Which Spirituality?

[IgnatiusofLoyola]

Some of the ways to figure out your spirituality are asking yourself questions like "What kind of prayer am I drawn towards?" I'm a big fan of the Rosary and of reading prayers out of prayer books, and I also love just talking to God and the Saints. That being said, I know many people who as soon as they get to the Apostles Creed during the Rosary are completely distracted by something else and can't focus whatsoever during it, and are the same with prayers out of prayer books. Some people find praying while they work is where they are the best, but for me, I might as well not pray at all while working. I can't focus on doing something and focus on praying at the same time. I can't even work and talk at the same time, in all honesty. Every time I work with someone, when I start to speak, I subconsciously stop whatever job I'm doing. From what I understand, the type of prayer you are drawn to is a large part of what kind of spirituality you have. There are some who love praying in silence, and you'll typically find these people prefer the EF Mass, because it is silent for so much of it. I can't stand a lot of silence, because if there is no priest speaking or praying, my mind wanders everywhere but the Mass.

 

FP--One thing to keep in mind is that things don't stay static in our lives. When I was your age through my early twenties, I had a hard time being alone and silent and focused. I have seen this a LOT in people in their late teens/early twenties. And, the constant barrage of text, twitters, cell phone calls makes this trait stand out even more today.

 

Now that I am older, I am quite comfortable being alone with my thoughts and truly enjoy being silent and alone. In fact, sometimes when I am with a group of people, I am enjoying myself, but I find myself also looking forward to being alone again so that I can "process" what when on during the evening. I also never thought I would voluntarily travel alone. Circumstances forced me to do so, and I realized there were some things I really loved. There are good things about traveling with others, but other good things (although different) about traveling alone. Being comfortable being alone and quiet is a nice lesson to learn--but I'd be surprised if you learn it before you are 30, unless you go to a 30-day silent retreat or something similar.

 

You're going to be SHOCKED at how much you're going to change in the next 5-10 years. My example of ways that I changed may not apply to you at all--you will probably change in other ways.  If someone had told me that at 17 how much I would change, I would have thought the person was full of hooey, and didn't know me at all. Just wait. You think you've changed/grown a lot in the last 5-10 years--Just wait for the next 5-10 years!!!

[PhuturePriest]

FP--One thing to keep in mind is that things don't stay static in our lives. When I was your age through my early twenties, I had a hard time being alone and silent and focused. I have seen this a LOT in people in their late teens/early twenties. And, the constant barrage of text, twitters, cell phone calls makes this trait stand out even more today.

 

Now that I am older, I am quite comfortable being alone with my thoughts and truly enjoy being silent and alone. In fact, sometimes when I am with a group of people, I am enjoying myself, but I find myself also looking forward to being alone again so that I can "process" what when on during the evening. I also never thought I would voluntarily travel alone. Circumstances forced me to do so, and I realized there were some things I really loved. There are good things about traveling with others, but other good things (although different) about traveling alone. Being comfortable being alone and quiet is a nice lesson to learn--but I'd be surprised if you learn it before you are 30, unless you go to a 30-day silent retreat or something similar.

 

You're going to be SHOCKED at how much you're going to change in the next 5-10 years. My example of ways that I changed may not apply to you at all--you will probably change in other ways.  If someone had told me that at 17 how much I would change, I would have thought the person was full of hooey, and didn't know me at all. Just wait. You think you've changed/grown a lot in the last 5-10 years--Just wait for the next 5-10 years!!!

 

Hahaha, I live in the country, and my friends live 90 miles away. I spend 95% of my day alone without talking to anyone, so I've definitely learned how to just enjoy myself and process things. I would much rather see friends more often, trust me -- but I've learned and understood the value of being alone, whether it was voluntary or not. I definitely get what you mean by constantly changing, though. I'm not even recognizable to my 14 year old self, so why would I stop changing and maturing now?

[Julian]

I've done a phorum search, and whilst I can find polls where people discuss their preferred spirituality, I couldn't find anything on the topic of discerning which spirituality is your best fit.

 

Yep, rolling back the discernment process for somebody starting out! I read today a quote from somebody (a Vocation Director, I think) saying you couldn't make a Carmelite a Dominican even if you tried...which made me wonder, how do you know which one you are? How do you know which spirituality is your best fit? 

 

(I didn't grow up as a Catholic so I'm starting from scratch.)

 

And if you don't know, what's the best way to find out? Which books to read? (Think introductory books, starting points.)

 

I know some of you are very passionate about a particular family of spirituality, so I'd be interested to know why that is, too. Is it the founder? Particular saints? Experiences of bringing elements of that spirituality into your daily life? 

 

Hope you don't mind all the questions, but you all are so knowledgeable I couldn't resist!  :hehe:

 

Thank you :)

 

Best "spirituality" is Introduction to Devout Life by St. Frances DeSales. He is a saint, master and genius of spiritual life.

This will introduce you to basics of spiritual life like getting rid of mortal and venial sins, how to do general confession..... Basically it describes the PURGATIVE WAY of Catholic Spirituality.

 

Edited by moderator:  top level of link points to Maria Valtorta's writing/End Times/etc. and is not appropriate for Vocation Station.  Feel free to give specific book titles. (cmaD2006)

Edited January 23, 2014 by cmaD2006