​God Loves Us Passionately
Week 4   God is Calling You by Name 

Opening Prayer
Lord Jesus, we praise you.  Your love is infinite.  You lovingly seek and find each one of us, no matter where we are or what we have done.  Forgive us for the times we’ve doubted or failed to be moved by your love for us.  In your Scripture you tell us, “As the Father loves me, so I also love you.  Remain in my love.” (John 15:9)  Thank you for loving each of us personally and deeply, and inviting us to live in your love.  Help us to know, not just with our head but with our whole being, that you love us.  Lord, help us to allow your love for us to transform everything.  Jesus we trust in you.  We make this prayer in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. 
AMEN
 
Reflection
God, the Creator of the universe, has fallen deeply in love with you.  Since the beginning of time, God has been completely in love with you.  Throughout history, and through every day of your life, God has been pursuing you and expectantly longing for you to love Him in return.
 
There is nothing we can do to make Him stop loving us.  There is no place we can run that He can’t find us.  There is nothing we can do to earn His love – it is His free, undeserved gift.
 
When in your life have you felt close to God?
 
 
Have there been moments when you’ve had a hard time imagining knowing God, or had a hard time believing God accepts you and loves you?
 
 
Many of us have a hard time believing God could really love us.  We focus on our failures, our brokenness.  The rejection and judgment of others have left us wounded.  We fear that anyone who really knew the things we have done, or thought, would turn us away.  We believe we could not possibly do enough to become worthy of love.  Overwhelmed by our shortcomings, we may be tempted to hide our brokenness, or hide ourselves, in shame.
 
You are dear to God.  God created you in your mother’s womb, fashioned you in His very likeness, and continues to create you every day of your life.
 
No matter where you are right now on your journey, no matter what you may have done or not done in your life, no matter who you are, where you have been or what you have – God is seeking you.  God is loving you deeply and personally – and calling you by name.
 
Reflecting with Tradition:  C.C.C. #218, 220, 221  God is love.
 
The Catechism is the tradition of the Catholic Church.  Below are paragraphs on God is Love.
 
218
In the course of its history, Israel was able to discover that God had only one reason to reveal Himself to them, a single motive for choosing them from among all peoples as His special possession:  His sheer gratuitous love.  And thanks to the prophets, Israel understood that it was again out of love that God never stopped saving them and pardoning their unfaithfulness and sins.
 
220
God’s love is “everlasting”:  “For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but My steadfast love shall not depart from you.”  Through Jeremiah, God declares to His people, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore, I have continued my faithfulness to you.”
 
221
But St. John goes even further when he affirms that “God is love”:  God’s very being is love.  By sending His only Son and the Spirit of Love in the fullness of time, God has revealed His innermost secret:  God Himself is an eternal exchange of love, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and He has destined us to share in that exchange.
 
 
What strikes you from these passages?

 
Return to Psalm 139 from Week 2.   How does the Catechism connect with Psalm 139?

 
Closing Prayer
 
Loving God,
 
I come into Your presence so aware of my human frailty and yet
               overwhelmed by Your love for me.
 
I thank You that there is no human experience that I might walk
               through where Your love cannot reach me.
 
If I climb the highest mountain, You are there and yet, if I find
               myself in the darkest valley of my life, You are there.
 
Teach me today to love You more.
 
Help me to rest in that love that asks nothing more than the
               simple trusting heart of a child.
 
In Jesus’ name,
Amen

God Loves us Passionately Week 3
What Gets in the Way?
 
 
Opening Prayer
Lord Jesus, we praise you.  Your love is infinite.  You lovingly seek and find each one of us, no matter where we are or what we have done.  Forgive us for the times we’ve doubted or failed to be moved by your love for us.  In your Scripture you tell us, “As the Father loves me, so I also love you.  Remain in my love.” (John 15:9)  Thank you for loving each of us personally and deeply, and inviting us to live in your love.  Help us to know, not just with our head but with our whole being, that you love us.  Lord, help us to allow your love for us to transform everything.  Jesus we trust in you.  We make this prayer in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. 
AMEN
 
 

 
Reflection
God, the Creator of the universe, has fallen deeply in love with you.  Since the beginning of time, God has been completely in love with you.  Throughout history, and through every day of your life, God has been pursuing you and expectantly longing for you to love Him in return.
 
There is nothing we can do to make Him stop loving us.  There is no place we can run that He can’t find us.  There is nothing we can do to earn His love – it is His free, undeserved gift.
 
When in your life have you felt close to God?
 
