Mike's 30-Day Retreat: 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:

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?
What does my pesonal history reveal to me of the particular way in which I have been called by God?
What role has my family of origin played in my personal vocation?
How does my personal vocation reveal to me the way in which I am meant to be a disciple?

Developing Your Breath Prayer

Sit in a comfortable position with your eyes closed and remind yourself that God loves you and that you are in God's loving presence. Recall a passage of Scripture that puts you in a prayerful frame of mind. Consider: "Be still and know that I am God." (Psalm 46:10)
With your eyes still closed imagine that God is calling you by name. Hear God asking you: "(Your name), what do you want?"
Answer God with whatever comes directly from your heart. Your answer might be a single word like peace or love or forgiveness. Your answer could also be a phrase or brief sentence like "I want to know your love." Because prayer is personal, it naturally rises out of your present concerns... Your response to God's question "What do you want?" becomes the heart of your prayer.
Choose your favourite name or image for God like God, Lord, Creator, Father, Teacher, Light, Shepherd
Combine your name for God with your answer to God's question. You then have your breath prayer.
Edit your prayer so that it is 6-8 syllables in length. A prayer of this length will have a rhythm that will flow smoothly when spoken or expressed as a heart thought.
Pray this pray starting with 3 minutes a day, and move up 1 minute each day. This pray will naturally become a prayer of your heart that leads you into God's presence

Composition of Place

This Composition of Place ... uses pictures and images to present what is otherwise beyond all conceiving; it prepares the soul for the Application of the Senses ... and paves the way for the images, symbols and dispositions whereby the senses of the soul will be enabled to touch and savor spiritual truths. (Ignatius the Theologian; NY1968, p.189) As I prayed with Mk 10:46-52, which is the story of Bartimaeus, a blind man, I began to imagine the landscape of the setting. It was dry, hot and dusty as I found myself being Bartimaeus, sitting by the roadside. I can smell the animals as they pass by and hear people's voices in the background. Then I realize from the conversation that Jesus is near, so I cry out to him. I hear the footsteps of someone I believe to be Jesus approach me. I become filled with eager anticipation. Jesus is so close I feel his breath on my face and I hear him say, "I trust you. If there is anything you want to tell me I will listen to you." At this point in my life I was thinking about how to pursue some of my passions through my work. As I revealed my fears and hopes in prayer, I felt more freedom to really go after some more opportunities in the area of contemplative prayer with others in the church. I was asking to see how I could grow spiritually in order to help others by encountering Jesus in a deeper way. This was one example of Jesus restoring my sight in order to follow him. The revelation of God through the stories of Jesus is made present through imaginative participation. The mind engages the heart. As Hugo Rahner comments, "... the aim of this mode of prayer is to make the events of salvation 'present' in the mind, and thus to attain that direct experience of love."(ibid.p.194) One notices this love through one's desires.

Lectio Divina

Lectio Divina or Divine Reading of Scripture is an age old conteplative method of prayer. Give it a try as you read through the Scripture passages with each execise. 1. Read the scripture slowly. Watch for a key phrase or word that jumps out at you or promises to have special meaning for you. It is better to dwell profoundly on one word or phrase than to skim the surface of several chapters. Read with your own life and choices in mind. 2. Reflect on a word or phrase. Let the special word or phrase that you discovered in the first phase sink into your heart. Bring mind, will and emotions to the task. Be like Mary, Jesus’ mother, who heard of the angel’s announcement and “treasured” and “pondered” what she had heard (Luke 2:19). 3. Respond to what you have read. Form a prayer that expresses your response to the idea, then “pray it back to God.” What you have read is woven through what you tell God. 4. Rest in God’s word. Let the text soak into your deepest being, savoring an encounter with God and truth. When ready, move toward the moment in which you ask God to show you how to live out what you have experienced.

Mike's 30-Day Retreat

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

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Developing Your Breath Prayer

Some Helpful Hints for a Good Prayer Experience

Composition of Place

Spiritual Autoboigraphy

Questions to Consider

Lectio Divina

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