Hope We Desire, and with Steadfast Trust Await from God, Eternal Life and the Graces to Merit It
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Day #2 Topic: Amazement Scripture (Psalm 114) “Tremble earth before the Lord…who turned rock into pools of water, stone into flowing springs.” (Psalm 139:14) “I praise you, so wonderfully you made me; wonderful are your works.” (Luke 5:26) “Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, “We have seen remarkable things today.” (Psalm 86:10) “For You are great and do wondrous deeds; You alone are God.” (Psalm 118:23) “This is the LORD’S doing; It is marvelous in our eyes.” (Luke 8:25) In amazement they asked one another, “Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.” Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) CCC 1842 – “By faith, we believe in God and believe all that he has revealed to us and that the Holy Church proposes for our belief. CCC 1843 – By Hope we desire, and with steadfast trust await from God, eternal life and the graces to merit it. CCC 1844 – By Charity we love God above all things and our neighbor as ourselves for love of God, Charity, the form of all the virtues “binds everything together in perfect harmony. (Col 3:14) Reflection Questions: ▪ Have you ever had an experience of wonder which led to some kind of an encounter with God? ▪ What are some things that stifle your sense of wonder? ▪ What can you do about them? ▪ Think of someone you know who had a sense of wonder. In what ways does this individual give evidence of a sense of wonder? Quotes to Ponder “At the back of our brains, so to speak, there is a forgotten blaze or burst of astonishment at our own existence. The object of the artistic and spiritual life is to dig for this sunrise of wonder.” (G.K. Chesterton) “Open your eyes and see” Thomas Merton “I did not ask for success; I asked for wonder.” Abraham Heschel “If we can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, our spirituality is dead too!” Sr. Melanie Svoboda, SND “One who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe is as good as dead.” Albert Einstein “Awareness of the divine begins with wonder. The beginning of our happiness lies in the understanding that life without wonder is not worth living. What we lack, is not a will to believe but a will to wonder.” Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel. Prayer Dear God, I ask for wonder. The kind of wonder that looks not down at or against, but up to and for. The kind that sets my fee on the ladder that leads to you. Give me wonder to perceive the dignity of all things, and to glimpse in creation the intimations of your own goodness. Let me never think I know it all or even most of all there is to know. May ‘Wow” That’s neat!’ (awesome) be often on my lips. God, help me to make time to stop and take a closer look at everything around and inside of me, trusting you so much I can risk exploring all the burning bushes of my everyday world. Dear God, I ask for wonder for I believe all wonder is but a prelude to meeting you. Amen. (by Sr. Melanie Svoboda, SND) Day #3 Topic: Gratitude Points to Ponder “Do this and you will be saved; rejoice always, pray constantly, and no matter what the circumstances, give thanks.” Abba Benjamin Once you realize life doesn’t owe you anything, everything in it becomes a gift. Deep gratitude opens us up so we can have a new sense of perspective- no matter what happens in life. Who have you met in your life that has struck you as a very grateful person? What affect did this have on you? Reflection by Henri Nouwen “We are really grateful for all the good things…we simply have to accept or try to forget the painful moments. The attitude expressed in these words made me aware of how often we tend to divide our past into good things to remember with gratitude and painful things to accept or forget. Once we accept this division, however, we quickly develop a mentality in which we hope to collect more good memories than bad memories, more things to be grateful for than things to be resentful about, more things to celebrate than things to complain about. But this way of thinking, which at first glance seems quite natural, prevents us from truly allowing our whole past to be the source from which we live our future. Is this the gratitude to which the Gospel calls us? Gratitude is not a simple emotion or an obvious attitude. It is a difficult discipline to constantly reclaim my whole past as the concrete way in which God has led me to this movement and is sending me into the future. It is hard precisely because it challenges me to face the painful moments – experiences of rejection and abandonment, feelings of loss and failure – and gradually to discover in them the pruning hands of God purifying my heart for deeper love, stronger hope and broader faith. Jesus says to his disciples that although they are as intimately related to him as branches are to the vine, they still need to be pruned in order to bear more fruit (John 15: 1-5) Pruning means cutting, reshaping, removing what diminishes vitality…. Grateful people are those who can celebrate even the pains of life because they trust that when harvest time comes the fruit will show that the pruning was not punishment but purification. I am gradually learning that the call to gratitude asks us to say, “everything is grace.” When our gratitude for the past is only partial, our hope for a new future can never be full…If we are to be truly ready for a new task in the service of God, truly joyful at the prospect of a new vocation, truly free to be sent into a new mission, our entire past, gathered into the spaciousness of a converted heart, must become the source of energy that moves us toward the future.” From All is Grace Gratitude Practices: ❖ Keep a gratitude journal. Who or what inspired me today? What brought me happiness today? What brought me comfort and deep peace today? This practice can help us find more meaning and joy in our lives and lead us to experience profound inner transformation. ❖ Write a thank you letter. ❖ Take a gratitude walk (remember social distancing) As you walk, consider the many things for which you are grateful A Pledge for Grateful Living by Bro. David Steindl-Rast O.S.B. • In thanksgiving for life, I pledge to overcome the illusion of ENTITLEMENT by reminding myself that everything is a gift and, thus, to live GRATEFULLY. • In thanksgiving for life, I pledge to overcome my GREED, that confuses wants with needs, by trusting that enough for all our needs is given to us and to share GENEROUSLY what I so generously receive. • In thanksgiving for life, I pledge to overcome APATHY by waking up to the opportunities that a given moment offers me and so to respond CREATIVELY to every situation. • In thanksgiving for life, I pledge to overcome VIOLENCE by observing that fighting violence by violence leads to more violence and death and, thus, to foster life by acting NON-VIOLENTLY. • In thanksgiving to life, I pledge to overcome FEAR which is the root of all violence by looking at whatever I fear as an opportunity and, thus, COURAGEOUSLY to lay the foundation for a peaceful future. SUGGESTION: Check out Bro. David Steindl-Rast O.S.B. on YouTube Day #4 Topic: Courage SCRIPTURE Joshua 1:9 “This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." 1 Corinthians 16:13 Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. Psalm 27:14 Wait for the LORD; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the LORD. Psalm 27:1 The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid? Psalm 56:3-4 When I am afraid, I will trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me? Matthew 10:26–28 "But don’t be afraid of those who threaten you. For the time is coming when everything that is covered will be revealed, and all that is secret will be made known to all ... Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell." QUOTES TO PONDER CS Lewis; “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscious, but shouts in our pains”. Pope Francis asks people not to give up in this time. He says to remember that God is bigger than any problem that could arise. POPE FRANCIS “This is a different type of “contagion.” It's a message transmitted from heart to heart – for every human heart awaits this Good News. It is the contagion of hope, “Christ, my hope, is risen!” This is no magic formula that makes problems vanish. No, the resurrection of Christ is not that. Instead, it is the victory of love over the root of evil, a victory that does not “by-pass” suffering and death but passes through them.” Urbi et Orbi – April 12, 2020 “Sister, brother, even if you buried hope in your heart, don't give up! God is greater.