What sustains your vocation? What nourishes and brings life to your vocation? Perhaps Dan Burke’s insights into and framework for the spiritual life offers something vital to your vocation.

How do you discern that when you are being faithful to your vocation - to your unity, alignment and congruency of Identity, Purpose and Convictions in and through a given relationship or role?

Rather than Vocation being another level of self-actualization or “place”, what if Vocation was an integrative dynamic that sought to bring into unity, alignment and congruency one’s Identity, Purpose and Convictions within and through the various ways one manifests oneself in the world (i.e. “Icons” or relationships, roles, etc.)?

How do you see the distinctiveness and interrelatedness between a job, a career and a vocation or calling? Share your insights and experiences!

How do you discern the relationships you have with people, places and things? I have found this construct created by Dr. Richard Glenn very helpful with a few added insights from my own experience of utilizing it in my spiritual journey. I welcome your insights as well.

• How do I identity and participate with God in addressing those root wounds that become impediments to my spiritual life and living in the fullness of His love?

• How to I leverage the great resources of God’s grace and mercy, prayer, the Sacraments, ascesis, scripture and more to deepen and sustain healing and wholeness in all the dimensions of my personhood and life?  What mutually reciprocal relationship exists between psychological and spiritual healing and wholeness? 

• How to I embrace fully God’s desire to heal me and set me free? 

Why is it such a struggle to give up my will and willfulness? How can the life of Jesus in me, assist me in being completely united to the will of the Father?

How do you grow in your capacity to self-sacrifice for the sake of love of God and love of neighbor?

How would you describe self-sacrifice? What is the role self-sacrifice plays in authentic discipleship as a follower of Jesus? What makes self-sacrifice challenging?

What is your immediate reaction to embracing Poverty as a way of being coformed to Jesus? What’s your reaction about? What are you being invited to explore with greater openness, trust or obedience? What transformation could be waiting for you?

What examples of Faith and Humility to you see lived out by Jesus? What does Faith mean to you? How would you describe Humility? Let’s explore how Faith and Humility enable us to follow Jesus in Self-Denial.

How many times in a given day to you think about yourself? This question in itself causes us to focus on self. Our woundedness from sin and our culture make resisting the gravitational pull of self-centeredness and narcissism a great challenge. What helps you to turn from self and turn to God and neighbor?

How do you ensure you have a right ordered relationship with attachments? How do you discern if an attachment is enabling or hindering your relationship with God?

What daily, spiritual practices do you draw upon and commit to that help you to become more like Jesus Christ and to grow spiritually? What helps you sustain these daily disciplines? What are the obstacles you face in trying to remain faithful to them?

What would be your top three words of advice to your younger self? Let’s explore the advice Jesus offers to a rich, young man in Mark’s Gospel.

Self-Denial invites us to consider our attachments. What are the people, places or things you are most attached to? What is your relationships to that which gives you a sense of identity, purpose, worth or security? Let’s talk “Attachments”.

Who stands out for you as a great role model of Self-Denial? What does that look like in her or his life? Do you find yourself inspired, discouraged or both as you reflect on this role model - what’s that about?

How do you find yourself responding to the phrase “Self-denial”? In what ways do you find “denying yourself” challenging? When you have denied yourself, what enabled you to do so? What spiritual impact did you experience as a result?