 Discipleship Habit #2: Read Scripture Every Day
Week 14 Lord, Teach Me To Listen Opening Prayer Lord Jesus, You are good, and we praise You. Through Your Scripture, You lovingly tell us the story of our salvation and continue to speak to us today. Forgive us for the times that we haven’t listened to You in the Scripture. In Your Scripture you tell us, “the Word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12) Thank You for coming to us so powerfully through Your Word. Help us to know that You long to speak to us through Your Word. Lord, teach us how to listen to Your voice speaking to us through Your Scriptures. Inspire us to meet You in Your Word daily. 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: Let’s remember that the attributes of the heart and the six habits of discipleship, though dealt with separately for clarity’s sake, are really just one thing. They are “THE ONE THING”, that is, “the loving encounter with Jesus Christ in His Church”. This is the one thing, and the only thing, that really matters. With that in mind, let’s continue our exploration of discipleship habits. The second habit of discipleship that we want to explore is the call to “Read Scripture Every Day”. This is the habit that finds the disciple regularly encountering Christ in His Holy Word, and most especially in the four Gospels. Do you want to learn how to listen to God? Praying with Scripture regularly is how we hear the living and eternal voice of Christ speaking directly to us in our lives. Scripture is God’s Word spoken both to a people in the past and to us today. Through it, “the deathless presence of Jesus speaks to us in the moment we read [a passage]” (Dr. James Finley). Just a few of the ways He speaks through Scripture include making a word or phrase jump out at us, showing us more of who He is as we reflect on stories from His life, or giving us insight into our own life when we reflect on how He acted in the lives of others. Encountering Christ in His Word is always an encounter with Love. Jesus meets us without judgment and lovingly helps us to see ourselves and our lives more clearly. Then He invites us to turn away from what is less than our Divine purpose and calls us to follow Him in His way of truth, goodness, and beauty. Christ in the Word brings us to the point of decision: Will we turn to follow Him more completely, or will we turn away? So, reading Scripture is always an encounter with Christ. And since the Scriptures are God’s revealed Word to His covenant people, reading Scripture is simultaneously an encounter with the Church. Reading Scripture timelessly connects us with Christ in and through all of His people – past, present, and future. In the Scriptures, Christ encounters us together to know us, call us, convert us, and set us free. Describe an experience that caused you to think about something or someone differently. What happened? How did it change you? Reflect on Scripture Luke 24:13 – 34 Now that very day two of them were going to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus, and they were conversing about all of the things that had occurred. And it happened that, while they were conversing and debating, Jesus Himself drew near and walked with them, but their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him. He asked them, “What are you discussing as you walk along?” They stopped, looking downcast. One of them, named Cleopas, said to him in reply, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know of the things that have taken place there in these days?” And He replied to them, “What sort of things?” They said to Him, “The things that happened to Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all of the people, how our chief priests and rulers both handed Him over to a sentence of death and crucified him. But we were hoping that He would be the One to redeem Israel; and besides all of this, it is now the third day since this took place. Some women from our group; however, have astounded us: they were at the tomb early in the morning and did not find His body; they came back and reported that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who announced that He was alive. Then some of those with us went to the tomb and found things just as the women had described, but Him they did not see.” And He said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are! How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and enter into His glory?” Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, He interpreted to them what referred to Him in all of the scriptures. As they approached the village to which they were going, He gave the impression that He was going on farther. But they urged Him, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.” So, He went in to stay with them. And it happened that, while He was with them at table, He took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. With that their eyes were opened, and they recognized Him, but He vanished from their sight. Then they said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning [within us] while He spoke to us on the way and opened the scriptures to us?” So, they set out at once and returned to Jerusalem where they found gathered together the eleven and those with them who were saying, “The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!” Then the two recounted what had taken place on the way and how He was made known to them in the breaking of the bread. At the start of the passage, what are the disciples thinking and feeling? What are they thinking about Jesus? Why do you think Jesus asks them what they are discussing? (As if He doesn’t know…) What does this tell us about Jesus’ attitude toward us? In response, what does Jesus explain to them? Why do you think Jesus used Scripture to explain this? How do the disciples come to recognize Jesus? What part do the Scriptures play in this? What do you think it means that their hearts “were burning within them” when Jesus opened the Scriptures to them? Have you ever had an experience like this? What do the disciples finally come to understand? What is their response? How do you think Jesus is calling you right now through this passage? How are you going to respond? Closing Prayer Easter Arsonists of the Heart On the road that escapes Jerusalem and winds along the ridge to Emmaus two disillusioned youths drag home their crucified dream. They had smelled Messiah in the air and rose to the scarred and ancient hope only to mourn what might have been. And now a sudden stranger falls upon their loss with excited words about mustard seeds and surprises hidden at the heart of death and that evil must be kissed upon the lips and that every scream is redeemed for it echoes in the ear of God and do you not understand what died upon the cross was fear. They protested their right to despair, but He said, “My Father’s laughter fills the silence of the tomb.” Because they did not understand, they offered Him food. And in the breaking of the bread they knew the imposter for who He was – the arsonist of the heart. John Shea
