Week 3: Contemplating the Passion and Death of Jesus -- Day 3 (Friday June 7)

I make an even greater effort to labour with Jesus through all his pain, his struggle, his suffering, or what he is willing to suffer: At the time of the Passion, I should pay special attention to how the divinity hides itself so that Jesus seems so utterly human and helpless. I should make every effort to get inside the Passion, not just staying with external sufferings, but entering into the loneliness, the interior pain of rejection and feeling hated, all the anguish within Jesus. To realize that Jesus loves me so much that he willingly suffers everything for my rejections and my sins makes me ask: What response ought I make? (Spiritual Exercises 197).



I speak to Jesus, my God and Saviour, and stay with him through everything that happens... (Spiritual Exercises 198).



... Just as in human situations of taking care of the sick or ministering to the dying, our presence is often more important than our faltering words or awkward actions, so too to be with Jesus in his Passion describes our prayer response at this time better than any words or actions.... We should remember that faced with our shirking of human pain and suffering of the passion, we may have to pray for the gift of even wanting to experience it with Christ.... (Spiritual Exercises 199).



Using Composition of Place read and reflect on the following passages:

Luke 22:54- 23: 25

Questions to Reflect On:

1. How do I give my compassion to the suffering people of this world?
2. Have I acted on my beliefs? How can I be an agent of change?
3. In what ways have I like Peter effectively said, "I don't know him?"
4. When I am with Jesus in his suffering what feelings do I notice? How can I use those feelings to address inequality and injustice in our world?
   

If you have time...

Rent Mel Gibson's, The Passion of the Christ. As you watch it, what do you notice going on inside you?

Week 3: Contemplating the Passion and Death of Jesus -- Day 2 (Wednesday June 6)

I continue to pray for the gift of being able to feel sorrow with Jesus in sorrow, to be anguished with Jesus' anguish, and even to experience tears and deep greif because of all the afflictions which Jesus endures for me (Spiritual Exercises 203)



The Gospels give the details of the event: Jesus and his disciples leave the upper room to move toward the garden of Gethsemane. There Jesus takes Peter, James, and John, and goes to pray. He experiences such turmoil of spirit that sweat becomes as drops of blood. Waking his sleepy disciples, he faces the mob, is indetified by the kiss of Judas, and is led away to the house of Annas. I labour to enter as fully into the account as I possibly can (Spiritual Exercises 201 & 202).



We shy away from suffering don't we? Perhaps it's more correct to say that we avoid it at all costs. It's a very natural human response toward self-preservation to minimize pain. The question is, is it the right response? Spend time being with Jesus in his agony and pain, and notice what that doesn in you.

Using Composition of Place read and reflect on the following passage

Matthew 26: 36-67

Questions to Reflect On:

1. What have I learned from my own personal sorrows and pain?
2. How does the narrative of Jesus' suffering help me to find meaning in what can appear to be the absurdityt of suffering?
3. Can healing come through suffering? If so how?
4. How do I deal with the problem of pain in the world?

Week 3: Contemplating the Passion and Death of Jesus -- Day 1 (Tuesday June 5)

Concnering this part of the retreat Carol Ann Smith & Eugene Merz write, "The goodness and compassion of Jesus compels us to stay with him through the difficult days of his passion.

"As a Teacher, Jesus gives us a final lesson about love, service, unity humility, and remeberance....

"Gradually we recognize in Jesus' suffering the love of God f0r sinners of every nation, as well as the meaning of human suffering.

"Strengthened by Jesus' passion and death, we claim Hope in God's triumph over death, over suffering and sorrow of every kind."

The grace I seek is that God would gift me with a way of entering into sorrow and shame as I stay with Jesus in his suferings borne on my behalf and because of my sins (Spiritual Exercises 193)

To enter as fully as I can into the preparation for the passover meal and into the whole event call the last supper is my purpose in this contemplation. It goes beyond picturing the scene or reading the account in words. I try to listen to the way the words are spokem; I attempt to see the expression on the face; I am present with as heightened awareness as I can muster, so that I enter as fully as possible into the mystery I am contemplating (Spiritual Execises 191, 192, 194, 195-197)

Jesus' Passion began with a celebration of God's deliverance from slavery to freedom, from death to life -- the Passover meal -- a meal which remembered that blood of a lamb had the power to save. And it's at this point in the Gospel accounts that the story slows to a snails pace, noting in detail each move Jesus made. By slowing things down, the gospels suggest to us... "you might want to pay close attention here... this stuff is really important!" So enter into the Passover celebration with Jesus and his disciples and probe it for meaning and depth that you haven't before.

Using Composition of Place read and pray through the following passages:

Choose the story of the Last Supper from your favourite gospel or read them all:

Matthew 26:17-30
Mark 14: 12-26
Luke 22:7-38

Questions to Reflect On:

1. What preparations am I making to commune with Jesus, like the disciples did over a meal?
2. What have reverent or high impact moments of partaking in the Lord's Supper/Communion/ Eucharist spoken to me about intimacy.
3. In what ways could my life be bread that is broken and shared with people on a daily basis?
4. What does the Lord's Supper/Communion/Eucharist mean to me?

