My new post is up at dotMagis, “My both/and Call”

When my son, Brady, was eight weeks old, I led my first Charis retreat in the Diocese of Baton Rouge. I remember kneeling at the closing Mass, both exhausted and energized from juggling being both mom and minister, and begging God, “If you want me to continue this ministry, show me how. Is this a both/and call or an either/or call for me, God?”

The words, gentle as always, rose up within me, “both/and.”

As discernment so often goes, I re-discern this call to be both mom and minister frequently. When I review my experience of the Second Week of the Spiritual Exercises, two themes of my call emerge: my call to being a mom, and my call to ministry within the Church. My call to motherhood resonated strongly with Mary mothering Jesus. My call to ministry resonated strongly with the invitation to “enact my decision to say yes to following Christ.”

To read the rest…

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.