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Discipleship Habit #1: Pray Every Day
Week 13 Offering ourselves, just as we are Opening Prayer Lord Jesus, we praise You for You are patient! You lovingly wait for us to come to You and long to listen to us. Forgive us for the times in our lives when we have not drawn close to You in prayer. In Your Scripture You tell us, “Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6 - 7) We claim this promise. Thank You for being so available to us. Help us to know that You long to meet with us in prayer. Lord, teach us how to pray. Give us the desire to get to know You in prayer every day and the discipline to guard our prayer time when busyness tempts us away from You. 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: From Fr. Thomas Keating, Open Heart, Open Mind All true prayer is based on the conviction of the presence of the Spirit in us and of His unfailing and continual inspiration. Every prayer in this sense is prayer in the Spirit. Still, it seems more accurate to reserve the term prayer in the Spirit, for that prayer in which the inspiration of the Spirit is given directly to our spirit without the intermediary of our own reflections or acts of the will. In other words, the Spirit prays in us and we consent. According to the Baltimore catechism, “Prayer is the raising of the mind and heart to God.” In using this ancient formula it is important to keep in mind that it is not we who do the lifting. In every kind of prayer the raising of the mind and heart to God can only be the work of the Spirit. In prayer inspired by the Spirit we let ourselves flow with the lifting movement and drop all reflections. Reflection is an important preliminary to prayer, but it is not prayer. Prayer is not only the offering of our interior acts to God: it is the offering of ourselves, of who we are just as we are. Spend a few minutes now simply raising your mind and heart to God, offering God yourself, just as you are. Praying with Centering Prayer To be a disciple of Jesus means to live the way Jesus lived and surrender our lives to our Father. Jesus invites us to sharpen our spiritual attentiveness, to see with the eyes of Christ, so that we can love as Jesus loves. So often; however, our own thoughts and perceptions get in the way and trip us up. We need help re-aligning our minds to Christ’s to help us live the Gospel message. We need a way to put our mind, our attention and intention, in our heart. Centering Prayer is the tool we need to help us live out of our hearts – it gives us a way of letting go of our own stuff so that we are able to rest in the presence of God. Through Centering Prayer, we practice becoming aware of, then surrendering, thoughts to God so that this surrender becomes a habit and, eventually, a way of life. Unlike any other form of meditation, Centering Prayer doesn’t focus on a particular word or thought. Rather, Centering Prayer is done with intention, not attention. By turning our intention to our awareness of God, our attention does not go to an object or focus on any one thing. This is an “objectless awareness” and surrender to the gaze of God. Many who practice Centering Prayer struggle with their thoughts and complain that they cannot stop their “monkey-mind”. They find themselves getting “hooked” into a stream of thought, becoming frustrated with their inability to clear their mind. This line of reasoning; however, implies that we are asked to renounce our thoughts, push them away as if that’s even possible. Instead, Centering Prayer is a gentle surrender of thoughts, a letting go, a release and turning over of thoughts and returning our awareness to God. Practitioners of this form of prayer often use what is called a “sacred word” which acts as a windshield wiper to our attention. When one realizes that a thought has brought his or her attention to something, the sacred word brings awareness to the need to release the thought and surrender attention to God. We do not do this on our own. In Centering Prayer we receive an enormous help from our subconscious. All we have to have is the willingness to be reminded that we are thinking; our hearts do the rest. In fact, the real gift of Centering Prayer is done in the noticing and surrender of the thought so that we can then return our awareness to God. The Guidelines of Centering Prayer:
Closing Prayer St. Teresa of Calcutta on Prayer I don’t think there is anyone who needs God’s help and grace as much as I do. Sometimes I feel so helpless and so weak. I think this is why God uses me. Because I cannot depend on my own strength, I rely on Him twenty-four hours a day. All of us must cling to God through prayer. My secret is simple: I pray. Through prayer, I become one in love with Christ. I realize that praying to Him is loving Him. We cannot find God in noise or agitation. Nature: trees, flowers, and grass grow in silence. The stars, the moon, and the sun move in silence. What is essential is not what we say, but what God tells others through us. In silence He listens to us; in silence He speaks to our souls. In silence we are granted the privilege of listening to His voice. Silence of our eyes, Silence of our ears. Silence of our minds, …In the silence of the heart God will speak. View St. Teresa of Calcutta’s message to those struggling with prayer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WupB22jXUcY&t=4s  Discipleship Habit #1: Pray Every Day
