The Second Course: reflecting on ROOTS 2024
In this 3rd year of ROOTS workshop, we come back again to the idea that in order for us to bear good – God given – fruits, we must be clear about the great need to strengthen our roots before any visible growth and results can take place.
It seems only natural that we see our spiritual lives through the lens of this powerful and natural metaphor. Roots are the origin of the tree’s life, and roots are also crucial in the early stages of the tree’s development. Roots must remain strong, healthy and grounded for it to allow the tree to survive and overcome any of the circumstances that it faces. Without roots, there’s no life. Without roots, there’s no past, present and future.
Beyond purity
The average age of the workshop participants was 27 years of age. There’s almost an unspoken concept about the second generation growing up; workshops are for a time when one needs to mature and find their faith, something related to the need of clarity before getting blessed. Acknowledging the importance of a clear standard and commitment towards purity, teenage and young adult years become a crucial moment of faith, requiring a strong will to overcome any obstacle and environment that threatens the idea of pursuing the path of maturity and more specifically the Blessing.
This is as necessary as it is wise: to channel the growth and spiritual awakening of our confusing and tough young years into something palpable, something to aspire to, something to look forward to. The Blessing and married life can be the ideal that can feel far and unreachable at those difficult young years. However, this ideal will wait for us all if we are able to succeed in keeping God’s commandment.
Having been able to reach certain level of individual maturity, often through the lens of being “ready” for the Blessing, makes us truly grateful on hindsight: we showed faith and commitment when it was most difficult, and we are grateful to our younger selves for taking starting point of the spiritual life so seriously.
New challenges
But something else resonated with us through this short but meaningful workshop. We are in no safe zone for our spiritual lives – as individuals, and for many of us as couples. We must notice that there are more dangers than we anticipated beyond the ideal of maturing and the Blessing. We are surrounded by many confronting realities: conforming to society’s secular standard, the temptation of the “self”, the trap of relativism, the abandonment of spiritual traditions, the loss of meaning in our day to day, the lack of purpose…These are normal challenges that any religious person faces on their day to day, and we BC’s are no exception.
Therefore we realized that we shouldn’t just look at our younger selves as those who managed to uphold an ideal and accomplish certain spiritual victories, both in the realm of faith and growth. We must become those people again. At least the people who took that big leap of faith into the unknown for the sake of the ideal. People who face the demands of God’s Call and answer faithfully and hopefully. We must regain the vision of the ideal, dream of the Kingdom, pray for the best to come, and face whatever it is that threatens that vision. We must align our own personal lives with what God hopes for all of us despite (sometimes) brutal reality.
We need a second course
That’s why we need a second course. We need to face the reality that maybe what we went through in those demanding and confronting years of youth was not our toughest battle. The pains of maturing and the faithful answers we gave were not followed up with total certainty and comfort. If anything, we must look at our spiritual lives so far as a preparation for what’s coming next. And what’s next is happening right now. God’s Call is stronger now. We must respond with more determination again, now.
For that reason this workshop was an eye-opening experience. Not just an echo of how we felt as new participants in life-changing workshops, but as a clear indication that we need education, support and community more than ever. And not just because these are to be enacted with companions of faith and therefore the need for creating this space together; not just that, we need spiritual guidance in order to accept this second course and fight for the ideal once again. First we need clarity, and then we must embark on our own journey.
The Way
This summer motto – THE WAY: Love God Beyond Praise – has become such a powerful reminder of what it means to walk the spiritual path. Those who walk The Way (the spiritual way) are not defined by what they accomplished back in the past. We are walking the way, not just relying and resting on what we accomplished. We walk the way, however demanding and confusing, and we often look at the horizon and yearn to get closer to the promised land.
Once again we gained life through connecting to our roots, and we get ready to walk the Way again. We are determined to not give up, to continue, to discover and enjoy whatever it is that the process awaits for us. We know our roots, and even if we may not know what’s next, we hope that it’s one step closer to God’s vision for us.
Remember: Protect this Way
Javier B.
on behalf of ESGD
