- Sirach 15: 15-20
- Psalms 119: 1-2, 4-5, 17-18, 33-34
- 1 Corinthians 2: 6-10
- Matthew 5: 17-37
- An understanding God
- God understands us. He knows why we do what we do, why we say what we say, why we think what we think. Too bad there's no way to book a weekly appointment with God as a therapist. Or is there?
- How many people in your life do you think you truly understand?
- How did you get to be so familiar with them?
- How does that familiarity benefit you?
- How does that familiarity benefit them?
- What good does it do you that God understands you?
- Praying for the desire
- Depending on your body build, it's generally about a foot between your head and your heart. But somehow, getting something that is crystal clear to your intellect into your heart can be quite a journey. One such journey is getting a desire for the better things in life, such as humility, patience, courage, good judgement, and so on.
- Have you ever wanted some grace, like patience, and were afraid to pray for it?
- What do you think would happen if you prayed for the desire for that gift?
- How about praying for the desire to pray for the desire for that gift?
- What are you afraid of about that prayer?
- The slow growth of wisdom
- I have come to believe that wisdom is holistic. That is, it's more than mere knowledge of Scripture, or the writings of the mystics, or even knowledge of famous Jesuit poets like Gerard Manley Hopkins. Rather wisdom is the result of a life lived intentionally, an inner compass that gradually brings the outside world into sharper and sharper focus.
- Who are some people in your life that you would consider wise?
- How do you know that they have this wisdom?
- How do you think that they got there?
- How is there wisdom benefiting the community?
- How could you benefit more from that wisdom?
- Asking the hard questions
- Our days go by so fast, it's easy to let them just blur one into the next until something comes along in life that forces us to hit the "pause" button for awhile. Ignatius of Loyola required his companions to daily pray the examen prayer.
- When did you feel particularly close to God today?
- When did He feel far away?
- What was the difference between those two times?
- Is there anything that you can learn from either or both of those times?
- Are you grateful for either or both of those times?
- How are those experiences changing you?
- Preparation for Reconciliation
- Am I willing to let God speak to me my secret name, to call forth from me who I truly am?
- Where might God be beckoning me forward into something new?
- Where is God growing true wisdom in my life?
- How is God calling me to greater closeness today?
Steps of Trust
Surely God will defend me from all woe.
For I am His and He is mine.
I trust God to defend me from all ill
That I may demonstrate to those around me
How generously God treats His elect.
Well, maybe not.
Surely God will never allow anything
That I don't know how to handle.
God in His infinite wisdom will make sure
That I'm completely prepared for every
Every thing that comes into my life.
Well, maybe not.
Surely God will never allow anything
That is too much for me, to enter my life.
God knows me better than I myself.
He knows what I can sustain and what I cannot.
He would never take me past my breaking point.
Well, maybe not.
One thing, no two, I know I can count on.
God will never leave me nor forsake me.
In spite of how I feel.
And God can bring good out of misfortune -
If I have but the courage to let Him.
My only armor is gratitude,
My only defense is trust.
Gratitude for all that is set before me
Trust that God is there to lead me.
Teach me gratitude and trust oh Lord.
That will have to be enough.
Shalom!
No comments:
Post a Comment