The reason we become anemic spiritually is that we are like the other batteries in the Duracil Batter commercial. We don't have the extra energy to go on and on and on. We start off strong, but soon because of a drain in our spiritual energy cells, we began to slow down and come to an abrupt stop.

We need once more to catch the vision of Jesus and to become captured by the person and the vision of Jesus--the same one who motivated Paul and Peter, Mary and Martha,  Theresa of Avila and Ignatius of Loyola , John Paul II and Mother Teresa,  For them and all the great spiritual heroes and heroins of our Christian faith community, known and unknown, the vision centered on Jesus. They fell in love with the one person who had and continued to make a difference in their lives. In Jesus they had found the pearl of great price. For this relationship they were willing to sell all they had for the sake of Jesus. Like Paul they regarded all else as rubbish. They never lost sight of the goal--life on high with Christ Jesus. The call of the kingdom of God became greater than the call of the kingdom of this world. In spite of trials and difficulties, in spite of spiritual deserts and dryness, in spite of struggles with sin within their imperfect human nature, they pressed on to the finish. (To be continued)