Life is a liturgy. Man is homo liturgicus. Everything we do is centered in a rhythm. Already today I have fulfilled a series of complex rituals:
- Waking
- Praying
- Brushing Teeth
- Showering/Shampooing
- Eating
- Driving
- Prepping for Blog Post
And each of these is its own microcosm of ritual. For example, driving a car includes rituals about seat belts, blinkers, adjusting mirrors, and a pattern to work.
Okay, homo liturgicus. What’s your spiritual plan?
Let me go Aristotelian and Thomistic on you. Don’t worry. It’s simple. You don’t need to be a philosopher to understand this.
Aristotle and Saint Thomas spoke a lot about final causality. What he meant is that we best understand something we when grasp its ultimate purpose. If I think that the purpose of a guitar is to be used as an oar for my kayak, I’m going to ruin my guitar. Also, my kayak isn’t going to get very far.
The key is understanding the final cause or purpose of the guitar. If you don’t understand this final purpose, you’ll wreck it.
Now look at your life. What’s your final purpose?
If you answered “Get to Heaven and experience the Beatific Vision,” you answered correctly. But you’re not finished.
You see, each person is called to Heaven in a unique way. Saint Francis’ path involved founding the Order Friars Minor. Saint Paul’s way entailed proclaiming the Gospel to the nations and being a martyr.
But God has a special way for you to find Heaven in and through Christ His Son.
So here are three simple steps to find it that path and then set up a rhythm or liturgy to achieve it by His grace.
1) Get out a sheet of paper and write down all your dreams. The best way to distill this is to imagine yourself on your death bed. When asked, “What legacy did I leave?” It may be difficult for you to answer this, but keep at it. Write it down and chew on it.
2) Next write all of your gifts. If you write “nothing” you are lying yourself and lying to God. 1 Peter 4:10 says God has given each of us a special gift.
3) Now associate your dreams with your gifts. Discover the connections between what you are good at (gifts) and what you want to become (dreams). This is the most difficult part, because it requires you creating a multi-year plan. Perhaps multi-decade.
God promises you this: “Delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” (Psalm 36/37:4)
Tonight when you go to bed, tell Christ that you delight in Him and then ask Him to give you the desires of your heart. Your heartfelt desires are part of His plan. Then establish the routine or “liturgy of life” to fulfill those desires for Him. These three simple steps should help you distill what you are all about. So get out the piece of paper and spend ten minutes mapping it out.
“Turn yourself round like a piece of clay and say to the Lord, I am clay, and you Lord the potter. Make of me what you will.” – Saint John of Avila, Doctor of the Church.
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