When you pray

By Mary Grace Thul, OP

Perseverance. I was taught, as a young religious, that no grace was greater than that one. That once you made a commitment, you had to live and die in that commitment because that was the highest perfection. I believed that-until I realized truth should have been my higher goal.

Commitment is important. But we need to accept the fact that we do make mistakes. And to stay in God's grace doesn’t mean we must "stay the same". There are times when we must move on, when staying in our present position is actually a response to fear. We sometimes make promises we should not have made, and take on commitments we should not have taken. To refuse to acknowledge that such acts may not have been in my best interest is to say, I can never make a mistake. And that is a lie.

So now I don't make life about perseverance. I make life about God and grace and truth. Because these things mean more than "staying with that choice you once made many years ago, maybe a choice made under pressure or stress or whatever, but once you make that promise, you can never ever admit it was a mistake, God simply would not understand such humanness."

When you pray, do not say “Let me stay the same.”  Instead, say, “What are you asking of me, this day, this hour?” And if you find you are not in the right place or state, don't be afraid to say "Gosh, I've made a mistake. It's time to change my life and move on." It actually takes a great deal more courage.