Week 2: Contemplating the Life and Call of Jesus -- Day 10 (Monday June 4)

I so much want the truth of Jesus' life to be fully the truth of my own that I find myself, moved by grace... [asking] to following Jesus Christ in the most intimate union possible, that his experiences are reflected in my own. In that, I find my delight (Spiritual Exercises 167).

We may find it helpful at this time of the retreat when we might discover some attachment... or when we are not indifferent to pverty and riches, to come to Jesus our Lord in prayer and beg him to choose us to serve him.... We should beg with a certain insistence, and should plead for it -- but always wanting what God wants for us (Spiritual Exercises 157).

Jesus is truly amazing! Last day we read the story of Jesus temptation in the desert, but did you ever ask the question why he resisted? Did you ever asak the question how he resisted? The answer to both questions of course is his love for you and me. Today our focus is to appreciate and love and depth of faith that guided Jesus in the decisions of his life.

Using Composition of Place read and reflect on the following passage:

Luke 4: 14-21
Matthew 16:21-26.

Questions to Reflect On:

1. What are the costs to me of being a disciple of Jesus on a daily basis?
2. What have been the major decisions of my life?
3. Has love for others, for God, for myself been a significant motivation in my major decisions in the past? How so?
4. In taking a few moments to reflect on my style of decision making (impulsive? procrastinator? collaborative? etc) and how it affects others, what might be Jesus trying to tell me?

Sabbath Rest -- (Sunday June 3)

Nothing new today. Take the day off and review your week before God. Spend some time opening yourself up to God and the grace of Jesus in prayer. Spend at least 5 minutes in silence making yourself present to God, as he is present to you.

Have a blessed Sabbath,

Mike

Week 2: Contemplating the Life and Call of Jesus -- Day 9 (Saturday June 2)

I ask Jesus out Lord that I might not be deaf to his call in my life and that I might be ready and willing to do what he wants (Spiritual Exercises 91)

This prayer period is devoted to a consideration of three types of persons. Each one of them has come to have quite a few possessions -- not always acquired int the most honest way or with the best motives. In general, each one... would like to serve God, even to the extent that if these possessions were to come in the way of being open to God's invitation, each type of person would like to be set free of them (Spiritual Exercises 150 & 151)

When we are trying to follow the loving invitation of God in our life, we will find that the good spirit tends to give support, encouragement, and oftentimes a certain delight in all our endeavours (Spiritual Exercises 329)

On the one hand, the good spirit bring about... consolation in order to strengthen and to speed the progress of our life in Christ. The evil spirit, on the other hand, arouses good feelings so that we might be drawn to focus our attention on the wrong things, or to pursue a more selfish motivation, or to get our own way before all else (Spiritual Exercises 331).

It's our desire today to contemplate how to be free enough to make choices which are in harmony with God's will as it unfolds in my life. We are attached to so many things in our lives, things that often lead us away from choosing God's will. Today we'll focus on the Temptation of Jesus and pray for his strength to resist those things that pull us away from him.

Using Composition of Place read and reflect on the following passage:

Matthew 4: 1-11

if you have time also focus on Luke 9:23-25

Questions to Reflect On:

1. How great is my desire to do God's will when it means setting aside my own dreams ans plans.
2. How far am I willing to go in sacrificing my own satisfaction or pleasure in order to love as completely and selflessly as Jesus did?
3. Am I aware of any fears that prevent me from moving forward in freedom?
4. Am I aware of other attachments that keep me from experiencing the freedom of Jesus?

Week 2: Contemplating the Life and Call of Jesus -- Day 8 (Friday June 1)

Those who are of great heart and set on fire with zeal to follow Jesus, eternal King and Lord of all, will not only offer themselves entirely to labour for such a mission, but will act against anything which would make their response less total. They would want to express themselves in such words as these:

"Eternal Lord and King of all creation, I humbly come before you.... I am moved by your grace to offer myself to you and your work. I deeply desure to be with you in accpeting all wrongs and all rejections and all poverty, both actual and spiritual -- and I deliberately choose this, if it is for your greater service and praise. If you, my Lord and King, would so call and choose me, then take me into such a way of life" (Spiritual Exercises 97 & 98).

Today our task is to contemplate, and marvel at the unique invitations and calls of God which have given shape and form to my life and my decisions.

We move blindly through our lives, don't we? Making decisions, choosing directions (except maybe the big ones) without giving them a whole lot of thought. The fact is the experiences of our lives, our families, our deepest fears, and our deepest convictions all influence our decisions and choices for good and for ill. For the person of faith God uses each of these influences to draw us down a path, but at each step of the way we have the choice to follow. It's important then, to know ourselves and so be able to respond in the most whole-hearted way to God's call, to be able to discern the directions of our lives.

Using Composition of Place, read and reflect on the following passage:

Jeremiah 1:4-8
Matthew 10:1-16

Questions to Reflect On:

1. As I read Matthew 10:1-16 how have I understood Jesus sharing his mission with me? How has Jesus used ordinary events in my life to help me discern his will?
2. What does my pesonal history reveal to me of the particular way in which I have been called by God?
3. What role has my family of origin played in my personal vocation?
4. How does my personal vocation reveal to me the way in which I am meant to be a disciple?

Week 2: Contemplating the Life and Call of Jesus -- Day 7 (Thursday May 31)

With God inviting and with victory assured, how can anyone in their right mind not surrender to Jesus and his call to labour with Him (Spiritual Exercises 96)

Today we'll focus on experiencing the call of God to be a disciple who loves Jesus intimately and follows him closely.

