Last week, we looked at one possible cause of our restlessness, God’s pursuit of us.  This week, let’s take a look at a second possible cause to our restlessness:   the sting of conscience.  

God seeks for us to center our lives around God and to act in a way that leads us further down a path of faith.  The Holy Spirit supports us on our faith journey.  We are never alone on the path of faith, and God is with us helping us take steps forward.  An important part of our faith journey is learning how God supports us through the work of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit’s gift of restlessness:

One of the ways the Holy Spirit helps us on our faith journey is letting us know when we have made a choice or a decision that does not lead us closer to God.   We feel this support through restlessness that often feels like remorse or “the sting of conscience”.  

When our restlessness is due to a choice we’ve made that is not in alignment with who we are in God, we might notice restlessness manifesting around the feelings of:

• Guilt
• Disquiet
• Remorse
• Regret
• Sorrow

While these feelings do not feel good, they can be a gift of the Holy Spirit helping us wake-up to something we’ve done or said that inhibits our growth in God.  

This type of restlessness might show up when we are seeking to center all of our life around God, and we might notice that there are areas of our life that have become the center of our lives instead of God. It may show up when we realize that God is the center of some of our life, but not all, and the restlessness we feel is God showing us that we are holding too tightly to things or relationships for our worth or value. Restlessness might appear when we act in a sinful way and hurt ourselves, our relationship with God or our relationships with other people because of something we said or did.  

As we take a look at our lives this week, notice when the restlessness that appears as the Holy Spirit stinging our conscience and inviting us to act in a different way.  

Go Deeper?

• Pray:
  • Ezk 36:25-28// Give you a heart of flesh instead of stone
  • Hosea 11// Love restores
  • Psalm 32// Psalm of contrition
  • Mt 25: 31-46//what you did not do for the least of these you did not do for me
• Read:
  • Getting Our Hearts in the Right Place
  • Sin and God’s Medicine of Mercy

Cultivating Space for God Together: 2017

• November 13, 2017:    Jen Fulwiler Radio Show
• November 16, 2017:    Women in Spirit, St. Joseph’s Cathedral
• November 29, 2017:   Loyola Institute for Ministry Webinar
• December 8, 2017:      St. Scholastic Morning of Reflection for Parents
• December 12, 2017:      Advent Evening of Reflection, St. Thomas More Parish
• December 13, 2017:    Women’s Advent Evening of Reflection
• December 17, 2017:    “Spirituality for a Busy Person“, St. Margaret Parish, Albany, LA

Becky Eldredge

Becky is an Ignatian-trained spiritual director, retreat facilitator, and writer. She is the author of the Busy Lives and Restless Souls (March 2017, Loyola Press) and The Inner Chapel (April 2020, Loyola Press). She helps others create space to connect faith and everyday life through facilitating retreats and days of reflection, through writing, and through spiritual direction. With nearly twenty years of ministry experience within the Catholic Church, Becky seeks to help others discover God at work in the every day moments of people’s lives by utilizing St. Ignatius’ Spiritual Exercises and the many gifts that our Catholic faith and Ignatian Spirituality provide.