Last Saturday, our parish had a Day of Reflection led by Bob Fitzgerald of the Ignatius Retreat House in Atlanta.  While there was so much that Bob spoke about that stuck with me, there were two words he used that have replayed in my head over and over again this week…”Treasured Sorrow”. 

Bob’s definition of a “Treasured Sorrow” was a life experience where there was both grief and joy.  It is a life situation where we experience pain, challenges, hurt, and grief.  At the same time, we come out of the experience in way that we treasure the experience we have been through because of what we have learned and who we have become.  While the experience itself may have been hard to live through, and perhaps we are still living with it, we know that the growth we experienced, the reliance on God we now have, and the new awareness we have about ourselves and life may have taken years if not for the experience. 

What in your life would you consider to be “Treasured Sorrow”? 

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.