Rather than the typical exercise we're going to try something a little different today.

Experiencing the call of God to be a disciple means learning to live a prayerfully, to work worshipfully, and to walk in God's will wherever we are. The exercise we are about to do is an exercise in practicing openness of mind and heart to God at all times and among all people. Jesus' call necessarily moves us from contemplation to action.

The picture on to the left will be your focus for a time of prayerful reflection and listening to God. Spend some time gazing at this picture and then reflect on the following questions


1. Encounter Life --What do I see, hear and feel? What is the human story behind the picture?

2. Reflect On Life In Light of the Word -- What passage of Scripture comes to mind, and what is the connection?

3. Discern the Presence of Jesus -- What does Jesus see, hear and feel? Have a conversation with Jesus about this picture and what it reprensents for me and for him (if you're journaling record it in your journal)

4. Respond to God's Call -- What is Jesus saying to me through this experience?

Week 2: Contemplating the Life and Call of Jesus -- Day 6 (Wednesday May 30)

When we are trying to follow the loving invitation of God in our life, we will find that the good spirit tends to give support, encouragement, and oftentimes even a certain delight in all our endeavours. The evil spirit generally acts to bring about the opposite reaction.

The evil spirit will subtly arouse a dissatisfaction with our own efforts, will rasie up doubts and anxieties about God'l love or our own response, or will upset our conscience by suggesting thoughts of pride in our attempt to lead a good life (Spiritual Exercises 329).

Today our goal is to appreciate more fully the identity of Jesus as God's beloved son, knowing that because of Christ's death and resurrection that this is our identity too (or beloved daughters as the case may be). Really understanding this, and living into it has profound transformative powers.

Using Composition of Place read and reflect on the following passage:

Matthew 3:13-17

Using Lectio Divina read and reflect on the following passage:

Isaiah 42:1-7
Colissians 2:6-8

Questions to Reflect On:

1. How do I identify myself whrn I am meeting people for the first time? What does that tell me about how I view myself?
2. how has my self-understanding changed since I became an adult? What has matured me?
3. What helps me to integrate my various roles into my self-identity?
4. In what ways do I consider what I do and accomplish as being more important than who I am to God?
5. What will it take for you to understand that God is "well pleased" with you?

On another note becoming aware of God's presence to you and your presence to God can be a life-giving way of "praying without ceasing." Try out Breath Prayer as a means of practicing the presence of God. See sidebar

Week 2: Contemplating the Life and Call of Jesus -- Day 5 (Tuesday May 29)

This exercise will be somewhat different than those before. It is called the Meditation on Two Standards. Although it feels like it might fit more properly in the first week when we considered sin, it is really about coming to a better understanding of the reality of the world in which we live; a world that Jesus has called us to be partners with him in redeeming. There will be no Scripture passages or questions to guide us in this exercise. Ignatius' exercise alone will be enough to guide us.

We consider Christ, our Leader and Lord, our God and brothers, and we consider Lucifer, the demonic enemy of humankind, the one who sums up all the evils that beset us.

Preparation: I make the usual time to place myself before God in reverence, begging that everything in my day be more and more directed to God's service and praise.

Grace: I ask for the gift of being able to recognize the false lights of Lucifer (a name which means "bearer of light") and for the help not to be led astray; I also ask for what I desire: a graced knowledge of true human living exemplified in Jesus Christ, my Lord and my God, and the grace to live my life his way.

The Setting: There are two unequal parts in this consideration, the first one shedding light upon and giving understanding to the more important second part.

Note: really spend time reflecting and meditating on the next two sections. It may not be necessary for you to follow exactly this line of thinking (epsecially around the idea of poverty), but you might want to consider how the evil one has tempted you toward a particular sin. Consider his strategy. What are the feelings that well up in you as you're tempted? How does one sin give rise to another? Then consider how Jesus might release you from that slavery, and draw you toward justice, righteousness, beauty and truth. What is his stategy?

First Part: To sum up all the forces of evil in the person of Lucifer makes me face the enormous power and oppression if evil itself. Keeping true to my own experience of the world, let me reflect on how evil pummels the relations between nations and between peoples within a single country, so that no nation, not city, no state of life, no individual is left unscathed. I want to try to graps the strategy of Lucifer as I consider how this fals angel of light attempts to isolate and enslave men and women and the world according to a certain design. For example, people find themselves tempted to covet whatever seems to make them rich, and next because they possess some thing or things they find themselves pursuing and basking in the honour and esteem of this world. Then getting such deference raises up the false sense of personal identity and value in which a blinding pride has its root.

So Lucifer's strategy is simple and seems so light-filled and clear in its direction: riches (or "this is mine") to honour (or "look at me") to pride (or "I AM..."). By these three steps, the evil one entices people to all other vices.

Second Part: Now let me look at Jesus Christ, who calls himself "the way, the truth, and the life." I notice how gently, but intensely Jesus continues to call followers of all kinds and sends them forth to spread his Good News to all people, not matter what their state or condition. Jesus adopts a strategy which directly opposes that of Lucifer: try to help and free people, not enslave or oppress them. His method: attract men and women to the highest spiritual poverty, and should it please God, and should God draw them to want to choose it, even to a life of actual poverty. Being poor, they will then find themselves accepting and even desiring the insults and contempt of the world. They will come to live a life of true humility.

