Easter is here! The start of the Easter Season always makes me pause to reflect on the Risen Christ. I hope that this piece, originally published on IgnatianSpirituality.com’s DotMagis Blog, helps to nudge in you that calling to remember where it all began, when you first encountered the Risen Christ. 

I took a long sip of my hot coffee to give me a minute to process his question. Sitting across from me was a man in his late twenties who had just asked me, “When did you first encounter the Risen Christ?”

His question made me pause. Not only was I thrown off by the depth of his question within minutes of meeting each other, but I was not prepared to be the one asked this type of question. When he asked to meet, I assumed I would be in the role of spiritual director offering questions to let him reflect on his own faith journey.

It was a challenging question, not because I had not reflected on it before, but because of how badly I needed to be reminded of the beginning of my journey: the early moments when my eyes were opened and my heart burned within me. The moments when I was drawn inexplicably to God by a restlessness and desire to learn more. The moments when I was almost giddy with joy as I became aware of God’s presence in my life.

As the coffee warmed my throat, I realized I saw in the young man the same inquisitive nature that I possess—the part of me that loves to hear people’s faith stories and the part of me that loves to hear when God got people’s attention. I could feel his question hitting me deep in my core, a nudge from God to remember where it all began. Continue reading this post on IgnatianSpirituality.com.

Go Deeper?

• 10 Reasons to Like the Easter Season
• If Life Doesn’t Have you in the Easter Season and Real Hope is Not Naïve or Ignorant
• Relationship with Jesus
• He is Risen, Alleluia!

Cultivating Space for God Together:

• I’m in Canada soon! On May 15 I’ll be at the Calgary Catholic Leadership Retreat.
• Will you be at the National Conference of Catechetical Leadership on May 20? Come see me! I’ll be facilitating a Retreat Day.
• On June 29 I’m leading the SJA Parent and Alumnae Retreat on Making Hope Real at St Joseph’s Academy in Baton Rouge.
• I’ll be in Atlanta on August 17 for the Atlanta Catechist Conference.

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.