SOLT Ministries

LETTER TO DISCIPLES AFTER COMPLETING PLAN OF LIFE

Dear Disciples of Jesus and Mary,

You have now completed the first phases of your journey, a most important step in God's plan for you. Jesus and His Mother have called; they have summoned each of you to their very special work. The same work that Jesus called his disciples to 2000 years ago. Then, as now, this work is critical in the Father's plan for bringing about a new era of His Glory.

It is important for you to know that you have been specially chosen, and being chosen, you have choices to make. As you know there are man works as well as many choices in the world today. Our Lord is asking you to make the glory of God and the salvation of souls your choice. Because this work is so important, the enemy (flesh, world and the devil) will relentlessly seek to impede your progress. Remember that God began this work and He will fulfill it. The words of Jesus should always console us, " In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world." (John 16,33b)

The next step that you must on your journey is simple. But it takes perseverance. The process of discovering is as follows:

Discover your "Plan of Life." Keep in mind it is a process. Use the book and tapes. Answer those questions, which you can. Try to look for what you can learn form the experiences. The more experiences you remember and the more lessons you learn will give you a richer understanding of God's plan for you. This is the way God was forming you all your life to become that person whom He created to fulfill a specific purpose.
There may appear periods in your life when you do not recollect any many experiences. Or if you recall them, you cannot see the lessons you could have learnt from them. Spend time before the Blessed Sacrament. Bring these years of your life before the Lord and ask Him to heal the hidden wounds of your life. The Lord will reveal hurts, resentments, sins, etc. As your past comes up, give these hurts, emotions, and memories to the Lord. Let the Lord forgive or resolve these past experiences. If you are aware of any sins, then confess them during your regular confession.
Look for the lessons you learnt from those persons who touched your life or influenced you in any way. Try to remember the qualities and skills those persons had, which attracted you. Do not get upset with the difficult experiences in your life. Hidden in them are valuable lessons. Consider temptations, trials, persecutions, failure, etc., in this light. If you cannot find the lessons you need to learn, remember you need to be healed first.
At the start, the process will lead you to write down many of your experiences. Be not anxious. Gradually as the healing takes place, you see through the light of grace what God wants you to focus on. You will find words that pull things together. You will see all your experiences and the lessons you have learnt fit into this great puzzle.
You may come up with a word, phrase, image, etc., to summarize your plan of life. But remember the plan of life is the entire process. It is living, so you must work on it periodically. At the start spend at least 15-20 minutes every day. Later on you could review your plan of life once a week, as you work on your spirituality daily.
The more you open your heart to the Holy Spirit, and spend time in front of the Blessed Sacrament, the more you will be healed of past wounds, hurts, failure, abuse, rejection, etc. You will notice the change in your life.

The fruits of spiritual progress will manifest in your life.

a) You will grow in virtue, desire to frequent the Sacraments especially the Eucharist and Confession, grow in love of God and your neighbor.

b) You will begin to prepare for Mass and seek opportunities to attend even daily Mass.

c) You will love the Word of God and have a deep hunger for it.

d) Your love for the Church and her teachings will constantly guide you.

e) You will seek to join the Church in praying the Liturgy of the Hours.

f) Your obedience to your pastors, confessors and spiritual director will be your security and strength.

g) Your attachments for the things of this world will give way to a greater love of spiritual things.

h) You will be drawn to forgive everyone.

i) Your heart will become expansive, including more and more people.

j) You will be directed through trials, temptations and persecutions how to die to yourself and how to live for God.

k) Your total focus will become the Lord and you will seek to please God with the help and guidance of our Blessed Mother.

l) Your thirst for the glory of God and the salvation of souls will be the driving force of your life.

m) You will be filled with a deep longing to spend time with the Lord. Soon you will sit at His feet, as His disciple.
How do you know that you have successfully understood the process involved in the plan of life? From now on, every experience, situation, incident will be filled with God's blessings. You will acknowledge God's favor in your life. You will see goodness in everything that happens. In all the evil, pain, suffering, etc., you will open your heart to what God can do with these things and through these things. As a disciple you are to be blessed, broken and given. Unless the grain of wheat falls into the ground and die, it will bear no fruit.
Go to confession at least twice a month, preferably to the same confessor. Daily spend a few minutes going through your checklist. This you develop in your "spirituality."
Spirituality is putting our plan your life into practice. From the plan of life process, you have learnt the ways God has been forming you. Now you recognize, accept and desire this formation. You prepare your heart to accept these lessons and do your best to respond generously. Begin to work on those virtues you need for your growth. This is revealed to you through your temptations, trials and persecutions. Open your heart to accept correction. Work on those faults, attitudes, and desires, habits that cause you any form of disturbance. Recognize God's ways, how different they are from your ways. Look for the opportunities God provides you. Through trials, persecutions and failures He helps to bend your will by daily dying to self. Thus you understand God's ways and surrender to His will. All spirituality is based on the Gospels. So go to the Word of God and look for those Scripture passages that will help you live your plan of life. Look at the saints that attracted you or attract you now. See how they lived their plan of life and imitate the way they followed the Lord, loved and served Him.
The methods of prayer are gifts given to me by simple people. They knew God, loved Him, and had a deep, personal relationship with Him. They shared their method of prayer. I have given these methods my own name. Try each method out and find out which method is of help to you. "Methods" tell you how to do something. You may choose any content. It is good to relate to your plan of life and your spirituality when choosing the content of prayer.
The nine phases of prayer is my effort to understand the method of prayer Jesus gave us. Go through these nine phases, one phase at a time. Remain in the first phases as long as you are directed to. When you are ready to move to the second, you will find yourself in it. At the start you will work with these phases individually. Gradually you will find a unity in these phases. It is important to find "keys" as you review your prayer. A "key" is promise of Christ, a word, a phrase, an image, etc., which opens the doors of heavenly treasures. Every time you return to these points or keys you seem to draw much fruit. There are keys are like shallow wells and there are keys with bottomless wells. Just as a man can draw immense oil or water from such a well, so you could draw much fruit from keys that are immeasurable storehouses of grace.

When would you be ready for the discernment retreat?

You have completed your plan of life. You recognize how God is forming you in your daily experiences. You have developed your spirituality. You have a schedule to follow. Through examination of conscience and regular confession you have someone to be accountable to. You are familiar with the methods of prayer. You recognize the nine phases of prayer in your life. For the nine phases are movements of the Holy Spirit praying within you. God's peace abides in your heart. If something is not according to the will of God you easily recognize it because this peace is disturbed. You begin to receive instructions and directions. You are uncertain from where they come. Now you are ready for discernment.

Begin to read the book on discernment. Pray always to the Holy Spirit for guidance and for the gift of discernment. Read a section at a time. Repeat that section often till the light of grace enlightens the eyes of your mind. Your leaders will direct you, as to how long you should prepare for the retreat. They will also inform you of the availability of a discernment retreat in your area.

My dear disciples of Jesus and Mary, I thank you for responding to this call of Our Blessed Mother. Holy Mother Church needs you, the Most Holy Trinity blesses you and I treasure you as my very special spiritual children.

With my priestly blessings,

Fr. Santan Pinto SOLT