Spirituality

What is Spiritual Formation?

Spiritual Formation is the active and conscience search for God. The maturation of the Christian never ends. We are constantly growing. For the length of our lives we work with God to become the person we will be for eternity. Spiritual formation realigns our growth and assists us as we aim to imitate Jesus.

The main forms of prayer that have been promoted in the Diocese of Lismore, Catholic Schools, are the traditional forms and the Rosary, Awareness Examen, Lectio Divina, and the contemplative prayer of Christian Meditation.

Stay Connected Via YouTube

Sunday Mass with Bishop Greg

As with online/blended learning, our attention now turns to alternative ways to keep the Lord’s day sacred and focus on the value and importance of prayer in our lives. Bishop Greg’s Mass on Sunday morning can be watched live or in our own time. It has become part of the Sunday morning ritual for many in the Diocese.

Proclaim Lismore Students

During this time of social isolation, stay spiritually connected by subscribing to the Proclaim Lismore Students YouTube Channel. Here you will find numerous memories of past Student Discipleship Events, inspiring keynotes, interviews with special guests and music by the Diocesan Worship Band, Wildfire.

Christian Meditation

To unite our diocese and to maintain the experience of prayer, students are encouraged to continue their daily practice of Christian Meditation. To assist our students in keeping up their daily meditation practice the following information will inform parents and carers and support students in their prayer life.

Listen to Fr Laurence Freeman, the world director of Christian Meditation, provide simple instructions on the practice. This will assist parents in understanding the prayer form and the requirements of Stillness, Silence and Simplicity.

Click here for Fr Laurence's instructions on the Practice

In the video below Parish Secondary School students provide a simple guide to Christian Meditation.

Helpful Apps

WCCM App

The WCCM has created a free app to assist with the timing of Christian Meditation and includes other prayers that can be prayed before and after meditation. Parents are encouraged to download the app available in Google Play and the Apple Store.

Reimagining the Ignation Examen

This free app offers 34 adaptable versions of the Examen. Available in Google Play and the Apple Store.

Awareness Examen

A prayer that helps us to become more aware of God's presence in our day.

Click the image above for a praying the Examen with Children resource.

St. Ignatius of Loyola created the Examen to be a very short prayer that can be prayed at any time. In the Examen, we review our recent past to find God and God’s blessings in our daily life. Ignatius would say that the Examen should be the most important moment of our day, because this moment affects every other moment.

Benefits:

The Examen brings God’s presence into the mud and muck of our day. It helps...
Unite you even closer to God.
Reveal God’s perspective on your everyday life.
Stir you to praise God for the countless gifts that have popped up in your day, and even to find God’s presence in those gifts.
Give you an opportunity to recognise and apologise for your faults, grieve your failures and hurts, and receive healing from them.
Bring insight into what is really going on beneath the surface your thoughts, words, and actions - into the very source of your motivations.
You discern how to handle the trickier aspects of your life, to know what gifts you need from God to do the right thing tomorrow, and to ask God for those gifts explicitly.

Other Tips for Maturing Faith

Personal Prayer

Read Scripture - Start with the Gospels and move into the Psalms, the New Testament and weave an understanding of the prophecies and great stories of the Old Testament. 1. Read the verse in context, 2. observe the story and text, 3. apply the verse to your life, and 4. pray for guidance from the Holy Spirit. If you are unsure of what book to read, use the Ignite Youth Fuel App to lead you to the Church's universal Daily Readings.
Methods of the Saints - The Rosary, The Divine Mercy Chaplet, The Ignatius Examen, The contemplative methods of St Teresa of Avila etc.
Daily Stillness - Do not let a day go by without offering a thought to God. Find 15 minutes (minimum) for your relationship with God.

Spiritual Communion

Examination of Conscience - Consider a daily examination of conscience. Ask for God’s forgiveness of sins, mercy for the soul and grace to better love Him and our neighbour going forward.
Worship Music - Listen to quality christian music.
Prayer for Spiritual Communion - "My Jesus, I believe that You are present in the Most Holy Sacrament. I love You above all things, and I desire to receive You into my soul. Since I cannot at this moment receive You sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace You as if You were already there and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You. Amen."

Community Life and Fellowship

We all need a Christian companion to walk the journey with. Stay connected to your Parish, your colleagues or the Diocesan Young Adult Network .
Find that one friend that will keep you accountable in your faith and embrace a conversation about your spiritual life.

Missionary Discipleship

Serve the Parish - Although this is difficult at the present time, contact the Parish Office and put your name on the reading roster, become a Eucharistic Minister or simply mingle at Parish morning teas and events. In this time, perhaps their are Parishioners that are feeling extra isolated and need a phone call.
Service Project - It's important to have a volunteer project. Find a service project that you can commit to; homeless outreach, Caritas/Catholic Mission, refugee services or environmental stewardship opportunities.
Evangelisation - Do the people in your workplace know you're a Christian? "Do not be ashamed of the Gospel" (Romans 1:16). Witness your faith by the way you live your life.

Grow Your Spiritual Intellect

Podcasts - Subscribe to Catholic Podcasts with iTunes and listen in the car; Word on Fire, Do Something Beautiful, Ascension Press etc.
Retreats/ Conferences - At this time it is difficult to gather, but consider this option for the future. Many Australian Diocese and Religious Communities host retreat experiences for all ages. Not to mention, all the opportunities for Staff Formation in the Diocese of Lismore.
Spiritual Reading - There are so many great modern fiction Christian Novels. For something more in-depth read the Saints: St Thomas Aquinas, The Confessions of St Augustine, The Diary of St Faustina or poetry by St John of the Cross.

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