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A letter from our Spiritual Director
My name is Linda White and I am the spiritual director for Heart of Mary Women’s Fellowship. Like most women, my Catholic journey has been unique, challenging and fulfilling but it has shaped who I am today while the process continues. Like many women, I entered adulthood wanting to love God and others but very confused by the ways of the world and hurt by challenges experienced in my childhood. Attending church and trying to be a good Catholic women did not fulfill the longing I had to know the true God and His daughter, Linda.
I tried to fulfill my desire for God through mass and service. And though these were very good actions, they were not enough to heal the wounds that were inhibiting my relationship with God. Christian counseling was good but still not fill the void. Finally, a few years ago, I was led to spiritual direction and the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola. THIS was the missing piece. Through daily meditation of scripture and periodic meetings with my spiritual director, I began to piece together the true nature of God and his plan for His beloved daughter. A few years into this, my spiritual director helped me realize that God was calling me to this same ministry.
After three years of formation, I am now a spiritual director for my parish and Loyola Institute for Spirituality in Orange, CA. In the Heart of Mary Women’s Fellowship, I provide spiritual insights to the “33 Days to Morning Glory” Consecration and can take spiritual questions through email (linda@heartofmarywf.com).
For those that might want regular spiritual direction, I meet at my parish in Alta Loma, CA or a Skype session can be arranged if distance is a problem. I consider spiritual direction to be a ministry and have chosen not to charge a monetary fee for my time.
So what is spiritual direction? Spiritual direction is help given by one Christian to another to enable that person to pay attention to God’s personal communication to him or her, to grow in intimacy with this God, and to live out the call of God in their lives. This is usually accomplished through daily prayer over assigned scripture passages, then sharing the experiences of that prayer time and other ways that God communicated in daily life. Meetings with spiritual directors are usually once per month.
The process is life changing. Spiritual direction is often confused with pastoral counseling which is Christian or Catholic-based counseling aimed at solving a problem such as a relationship or depression. In spiritual direction, the same issues may be discussed but the focus is on how God is speaking to you through the challenge and how the challenge is affecting your relationship with God.
Peace be with you, Linda
A letter from our Prayer Director
Regard your servant’s prayer and his plea, O Lord my God, heeding the cry and the prayer that your servant prays to you today 1 King 8:28
What is prayer?
"Simply the practice of lifting up the heart to God"
It is an honest conversation with the one that we love (Jesus). Each one of us has been assigned to pray with hope and faith and love, this brings us into harmony with God.
When we pray for others this is intercessory prayer. Intercession can be called a doorway to Gods heart. It's heart knowledge we want when praying for others, we want to pray with the father's heart, a father always wants what is best for his child.
So as an intercessor we call down the graces needed, praying with a focus and aligning ourselves with God.
Praying with purpose.
This creates a sense of communion between the one who prays and the one who hears our prayer, namely God the father.
Praise, worship, thanksgiving and adoration are all part of of this conversation through which we grow in intimacy with our Lord. Esteem in honor to be a servant of the Lord through which our humble supplication is heard. God is present in each of us when we draw near to him in friendship.
Most of our prayers are done in secret before the Lord there are times we are asked to pray with and for others but mostly alone before the Lord. We don't change things God does, so he gets the glory.
One thing that happens from prayer is your heart will be changed. You will grow in compassion in his mercy and you will grow and gratitude in his friendship.
God bless you, I am praying for you, Susan Sabahi
You can ask for prayer at heartofmarywf@aol.com