| | Personal Renewal | | The Antidote to a busy life | | Michael J. Najim | | |  One of the great challenges of our time is that people are simultaneously so busy and so alone. One of the great lies of our time is that busyness equals effectiveness. Priests are exempt from neither the great challenge nor the great lie. In fact, from my experience, priests are some of the busiest, hardest working people; and yet, sometimes they can be very much alone.
One reason that priests can experience loneliness is because at times the quiet that we are afforded is not used for personal renewal. In fact, it is in the quiet that personal and pastoral struggles are sometimes dwelt upon and intensified; or worse, this time alone is filled with destructive habits aimed at escaping problems.
Yes, priests are very busy, but we must ask ourselves a fundamental question and answer it with brutal honesty: am I choosing to empower the busyness and problems in my life to take control of my life, or am I choosing to empower my life to take control of my busyness and problems? If you read any good self-development book, you will find one principle that is essential for improving the quality of our lives—as human beings, we are responsible for every aspect of our lives: our thoughts, feelings and actions. Put simply, we have the God-given power to choose, and the choices we make shape our lives.
Yet, as good as some of these self-development books are, they lack the fundamental truth upon which our Faith and priestly ministry are based: the Incarnation. In Christ, the power that we have to shape our lives has been divinized. In Christ, we are given grace and truth. In Christ, then, we are to live.
Upon reflection I have come to understand that there are two fundamental truths that can change our way of thinking and acting. Ultimately these truths have the power to impact our growth in holiness and our effectiveness in the personal and pastoral dimensions of our lives.
The first of these truths is that Jesus Christ fully reveals man to himself and makes His supreme calling clear (Gaudium et Spes, no. 22). The second is that “the glory of God is a human being fully alive” (St Irenaus).
As human beings, we are physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual. In Christ, our human nature has been united to the divine nature; we have been divinized. He reveals who we are truly supposed to be. And if it is true that the glory of God is a human being fully alive, then each area of our lives should be aflame with His glory. Doesn’t this mean then that as priests, if we want to be both personally holy and pastorally effective, we must consciously take care of our whole self?
Choosing to make time for solitude and prayer and dedicating ourselves to personal growth and development is crucial to taking control of our lives and becoming the priests that God is calling us to be. This is essential for growth in true holiness; it is essential if we want to be personally and pastorally effective.
Therefore, we must ask ourselves: am I choosing to make time for solitude, and what am I doing in it? Am I dedicating myself to personal growth and development? This must be a priority for us. “I’m too busy” will not suffice. We must consciously choose not to empower our busyness to smother the image of God from being fully alive in us.
What we do in solitude has everything to do with our personal holiness and pastoral effectiveness. In solitude we pray, in prayer we encounter Christ, in this encounter Christ reveals himself, and in revealing himself we see our supreme calling.
From prayer must flow a conscious choice to dedicate ourselves to personal growth and development in every area of our lives. This point is central. |
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Christ reveals us to ourselves, and one thing He reveals is that we have been given a tremendous power to shape our lives for the good, a power to manage ourselves effectively so we do not feel controlled by our busyness.
How does all this translate into practice? It is imperative for us to believe that the quality of our ministry depends upon the quality of our lives. We must then dedicate ourselves to developing our spiritual, physical, emotional and intellectual life. No area can be neglected. To neglect one is to harm each of them.
We must decide to make spending time with the Master a priority; to put being before doing. “I’m too busy” must be put to rest. How foolish it would be to drive our car until it reached empty. Why then do we do this to ourselves?
Solitude is the time for us simply to be with the Lord. This time alone with the Lord is time for daily spiritual renewal. When we pray in solitude, we tend to the spiritual life which is vital for our holiness and ministry.
Solitude also affords us the opportunity to develop our intellectual life. Are we making time for spiritual reading? Are we making time to read books that will help us to be intellectually alive and books that will challenge us to grow and develop in other areas of our lives?
Tending to our physical health is imperative. A balanced diet, quality sleep and regular exercise keep us refreshed and energized. Giving relationships priority in our lives will help us to grow emotionally. Are we spending quality time with other priests, our families and good lay friends?
It’s altogether too easy for us to waste the quiet time that is afforded us rather than using it for prayer and personal renewal. Certainly our plan must be realistic, especially with the many demands that we face; but there are things we can do regularly that will help us to experience personal renewal.
What are some simple but transformative ways we can spend our quiet time? We can:
• Set time aside to identify, reflect upon and write down the many blessings, gifts and talents that God has given us and foster a spirit of gratitude
• Make time to journal, for writing brings clarity
• Reflect upon, write down, and even visualize the kind of priest God is calling us to be
• Learn how to develop and use a personal mission statement that keeps us focused
• Not only examine our con-science, but visualize the way we believe the Lord is calling us to live
• Read books that inspire us
• Pray daily in silence
• Get spiritual direction and go to Confession regularly
• Eat wisely
• Exercise often.
By using solitude wisely and dedicating ourselves to personal growth and development, we commit ourselves to personal renewal and are empowered by the Lord to live effectively and not be controlled by our busyness.
The Lord has given us the power to choose, and when we exercise this power in union with Christ we experience exhilaration about our life and ministry. The fruits of the Spirit come to life in us and we experience confidence, passion and purpose.
All of this can take place in our lives if we reject the lie that busyness equals effectiveness. Experience tells us the opposite: we are most fulfilled and effective when we make time for renewal. In fact, the holiness of our lives and the effectiveness of our ministry depend on it.
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