In a recent article in the National Catholic Reporter, Catholic psychiatrist and author Joan Frawley Desmond offers the following basic elements to a balanced spiritual life.
“The Catholic tradition is rich with spiritual practices that we can integrate into the days and seasons of our life. We should not try to reinvent the wheel here.
• Daily: prayer, spiritual reading and Mass whenever possible
• Weekly: Sabbath rest
• Monthly: spiritual direction, confession, support group
• Yearly: retreat (preferably silent)
It’s good to pick a few of these norms of piety that will help you develop your spiritual life. Practice them well and consistently, and make them part of the fabric of your day. Protect the time you have set aside for these, and prioritize them. This may include 10-15 minutes of mental prayer in the morning or evening that allows us to be conversation with Christ. When you feel dry or distracted, bring a book. Ten minutes a day of reading the New Testament or a spiritual classic will give you content for your prayer and things to work on. When it’s hard to focus on mental prayer, recitation of the Rosary and consideration of the mysteries is helpful. This is a wonderful daily habit recommended by many of the saints, and there is some interesting research on its calming and anxiety-reducing effects.
Consider also the practice of attending daily Mass or Eucharistic adoration. The psychological as well as spiritual benefits of regular confession are considerable. It is very beneficial to go at least every month; if you wait longer, it can be hard to remember what has transpired, and it’s easy to grow lukewarm.
Some people find it helpful to go to the same priest to deepen the quality of the guidance they receive. If you pick two or three of these traditional practices and integrate them into your routine, you will begin to see their transformative effects.”