Recap Session 2: January 18, 2009

Reflection on Experience
Greetings! Thank you for taking the time to visit the blog. Before diving into this week's topic, be sure to review the key Ignatian concepts outlined in Session 1. You will find it helpful to refer to them as we continue.

St. Ignatius taught that your personal relationship with God must be lived in the world and derived through a process of continual prayer, reflection, and action. The discernment process requires that we attentively reflect upon our experiences of prayer, relationships, and activities- especially those that involve decision making or acting justly.

When patterned upon the identity of Jesus, relationships reveal the shared life of the Spirit active among us. They become a place where believers make choices and decisions that help them grow in faith, freedom and justice. Discernment helps us navigate those decisions and bring them into harmony with God's action and hope for the world. In other words- as we become the hands, the ears, the eyes, the feet and legs of Christ and we act in accordance with the wishes of the Spirit, our actions transform the world.

It is no mistake that Good Shepherd's vision statement is "to transform the world through the love of Jesus Christ." In truth, we are able to do that very thing by discerning God's will in our lives in the context of our relationships. Relationships are the experiential context within which to discern God's presence and activity. It is sometimes difficult to reconcile however, that experiences within any relationship will always be the occasion of grace, even if they seem out of sync and catapult us to a different stage, whether with others or with God. How true a statement! Have you ever been so hurt in a relationship that you wondered if you'd ever be able to trust or love again? Did you learn lessons from that experience and looking back, can you see the hand of God working? A wise man once said that steel can only be forged through fire.

Any healthy relationship has nine spiritual stages:

• Encounter
• Identity
• Intimacy
• Confrontation
• Conversion
• Reconciliation
• Communion
• Commitment
• Mission

The God of Christian faith is a God of relationship.

Where have we encountered God? There are five distinct "moments of encounter":

• Stillness
• Openness
• Honesty
• Awareness
• Recognition

We will examine each moment looking at insights from St. Ignatius as well as insights from Scripture. Have your Bible handy and refer to the verses listed. As I stated before, this is a great opportunity to become more familiar with the Bible. After each scriptural insight, there will be a series of discussion questions. These can be reflected on individually, with a partner, or possibly in a small group. Since our discussions in Adult Ed will be free-flowing, you might not have had an opportunity to reflect on each question. Remember that St. Ignatius states that in addition to intellect, emotions and feelings help us to come to a knowledge of the action of the Spirit in our lives. As you reflect on the topics and questions at hand, be careful not to let your intellect get in your way! Note your feelings and emotions. What is God saying to you? Give it a try. It may seem foreign now, but it will become second nature.

Stillness
Ignatian Insight
By a time of tranquility I mean one when the soul is not being moved one way and the other by various spirits and uses its natural faculties in freedom and peace. (Spiritual Exercises, p 177)

Scriptural Insight
“Be still and know that I am God” Psalm 46:1-4, 8-10
“It is good to wait quietly….” Lamentations 3:21-28

Reflection Questions

• Is silence comfortable? How do you cope with solitude?
• Are there any practices from other religious traditions/cultures that help you to be still?
• What types of visual images foster stillness within you?
• What images of God have come to me at times when I have been still?
• Do I allow times of stillness to influence my efforts to help transform a violent society? How?

Openness
Ignatian Insight
“The person…will benefit greatly…by offering all their desires and freedom to Him so that His Divine Majesty can make use of their persons and of all they posses in whatsoever way is in accord with His most holy will.” (Spiritual Exercises, p 5)

Scriptural Insight
“Open my eyes, so that I may behold wondrous things” (Psalm 119:18)
“….If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in….” (Revelation 3:20)

Reflection Questions

• Are we open to the possibility that God may lead us to some different ways of interacting as a group?
• Are we open to being joined by new people?
• What helps to maintain a balanced openness when being influenced by many diverse opinions?
• How open are you to new relationships or to changes in ongoing relationships?
• How does information about global crises challenge my attitudes and opinions?
• How does my physical and emotional condition effect my openness to other people and to God's action in and through them?

Honesty
Ignatian Insight
“Imagine Christ our Lord suspended on the cross before you, and converse with Him…In a similar way, reflect on yourself and ask: What have I done for Christ? What am I doing for Christ? What ought I to do for Christ?” (Spiritual Exercises, p 53)

Scriptural Insight
“….I have no husband…” (John 4:4-18)
“….Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets…” (Luke 5:4-8)

Reflection Questions

• When did you learn of the importance of being honest?
• Do we engage in honest conversation? Examples?
• Do I use my access to systems and any influence I have within them to present facts honestly and to require that others do the same?
• What challenges have resulted from my being honest with myself or others?
• What constructive ways of giving feedback to each other have we learned in our relationship?
• How do we deal with our fears of interacting honestly within the church or with people outside the church?

Awareness

Ignatian Insight
"But soon after the temptation [being troubled at the prospect of a life of hardships]...he began to have great changes in his soul. Sometimes he felt so out of sorts that he found no relish in saying prayers nor in hearing Mass nor in any other devotion he might practice. At other times quite the opposite of this came over him so suddenly that he seemed to have thrown off sadness and desolation just as one snatches a cape from another's shoulders. Now he started getting perturbed by the changes that he had never experienced before, and he said to himself, "What is this that I am now beginning?” (Autobiography, p 21)

Scriptural Insight
“….Someone touched me…” (Luke 8:44-46)
“For he knew what was in a man.” (John 2:20-28)

Reflection Questions

• What prayer form has helped you to become aware of your feelings?
• Discuss any changes in thoughts or feelings about the earth and my role in sustaining it?
• How do you integrate your understanding of justice into your thoughts and feelings about current world events?
• Do I recognize the importance of distinguishing thoughts from feelings?
• How have my experiences shaped the way I deal with feelings?
• Am I aware of the thought patterns or particular feelings that can predominate my ways of relating to others?
• Am I aware of any destructive patterns in a relationship?
• Am I aware of my need to be more knowledgeable about and sensitive to other cultures?

Religious Experience
Ignatian Insight
When a person is seeking God’s will, it is more appropriate and far better that the Creator and Lord himself should communicate himself to the devout soul, embracing it in love and praise, and disposing it for the way which will enable the soul to serve him better in the future. (Spiritual Exercises p 15)

Scriptural Insight
“….Here I am…” (Exodus 3:1-5)
“…the Spirit of God descending like a dove...” (Matthew 3:13-17)

Reflection Questions

• What do you notice when you bring your ordinary experience to God in prayer?
• When did you begin to be aware of having experiences of God?
• What difference does opening ourselves to an experience of God make to our interactions and decision making?
• Do I experience the presence and action of God in the midst of relationships? what does this tell me about the relationship?
• Have I ever walked away from the awareness that resulted from my experience of God?
• What did it feel like to walk away from that awareness?
• How does respect for the religious experience of people of various faith traditions contribute to my relationships with them?

To Sum Up
The God of Christian faith is a God of relationship. St. Ignatius, like many of the saints, didn't "get it right" the first time. In fact, he made a number of mistakes, and yet grew in his closeness with God. The resulting relationship and insights have helped Christians to discern God's call in their lives. Most importantly, our influence and glimpsing of God occurs first in our relationships with those whom God has placed directly in our lives. Relationships are the experiential context within which to discern God’s presence and activity. Discernment begins in a moment of encounter. In stillness, openness, honesty, awareness, and recognition we are able to recognize God's call and begin to discern his will in our lives.

Let us pray

"Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding and my entire will, All I have and call my own. You have given all to me.To you, Lord, I return it.Everything is yours; do with it what you will.Give me only your love and your grace.That is enough for me." St. Ignatius of Loyola