The Blessings of Journaling

When you open your heart and your journaling to the Holy Spirit, the floodgates of Heaven open. You will feel a downpour of wisdom, charity (love), understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord.

The fruits of the Spirit are perfections that the Holy Spirit forms in you as the first fruits of eternal glory. You become alive in the Spirit. Scientific research has shown that when you keep a journal regularly, your mind will be brighter, your recall sharper, your senses quicker, your self-discipline stronger, your communication clearer, your healing deeper, your creativity freer, your outlook brighter, your laughter louder, your stress calmer, your compassion greater, and your confidence higher.

As you begin to experience one or two of these fruits of the Spirit through your journaling, know that all of them don’t come immediately. Enjoy and develop the ones that you detect. Anticipate more emerging, and thank God that ultimately they will fully bloom in Heaven.

Whatever format you may choose for your spiritual journal, the important thing is to keep your focus on writing about what God is doing in your life. Your spiritual journal may contain much about your non-spiritual activities, making the journal a place to connect everything you are and do with God. Maybe you identify what he is doing in your life as you record your prayers and his answers in a prayer journal. Here you can find clarity, guidance, healing, and comfort during hard and confusing times.

Your journal can be a running conversation with the Lord, building your relationship honestly, openly, and authentically. Talk to him as the best friend you will ever have. Tell him everything in your heart. Your secrets cannot shock him. He already understands the height and breadth and depth of what you are feeling, but you may not have a clue—until you have an “ah-ha” moment. Or see your tears splashed on the pages of your journal and feel his healing embrace of love.

You can call on the power of our Almighty Creator and trust him to help you sort everything out. As you write, ask him to help you sift through the silt to the bottom of the  river of your story and decide what to keep and what to reject, what is real and what is fake, what separates the everlasting from the temporal wisp of the wind.

You can make any journal your spiritual journal by including God in what you write. Then you have a workbook to grow your spiritual life into a beautiful love relationship with God.

Ask Yourself: Can I imagine integrating spiritual journaling into my life? What blessings do I want that I can expect to receive by keeping a spiritual journal? How can these benefits contribute to my being able to share my Catholic faith story?