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A Spiritual Family

A Marian Model

“I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38)
- We can look to Mary's life to teach us how our souls can enter into Divine Union and bear spiritual fruit. Cultivating Mary's four virtues of HUMILITY, OBEDIENCE, SURRENDER, and TRUST produces fertile soil in our souls and allows us to be open and ready when God overshadows us and wants to dwell in us. We give God the freedom to plant the seeds He wants to give and His Will becomes manifested by who we become.
The Seven Stages
of a Spiritual Family
- A Spiritual Family is any relationship rooted in Christ and receptive to God's love. The relationship can be between a soul and God the Father, the Son, or the Holy Spirit. It can be a relationship between spouses, brothers, sisters, or friends in Christ. Ultimately, the relationship of a Spiritual Family reflects the relationship between Christ and the Church.
  The story of a Spiritual Family is modeled after Mary’s life and vocation: her womb was a space consecrated, emptied, and filled with God in order to bear Jesus into the world. Similarly, each relationship can co-create with God and bear the fruit of Jesus. A spiritual house that is consecrated, emptied, and filled with God's love can bring forth Jesus' presence into the world through the love of a Spiritual Family.
- Vocation
  
  When God has a particular vocation in mind for you, he pursues you with invitation. There are three components that develop: the desire for it, the ability to do it, and the opportunity to do it. Trustfully commit to him with "yes" and begin the journey.
- Consecration
  
  In respond to God's gift, entrust yourself, the work, the journey, and all of the blessings received to God so that all is done by God's grace and for His glory.
- Companionship
  
  We were not created to be alone but to love and bear fruit. God will send a companion, a friendship rooted in love for God, with a vision of something that will bring us to himself.
- Emptiness
  
  Part of the process is to purify and sanctify us interiorly and exteriorly. We will experience periods of lowliness, challenges, obstacles, and stripping away. These are times that God is emptying out what is of us, the world, or evil. That way our souls and our lives can be filled with what He gives to us.
- Receive
  
  After being emptied, we will experience healing and see through new lenses. Wait and watch for when God comes to you in the ways that He chooses. When He comes, take courage, receive Him, and walk forward with trust and peace.
- Formation
  
  As we continue to receive God's love, His Will begins to unfold and our vocation takes shape. Little by little, we are shown the pieces to the puzzle and eventually we will have a clear understanding of His plan.
- Fruit
  
  The friendship, rooted in their love for God in cooperation with His plan, becomes a Spiritual Family. All that comes forth from their relationship is the fruit of love in Jesus.
Practical Application

Developing A Receptive Spirit
- Create the space and let God build the house
  "Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain." (Psalm 127:1)
- The Complementarity in relationship
- How to care for Your Spiritual Families

A Spiritual Family

The Spiritual Family Methodology by Annie Buehnerkemper