Jesus' strategy is simple too, although at first it seems a paradox. If I have been graced with the goft of poverty ("he emptied himself, becoming human.") then I am rich; if I have nothing of myself ("everything I have is from the Father"), i have no power and I am despised and receive the contempt of the world ("even to death, death on a cross"); if I have nothing, my only possession is Christ("Christ is God's") and this is to be really true to myself -- the humility of a person whose whole reality and value is grounded in being created and redeemed in Christ. Through these three steps, Jesus... lead[s] people to all other virtues (Spiritual Exercises 136-146)

Week 2: Contemplating the Life and Call of Jesus -- Day 4 (Monday May 28)

One way of considering the mysteries of Jesus' early life is to see the interpretative direction in which they point. The ordinary life of the Christian is exemplified in Christ's obedience to his parents in the ordinary life in Nazareth. But the call to service in the Father's house is already manifested in the mystery of Jesus' remaining in the temple at the ageof twelve to the consternation of his mother and father.

While I continue to contemplate Jesus' life, let me begin to examine myself and ask to what state of life or to what style of living is our loving, provident God leading me (Spiritual Exercises 135).

Today our desire is to deepen our love for Jesus and his way of living the ordinary days of his life. Sometimes it's hard to sense a connection to God in the ordinary or mundane activities of our lives. Sometimes the daily "grind" deadens us to seeing God in these things, let alone any eternal value in them. The fact of the matter is that Jesus wants to invade every single part of our lives and wake us up to the Kingdom value of it all -- yes even the laundry.

Using Composition of Place read and pray through the following passage:

Luke 2:39-52

Using Lectio Divina consider the following passage:

Philippians 4:4-9

Questions to Reflect On:

1. Which of my daily activities do I consider "ordinary"?
2. How does my awareness of God's presence and action during ordinary activities alter my judgment about their importance?
3. In my life now, who are the people in my life whose "ordinary" work enhances the quality of my life? Offer a prayer of thanks for these people.
4. What practical humility is required of me in the often "behind the scenes" work I do? How can I develop that attitude so it is more like the humility of Jesus?

Click on Comments to review Pastor Mike's Reflections and make comments of your own.

Sabbath Rest -- Reviewing Your Week (Sunday May 20)

Nothing new today. Take the day off and review your week before God. Spend some time opening yourself up to God and the grace of Jesus in prayer. Spend at least 5 minutes in silence making yourself present to God, as he is present to you.



Have a blessed Sabbath,



Mike

Week 2 -- Contemplating the Life and Call of Jesus -- Day 3 (Saturday May 26)

As I find myself immersed in the setting of this mystery of the Incarnation, I may just want to stay with... the eternal Word, who has become human -- for me. Somtimes I may want to speak out my joy, my thanks, my wonder, or my praise to the three Divine Persons. According to the light of God's grace given to me, I beg that I might come to know Jesus as a pattern for my own living and so be able to draw close to him (Spiritual Exercises 109).

Today is all about deepening our love of and commitment to Jesus -- God in the flesh. In some sense that's what this whole experience has been about, but today we'll more keenly focus our discipleship by contemplating the condescension of Jesus -- that is, that an all-powerful, all-knowing God, not bound by space and time, would see fit to put on a human form, whose power is limited, by the weakness of a finite body and mind. Jesus became in everyway like us, and even embraced weakness. Attempting to pattern our lives after his then is a call to do the same, and even be thankful for it. How are you going to embrace your weakness today?

Using Lectio Divina read and pray through the following passages:

Corinthians 12:1-10
Hebrews 2:14-18

Questions to Reflect On:

1. How do I feel around very young children and very old adults?
2. How is my work contributing to the well-being of people who are fragile in any way, e.g., the elderly, the mentally or emotionally ill, children, refugees or immigrants?
3. How do I respond in moments of vulnerability and powerlessness?
4. Do I rely on defense mechanisms to keep people from seeing my weakness? If so how?

Click on Comments to review Pastor Mike's Reflections and make comments of your own.

Week 2: Contemplating the Life and Call of Jesus -- Day 2 (Friday May 25)

The following description is an attempt to point out some of the ways of entering into the style of prayer called, "Ignatian Contemplation." The description in words can make it sound very mechanical. To remember that the act of praying is our single focus will pour life-blood into the dead body of words (Spiritual Exercises 105).

I try to enter the vision of God... looking upon our world: men and women being born, and being laid to rest, some getting marries and others getting divorced, the old and the young, the rich and the poor, the happy and the sad, so many people aimless, despairing, hateful and killing, so many undernourished, sick, and dying, so many struggling with life, and blind to any meaning. With God, I can hear people laughing and crying, some shouting and screaming, some praying, others cursing.

The leap of divine joy: God knows the time has come when the mystery of salvation, hidden from the beginning of the world, will shine into human darkness and confusion. It is as if I can hear the Divine Person saying, "Let us work the redemption of the whole human race; let us respond to the groaning of all creation" (Spiritual Exercises 102, 103, 106, 107)

Today our focus, while remaining on Jesus' call to us, shifts to his Incarnation. We think about God made flesh, or as someone once said "God with skin on." Our goal and our desire should be to deepen our faith and trust in this God who became human in Jesus (and so make it easier to follow his call in our lives).