Week 12 Grow into Jesus AND Each Other Opening Prayer Lord Jesus, we praise You for You are patient! You lovingly wait for us to come to You and long to listen to us. Forgive us for the times in our lives when we have not drawn close to You in prayer. In Your Scripture You tell us, “Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6 - 7) We claim this promise. Thank You for being so available to us. Help us to know that You long to meet with us in prayer. Lord, teach us how to pray. Give us the desire to get to know You in prayer every day and the discipline to guard our prayer time when busyness tempts us away from You. 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 As turning to Jesus in prayer becomes a habit in your life, you will not only grow in friendship with Him, you will also grow into deeper friendship with His people, both near and far. We grow into Jesus and each other at the same time. But the only way for any of this to start happening is for us to start praying. We need to start making prayer a habit if it isn’t already. Like the mustard seed, we need to start small so Jesus can help our prayer grow into something big. So, practice taking at least 10 minutes a day to have a conversation with the Lord. Speak to Him from your heart and listen to Him dwelling in your soul. Foster the habit of personal prayer to encounter Christ! This month, we explore how Jesus prayed to His Father. He had to find time amidst all the needs of others. He had to find a quiet place, to go away. He had to carve out time for God in both his schedule and in his heart. Jesus faced some of the same challenges in prayer as we do today. Jesus invites you, here and now, to a life of deeper prayer and a life of deeper discipleship. If you ask, you will receive. If you seek, you will find. If you knock, the door will be opened for you. What small 10 minute activity can you put aside to make room for your conversation with Jesus each day? Praying with Scripture Mark 1:32 - 39 When it was evening, after sunset, they brought to Jesus all who were ill or possessed by demons. The whole town was gathered at the door. He cured many who were sick with various diseases, and He drove out many demons, not permitting them to speak because they knew Him. Rising very early before dawn, Jesus left and went off to a deserted place, where He prayed. Simon and those who were with Him pursued Him and on finding Him said, “Everyone is looking for You.” He told them, “Let us go on to the nearby villages that I may preach there also. For this purpose, have I come.” So, He went into their synagogues, preaching and driving out demons throughout the whole of Galilee. Reflection At the beginning of this passage, what time is it? Based on the text, what kind of a day has it been for Jesus? How do you think he was feeling at the end of it? What obstacles did Jesus have to overcome to be able to spend time in prayer? What obstacles in your life make it difficult for you to spend time in prayer? In this passage, what time did Jesus choose to pray? What time of day works best for you to pray? In this passage, where did Jesus choose to pray? What physical space or place in your home or community can you go to pray daily? What might you need to do to make that place an easier place for you to pray? How do you think Jesus is calling you right now through this passage? How are you going to respond? Praying with Lectio Divina The Scriptures are God’s Word revealed to his people. He continues to speak to us through them today. Learning to listen to God speak through Scripture is like learning any new language. It takes practice. One way the Church has taught us to listen to God speaking through the Scripture is Lectio Divina. Begin by selecting a passage from Sacred Scripture with which you may wish to pray. Some suggestions might be: John 10:1 – 21: Jesus is the Good Shepherd, and He knows me by name. Luke 5:27 – 32: Jesus comes to people just like me. Luke 15:1-7: Jesus comes after us, even when we’re lost. Mark 9:14 – 29: Sometimes I don’t have enough faith; help me have more, O Lord. Matthew 14:13 – 21: Jesus heals and feeds all hungry people. Isaiah 43:1 – 7: You are precious in my eyes, and I love You. Lectio Divina can also be used to reflect on a spiritual writing: The task of taking God to others is not that of handing somebody a Bible or some religious literature, but of transubstantiating God the way we do with the food we eat. We have to digest something and turn it, physically, into the flesh of our own bodies so it becomes part of what we look like. If we would do this with the word of God, others would not have to read the Bible to see what God is like, they would need only to look at our faces and our lives to see God. (The Holy Longing, p. 102) Lectio Divina method:
Closing Prayer Show me, O Lord, Your mercy, and delight my heart with it. Let me find You whom I so longingly seek. See, here is the man/woman whom the robbers seized, mishandled, and left half dead on the road to Jericho. O kindhearted Samaritan come to my aid! I am the sheep who wandered into the wilderness – seek after me and bring me home again to Your fold. Do with me what You will, that I may stay by You all the days of my life and praise You with all those who are with You in heaven for all eternity. St. Jerome Discipleship Habit #1: Pray Every Day
Week 11 Lord, Teach Me to Pray We have spent the first three months of our Discipleship Journey exploring our relationship with God and discerning Jesus’ invitation for us. For the upcoming months we delve deeper into the six habits of discipleship: Prayer, Scripture, Mass, Sacrament of Reconciliation, Service, and Community Life. During this month we will focus on the habit of Prayer. Opening Prayer Lord Jesus, we praise You for You are patient! You lovingly wait for us to come to You and long to listen to us. Forgive us for the times in our lives when we have not drawn close to You in prayer. In Your Scripture You tell us, “Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6 - 7) We claim this promise. Thank You for being so available to us. Help us to know that You long to meet with us in prayer. Lord, teach us how to pray. Give us the desire to get to know You in prayer every day and the discipline to guard our prayer time when busyness tempts us away from You. 