 
Have there been moments when you’ve had a hard time imagining knowing God, or had a hard time believing God accepts you and loves you?
 
 
Many of us have a hard time believing God could really love us.  We focus on our failures, our brokenness.  The rejection and judgment of others have left us wounded.  We fear that anyone who really knew the things we have done, or thought, would turn us away.  We believe we could not possibly do enough to become worthy of love.  Overwhelmed by our shortcomings, we may be tempted to hide our brokenness, or hide ourselves, in shame.
 
You are dear to God.  God created you in your mother’s womb, fashioned you in His very likeness, and continues to create you every day of your life.
 
No matter where you are right now on your journey, no matter what you may have done or not done in your life, no matter who you are, where you have been or what you have – God is seeking you.  God is loving you deeply and personally – and calling you by name.
 
 
Reflection Using Lyrics  Taken from “By Your Side” by Tenth Avenue North
 
This week we pray using lyrics of a song.   Read through the lyrics, noticing what word or phrase stands out to you.
 
Why are you striving these days?
Why are you trying to earn grace?
Why are you crying?
Let me lift up your face
Just don’t turn away
 
Why are you looking for love?
Why are you still searching?
As if I’m not enough?
To where will you go, child,
Tell me where will you run?
To where will you run?
 
‘Cause I’ll be by your side wherever you fall
In the dead of night whenever you call
Please don’t fight these hands that are holding you
My hands are holding you
 
Here at my side wherever you fall
In the dead of night whenever you call
Please don’t fight these hands that are holding you
My hands are holding you
And I, I love you
And I want you to know
That I, I’ll love you
 
‘Cause I’ll be by your side wherever you fall
In the dead of night whenever you call
Please don’t fight these hands that are holding you
My hands are holding you
 
​
Have you ever felt like you had to earn God’s love?  If so, reflect on what that was like.  Journal a few sentences about that experience.
 
 
Close your eyes and meditate on the image of God’s hands holding you.  Notice the thoughts and emotions that surface without reflecting on them.  When you are ready, write a prayer to God.

 
Closing Prayer
 
O God,
You are our Creator,
You are good, and Your mercy knows no bounds.
To You arises the praise of every creature.
O God, You have given us an inner law by which we must live.
To do Your will is our task.
To follow Your ways is to know peace of heart.
To You we offer our homage.
Guide us on all the paths we travel upon this earth.
Free us from all the evil tendencies which lead our hearts away from Your will.
Never allow us to stray from You.
O God, judge of all humankind, help us to be included among
Your chosen ones on the last day.
O God, Author of peace and justice, give us true joy and authentic love,
and a lasting solidarity among peoples.
Give us Your everlasting gifts.
Amen!
 
May the God of mercy, the God of love, the God of peace bless each of you
and all the members of your families!
                                             Saint John Paul II

​God Loves Us Passionately

Week 2   God’s Pursuit of You 
  

Opening Prayer
Lord Jesus, we praise you.  Your love is infinite.  You lovingly seek and find each one of us, no matter where we are or what we have done.  Forgive us for the times we’ve doubted or failed to be moved by your love for us.  In your Scripture you tell us, “As the Father loves me, so I also love you.  Remain in my love.” (John 15:9)  Thank you for loving each of us personally and deeply, and inviting us to live in your love.  Help us to know, not just with our head but with our whole being, that you love us.  Lord, help us to allow your love for us to transform everything.  Jesus we trust in you.  We make this prayer in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. 
AMEN
 
 
Reflection
God, the Creator of the universe, has fallen deeply in love with you.  Since the beginning of time, God has been completely in love with you.  Throughout history, and through every day of your life, God has been pursuing you and expectantly longing for you to love Him in return.
 
There is nothing we can do to make Him stop loving us.  There is no place we can run that He can’t find us.  There is nothing we can do to earn His love – it is His free, undeserved gift.
 
When in your life have you felt close to God?
 
 
Have there been moments when you’ve had a hard time imagining knowing God, or had a hard time believing God accepts you and loves you?
 
 
Many of us have a hard time believing God could really love us.  We focus on our failures, our brokenness.  The rejection and judgment of others have left us wounded.  We fear that anyone who really knew the things we have done, or thought, would turn us away.  We believe we could not possibly do enough to become worthy of love.  Overwhelmed by our shortcomings, we may be tempted to hide our brokenness, or hide ourselves, in shame.
 
You are dear to God.  God created you in your mother’s womb, fashioned you in His very likeness, and continues to create you every day of your life.  No matter where you are right now on your journey, no matter what you may have done or not done in your life, no matter who you are, where you have been or what you have – God is seeking you.  God is loving you deeply and personally – and calling you by name.
 
