Each
week, there will be some practical help to prepare for this week's retreat
and for getting the most from it.
- Notice
what the questions are about this week. That will make them
memorable. They ask us to focus on images, memories,
crossroads, specific painful memories. We could say, "I
already did that!" This week we are asked to re-collect
those special memories that came to the surface and to re-visit them,
so that we can use them to go deeper.
- Is there
a desire coming out of last week? We'll see this question
often. It asks us to be attentive, to notice, even the
most subtle of new attractions, even new curiosities within me.
For example, I might recognize a desire in me to spend more time reflecting
on a particular time in my life I didn't have much time to reflect
on last week. Or, I might just remember several important people
in my life I haven't contacted in a while and feel a desire to write
them.
- Stay
where you find fruit. This direction from Ignatius is very
wise. If I've experienced fruit - consolation, some wonderful
insight, a closeness to God, even a new awareness - I can trust that
that gift is a signal from God: "Look deeper here,
my dear friend, for I have so much more I want to give you."
Another way of looking at this is to imagine receiving a gift, all
wrapped in paper and ribbon and a big bow. I can know it's a
gift, and even know who the giver is, and even say "thank you," without
opening it. This direction from Ignatius invites us to
explore the gift and discover what it really is.
- Panning
for gold. This will be a helpful image, throughout our retreat.
Imagine a stream, with water rushing by all the time - a pretty good
image of our busy lives. Imagine putting my pan - a sieve or
screen - into the water. What happens? I get a pan full
of stuff. As I shake it a bit, some of the smaller debris falls
through the screen and I can look at larger stones that were in the
water. And there in my pan, I discover a piece of gold.
The message: I won't get that piece of treasure, just sitting
by the edge of the stream peering into the water. I have to
pan for it - sort out some portion of my experience and go
deeper into it. And remember, if I discover some kernel of gold,
it would be very important to weigh it - write it down and
perhaps share the grace with others on the sharing page.
- How
NASA handles an image from space. Another image is that
this is like the way NASA receives an image from space. When
it is first received, it is fuzzy and one piece of a whole series
of images. Then NASA gets to work to clean up the images
- getting rid of the distortions that come from the long transmission.
They then digitally enhance the image - basically by filling
in what is missing, making the image sharper. And finally, they
put the various images together, and before our eyes, there is a spectacular
martian landscape.
- It's
still about background. Doing this retreat in everyday life
will challenge us to keep using that space in the background.
There's lots of debris and noise and distortion in our busy lives.
If we can purify the background and let this week's questions flow
in and out of that background all week, we will notice a tremendous
difference. Again, writing my answers down, or even saying them
out loud, even in my head, will help preserve the grace.
- By
the end of the week we will want to be holding our whole life up to
God. Especially, the parts that are least attractive, which
might seem unacceptable. It's all about gratitude.
I don't have to be together to be grateful.
- Enjoy
the journey. We are just beginning. Starting to let
God work in us. God can do infinitely more than we can ask or
imagine. Let's trust it and enjoy it.
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