My Last Days - A Dress Rehearsal

The end of this liturgical year is drawing to a close. Each liturgical year connects us with the unfolding story of salvation. Beginning with the Promise, made after the Fall, it recounts the events of God's Saving Grace, and anticipates the fullness of time and the coming of the New Heaven and the New Earth - from the First Sunday of Advent through to the triumphant reign of Jesus Christ the King. As the cycle of events is recounted, a new generation is added to its history until all is fulfilled.  

Each person within the greater history of salvation, has their own unique and personal salvation history. It too has a beginning and will ultimately have an end in time. While the ultimate destiny for each individual is to share in eternal life with Christ the King, it can be rejected. Death in time is a certainty for everyone, but their existence continues. Where they will exist, becomes the purpose of the spiritual life.

One of the exercises in the life of prayer is to map out one's own faith journey. This becomes especially helpful for discernment. As you survey the progress of your life of faith, you are able to recognize more clearly those moments when the presence of God's grace was strongest, and God's direction for your life was clearest. Like one ascending to the unobstructed vantage point of the hilltop, you see clearly, from where you have come, and the way to your next destination. If you see that you have deviated from your God-given  coarse, you make the necessary coarse corrections, having a fresh heart and renewed resolve to continue. 

Starting A Personal Faith History Journal

For best results, this exercise should be carefully recorded, and added to, as your journey unfolds. Here is an outline of the main points to help you. A link to a more complete rendering of this subject follows.

• For the most part, a person's life may appear as progressing along a familiar and steady course, day to day. But there are times when that pattern is altered by significant events that break into one's life, often bring about changes. Looking back over your life, do you recognize a similar pattern?

• God's grace is always present, but we do not always recognize that presence, nor are we consciously cooperating with God's grace. But the hand of God may touch our lives at special moments and in convincing ways that awaken us to His presence and grace. These are our "Road to Damascus" experiences, that shape our life of faith. These are key moments to identify, understand and record. They are our compass check points that will helps through the dark times in our faith journey.

• Having such a coherent faith history is particularly helpful when one is facing a decision making time in their life. The rule is, in times of dark uncertainty, one should not change the course of life they have been following. Rather, one referrers back to the last grace-filled time of decision and then prays for the next light of faith to guide them.

One of those, "Road to Damascus" graced moments, occurred in my life when I made the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, at Guelph Ontario, under the direction of Fr. John Veltri SJ.  Father John has published a comprehensive approach to developing a personal faith history, which I highly recommend. Here is a link to his web site. Link To Personal Salvation History