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: On Prayer As turning to Jesus in prayer becomes a habit in your life, you will not only grow in friendship with Him, you will also grow into deeper friendship with His people, both near and far. We grow into Jesus and each other at the same time. But the only way for any of this to start happening is for us to start praying. We need to start making prayer a habit if it isn’t already. Like the mustard seed, we need to start small so Jesus can help our prayer grow into something big. So, practice taking at least 10 minutes a day to have a conversation with the Lord. Speak to Him from your heart and listen to Him dwelling in your soul. Foster the habit of personal prayer to encounter Christ! This month, we explore how Jesus prayed to His Father. He had to find time amidst all the needs of others. He had to find a quiet place to go away. He had to carve out time for God in both His schedule and in His heart. Jesus faced some of the same challenges in prayer as we do today. Jesus invites you, here and now, to a life of deeper prayer and a life of deeper discipleship. If you ask, you will receive. If you seek, you will find. If you knock, the door will be opened for you. How might you be open to a deeper call from Jesus through a habit of daily prayer? What might you discover about yourself, or about Jesus, in your conversation with Him? Discipleship Habit #1: Pray Every Day The first habit of discipleship that we want to explore is the call to “Pray Every Day”. This is the habit that finds the disciple in regular personal conversation with Jesus as a close friend. Recognizing that faith is first and foremost about a relationship with the person of Jesus, the habit of personal prayer is how we open up the lines of communication to build and grow that relationship. Simply put, daily prayer is the habit of spending time with our friend, Jesus. It’s that simple and that amazing! Just as we would with any good friend, in prayer, we take time to set distractions aside and be truly present with Him. We spend quality time, both telling Him about what’s happening in our lives and listening to Him. We tell Him the things that we love about Him and apologize when we hurt Him. Sometimes we’re just together in silence, appreciating each other. Because we are talking to a good friend, we need not worry about what to say or how to say it. In prayer, you can just speak from your heart. Go ahead and tell Him everything – your hopes, your fears, your dreams, your doubts, and your needs. The more you go to Jesus in prayer with everything in your life, the more Jesus will become everything for your life – and that’s the goal! As turning to Jesus in prayer becomes a habit in your life, you will not only grow in friendship with Him, you will also grow into deeper friendship with His people, both near and far. In fact, that’s the ultimate litmus test of true prayer: Are we also growing in love and forgiveness with our family members, friends, co-workers, mild acquaintances, and even our enemies? As Jesus teaches us in the Our Father, prayer is always the simultaneous movement of hallowing God’s name and longing that all people receive their daily bread. We grow into Jesus and each other at the same time. The danger in not having the proper interiority (intimacy with God) and the personal moral fidelity to back up our faith preaching is that we end up turning Christianity into a philosophy, an ideology, and a moral code, but ultimately missing what Christianity is all about, a relationship with a real person. (Holy Longing, pg. 63) Describe a time when you talked with a friend who really listened to you and understood you. How did you feel? What happened? Lord, Teach Me to Pray In the 11th Chapter of St. Luke’s Gospel, we find Jesus teaching His disciples to pray. In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus did so much more than teach His disciples a simple prayer for them to recite. The Lord’s Prayer is, truly, the prayer of disciples. It provides us, not only with the ultimate prayer, but also a roadmap of how we are to live. How so? Read the passage below from Luke 11:1 – 4, 9 – 10. Here, we find the disciples come to Jesus and ask, “Lord, teach me to pray.” In other words, much like many of us, they weren’t sure how to pray either. Like many of us, they wondered if they had the right words. They knew that Jesus had a powerful connection to God, the Father – and they wanted that for themselves. They wanted to pray, they wanted to grow in relationship with God – but they weren’t sure where to start. And so, Jesus taught them how. The foundation of discipleship is prayer. Luke 11:1 – 4, 9 – 10 [Jesus] was praying in a certain place, and after He had finished, one of his disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” He said to them, “When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, For we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us. And do not bring us to the time of trial. So, I say to you, ask and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.” If God knows our needs, why do we need to ask? If we didn’t ask, would we still receive the same answers to our needs? The word Jesus uses for Father is closer to the meaning of Daddy. Does this change the feeling of the prayer for you? Why do you think Jesus told us to say Our Father instead of My Father? Do you think He did that intentionally? What does this mean for us? Hallowed be Your name: Why would we praise God’s name? Is there something special about God’s name? What other names is God called? Your kingdom come: What kind of a world do you long for? What would it be like if we prayed for and followed God’s will instead of our own? Give us each day our daily bread: What do you need to get through the day? Does God know what you need? Do you trust Him to give you what you need? And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us: Have you ever thought about these words as you prayed them? Would you want God to forgive you the same way/to the same degree that you forgive others? Why or why not? Who do you need to forgive? And do not bring us to the time of trial: What are the greatest sources of temptations for you? God doesn’t tempt us, but He allows us to be tempted. Why do you think He does that? What are some of the trials you are facing? What would it look like to be delivered from these trials? Closing Prayer Our Father – A Reflection Our Father Who Art In Heaven – O Creator, You made all things in love. All of creation is a blessing emanating from You. Hallowed Be Thy Name – Help us to let go, to clear the space inside of busy forgetfulness so that You can come and reside within us. Thy Kingdom Come – Let Your counsel rule our lives; unite our “I can” to Yours so that, together, we can bring forth a new world of peace. Thy Will Be Done On Earth As It Is In Heaven – As we find Your love in ours, let Your heart’s fervent desire move us beyond ourselves to help bring about a new way of being. Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread – Grant what we need each day in bread and insight; sustenance for the call of growing life. And Forgive Us Our Trespasses As We Forgive Those Who Trespass Against Us – Loose the cords of mistakes that bind us, as we release the strands we hold of other’s guilt. And Lead Us Not Into Temptation, But Deliver Us From Evil – Don’t let surface things distract us; free us from the things that hold us back from our true purpose. AMEN Jesus Calls Us to Follow Him
