The Christian life is a pilgrim’s life: we are all on pilgrimage back to the Father’s house. God loves every human being with an eternal and unconditional love, but his love extends especially to the poor, the marginalized, the despised and those like the prodigal son who are far from the Father’s house. Our journey towards the Father occurs first and foremost in our own hearts. By necessity it involves another journey – the journey of conversion. Authentic conversion means a turning away from sin and evil towards Christ, his person, his teaching and his life. Conversion is the movement of a humble heart to the love and mercy of God who loved us first. St Ambrose, who was so instrumental in the conversion of St Augustine, wrote of this process: ‘There are two conversions, one of water and one of tears; the water of baptism and the tears of repentance.’
The Greeks held the view that an unexamined life was not worth living. They understood, in an age before Christ, that reflection, examination and consideration of our thoughts, our attitudes, the things we have said and have not, and the things we have done and have not done, are very much part and parcel of being a fulfilled and happy human being. If there is no reflection or self-examination, nothing changes and we do not mature and grow as human beings.
The Christian understanding of examination of conscience, confession of sin, and reflecting on the way we think, act and behave has been essential and integral to our faith from its beginning. Examination of conscience was a vital ingredient in Pope John Paul’s vision as he urged the Church to prepare for the new millennium. He constantly urged us to purify ourselves through an examination of conscience which would lead to repentance and conversion. This in turn leads to our making ourselves available to receive the sacrament of reconciliation with a renewed sense of vigour and expectancy and a seeking out of the cleansing and refreshment imparted through this wonderful sacrament. We believe that examining our lives and seeking out God’s grace in the sacrament of reconciliation has the effect of deepening within us a living sense of God’s mercy and forgiveness in a way which brings about a springtime of joy and conversion of heart.
Through baptism each of us has received a call to conversion. Conversion is an indispensable condition for change and transformation. Leo Tolstoy said that ‘many talk of changing society but very few talk of changing themselves’. The daily struggle to grow, mature and walk in the footsteps of our Lord and Master is, without doubt, the greatest challenge we face.
In our fast and frantic society we prefer instant results. We have lost something of the wisdom and patience required for steady and persistent growth. The spiritual life is not a quick dash but rather a marathon requiring patient toil, endurance and persistence. The Bible Alive Liturgical Prayer Diary will help you as you run the race and fight the fight to win the prize prepared for you in Christ Jesus. Every day presents new opportunities to live the Christian life, to experience more of the Lord, to grow in virtue, to overcome sin patterns and to learn to love God and neighbour as Jesus taught. In truth, however, each new day can bring with it its fair share of defeat, frustration, and even anguish and despair. Many have found over the centuries that making time to be alone with the Lord in prayer or reading his Word leads to much fruit in their lives: insight and revelation into the Christian mystery, comfort, solace, wisdom, guidance and a fresh perspective that can change and transform a difficult situation.
Pope John XXIII kept a prayer diary from the age of fourteen until his death at eighty-two! It is a staggering and unbelievable commitment to the practice of journal writing. He perfected the habit of jotting down in school exercise books and on odd pieces of paper the record of his own growth in holiness. He has left the Church a wonderful legacy of the trials, tribulations and joys of spiritual growth in his masterpiece Journal of a Soul.
Our relationship with God should not be cold, dry or functional but rather lively, living and dynamic. It is an encounter with the living God who is our Father, the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. We should not feel embarrassed or shy about recording the drama and detail of our lives. Everything that happens to us is important to God – God is after all our Father in heaven. We can bring to him everything on our minds, all that weighs us down or burdens us. We can also praise him for our victories, successes and achievements. Indeed, we can bring to him our ambitions, our plans and the deepest desires of our heart.
There are no hard and fast rules about keeping a prayer diary. It would be wrong to be prescriptive: we are all different and we all approach it differently. Some are methodical and systematic, others are more infrequent and casual. Many begin this discipline with an initial enthusiasm that quickly wanes, while others begin with little verve but quickly develop a taste for the practice. For those who have not kept a diary before and perhaps are worried about what to write and where to start, some words of encouragement: there is a vast array of sources you can draw on – a verse from the Bible; a phrase from the liturgy or a point from a homily; an inspired thought you have received in prayer; a thought or comment from reading a reflection in Bible Alive; a prayer expressing how you feel at the moment; in short, absolutely anything that is on your mind and heart.
Join the ever growing number of readers who use the Bible Alive Liturgical Diary as their pilgrim’s resource. You will not be disappointed. It is a wonderful way of walking with the Church in its liturgy, hearing the wisdom of the saints and learning the life-changing practice and skill of keeping a spiritual journal.
In this year dedicated to the great Apostle St Paul, it is fitting that we join our prayer to his because his vision was rooted in the truth that God is our Father who gives good gifts to his children (grace, truth and love) and does so abundantly and lavishly.
‘For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with might through his Spirit in the inner man, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have power to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, for ever and ever. Amen.’ (Eph. 3:14-21)

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