Reading catechism this week, there is a sentence in that stopped me:

“We are meant to turn naturally to God, like the sunflower to the sun.”

Perhaps that is what I have been trying to name with Sunflower Selah all along.

A life slowly learning where to turn.

The sunflower does not create the light. It does not pull the sun toward itself. It simply receives what is already shining upon it — and, in receiving it, grows.

Eastern Christian spirituality begins with something similar.

We are created in the image of God, but we are not finished. We are invited to grow into His likeness — to become increasingly what we were created to be.

And remarkably, God allows us to participate in that becoming.

The chapter calls this synergy: “a dialogue of life with God.”

Grace and response.

Invitation and freedom.

God moving toward us, and us learning to turn toward Him.

So perhaps the question is not only Who am I?

Perhaps it is:

What am I becoming — and what am I turning toward?

I continue my journey through Eastern Christian spirituality with Fr. Ed from St. Mary’s Byzantine Catholic Church in New York.

This time, I’m sharing from Chapter 1 of The Mystery Lived — Building Blocks of Eastern Christian Spirituality, exploring the image and likeness of God, Theosis, synergy, communion, vocation, and the movement from being called toward God to being sent outward in service.

Below, I’ll share my reading notes, reflections, and the questions and conversations that emerged during this catechism meeting.