 
Reflection on Psalm 139
 
Preparation:  Let yourself become aware of God’s presence in your life.  Recall and reflect on the gentleness with which God has led you all during your lifetime, and that God continues now to hold you tenderly, wanting you to listen and to respond. 
 
First read Psalm 139 to God (Traditional version, see below)….and then let God say it to you (Adapted version, see below).  After praying through the psalm in the manner indicated, and when you are quiet and at peace:
 
Ask God to bring to your mind one incident from your past when you were aware of:
                              + God’s presence
                              + God making something clear to you
                              + Your response of YES
 
Gently allow the memory to surface.
               Relive the experience now.
                              Remember the qualities of that experience.
 
Recall and reflect on the peace
                                                            harmony
                                                                           trust
                                                                                          freedom
                                                                                                         conviction of being loved
                              which you associate with prior experiences of God.
 
Gratefully and simply rejoice
               in the reliving of one of these experiences
               in the resurfacing of the feelings it evoked.
 
Ask for the grace to hear God’s Word again now
               and to be able to respond with the same YES
                              that will bring once again
                                             those same feelings of peace
                                                                                          harmony
                                                                           trust
                                                            freedom
                                             conviction of being loved.

 
PRAYING WITH PSALM 139 (Traditional)
 
LORD, you know me through and through;
you know when I sit and when I stand,
you understand my thoughts from afar.
My journeys and my rest you scrutinize;
with all my ways you are familiar.
Even before a word is on my tongue
behold, O Lord, you know the whole of it.
Behind me and before, you hem me in
and rest your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.
 
                                             Where can I go from your spirit?
                                             From your presence where can I flee?
                                             If I go up to the heavens you are there;
                                             if I sink to the nether world you are present there.
                                             If I take the wings of the dawn,
                                             if I settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
                                             even there your hand shall guide me,
                                             and your right hand hold me fast.
                                             If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me,
                                             and night shall be my light…,”
                                           for you darkness itself is not dark, and night shines as the day.
                                             darkness and light are the same.
 
Truly you have formed my inmost being;
You knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I give you thanks that I am fearfully, wonderfully made;
wonderful are your works!
My soul also you knew full well;
nor was my frame unknown to you when I was made in secret,
when I was fashioned in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes have seen all my actions;
in your book they are all written;
my days were limited before one of them existed.
 
                                             How weighty are your designs, O God;
                                             how vast the sum of them!
                                             Were I to recount them, they would outnumber the sands,
                                             if I reached the end of them, I would still be with you.
 
Probe my heart O God, and know my thoughts;
see if my way is crooked, and lead me in the ways of old.
 
 
PSALM 139 (ADAPTED)
 
My child, I know you through and through;
I know when you sit and when you stand;
I understand your thoughts from afar.
Your journeys and your rest I scrutinize;
with all your ways I am familiar.
Even before a word is on your tongue
I, your God, know the whole of it.
Behind you and before, I hem you in
and rest my hand upon you.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for you,
too lofty for you to attain.
 
                                             Where can you go from my Spirit?
                                             From my presence where can you flee?
                                             If you go up to the heavens, I am there;
                                             if you sink to the nether world, I am present there.
                                             If you take the wings of the dawn,
                                             if you settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
                                             even there my hand shall guide you,
                                             and my right hand hold you fast.
                                             If you say, “Surely the darkness will hide me,
                                             and night shall be my light…,”
                                             for me darkness is not dark, and night shines as the day.
                                             (Darkness and light are the same.)
 
Truly I have formed your inmost being;
I knit you together in your mother’s womb.
Give thanks to me that you are fearfully, wonderfully made;
wonderful are my works!
Your soul, also, I knew full well;
nor was your frame unknown to me when I made you in secret;
when I fashioned you in the depths of the earth.
My eyes have seen all your actions;
in my book they are all written;
your days were limited before one of them existed.
 
                                             How weighty are my designs, I your God;
                                             how vast the sum of them!
                                             Were you to recount them, they would outnumber the sands.
                                             If you reached the end of them, you would still be with me.
 
