Fr. Thomas Salazar, LC gave us not just our meditation but also the talk at last month's retreat. His meditation was on "Evangelizing" and included basic elements of a missionary spirituality that should be the subject of a separate post later. His shorter talk related to the Lord's Prayer was taken from the phrase "Hallowed be thy name," the name of God, the holy name of Jesus. What follows are my notes:
1. A name gives intimacy. "Jesus" is the name we have for the Father incarnate on earth. His name inspires love and hatred. Not just atheists disrespect God's name. We also do so when we're not living as we should, as well as by not respecting his name in the usual ways.
Do I give honor to God's name? How?
2. We should have hope, confident trust in the name of Jesus. "Call out his name...[he'll] come running." Jesus' name is a prayer in itself.
3. Fr. read an extended quote from one of C.S. Lewis' Narnia chronicles: The Horse and His Boy. He challenged us, like the boy in the book, to learn to recognize Jesus' presence and to listen to all he wants to tells us about himself, myself, his name.
December's Monthly Retreat is less than a week away: Tues., Dec. 8 at 9:30am at OLH Family Center. That's also the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. St. Bernadette, pray for us!
Showing posts with label Monthly Retreats. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Monthly Retreats. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
September Retreat Notes on God the Father
Our regularly visiting spiritual guide from Houston, Mary Beth, was with us for September's Retreat and gave the lay formation talk on God the Father's love. What follows are my notes from her talk:
We all can have many misconceptions about who God really is. Fr. Jonathan Morris' book The Promise lists several of these misconceptions: God the Vending Machine ( I put in to get what I want); God the Clock-Maker (He designed everything to just go on its own); The God of the Buffet (I pick and choose His attributes); God the Cop (He is critical and just waiting for me to screw up); God as Life Insurance (Some virtue & religion is good but let's keep a prespective on the good things of the world). None of these is accurate or reflects who God has revealed Himself to be. A more realistic view of God motivates us to love and to live in love. So, let's look at Him in the Gospels, in the person of Jesus Christ.
God is strong (eg. Christ calming the storm). God is protective (eg. giving Mary to John and John to Mary at the Cross). God is someone who provides (eg. Just look at all of Creation!). God is someone who educates and forms (eg. Christ's life w/ the Apostles). Christ is one w/ God the Father (eg. Jesus was always in prayer with his Father and Christ couldn't wait to die on the Cross b/c that was the fulfillment of the Father's will, that was all the love he could give in the Father's name). God is a healer (eg. all of Christ's helaing). God is a forgiving Father (eg. the merciful father of the Prodigal Son). God is never indifferent (eg. "If you who are wicked know how to give good gifts to your children when they ask, how much more...). God is someone who respects my freedom (eg. He challenges "Choose life." The choice is mine.) God is a daddy who meets me where I am (eg. Christ meeting the Samaritan woman at the well).
What do I do with this knowledge? First the woman, then the saint. My only security is in God my Father's infinite love. Try to be dependent, like a child. Remember, He allows suffering because it creates some pressure, it sets a deadline for me to get the growth done. Otherwise, we all would always put it off. Cling to Him in my prayer commitments, especially a "well done meditation (Fr. Thomas' challenge later). And meet Him in the Sacraments.
We all can have many misconceptions about who God really is. Fr. Jonathan Morris' book The Promise lists several of these misconceptions: God the Vending Machine ( I put in to get what I want); God the Clock-Maker (He designed everything to just go on its own); The God of the Buffet (I pick and choose His attributes); God the Cop (He is critical and just waiting for me to screw up); God as Life Insurance (Some virtue & religion is good but let's keep a prespective on the good things of the world). None of these is accurate or reflects who God has revealed Himself to be. A more realistic view of God motivates us to love and to live in love. So, let's look at Him in the Gospels, in the person of Jesus Christ.
God is strong (eg. Christ calming the storm). God is protective (eg. giving Mary to John and John to Mary at the Cross). God is someone who provides (eg. Just look at all of Creation!). God is someone who educates and forms (eg. Christ's life w/ the Apostles). Christ is one w/ God the Father (eg. Jesus was always in prayer with his Father and Christ couldn't wait to die on the Cross b/c that was the fulfillment of the Father's will, that was all the love he could give in the Father's name). God is a healer (eg. all of Christ's helaing). God is a forgiving Father (eg. the merciful father of the Prodigal Son). God is never indifferent (eg. "If you who are wicked know how to give good gifts to your children when they ask, how much more...). God is someone who respects my freedom (eg. He challenges "Choose life." The choice is mine.) God is a daddy who meets me where I am (eg. Christ meeting the Samaritan woman at the well).
What do I do with this knowledge? First the woman, then the saint. My only security is in God my Father's infinite love. Try to be dependent, like a child. Remember, He allows suffering because it creates some pressure, it sets a deadline for me to get the growth done. Otherwise, we all would always put it off. Cling to Him in my prayer commitments, especially a "well done meditation (Fr. Thomas' challenge later). And meet Him in the Sacraments.
2009-2010 Monthly Retreats to be on the "Our Father"
Our RC Monthly Retreats began in September. This year's theme is Prayer, especially all Christ taught us to pray in the "Our Father." Each month we will look at a line from the Lord's Prayer and what it teaches us about prayer, God, and holiness. These will be the specific themes each month: September- God the Father; (October-Triduum); November- Our Goal is to Bring All Things Under Christ; December- The Joys of Fulfilling God's Will; January- God Always Provides; February- Forgiveness; March- Help Us, Lord, to Always Have a Clean Heart; and April- God Will Make Us Victorious if We Trust in Him.
I am excited to dig deeper into the "Our Father" and prayer. I've grown so much each year from our Monthly Retreats and the topics we focused on so intently each year: the Beatitudes as an Imitation of Christ (or Christ's virtues) last year and the Core Convictions of a Catholic and member of RC in 2007-2008. (Anyone wanting a refresher can find the 8 Core Convictions listed in the sidebar.)
I am excited to dig deeper into the "Our Father" and prayer. I've grown so much each year from our Monthly Retreats and the topics we focused on so intently each year: the Beatitudes as an Imitation of Christ (or Christ's virtues) last year and the Core Convictions of a Catholic and member of RC in 2007-2008. (Anyone wanting a refresher can find the 8 Core Convictions listed in the sidebar.)
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