Week 10 Jesus is Calling You – Yes, YOU!! Opening Prayer Lord Jesus, we praise You. You are wise. In Your perfect plan, You invite us into Your life. You lovingly seek us in our daily lives and offer us the free gift of a relationship with You. Forgive us for the times we’ve failed to recognize and respond to Your call in our lives. In Your Scripture You tell us, “It was not you who chose Me, but I who chose you.” (John 15:16) Thank you for choosing us and inviting us into the adventure of following You. Help us to know, not just with our head but with our whole being, that You seek each one of us and call us to follow You as Your faithful disciples. Lord, give us the desire and dedication to follow You with all our hearts. 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 John 15:12 - 16 This is my commandment: love one another as I love you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friend. You are My friends if you do what I command you. I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from My Father. It was not you who chose Me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you. What kind of friend is Jesus? What does Jesus think about or feel about His friends? What seem to be the qualities of Jesus’ friends, His disciples? What challenges do you face that keep you from Jesus? As you pray about Jesus’ friendship with you, how do you think He’s calling you right now? Hopefully, each day you find it easier to find time to pray, and prayer becomes more familiar and more natural. There are still times, however, when prayer may seem dry. Virtually every pray-er throughout human history has experienced moments of dryness, days where it seemed difficult to pray or even find time to pray. Even some of the most revered saints in history experienced this! Remember that growing in relationship with Jesus, and deepening one’s prayer life takes TIME. Just as an athlete doesn’t run a 10K overnight, so too growing in prayer takes time and daily effort. You may not notice any growth from one day to the next, but by striving consistently, you will grow closer to Jesus – the greatest goal of all!! As you pray with how Jesus is calling you – yes, YOU – personally and deeply, continue to ask God for what you need the most right now to experience closeness to Him. Ask God for that which you need. And be sure to pray this week for those in our parish family that are also walking in this journey with you. What would a deeper prayer life look like to you? Gradually step into that this week. Closing Prayer The goods that we offer are gifts from You: Our lives with all their freedom, our distracted minds, our often-weak wills, and failing memories. These are our gifts to You. Hear our simple prayer: When we are weak, be our strength; when we doubt, be our faith; when we’re discouraged, be our hope; and when we’re lost, come and find us. When we’re hungry, be our food, when we’re thirsty, be our drink; when we’re in darkness, be our light, and when we’re sad, be our comfort and joy. Let us feel Your touch in all we say and do. Let us grow and blossom in Your love. Grant us this, Lord, and there’s nothing more we want until we see You face to face. Take all we have and all we are; give us Your love and Your grace, with these we are full, yes, we’re full. Mike Moynahan, SJ  Jesus Calls Us to Follow Him
Week 9 He is Waiting for My Decision Opening Prayer Lord Jesus, we praise You. You are wise. In Your perfect plan, You invite us into Your life. You lovingly seek us in our daily lives and offer us the free gift of a relationship with You. Forgive us for the times we’ve failed to recognize and respond to Your call in our lives. In Your Scripture You tell us, “It was not you who chose Me, but I who chose you.” (John 15:16) Thank you for choosing us and inviting us into the adventure of following You. Help us to know, not just with our head but with our whole being, that You seek each one of us and call us to follow You as Your faithful disciples. Lord, give us the desire and dedication to follow You with all our hearts. 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 From Holy Longing by Ronald Rolheiser For most of us, our relationship with Jesus is one of hero-worship: we admire Him and see Him as a model to be imitated. But this is not enough. What Jesus wants from us is not admiration, and not even imitation, though it is far easier to admire figures of great morality and courage than to do what they do. No, what Jesus really wants of us is that we undergo His presence so as to enter into a community of life and celebration with Him. Jesus, as John Shea says, is not a law to be obeyed or a model to be imitated, but a presence to be seized and acted upon. With great love, Jesus has found you and called you. He is waiting for your decision. What does it mean to you to undergo Jesus’ presence? What does a community of life and celebration with Jesus look like? In those times when you have undergone Jesus’ presence, in what way did you seize His presence and act upon it? Jesus has found you and is calling you. In what way are you being invited into a deeper relationship with Him? What is holding you back? Praying with Tradition CCC, #520 - 521 Jesus calls us to follow Him 520 In all of His life Jesus presents Himself as our model. He is “the perfect man,” who invites us to become His disciples and follow Him. In humbling Himself, He has given us an example to imitate, through His prayer He draws us to pray, and by His poverty He calls us to accept freely the privation and persecutions that may come our way. 521 Christ enables us to live in Him all that He Himself lived, and He lives it in us. “By His incarnation, He, the Son of God, has in a certain way united Himself with each man.” We are called not only to become one with Him, for He enables us as the members of His Body to share in what He lived for us in His flesh as our model: We must continue to accomplish in ourselves the stages of Jesus’ life and His mysteries and often to beg Him to perfect and realize them in us and in His whole Church…For it is the plan of the Son of God to make us and the whole Church partake in His mysteries and to extend them to and continue them in us and in His whole Church. This is His plan for fulfilling His mysteries in us. What strikes you from this passage? How does this connect with what we already talked about in Scripture? Closing Prayer It doesn’t have to be the blue iris, it could be weeds in a vacant lot, or a few small stones; just pay attention, then patch a few words together and don’t try to make them elaborate, this isn’t a contest but the doorway into thanks, and a silence in which another voice may speak. Praying by Mary Oliver Jesus Calls Us to Follow Him
