After meditating on the nine steps of the “Way of the Heart” spirituality, the next step is to implement it into our lives, finding ways that we can turn our faith into action.

Here are five practical ways to consider incorporating into your lives to take the this spiritual pathway from head to heart.

1. Read the Gospels on a daily basis

In order to fully cooperate in Christ’s mission, we must first understand what that mission is and more importantly, who is Jesus. Reading the Gospels on a daily basis is a great aid to familiarize ourselves with the person of Jesus and allows us the opportunity to walk in his footsteps.

2. Pray a Daily Offering prayer each morning

If we start the day off on the right foot, it is much easier to be successful in whatever good work we want to accomplish. Praying a Daily Offering prayer sanctifies the beginning of each day and offers it to our Heavenly Father. It allows us to put ourselves under the gaze of a loving Father and to remember the challenges facing humanity that the Holy Father presents to us each month.

3. Look for ways to help the suffering in your local community

Often the people most in need are those right in front of our eyes. If we want to live in union with the heart of Jesus, we must see each other as brothers and sisters born with the same God-given dignity. As St. Teresa of Calcutta once said, “Stay where you are. Find your own Calcutta. Find the sick, the suffering, and the lonely right where you are — in your own homes and in your own families, in your workplaces and in your schools. You can find Calcutta all over the world, if you have the eyes to see. Everywhere, wherever you go, you find people who are unwanted, unloved, uncared for, just rejected by society — completely forgotten, completely left alone.”

4. Respond to the Holy Father’s intentions by collaborating with others

Besides prayer, the Pope asks us to find new and creative ways to confront the challenges facing humanity. This cannot be done in isolation and needs the healthy collaboration between laity, priests, and religious. Even more so, it requires the help of Christians and non-Christians, working together to solve these problems that plague our world.

5. Grow deeper in your love of Jesus

These practical ways to implement the “Way of the Heart” into our lives are essentially rooted in a deep and abiding love of Jesus Christ. This means we are called to converse with him daily in prayer and to allow him to enter the door of our hearts. Fueled by his love, we are able to step outside of our door and encounter all people in his name.