’ve been inconsistent in my search, which is probably why results have been equally inconsistent. Lately I’ve been more convicted and steadfast about the importance of tending to my spiritual life. Part of the impetus was a dream I had last year. In the dream, I frequently forgot my responsibility to care for a pet bird, often leaving it unfed. And dream bird got pretty weak. But anytime I did give it just a bit of nutrition, it grew in front of my eyes. I felt strongly that the bird represented my spiritual self. Thought oft neglected, the spirit in me has held on, and just a bit of attention reaps great rewards. I think it takes a village to help grow one’s spiritual self. So I was thrilled when Fr. Jonathan St. Andre, a Franciscan Friar friend living in Loretto, PA, told me about a group of women who meet in Pittsburgh to study and pray together. On my first visit, one of the women had just returned from Rome, where she was present at the beatification of the late Pope John Paul II. She joked about how she thought she annoyed a travel companion because she repeatedly stated “I can’t believe I’m here.” At that moment, I knew just how she felt. Though I wasn’t physically near the Vatican, the connection I was feeling with my Catholic sisters touched me deeply. These beautiful, professional, smart women were expressing such a great desire to be with other women earnestly studying matters of faith, and holding each other in prayer for life events of celebration and trial, and ultimately be a little part of God’s kingdom. Later, my contact with the group was out of town during the next meeting, and due to an email snafu, I didn’t hear from anyone else in the group. All Sunday and Monday of Memorial Day weekend, I checked my e-mail hoping to hear which readings we would study. I never got a message, but I showed up anyway, just in case. And there were my new friends. I often have had to use a serious measure of persistence and tenacity in my professional life, but I was reminded that in spiritual matters, I must seek repeatedly before I find. I must demonstrate to God, to others, and to myself, that I really want the joy and peace and comfort that I find in my spiritual search.
