Spiritual Autobiography

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Spiritual Autobiography

A spiritual autobiography is "a genre of introspection and meditation with "confessional aspects (which ) make it a public mode of address (Reichardt 383 . The name of this genre , however , is somewhat misleading "Spiritual autobiography " implies that the spiritual experience of the individual may somehow be separated from the other areas of the writer 's life . For me , however , there is no area of my life that is not influenced by God . If I wrote a "professional

autobiography , for example , or an autobiography of my role as a partner in my marriage , those accounts would still reflect the influence of God and my Catholic spirituality . I could write of spirituality without mentioning my marriage or my status as a parent I could not , however write about my marriage , my career , or about anything else in my life without mentioning the underlying spirituality that supports and gives meaning to those roles

The synergistic relationship that exists between the mind , body , and spirit causes each of these elements to be molded by the others . My spiritual development did not occur in a vacuum , but has been shaped by other aspects of my life . At the same time , my intellectual and physical development has been changed by my faith . The writer of Proverbs noted "Iron is sharpened by iron , one person is sharpened by contact with another (Proverbs 27 :17 , New Jerusalem Bible . This passage literally refers to the influence of other people however , it is also true that my spiritual woman has been sharpened by her interactions with the body of the physical woman and the mind of the intellectual woman within me and that both of these elements have been changed by my spiritual experiences . In short , my faith has shaped who I am today , and my life experiences have sharpened my faith

The intersection of mind , body , and spirit was epitomized in the birth of my daughter . Pregnancy and childbirth are intensely physical experiences , yet every step of this miracle of life had important spiritual implications for me . Because my daughter was conceived in-vitro , I can see a clear connection between science and faith and how one supports the other . It has been as a parent that I have developed my deepest understanding of and appreciation for the role of our Lord Jesus Christ , his relationship with the Church , and his relationship to me as an individual

This is not to say that my faith has never been tested or even pushed to the brink . There have been many times when I have questioned why God would allow a certain event to occur or would permit certain circumstances to continue , especially when those events and circumstances had a direct impact on me or on the lives of the people I love . My brother was involved in an automobile accident that killed one of his friends and led him to attempt suicide . Any rational person would question why God...