| Our
contemplation on the love of God for us, and our response, can be done
both in several prayer periods and in the background times throughout
our week. What
we are considering:
For all these months, we have considered our relationship with God.
We now draw it all together in order to understand and appreciate all
that God has given us in this retreat, in our lives, and what God continues
to give us.
- The
blessings of creation, redemption and the special graces I have received.
- God
dwelling in every part of creation, especially in me.
- How
God labors for me in all of creation, giving and sustaining life.
- How
all blessings and gifts descend - as the sun's light, and water flowing
from a fountain.
And
we will consider our response.
The
grace we ask for:
Our desire for this week is to be filled with a deep sense of the gifts
we have received, and so filled with profound gratitude, we will be
moved to love and serve God, in all things, in our everyday lives.
The prayer for this week, helps us ask
for this grace.
Our
Daily Life Contemplation:
It is very important to try to focus our attention this week on gratitude
for God's love. The two "convictions about love" from our guide
are critical: love consists more in deeds than in words, and love
involves the mutual exchange of gifts between the lovers. It would
be very helpful to set aside some brief prayer times, using this simple
help:
- Begin
by feeling the presence of God.
- Ask
for the grace I desire - an intimate sense of God's love for me.
- Reflect
upon God's love:
- What
has God done for me?
- What
has God given me?
- How
does God sustain me?
- What
is God offering me?
- Speak,
lover to lover, with words, feelings of gratitude.
- Write
down what I wish to remember.
These
are not just "intellectual" reflections. We are asking for "intimacy"
here and our goal is that our memory and our "accounting" of God's gifts
will fill us with deep and moving gratitude and stir our hearts to a response
of love and service.
The
daily means:
These reflections will become a part of the movements of our everyday
lives this week if we can make use of the means we've been practicing
for so long. It involves how we focus at the beginning and end
of each day. If we get up each day and "capture" a moment to focus
our consciousness and desire for the day, at the time we do something
very routine (like putting on our slippers or robe), we develop a "pattern"
that will serve us very well this week and all our lives. It changes
the way we experience our busy days. That brief moment is there
every morning. We just need to use it. And if we take a
similar moment each night, before we go to bed, at a routine time,
we can end each day "receiving" and giving thanks for the graces we
receive. In that brief, nightly moment we can grow in awareness
of God's activity in our busy days and become more and more grateful,
even in the most difficult of times.
There
are opportunities throughout the day, in all the background times we
have. Driving, walking from one place to another, pausing to think,
transitioning from one thing to another. Those times are there,
no matter how brief. They are usually filled with something -
some worry or planning or "daydreaming." We can use them
- even if they are 30 seconds long - to focus our attention, to return
to the thought and desire of the morning, to note how this upcoming
event of my day fits into this desire I have. Some examples might help.
I
am taking a shower. My mind is already zooming about the day ahead.
Can I focus, for just a minute, for even a simple prayer? "Lord,
help me to know you are with me today. I need you. Help
me to stay open to discover ways you love me."
I am driving to work.
My mind is perhaps filled with what I need to do today. Perhaps
I have others in the car with me. Perhaps it's my habit to listen
to the radio. Can I take just a moment to return my focus
to the Lord's presence? It will change how I listen to the radio
or deal with the people I'm with in the car. Perhaps I am alone
and can turn the radio off and give myself 20-30 minutes of time to
focus and reflect. I could look at each of the events in my
upcoming day and prepare to enter into them in the way I desire.
There will inevitably be some
challenges in my day, perhaps even some conflicts. As I become
more and more reflective, I will become more and more familiar with
the "patterns" I display. In the "approach" to those situations
and people, I can take just a moment and let the background
reflection prepare me. Perhaps I can take a slow, deep breath
and in 15 seconds pray: "Lord, I know you love me. Let
me experience your sustaining love and care here." Or, "Lord,
you have forgiven me so many times for this pattern. Thank you
for your love and mercy. Fill me with your peace now."
Or, "Lord, you have let me desire to be with you before.
Let me be with you here, so that your love can flow through
me." Or, "Take, Lord, receive. I offer myself to you in
this. Give me only your love and your grace. I ask for
nothing more."
Whether
I find time for prayer periods this week or do my reflections throughout
the week in the background times, it can be very profitable to keep repeating
the "Take, Lord, receive" prayer. Perhaps to memorize it, or find
my own words for it.
Make
use of the various resources provided for this week. The For
the Journey, the Readings, the Prayers,
and sample words for our attempts at expression, in "In
these or similar words." And please take time to fill
out the response form for us.
The
whole retreat comes together this week. The Lord who brought us
along this path will continue to bless us with his love and with the
grace for our response. |