Using Composition of Place read and reflect on the following passages:

Luke 1:26-38
John 1:1-18

Questions to Reflect On:

1. What aspects of being human are a delight to me? Which ones are a burden?
2. What aspects of Jesus' humanity are a delight to me? How does Jesus' humanity help me know and experience God in deeper ways?
3. In what areas of my life am I being asked to say "may it be done to me as you have said," as Mary did?
4. "From his fullness we have all received grace upon grace." What graces have I received? Which ones surface for me at this moment and what might be the significance of that awareness or memory?

Suggestion for Daily Living: While out and about take a few minutes to people watch. See each person with reverence for our shared humanity in all its diversity.

Click on Comments to review Pastor Mike's Reflections and make comments of your own.

Week 2: Contemplating the Life and Call of Jesus -- Day 1 (Thursday May 24)

A quick note of apology -- I wasn't able to post yesterday as the internet was down all day at work (and at home). Also for one reason or another my comments on my posts have not been posting. Sorry for both. I'll work to rectify the situation.

I consider Jesus Christ our Lord and his call. If a human leader can have a great appeal to us, how much greater is the attraction of the God-Man, Jesus Christ, our Leader and King! Jesus' call goes out to all peoples, yet he specially calls each person in a particular and unique way. He makes this kind of appeal: "It is my will to win over the whole world, to overcome evil with good, to turn hatred aside with love, to conquer all the forces of death -- whatever obstacles there are that block the sharing of life between God and humankind. Whoever wishes to join me in this mission must be willing to labour with me, and so by following me in struggle and suffering may shre with me in glory" (Spiritual Exercises 95).

In this week (it's actually longer than a full week) we'll be contemplating the life of Jesus and how his life calls us to join him in Kingdom Work. Today we'll be focussing specifically on hearing God's call when it comes and being ready and willing to respond generously to that call.

Using Composition of Place read and reflect on the following passages.

Luke 5: 1-11 -- Call of Peter
Exodus 3 -- Call of Moses
Jeremiah 1 -- Call of Jeremiah
Mark 10: 17-31 -- The Call of the Rich Young Ruler

There's a lot of Scripture here. All of it pertains to our sense of call and vocation. And God can and will speak through all of it, so it's not important to get through all of it. Think of it like a salad bar. You can take a little of each thing, or a lot of one. If you were to take all of everything you be overstuffed.

Questions to Reflect on:

1. What role have heroes and heroines played in my life? Who have been mentors and models whose loves and values have inspired me?
2. What dreams, values, and issues stir my passionate concern at this time in my life?
3. Regardless of all my life circumstances, what freedom do I feel for dreaming and imagining how to extend the Kingdom of God, and Jesus' reign?
4. In all honesty, what do I hesitate to give up or to do in order to better respond to Christ's call?
5. Of the stories listed above which do I resonate with the most? Why?

Suggestion for Daily Living: Read some classic spiritual works or some biographies of contemorary heroes of faith (The Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis, Mother Theresa, find out what you can about St. Ignatius of Loyola). Focus especially on each persons passionate desire to follow and serve Jesus.

Click on Comments to review Pastor Mike's Reflections and make comments of your own.

Week 1: Knowing Yourself as a Loved Sinner -- Day 5 (Wednesday May 23)

How can I respond to a God so good to me and surrounding me with the goodness of holy men and women and the wonderful gifts of creation? All I can do is give thanks, wondering at God's forgiving love, which continues to give me life up to this moment. By responding to God's merciful grace, I want to ammend (Spiritual Exercises 61).



Today, more and more we allow our feelings of sorrow and repentance to shift our focus from ourselves as sinner to God as the prodigal parent who loves us even in our sinfullness. We want to experience God's mercy and love for us as one's caught up in the human story of sin.



Using Lection Divina read and pray through the following passages:



Lamentations 3: 21-26

Psalm 143:1-6



Using Composition of Place read and pray through the following passage:



Luke 15: 1-7

Questions to Reflect on

1. 
   
   What events and relationships in my life have been conduits of God's mercy to me?


2. 
   
   What are the feelings I associate with being forgiven and shown mercy?


3. 
   
   Are there relationships in which I need to show some forgiveness or mercy?


4. 
   
   How, through God's mercy and grace, have I grown stronger in the broken places of life?


5. 
   
   How have you understood yourself to be counted with the tax collectors and sinners that gathered around Jesus?

Click on Comments to review Pastor Mike's Reflections and make comments of your own.

Week 1: Knowing Yourself as a Loved Sinner -- Day 4 (Tuesday May 22)

St. Paul speaks of our being able to grasp the breadth and length and height and depth of Christ's love and experiencing this love which surpasses all knowledge (Ephesians 3:18-19). At its opposite pole, I try to experience the breadth and length and height and depth of hell -- the despair of facing a cross with no one on it [by this he means trying to imagine a world in which Jesus never died on the cross], the turning out upon a world which has no God, the total emptiness of living without purpose, an environment of pervasive hatred and self-seeking, a living death. (Spiritual Exercises 66-70).