Week 8 Jesus Calls ME This past month, we reflected on Jesus as the Good News. We hope you were able to make time to pray each day. The Good News is that God loves us too much to leave us in our brokenness – He never gives up on us!! For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him might not perish, but might have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him (John 3:16 – 17). Opening Prayer Lord Jesus, we praise You. You are wise. In Your perfect plan, You invite us into Your life. You lovingly seek us in our daily lives and offer us the free gift of a relationship with You. Forgive us for the times we’ve failed to recognize and respond to Your call in our lives. In Your Scripture You tell us, “It was not you who chose Me, but I who chose you.” (John 15:16) Thank you for choosing us and inviting us into the adventure of following You. Help us to know, not just with our head but with our whole being, that You seek each one of us and call us to follow You as Your faithful disciples. Lord, give us the desire and dedication to follow You with all our hearts. 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 Jesus is actively seeking us. He is seeking each of us personally and directly. Jesus is seeking us and inviting us into friendship with Him. Jesus is making the first move, seeking and finding us wherever we are, and calling us into a relationship of discipleship. Jesus seems to prefer friendship with ordinary people like us. Consider His first disciples. They were ordinary fishermen who said and did dumb things. They didn’t always understand. They made mistakes. They came with fears, questions, excuses, other plans, and sometimes reluctance. But they turned to Jesus in openness and followed Him. Jesus calls us to do the same. Who is Jesus for you, really? A historical person, a great moral teacher, a philosophy, a church, a dogma, a figure for piety, a mythical super-Santa? Reflecting with Scripture: Luke 5:1 – 11 The crowd was pressing in on Jesus and listening to the word of God. He saw two boats there alongside the lake; the fishermen had disembarked and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, Jesus asked Simon to row out a short distance from the shore. Then Jesus sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. After he finished speaking, Jesus said to Simon, “Row out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.” Simon said in reply, “Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets.” When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish and their nets were tearing. They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come to help them. They came and filled both boats so that they were in danger of sinking. When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at the knees of Jesus and said, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.” For astonishment at the catch of fish they had made seized him and all those with him. Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” When they brought their boats to the shore, the men left everything and followed Jesus.
Closing Prayer He Desired Me So I Came Close St. Teresa of Avila He desired me so I came close. No one can be near God unless He has prepared a bed for you. A thousand souls hear His call every second, but most everyone then looks into their life’s mirror and says, “I am not worthy to leave this sadness.” When I first heard His courting song, I too looked at all I had done in my life and said, “How can I gaze into His omnipresent eyes?” I spoke these words with all my heart. but then He sang again, a song even sweeter, and when I tried to shame myself once more from His presence God showed me His compassion and spoke a divine truth, “I made you, dear, and all I make is perfect. Please come close, for I desire you.”  Jesus is Good News in our Lives
Week 7 Jesus’ Boundless Mercy Opening Prayer Lord Jesus, we praise You, for You are the source of all blessings. You make a way for us to live in relationship with You. You lovingly come to free us, forgive us, and show us the way to a new life in You. Forgive us for the times we’ve failed to recognize that the stories of our lives are the story of You redeeming us. Thank you, Father, that You so love the world that You gave Your only Son, “so that everyone who believes in Him might not perish but might have eternal life” (John 3:16). Thank you for so generously giving Yourself for us. Help us to know, not just with our head but with our whole being, how Jesus’ coming is truly good news for our lives. Lord, help us to live in the true joy and gratitude for all that You have done for us. 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 Throughout this theme of Jesus is the Good News in our Lives, we began our Discipleship Journey by reflecting on God’s love for us. God loves us more than we can imagine, so much that He fashioned each of us in our mother’s womb as a unique creation for all time (Psalm 139). The Creator of the universe actually knows each of us by name and, believe it or not, has every hair on our heads counted (Matthew 10:30). God created us to live in loving relationship with Him now and for all time (1 John 3:1 – 3). The problem is that we all have things in our lives that keep us from fully experiencing this loving relationship with God. There have been times when we’ve turned away from God’s plan and chosen to go our own way, which breaks our relationship with God. We essentially tell God that we don’t want or need him in our life. This brokenness leaves us with feelings of guilt, emptiness, or loneliness, as if God is far from us or doesn’t exist at all. Can you recall a time in your life when you felt as if God was really far away from you? What was that like for you? Journal about that experience. The good news is that God loves us too much to leave us in our brokenness – He never gives up on us!! For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him might not perish but might have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him (John 3:16 – 17). By His sacrifice on the cross, Jesus takes upon Himself the consequences of our sins, and by His resurrection He restores our relationship with God. This is why He says, I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me (John 14:6). No matter who you are or what your