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