In January, I wrote about my word for the year: harmony. In particular, I wrote about a desire to reflect on how my life was or was not forming a “pleasing and consistent whole” as well as a desire to work towards a better blend of the various aspects of my life so they may form a more seamless and beautiful harmony. Now, six months into the year, I have to be honest. I have made little to no progress on these two desires.
I could blame the discord of the world around me. There are countless news stories I could easily point to that have sown feelings of increased division and discord inside of me. I could also blame the busyness of the spring semester. After all, it is difficult to work on making my life a seamless harmony in the midst of the usual chaos of the second half of a school year. I could find many more fingers to point, but they are all just distractions from the truth. The truth is that naming these desires in January was easy. The work I needed to do to fulfill them was far more difficult.
Why was trying to make my life more harmonious so difficult?
Perhaps because I was trying, once again, to do it on my merits alone.
Pope Leo XIV reminded me during his inaugural Mass that harmony cannot be achieved by my merits alone. Describing what occurred in the conclave, he said, “Accompanied by your prayers, we could feel the working of the Holy Spirit, who was able to bring us into harmony, like musical instruments, so that our heartstrings could vibrate in a single melody.” Cardinal Prevost did not become Pope Leo XIV on his own merits. It was the prayers of the people as well as the work of the Holy Spirit on the hearts and minds of each of the voting members of the conclave that led him to be elected just a short 24 hours after it began. It also will not be his efforts alone that build the kind of Church Pope Leo described in that same first homily, “a Church founded on God’s love, a sign of unity, a missionary Church that…becomes a leaven of harmony for humanity.”
God planted the word harmony on my heart for 2025, and I immediately did what I always do. I crafted a plan for what it meant and how I would achieve it. Now, six months later, I feel God inviting me to revisit my approach. In response to this invitation, I hope to spend the next six months putting aside my plan for harmony and praying instead for an increase in freedom so I may be open to surprises the Spirit has in store.
Come, Holy Spirit, inspire our hearts and minds, and lead us all towards a more seamless and beautiful harmony.
Photo by Marija Zaric on Unsplash.
Thank you for your revisit. I read your article in January and said yes I need to work on it too.
I thank you for reminding me to work on patience for my harmony. Through patience and letting go I can have a peace filled day. I can then end my day with the Examen and review with gratitude my blessings.
Gretchen, your post made me feel somewhat better about myself, for I think I’m trying to be more patient when in fact, I’m probably less so. Perhaps, to use your quote ” I was trying to do it on my merits alone” and in my case, failing badly and feeling guilty about it.
I pray, I may call and listen/silent – to the Holy Spirit and await the surprises.
Thanks for your post.
Thank you for this reminder to let the Holy Spirit work in us and through us.
nice and timely article Gretchen. I did a life review looking for all the things I had to be grateful for. I could not believe all the good things that have occurred to me in my life when I take it from that perspective.