Once I have let the awfulness of this experience sink deep within me, I begin to talk to Christ our Lord about it. I talk to him about all the people who have lived -- the many who lived before his coming and who deliberately closed in upon themselves and chose such a hell for all eternity, the many who walked with him in his own country and who rejected his call to love, the many who still keep rejecting the call to love and remain locked in their hell.


I give thanks to Jesus that... up to this moment he has shown himself to loving and merciful to me (Spiritual Exercises 71)

This exercise can be a little scary, especially if your imagination is good. It's not meant to scare us howerver. The key to this exercise is to be grieved by the sin, both in the world and in ourselves, without being totally overwhelmed by it. We have to let this exercise instill in us enormous gratitude that Jesus hasn't left us in our sin, and left us in our own hell. He's given us his grace and a way out. In recognizing desolation we are more moved to desire and recognize times of consolation.

Using Composition of Place read and pray through the following passage:

Luke 16: 19-31

Meditate on the following passages if you have time:

Genesis 3

Revelation 12

Questions to Reflect on:

1. Have sin and the effects of sin in the world ever paralyzed me and kept me from responding in love to Jesus by serving those around me? If so how?
2. What are my feelings and beliefs about death and hell?
3. In what ways do I feel I am still "alive" to sin? What sins do I struggle with the most?
4. In what ways have I epxerieinced Jesus setting me free my sins?

Click on Comments to view Pastor Mike's Reflections or make comments of your own

Week 1: Knowing Yourself as a Loved Sinner -- Day 3 (Monday May 21)

I put myself before Jesus Christ our Lord, present before me on the cross. I talk to him about how he creates because he loves and then he is born one like us out of love, so emptying himself as to pass from eternal life to death here in time, even death on a cross. By his response of love for God his Father, he dies for my sins.

I look to myself and ask -- just letting the questions penetrate my being:

• In the past, what response have a I made to Christ?
• How do I respond to Christ now?
• What response should I make to Christ?

As I look upon Jesus as he hangs on the cross, I ponder whatever God may bring to my attention (Spiritual Exercises 53).

We are people of the slow, burning heart. That's the conclusion I reach when I read Luke 24: 13-35 (The Road to Emmaus).

We experience the world around us, while on our respective faith journeys, in constant tension -- faith and fear, worry and wonder, sorrow and happiness, despair and hope. We know that through it all Jesus walks with us, but sometimes we can look right at him just like the disciples did and not even recognize him. Our hearts are slow.

Still we get glimpses of how good the journey can be when Jesus gives us a shake and wakes us up from our slumber. So we stay on the road, because our hearts burn at those times.

We're so much more able and apt to respond in faithful ways when our hearts are burning. But I know the times that my heart seems to burn with a passion for God, for Jesus and for the Kingdom are far outweighed by the times when my heart is slow. Today is about investigating our slowness of heart and how it keeps us from making appropriate responses to Jesus.

Using Composition of Place read and pray through the following passage:

Luke 24:13-35

Questions to Reflect On:

1. What attachments, addictions, and sins have prevented me from responding to Jesus in the way I know I need to?
2. What keeps me from recognizing Jesus in the events and people around me?
3. Have there been times when my heart has "burned" that I've neglected that burning? If so, why?
4. In what ways have I omitted responding to Jesus call from my life?

Click on Comments to view Pastor Mike's reflections and to make comments of your own

Sabbath Rest -- Reviewing Your Week (Sunday May 20)

Nothing new today. Take the day off and review your week before God. Spend some time opening yourself up to God and the grace of Jesus in prayer. Spend at least 5 minutes in silence making yourself present to God, as he is present to you.



Have a blessed Sabbath,



Mike

Week 1: Knowing Yourself as a Loved Sinner -- Day 2 (Saturday May 19)

I put myself before God and look at the contrast; God, the source of life, and I, the cause of death; God the source of love, and I, with all my petty jealousies and hatreds; God, from whom all good gifts comes, and I, with my selfish attempts to win favour, buy attention, be well thought of, and so on (Spiritual Exercises 59).

I look at my world. Everything cooperates to continue to give me life and strength... air and water... all the produce of the earth... everything contributes to my well being.

I think of the people who have prayed for me and love me.

Everywhere I look, the more astonished I become, seeing so much good comin in on me, while I issue forth so many evils. (Spiritual Exercises 60)

Today we want to gain an even greater perspective of our sins. We reflect on the fact that so many sinful thoughts, desires, and actions can come out of one person. Even our best actions are tainted by the smallest speck of sin -- perhaps a distorted motivation, or a self-centered one.

One Jesuit author noted that, "I am like a walking contagion of diseases who continues to walk who continues to walk throughout my world, affecting it and everyone who comes into my life."

Still we affirm that God upholds and loves his creation, and me and despite the ways I might twist and warp it. And he still gives us good gifts. Our only response can be one of gratitude and thanks, wondering at God's forgiving love, a love that gives me life and freedom even to this moment.

Using Lection Divina (see sidebar) read and pray through the following passage:

Psalm 130
Romans 7:18-25

Questions to Reflect On:

1. Do negative attitudes or self-defeating behavious lead me to choose death over life for myself and others, even in small ways? What choices am I making which are leading to death rather than life for me and others?
2. In what ways am I actively affecting the world around me (including people) by my sins?
3. How am I complicit in sin, both it's social and personal dimensions?
4. What areas of human misery in the world move me?
5. In recognizing the social dimensions of son, what small steps am I willing to take to be part of the problem instead of the solution?