I, your God, will probe your heart and know our thoughts;
I will see if your way is crooked, and I will lead you in the ways of old.
Closing Prayer
 
 
O God,
You are our Creator,
You are good and Your mercy knows no bounds.
To you arises the praise of every creature.
O God, You have given us an inner law by which we must live.
To do Your will is our task.
To follow Your ways is to know peace of heart.
To You we offer our homage.
Guide us on all the paths we travel upon this earth.
Free us from all the evil tendencies which lead our hearts away from Your will.
Never allow us to stray from You.
O God, judge of all humankind, help us to be included among
Your chosen ones on the last day.
O God, Author of peace and justice, give us true joy and authentic love,
and a lasting solidarity among peoples.
Give us Your everlasting gifts.
Amen!
May the God of mercy, the God of love, the God of peace bless each of you
and all the members of your families!
                                             Saint John Paul II

God Loves Us Passionately 
Week 1   Blessedness: Our Original Gift 
This weekly material will be offered to support your Discipleship Journey as we walk in the foot prints of Jesus.
 
We encourage you to use this material as a part of your daily prayer practice as follows:

1. Beginning with the Opening Prayer.
2. Praying with the weekly Reflection.
3. Finishing with the Closing Prayer.

 
Let us pray for each other, that we are transformed as individuals and as community, by this Discipleship Journey.
 
If you would like to discuss the materials further, or have any questions, please contact Kelly Lemens at lemensk@aplacetobesc.org.
 
________________________________________________________________________
 
Opening Prayer
 
Lord Jesus, we praise you.  Your love is infinite.  You lovingly seek and find each one of us, no matter where we are or what we have done.  Forgive us for the times we’ve doubted or failed to be moved by your love for us.  In your Scripture you tell us, “As the Father loves me, so I also love you.  Remain in my love.” (John 15:9)  Thank you for loving each of us personally and deeply, and inviting us to live in your love.  Help us to know, not just with our head but with our whole being, that you love us.  Lord, help us to allow your love for us to transform everything.  Jesus we trust in you.  We make this prayer in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. 
AMEN
 
 
Reflection
 
If you are like most of us, you wear many “hats”:  parent, sibling, child, friend, employee, student, volunteer…the list goes on and on. Over time, these roles become part of our identity and shape how we see ourselves and our unique place in the world.  As Christians, though, we all have one fundamental baptismal identity:  we are disciples of Jesus Christ.
 
What is a disciple?  In a nutshell, a disciple is one that walks in the footprints of Jesus.  Just as a child places their small foot into the larger footprint of their parent trying to mimic their way, a disciple entrusts their very selves in the person of Jesus Christ and strives to be like Christ more and more every day.  This, of course, is the journey of a lifetime.  This is the journey you are embarking on today.
 
 
What are the different “hats” you wear?
 
 
 
How would your best friend, when talking about you, complete the following sentence:  “I know that my friend (fill in your name) is a disciple of Jesus because he/she: ______________.”
 
 
 
Discipleship itself is an identity that we discover, embrace and grow into over time.  But we can clearly identify qualities and attributes that all disciples live out.  This is where we will begin our journey, with the end in mind.  As we grow in discipleship, so will these qualities and attributes grow more apparent in us.  Jesus describes these attributes in His Sermon on the Mount, beginning with the Beatitudes.  Each month, we will reflect on one of the 8 Beatitudes to gain a deeper understanding of their meaning for our lives.
 
Each of the 8 Beatitudes begins with Blessed:
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
 
Blessedness exists at the center of our being. 
 
God said, “Let us make humans in our image, according to our likeness.” 
Genesis 1:26
 
We were created in the “image” of God.  Each of us is created with this image in our soul.  “It is the Holy Spirit poured into your heart, and it has been given to you.” (Romans 5:5)  This “beingness” precedes all doing – I am loved before I do anything right or wrong, worthy or unworthy.  This is our “original blessing.”
 
When we embrace our own blessedness, actually sink into being a beloved child of God, we are then able to truly live out the purpose for which we are made.  We were created by a loving God to be love in the world; our core is original blessing, our very being is “very good.” (Genesis 1:31)  Living out of this place of blessedness, we will effortlessly embody the beatitudes and naturally walk in the footprints of Christ.
 
When have you experienced your own blessedness? 
 
 
 
What was that like? 
 
 
 
Take a few minutes of quiet and sink into being a beloved child of God.
 

 
Closing Prayer
 
GOD WOULD KNEEL DOWN
 
I think God might be a little prejudiced.
For once He asked me to join Him on a walk
through this world,
 
and we gazed into every heart on this earth,
and I noticed He lingered a bit longer
before any face that was
weeping,
 
and before any eyes that were
laughing.
 
And sometimes when we passed
a soul in worship
 
God too would kneel
down.
 
I have come to learn: God
adores His
creation.
 
St. Francis of Assisi