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?