Suggestion for Daily Living: Read beyond the headlines of the story of human suffering in the newspaper, looking for the deeper causes of it.

Click on Comments to view Pastor Mike's comments and make comments of your own.

Week 1: Knowing Yourself as a Loved Sinner -- Day 1 (Friday May 18)

In this week we'll be focussing our reflective attention on our sin. What we have to recognize as followers of Jesus who desire a closer walk with him is that it's vitally important for us to acknowledge our sin. Still, we don't do this as some sort of morbid, self-depricating exercise to make us feel weighed down with guilt. This is simply an honest attempt to bring to light those things in our lives that need improvement. When God sheds light of Jesus Christ on these areas we can't help but grow and improve. Tim Muldoon put it this way, "No one can grow in any way, be it as an athlete or intellectually or spiritually, unless he or she becomes aware of mistakes and wrongdoings." So, the purpose of this week's exercises is to become more aware of those mistakes and wrongdoings and the unique ways they negatively impact our relationship to God.

I see myself as a sinner -- bound, helpless, alienated -- before a loving God and all the love-gifts of creation (Spiritual Exercises 56).

I let the weight of such evil, all stemming from me, be felt throughout my whole being (Spiritual Exercises 57).

A Colloquy is made (Colloquy is a term that describes the intimate conversation between God the Father, Christ, [the Holy Spirit], and me). This conversation happens on the occassion of my putting myself as totally as I can into the setting of prayer. I will find that I speak or listen as God's Spirit moves me -- somtimes accusing myself as a sinner, sometimes letting myself be carried as a child, at other times letting expressing myself as lover or friend, and so on (Spiritual Exercises 54).

As you move through the exercises in the coming days it is important to feel the weight of your sin, but not be overburdened by it. You are after all a forgiven and dearly loved sinner.

If you find yourself being tormented by guilt simply pause and offer it to God.

Using Composition of Place (See sidebar) read and pray through the following passage:

Luke 15:11-32

Using Lectio Divina (See sidebar) read and pray through the following passage:

Psalm 51

Questions to Reflect On:

1. What am I beginning to realize about my own blindness, deafness, and insensitivity to sin and evil?
2. At home or at work, what are the subtle ways I use to ignore or excuse sin, especially any connected to my status or role and its perceived power or influence.
3. What contributes to my being more critical of others' shortcomings and less adept at recognizing my own.
4. How might I be blinded to addictive patterns in my own life which inflict harm on myself or others?
5. In conjunction with the reading from Luke 15 how have I squandered (younger brother) or not used (older brother) the inheritence the Father has given me? As I return to the Father what do I say? What does he say to me?

Suggestion for Daily Living: During the day, make choices which limit those things such as noise or exposure to violence which can blunt your sensitivity to both grace and sin.

Click on Comments to view Pastor Mike's Reflections and make your own comments.

Principle and Foundation -- Day 3 (Thursday May 17)

"... if we are so intent on responding even better to the love of God wherever it will lead us in our life, we will find the kind of quiet in which the movement of God in our life becomes all the more apparent; our mind will not find itself divided over many cares, but rather its one concern will be to follow the lead of God; in a similar way, our powers of loving, too, will be focused for this period of time solely upon God (Spiritual Exercises 20).

"If we feel a disorder in our attachment to a person, to a job or position, to a certain dwelling place, a certain city, country, and so on, we should take it to the Lord and pray insistently to be given the grace to free ourselves from such a disorder. What we want above all is the ability to respond freely to God, and all other loves for people, places, and things are held in proper perspective by the light and strength of God's grace (Spiritual Exercises 16).

God's love always calls for a response. Sometimes that response is natural. It sort of bubbles out of us in praise and prayer, service and selflessness. Still, often times we hoard God's love and forget to respond in ways that honour and glorify him. Today is all about growing in the interior freedom we need to orient our responses and our very lives to God. So stand in the shower of God's love and grace and mercy, but also make an intentional response today.

Using Composition of Place (see sidebar from Day 1 for instructions) pray through the following passages.

John5:1-15
Mark 10-17-22

Questions to Reflect On:

1. What helps me grow in gratitude for and stewardship of the gifts I have been given by God?
2. In what ways do I tend to control my life and treat it as my possession rather than to embrace it freely as God's gift to me?
3. What do I need to do to balance the different aspects of my life?
4. What people, places, and things need to be given a different priority in my life in order to acknowledge God as the source and end of my life?

Suggestion for daily living: In conversations notice what you do and what you say when you are feeling unfree or attached to an idea, a project, a person, or an approach to a task?

Click on Comments to view Pastor Mike's Reflections and to make comments of your own.

Principle and Foundation -- Day 2 (Wednesday May 16)

The Exercises are, above all, a time for intimate contact between God and the retreatant..... For in the retreat we do not find knowledge satisfying us but rather deep down tastes and feelings that sensitize us to what really matters (Spiritual Exercises 2).

[Consider] God's gifts to me. God creates me out of love and desires nothing more than a return of love on my part. So much does God love me that even though I turn away and make little response, this Giver of all good gifts continues to be my Saviour and Redeemer (Spiritual Exercises 234).