life circumstances have been, Jesus is good news for your life. If you are burdened by the weight of sin, know that Jesus has lovingly died for those sins on the cross so that you can be with Him now and for all eternity. Praying with Tradition CCC, #430, 545, 654-655 Jesus saves us 430 Jesus means in Hebrew: “God saves.” At the annunciation, the angel Gabriel gave him the name Jesus as his proper name, which expresses both his identity and his mission. Since God alone can forgive sins, it is God who, in Jesus his eternal Son made man, “will save his people from their sins.” In Jesus (as the new Adam), God recapitulates (undoes the wrong done by Adam) all of his history of salvation on behalf of men. 545 Jesus invites sinners to the table of the kingdom: “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” He invites them to that conversion without which one cannot enter the kingdom but shows them in word and deed his Father’s boundless mercy for them and the vast “joy in heaven over one sinner who repents.” The supreme proof of his love will be the sacrifice of his own life “for the forgiveness of sins.” 654 The Paschal mystery has two aspects: by his death, Christ liberates us from sin; by his Resurrection, he opens for us the way to a new life. This new life is above all justification that reinstates us in God’s grace, “so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” Justification consists in both victory over the death caused by sin and a new participation in grace. It brings about filial adoption so that men became Christ’s brethren, as Jesus himself called his disciples after his Resurrection: “Go and tell my brethren.” We are brethren not by nature, but by the gift of grace, because that adoptive filiation gains us a real share in the life of the only Son, which was fully revealed in his Resurrection. 655 Finally, Christ’s Resurrection – and the risen Christ himself is the principle and source of our future resurrection: “Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep…For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.” The risen Christ lives in the hearts of his faithful while they await that fulfillment. In Christ, Christians “have tasted…the powers of the age to come” and their lives are swept up by Christ into the heart of divine life, so that they may “live no longer for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.” How have you experienced the Father’s Boundless Mercy (see 545 above)? Christ liberates you from your brokenness, how does this lead you into newness of life (see 654 above)? Closing Prayer My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my Savior. For He has looked upon His handmaid’s lowliness; behold, from now on will all ages call Me blessed. The Mighty One has done great things for Me, and holy is His name. His mercy is from age to age, to those who fear Him. He has shown might with His arm, dispersed the arrogant of mind and heart. He has thrown down the rulers from their thrones, but has lifted up the lowly. The hungry He has filled with good things; the rich He has sent away empty. He has helped Israel His servant, remembering His mercy, According to His promise to our fathers, to Abraham and his descendants forever. Luke 1:46b - 55 Opening Prayer
Lord Jesus, we praise You, for You are the source of all blessings. You make a way for us to live in relationship with You. You lovingly come to free us, forgive us, and show us the way to a new life in You. Forgive us for the times we’ve failed to recognize that the stories of our lives are the story of You redeeming us. Thank you, Father, that You so love the world that You gave Your only Son, “so that everyone who believes in Him might not perish but might have eternal life” (John 3:16). Thank you for so generously giving Yourself for us. Help us to know, not just with our head but with our whole being, how Jesus’ coming is truly good news for our lives. Lord, help us to live in the true joy and gratitude for all that You have done for us. 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 Brokenness Seeing the sign, “Puppies for Sale”, a little boy asked the store owner, “How much are you asking for those puppies?’’ “Fifty dollars each.” The boy emptied his pocket. “I have $2.37 – can I have a look at them?” The storeowner whistled, and out came Lady, followed by five balls of four-legged fur. One puppy limped and lagged considerably. “What’s wrong with that one?” the boy asked. “He was born without a hip socket. The vet says he’ll limp for the rest of his life.” The boy’s face lit up. “That’s the puppy I want to buy!” “If you really want him, I’ll give him to you.” “I don’t want you to give him to me,” said the boy, annoyed. “He’s worth every penny. I’d like to give you $2.37 right now and fifty cents every month until he’s paid for.” “Young man, this puppy is never going to be able to run, jump, or play!” The boy rolled up his pant leg to reveal a badly twisted, crippled leg supported by a bulky metal brace. “Well, I don’t run so well myself, and this puppy will need someone who understands.” We all see “crippled” parts of ourselves that sadden, discourage, infuriate, embarrass, or even repulse us. We know they are there. Some of our own making, but most are not. And we do our best to wish or will or pray them away…The problem is, as long as I’m bent on fixing, repairing, and renovating in order to make myself more presentable or lovable or acceptable, I am postponing the ability to receive any gifts in the moment is have right now…We have the ability to receive, to be loved, to know our value – only from a place of vulnerability. Because in our nakedness, our crippledness, our brokenness and our vulnerability, we have no power, no leverage, nothing to bargain with. Our identity is not dependent on becoming somebody, impressing somebody, or removing all imperfection. We can be – literally be – at home in our own skin... Granted, there are flawed and weak parts that could change. But we can’t change anything until we can love it. We can’t love anything until we can know it. We can’t know anything until we can embrace it…And we touch wholeness in that place of vulnerability. There we are human. There we are sons and daughters of God. There we hear God speak our name. The very image of God is imbedded in this fragile nature, in its very breakability. It is in that vulnerability where we find exquisite beauty: compassion, tenderness, empathy, listening, understanding, and hospitality. The alternative? To protect ourselves from all manner of breakability and crippledness and