come holy spirit

two sundays ago i was lucky enough to attend mass in alumni hall, where father hesburgh was presiding. that was the second time that i heard him speak that week, but still managed to learn a very valuable life lesson during that short hour.

before mass, father hesburgh said his intention for the mass was to pray for all of us and our vocations. typically, especially at notre dame, vocation refers to those who are being called to serve the church as priests, but father hesburgh brought new meaning to the word:

each one of you will be called by God to a specific vocation. hopefully, some will be called to life as a religious, but for most of you, this calling will be different. for some a doctor, for others a lawyer. teacher. mother. husband. wife. no matter how stressful the search for that calling is, always remember that God has a plan for each and every one of you. while they are not all the same, they are all equally significant.

needless to say, this got me thinking before mass even started. i have been doing a lot of refocusing lately, trying to get things in order, and this was exactly what i needed to hear.

then, during his homily, father hesburgh told us about one of his "secrets to life." he told us that no matter how stressed or uncertain he is about something, all of his troubles seem to disappear with three small words:

come holy spirit.

he told us that every morning before we get up, we should say "come holy spirit" and invite God's presence into our lives. in times of trouble, in times of success. either way, he told us to give it a try. he said that it had never failed him in a difficult situation and that he promised that it would do the same for us.

well, over the past few weeks i have made a sincere effort to making this a daily happening. every morning, before i get out of bed, i close my eyes and say "come holy spirit." again, before i go to bed, i do the same thing.

this has honestly made a huge difference for me ... stress seems to disappear and things seem to run so much smoother.

so if ever in doubt, stressed, or just needing a little help, try it out.

like father said, i promise it will make a difference.