And consider this... God is nuts about you! Do you know that? Do you feel that?

So often our feelings and faith are swayed by circumstances of our lives, many of which make us feel less than lovable. The discipline of prayer and these spiritual exercises is a way for us to get our hearts and minds in front of God's love and grace, almost like putting ourselves in a shower. The flow is there all the time, but it doesn't impact us unless we stand unders the spray. In essence these exercises are a way of making ourselves present to God, which helps us experience more significantly his presence to us.

Using Lectio Divina (See sidebar from Welcome for instructions) pray through the following Scripture passages:

Psalm 139
Hosea 11:1-14

Questions to Reflect On:

1) What are my memories of being loved and cared for throughout my life?

2) How has being loved allowed me to glimpse God's intimate love and desire for me?

3) Being loved is an invitation to conversion and transformation. What happens inside me when I try to imagine (and image) a God who is crazy and passionate about me?

4) How does being loved by God spill over and effect other areas of my life?

If you have time...

Write a spiritual autobiography (see sidebar for some helpful questions to consider)

Click on Comments to view Pastor Mike's Reflections and to make comments of your own

Principle and Foundation -- Day 1 (Tuesday May 15)

As we begin this retreat I want to share with you Ignatius' prayer called Anima Christi or The Soul of Christ. I hope it can be your prayer as we begin this retreat in which we ask to be drawn into the friendship of Jesus.

Soul of Christ, sanctify me.

Body of Christ, save me.

Blood of Christ inebraite me.

Water from the side of Christ, wash me.

Passion of Christ, strengthen me.

O good Jesus, hear me;

Within your wounds hide me;

suffer me not to be separated from you;

From the malignant enemy defend me;

In the hour of my death call me,

And bid me come to you,

That with your saints I may praise you

Forver and ever. Amen.

Principle and Foundation

God who loves us creates us and wants to share life with us forever. Out of love our response takes shape in our praise and honour and service of the God of our life.

All the things in this world are also created because of God's love and they become a context of gifts, presented to us so that we can know God more easily and make a return of love more readily.

In everyday life we must hold ourselves in balance before all created gifts insofar as we have a choice and are not bound by some responsibility. We should not fix our desires on health or sickness, wealth or poverty, success or failure, a long life or a short one. For everything has the potential of calling forth in us a more loving response to our life forver with God.

Our only desire should be this: I want and I choose what better leads to God's deepening life in me.

Read the above section several times over -- even read it daily for the first few days of the retreat. Let it sink into your soul, and allow the desire for "God's deepening life in me" to rise up in you.

Using Lectio Divina (check out Welcome Posting side bar for instructions) work through the following passages:

Isaiah 43: 1-7

Isaiah 55:1-13

If you have time try another style of Ignatian prayer called Composition of Place (see instruction on side bar) with Luke 19:1-10 the story of Zacchaeus.

Questions to reflect on:

1) As I begin to pray and reflect, what desires and hopes and feelings do I notice surfacing within me?

2) How did I experience God during my times of prayer and reflection? How did God seem? Loving? Gentle? Quiet? Loud? Other?

3) What people, places, and events in my life have been special instruments of grace leading me to deisre a more intimate relationship with God.

4) Am I aware of any stumbling blocks that prevent my attentiveness to God's place in my faith journey?

Click on Comments to see Pastor Mike's Reflections and to make your own comments.

Welcome to Mike's 30-Day Retreat

Hey Everyone, welcome to my 30-Day Retreat. I'm glad you've stopped by and hope that you'll join me on this journey of knowing God more intimately, and being drawn into the friendship of Jesus.

Over the next 30 days I'll be posting some "Spiritual Exercises" that I'll be doing, based on the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius of Loyola. I'd love it if you'd give them a whirl too.

Understandably you might be a little unsure. Many protestants are a little dubious when it comes to anything that smacks of Catholicism (something I find lamentable -- there's so much we can learn about discipleship from our Catholic brothers and sisters). If so, you might want to check out the following website:

http://www.stignatiussf.org/jesuit_spirituality.htm

You'll notice that the Jesuit motto Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (or A.M.D.G.) - "For the greater glory of God," along with their summary phrase "Finding God in all things," are very Reformed indeed.

Along with the exercises I'll also be posting a short summary of my own experiences from each day, which I'll invite your comments on. Also, feel free to post any and all of your own thoughts and feelings about your own experiences, and/or comment on what I or others have written insofar as it's helpful and not derogatory or condemnatory in any way.

Here's how the 30 days will be set up:

First few days -- Principle and Foundation -- This week is all about discovering who we are in God -- beloved children

Week 1 -- Contemplating our Sin -- Sounds dark I know! But, this is more about knowing and understanding yourself as a loved sinner than it is about dwelling on our sin. It's really not so bad

Week 2 -- Contemplating the Life of Jesus -- we reflect on how Jesus lived as a way to receive grace and be inspired to live as he did.

Week 3 -- Contemplating the Passion and Death of Jesus -- entering into Jesus' suffering as a way of experiencing a certain kind of solidarity with Jesus, which creates a thankful heart.

Week 4 -- Experiencing the Resurrection of Jesus -- learning to live in the power and light of the resurrection.

We'll begin this retreat on Tuesday, May 15, 2007.

Happy Retreating!