Any true mission or vocation must arise from and be anchored in a keen awareness of who we are. Understanding our own belovedness and the particular ways in which we are graced by God ensures that we are undertaking the right mission for the right reasons, and sustains us through the inevitable sacrifices. Moreover, a sense of identity will continue to bear fruit long after the mission evolves, completes, or is passed on to others, or a sense of vocation changes. Thus, the oft-cited contemplative axiom that your doing must flow from your being.
It can be troubling to find, then, especially in Western society, how often people struggle to recognize any identity apart from their doing. We’re quick to conflate our identity with our occupation (a major reason why the transition into retirement is so difficult for some). Naming ourselves by relationship (mother, father, sister, brother, child, etc.) comes much closer to the truth of the matter, but even these sources of identity can be falsely tied to a set of duties – think of parents who struggle with their place in the world as empty-nesters. The culture has no shortage of voices trying to link our identities to appearance, possessions, or the validation of others.
It is in prayer and contemplation that we allow all these false claimants to identity to fall away, and to give the only Voice that matters the chance to name us correctly and be heard: “My beloved child.”
 Contact us at 314-578-0062 or [email protected]!