DR. AGNES MARTINKO Spiritual growth begins in oneself

Spelling does not come easy for me. Even with spell-check, I often miss the mark so badly that the computer does not know which word I want to use and I have to resort to a dictionary.
Shortly after my return from working in Germany, I found myself needing a dictionary, but my shipment of household belongings had not yet arrived. So, I went to the apartment next door and asked if I could borrow a dictionary. The person responded, "You look old enough to be out of school. Why do you need a dictionary?"
In all aspects of life, we all have our individual strengths and weaknesses. This is also true in the area of spiritual growth. When asked what we should do to obtain eternal life, Christ summarized his teachings by responding, "You must love God with your whole heart and your neighbor as yourself."
It is a very direct and clear answer yet hardly a simple one to follow. Life puts many complexities and pitfalls on our path, making our human vulnerabilities much too evident. Sometimes the life stories of how others either overcame their imperfections or became more productive because of them can be a source of inspiration in our own time of difficulty.
Thomas Merton was a prolific writer with deep spiritual insight. At the time of his accidental death in l968, Mark Van Doren, a Columbia University professor, remarked, "Thomas Merton was one of the greatest persons of our time or of any time. I shall mourn for him as long as I live."
Merton's journey
Orphaned at an early age, Merton led a restless life until he made a retreat at the Trappist monastery in Kentucky and felt that he had found his home. Merton pursued his studies at the monastery and after ordination was placed in charge of the formation of novices to the order.
He was an excellent teacher who was well-liked by his students, but some problems developed with authority figures. So he asked for, and received, permission to live alone in a hermitage in the woods near the monastery in order to concentrate on his writing.
In his book, "Thoughts in Solitude," he tells God, "I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you."
In a small pamphlet titled "Confidence in God," Jesuit priest Daniel Considine writes that the basic premise in spiritual growth is to be satisfied with your lot in life. "Each of our temperaments and characters has been fitted exactly, thought out from all time to suit our lives. What others have would not suit me. What we have we don't value; what we have not we desire."
XDr. Agnes Martinko is a member of St. Edward's Church, Youngstown.