to seal off our hearts and souls. (Excerpts from The Power of Pause, Terry Hershey; Loyola Press, 2009) Reflect on those parts of yourself you have hidden from God. Write a letter to God about that on a piece of paper or on your computer. Closing Prayer Psalm 51 Have mercy on me, God, in Your kindness. In Your compassion blot out my offense. O wash me more and more from my guilt and cleanse me from my sin. My offenses truly I know them; my sin is always before me. Against You, You alone, have I sinned; what is evil in Your sight I have done. That You may be justified when You give sentence and be without reproach when You judge. O see, in guilt I was born, a sinner was I conceived. Indeed, You love truth in the heart; then in the secret of my heart teach me wisdom. O purify me, then I shall be clean; O wash me, I shall be whiter than snow. Make me hear rejoicing and gladness, that the bones You have crushed may revive. From my sins turn away Your face and blot out all my guilt. A pure heart create for me, O God, put a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, nor deprive me of Your Holy Spirit. Give me again the joy of Your help; with a spirit of fervor sustain me, that I may teach transgressors Your ways and sinners may return to You. O rescue me, God my helper, and my tongue shall ring out Your goodness. O Lord open my lips and my mouth shall declare Your praise. For in sacrifice You take no delight, burnt offering from me You would refuse, my sacrifice, a contrite spirit, a humbled, contrite heart You will not spurn. Opening Prayer
Lord Jesus, we praise You, for You are the source of all blessings. You make a way for us to live in relationship with You. You lovingly come to free us, forgive us, and show us the way to a new life in You. Forgive us for the times we’ve failed to recognize that the stories of our lives are the story of You redeeming us. Thank you, Father, that You so love the world that You gave Your only Son, “so that everyone who believes in Him might not perish but might have eternal life” (John 3:16). Thank you for so generously giving Yourself for us. Help us to know, not just with our head but with our whole being, how Jesus’ coming is truly good news for our lives. Lord, help us to live in the true joy and gratitude for all that You have done for us. 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 We began our Discipleship Journey by reflecting on God’s love for us. God loves us more than we can imagine, so much that He fashioned each of us in our mother’s womb as a unique creation for all time (Psalm 139). The Creator of the universe actually knows each of us by name and, believe it or not, has every hair on our heads counted (Matthew 10:30). God created us to live in loving relationship with Him now and for all time (1 John 3:1 – 3). The problem is that we all have things in our lives that keep us from fully experiencing this loving relationship with God. There have been times when we’ve turned away from God’s plan and chosen to go our own way, which breaks our relationship with God. We tell God that we don’t want or need him in our life. This brokenness leaves us with feelings of guilt, emptiness, or loneliness, as if God is far from us or doesn’t exist at all. Can you recall a time in your life when you felt as if God was really far away from you? The good news is that God loves us too much to leave us in our brokenness – He never gives up on us!! For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him might not perish but might have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him (John 3:16 – 17). By His sacrifice on the cross, Jesus takes upon Himself the consequences of our sins, and by His resurrection He restores our relationship with God. This is why He says, I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me (John 14:6). No matter who you are or what your life circumstances have been, Jesus is good news for your life. If you are burdened by the weight of sin, know that Jesus has lovingly died for those sins on the cross so that you can be with Him now and for all eternity. Prayer with the Examen It can sometimes be difficult to see what in our lives gets in the way of our relationship with God. One tool available to us to help is the Examen. St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits, developed the Examen to help his followers see God in all aspects of their lives. For us, this practice brings into our awareness times we felt God’s closeness and times He feels further away; it does this by inviting us to reflect on activities in our day that brought us joy and those that left us feeling drained and spent. The Examen is actually an attitude more than a method; it creates a time set aside for thankful reflection of where God is in your everyday life. It has five steps, which most people take more or less in order, and it usually takes 15 – 20 minutes per day. We invite you to use the following as guidance: Pray for light. Begin by asking God for the grace to pray, to see, and to understand. I want to look at my day with God’s eyes, not merely my own. Give thanks. Look at your day in a spirit of gratitude. Everything is a gift from God. The day I have just lived is a gift from God. Be grateful for it. Review the day. Guided by the Holy Spirit, look back on your day. Pay attention to your experience and look for those times where you felt excited, happy, joyful, energized, at peace, etc. Look for God in those experiences. I carefully look back on the day just completed, being guided by the Holy Spirit. Face your shortcomings. Face up to failures and shortcomings. Pay attention to the events of your day and look for those times when you felt frustrated, angry, tired, exhausted, etc. Ask God to show you what triggered those feelings and how you could have let God into that experience. I face up to what is wrong – in my life and in me. Look forward to the day to come. Where do you need God tomorrow? I ask where I need God in the day to come. Closing Prayer My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following Your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please You does in fact please You. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this You will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it. Therefore, will I trust You always for though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death, I will not fear. For You are ever with me, and You will never leave me to face my perils alone. Thomas Merton, Thoughts in Solitude |
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