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To the Mom Who Feels Like She’s Failing at the One Thing She Was Sure God Called Her To…

  Let’s be honest. Some days you feel like the circus clown… Only the clowns have more help and better costumes. Your “classroom” is the kitchen table. Your students? One’s crying, one’s hiding, one’s asking you a question that sounds like it came straight out of a college exam. Meanwhile, the baby’s screaming, the dog just threw up on the rug, and the toddler… well… let’s just say the peanut butter was NOT supposed to be art supplies. And you? You’re standing there with cold coffee, wondering how in the world you ended up in charge of someone’s entire education. "Maybe I’m in over my head." "Maybe I’m wrecking their future." "Maybe they’d be better off with a real teacher." You’ve seen those Instagram-perfect homeschool moms… Neat handwriting on the whiteboard, shelves arranged by color, kids smiling like they just won the lottery for Most Well-Behaved Family. You’ve tried to copy them. You’ve stayed up past midnight rearranging books, printing lesson ...
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7. Overcoming Obstacles to Spiritual Growth through Mental Prayer



Will and Affection: Overcoming Obstacles

1. Overcoming Weariness and Attachment to the World

The primary obstacles to spiritual growth often lie in our own hearts and desires. One of the main barriers is weariness of God—a sense of spiritual fatigue that leads us to be lukewarm in our faith while we become overly anxious about worldly matters. Sin has a way of shifting our focus from our ultimate goal, which is union with God, towards temporary, worldly pleasures. Mental prayer serves as a remedy by:

  • Detaching Us from Sin: Through mental prayer, we confront our sinful tendencies and recognize their destructive impact. It helps us visualize the consequences of sin and reminds us of the call to live a life of holiness.

  • Detaching Us from Perishable Goods: Mental prayer helps us see the vanity of material wealth, honors, and physical comfort. It teaches us that these worldly treasures are fleeting and cannot satisfy the deepest longings of our heart. When we experience the love of God, these earthly things lose their allure and we are more easily detached from them.

  • Detaching Us from the World: By focusing on God, we become less concerned with worldly praise or criticism. Mental prayer shifts our perspective, helping us understand that the world’s approval or disapproval is irrelevant to our true worth, which is defined by our relationship with God.

  • Detaching Us from Ourselves: Mental prayer also helps us overcome self-centeredness. It replaces the pursuit of bodily pleasures with the pursuit of spiritual joy, fostering virtues like patience and humility. The more we practice mental prayer, the more we grow in love for God and less in love with ourselves.

2. The Unification of the Soul with God

Mental prayer transforms us, uniting us with God in a profound way. As we detach from worldly distractions and self-centered desires, we make room for God to fill our hearts. This union is marked by:

  • A Deepened Friendship with God: Mental prayer cultivates a close and loving relationship with God. The soul experiences a profound intimacy with God, finding joy and fulfillment in His presence.

  • A Life Transformed by Divine Love: The more we engage in mental prayer, the more our hearts are inflamed with love for God. This love leads us to seek Him in everything we do, transforming our entire being to reflect divine qualities.

  • A Sense of Fulfillment and Joy: Finding God through mental prayer brings unparalleled peace and joy. The soul that has experienced God’s presence finds itself enriched, gaining light, strength, peace, and freedom.

Overcoming Weakness and Inconstancy

Another obstacle in our spiritual journey is sluggishness and inconstancy. We often struggle with weak resolutions and a lack of courage to follow through with our spiritual commitments. The key remedy here is God’s grace, which we earnestly seek through mental prayer:

  • A Call for Divine Assistance: Mental prayer becomes the avenue through which we plead for God’s grace. As we reflect on our need for divine help, our prayers become more fervent and desperate, appealing to God’s mercy.

  • Strength in Weakness: Through mental prayer, we gain the strength to overcome our natural tendencies towards laziness and fear. It’s during these moments of earnest prayer that we draw closer to God’s grace, which empowers us to act with greater resolve and courage.

In essence, mental prayer addresses both the obstacles posed by our affections and the weaknesses of our will. By fostering a deep, personal connection with God, it transforms our hearts and minds, making us more faithful and committed in our spiritual journey. Through this practice, we not only overcome spiritual inertia but also grow in our capacity to live out God’s will with zeal and clarity.

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