The Mission Helpers of the Sacred Heart have a tradition of spirituality that is grounded in the Gospels and fosters a life of prayer and service. We find God in all persons and events, and we listen with an open and discerning heart to the needs of the Church and the world.

We know that many people want to connect with their own spirituality and believe that there is something greater than the conscious self at work in each of us. The Mission Helpers, as spiritual counselors, are uniquely qualified to assist people who seek a deeper connection to God.

We are mindful of the words of St. Augustine, who explained the need to be in touch with our spirituality:

“You have made us for yourself, Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.”

Sisters’ Reflections on Spirituality

I see an increase in the hunger for spirituality. In one way or another, people are saying that they want something more. They may not be able to name it, but in talking to them and hearing them tell their stories, it is clear that the “something” has to do with God…

To connect with our spirituality, it is important to take the time to slow down. Take time to really see, to gaze, to taste, to savor, to linger with God.
–Sister Clare Walsh

Spirituality is the quest for something personal. Perhaps the reason that a lot of people have fallen away from the Church is that they learned someone else’s words and when they faced a crisis, these words didn’t serve them. I think this is the time that the search for spirituality begins. It is an inner search for a reality within that nobody gives us and nobody can take away.

Meditation is one way to begin the search for inner peace. One of the big factors in Eastern meditations is ego reduction. We must get ego out of the way and let God or the Universe speak to us rather than having us trying to control everything. Meditation is one way to begin, because the goal of meditation is to “Let go and let God.”
–Sister Jane Geiger

People want to connect with something greater than themselves, to connect with their inner selves or their inner spirits. They are looking for a personal relationship with God, but they don’t know how to get there.

We want to be on a journey home—home to ourselves and home to God. Home is where you know yourself, because the more we try to connect to God, the more we begin to connect with ourselves and accept the fact that we are not perfect….

I believe there is a hunger inside each of us and that God will be very merciful to those who search for ways to feed the hunger.
–Sister Natalie DeLuca

Spirituality tells us something of how we relate to God and how we respond to the ultimate questions of life. There are many different forms of spirituality, but all are directed at helping people become aware of God’s presence in the universe.

Our spirituality is also our way of relating to the incomprehensible aspects of life. There is so much we don’t see. Through our spirituality we are able to go beyond what we can see and hear and touch; we recognize that there is something beyond what we know today.

Everything is in God and God is as close as the air we breathe. The breath of God is the spirit, and the spirit is within us encompassing us—all of us, not just those who go to church….
–Sister Teresa Mary Dolan

Everyone has spirituality. And that spirituality affects our minds, our wills, what we think, what we do and what we desire. What you do with your spirituality becomes holiness or a rejection of holiness.

People who are in harmony with their spiritual selves see beyond the present situation and delight in what the possibilities may be. The knowledge that there is an inner life motivates and nourishes and keeps the spirit alive….

God’s spirit is no further away from me than my own heart. God is present there and that is a very freeing thing.
–Sister Joanne Frey