“Sonburst”: The Raising of Lazarus
March 30, 2012 | XXIX.Grace: The light to know Jesus more intimately so that I can follow Him more closely.
Text for Prayer: John 11:1-44. Read over the text slowly once or twice. Pay attention to your reaction to the emotions in the scene. Experience the sorrow, hope, and joy exuding from this rich text.
Contemplation:
Imagine you are tightly bound from head to toe lying on a hard, cold stone in a dark tomb. Not one spark of light can be seen. You hear water dripping but cannot tell where. You hear the faint cawing of crows outside the tomb but do not know how many crows are there.
Where are your relatives? As far as they could tell, there was no life left in you. Your heart was stone cold. They were mourning your death about four days ago as they prepared your body for burial. You heard their prayers and cries. You smelled the candles and incense they burned. They expressed their gratitude and regrets, but you could not express yours. They spoke openly to the Lord about their frustration with Him. They were angry with you for not waking up. You heard and felt but could not respond. What would you give to be able to wake up and hug them and comfort them?
Posted by Mr. Quang D. Tran, S.J. in XXIX.Put Me to the Test!
March 29, 2012 | XXVIII.Grace: An intimate knowledge of our Lord, who has become man for me, that I may love Him more and follow Him more closely.
Text: Matthew 14: 22-33
Reflection: Today Peter challenges the Lord to prove that he is who says he is. How is this different from Satan’s challenge to Jesus to prove that he is the Son of God? We heard that story at the beginning of Lent, how Satan took Jesus to the parapet of the Temple and said: “If you are the Son of God, cast yourself down. For it is written: ‘He will command his angels concerning you’ and ‘with their hands they will support you, lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ ” (Mt 4:6)
Both Peter and Satan say to Jesus, if you are who you say that you are then prove it. But Peter’s challenge is a topsy-turvy one. He actually puts himself to the test. Peter says to the Lord, “Lord, if it is you, bid me come to you on the water.” If it really is you, Lord, make me risk my life. Command me to do something that I can do only if my faith in you is strong enough. What he is really saying is: Lord, put me to the test! (more…)
Posted by Mr. Matthew Baugh, S.J. in XXVIII.The King’s Speech
March 28, 2012 | XXVII.Grace: To grow in an intimate knowledge of the Lord, allowing the Beatitudes to be a way to love and to follow Christ.
Text: Mt. 5: 1-12
Reflection: We are all looking for the secret on how to “make it” in this world. We want lasting happiness and the feeling of accomplishment. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus begins with the Beatitudes, which provide a straightforward path on how to live a blessed and happy life.
If we have been freely given the secret to happiness, then why aren’t people ending their chase for fleeting passions to pursue what can only make them truly happy? Because being poor in spirit, mourning, pure of heart, etc. seem contradictory to being happy. The world tells us we need ambition and greed in order to be happy, not poverty of spirit. Reality TV shows dictate that we need constant drama to have a meaningful life, not peacemaking. The media explicitly expresses that we cannot live without sex, and purity of heart and intention is folly. Wall Street upholds that the hard-boiled are blessed, not the meek. Thus, the world sees no value in the Beatitudes. (more…)
Posted by Mr. Matt Kappadakunnel, S.J. in XXVII.Two By Two: The Call of the Disciples
March 27, 2012 | XXVI.Grace: An intimate knowledge of our Lord, Who has become man for me, that I may love Him more and follow Him more closely.
Texts for Prayer: Mt 4.18-22, Mk 1.16-20, Lk 5.1-11, or Jn 1.35-51
Reflection: One of the most striking things about all of the passages about the calling of the first disciples is the fact that Jesus calls each of the disciples in pairs. Although He would build His Church on the foundation of Peter, He also calls his brother, Andrew. Likewise with James and John, Philip and Nathan’a-el. In a similar way, Jesus not only calls each of the disciples to their ministry with a companion, He also sends them out in pairs (Mk. 6:7). That might seem like a waste at first, for they could have reached twice as many people if they had gone out individually. But Jesus chooses to be among us wherever two or more are gathered (Mt. 18:20), and the disciples’ ministry to the wider world is drawn not just from the depths of the individual minister’s own gifts and abilities. Rather, it is the disciples’ sharing of the communion that already exists between them that helps to bring about conversion in those to whom they are sent. In community, the disciples are strengthened and—in community—they are sent out on their mission to follow the Lord.
Posted by Mr. Michael Wegenka, S.J. in XXVI.UFC 2: Jesus Deserted but Victorious
March 26, 2012 | XXV.Grace: To know and imitate Jesus in His unwavering focus on His Mission in order to love and follow Him more closely.
Text: Matthew 4:1-11
Reflection: Let’s do a quick recap: Jesus was previously at the Jordan River, seeking to be baptized by his cousin. John is perplexed by Jesus’ desire to be baptized and informed Him that it is He who ought to be baptizing him. While Jesus was in the Jordan, the Holy Spirit descended upon Him, the heavens opened and a voice proclaimed, “This is My beloved son, with whom I am well pleased” (Matt. 3:17). God the Father revealed the true identity of Jesus. This is a major place of consolation.
The same Spirit that descended upon Jesus in the Jordan led Him to the desert. Jesus had been led from a place of deep consolation to a place of intense purification, fasting for forty days and nights. In His humanity, Jesus became physically, mentally and psychologically weak. At this point, Jesus appears alone, tired and hungry. (more…)
Posted by Mr. Matt Kappadakunnel, S.J. in XXV.Unselfishness and Discernment
March 24, 2012The first half of the week has been dedicated to praying over scenes not found in the gospels. A major focus of these prayers has been allowing us to take a good look at ourselves. Such an activity is not always thought of when one things of the Christian life (or the virtuous life in general.) In “The Weight of Glory,” C.S. Lewis observes that most people in the modern world would even consider unselfishness to be the highest of all virtues. So why all this focus on the self this week?
Part of the reason lies in the fact that unselfishness can ultimately be nothing more than a means, rather than an end, if it is to be any sort of virtue. If we decide “I will not focus on myself anymore” and do not then turn our focus elsewhere, what exactly is gained? When Jesus tells us to take up our crosses, it is only a means, rather than an end. The rest of the sentence is “…and follow me.” St. Ignatius recognizes this, and so our selfishness is combated in the Exercises not by telling us to neglect ourselves entirely, but by giving us prayers that are never truly about us, even when our dispositions and attitudes are being examined. Our unselfishness is cultivated not with the lie that we are nothing, but with the truth that we are not everything. Knowing this, unselfishness is transformed from something sought for its own sake to something that allows us to respond generously to the Jesus’ call.
Moreover, we have these prayers because God’s call is not generic, but personal. John’s gospel tells us that Jesus does not simply beckon His sheep with an indiscriminate whistle, but that “He calls His own sheep by name and leads them out” (Jn. 10:3). So our prayer is not only about Jesus, but our response to Jesus: where we are, how we can best respond, and what holds us back. Going back to the prayers from this week, look at yourself in the light of Christ, and see how you may respond to God’s call with full generosity.
Posted by Mr. David Paternostro, S.J. in Weekend RepetitionCamels, Needles, and Life with God: Seeking Reform
March 23, 2012 | XXIII.Grace: To sense more deeply the possibility of renewal and reform in my life and the desire in God’s heart for that renewal in me.
Text for prayer: Lk. 18:18-27
Reflection: Sometimes the most important thing in a passage is what Jesus doesn’t say. Such is the case in today’s reading from Luke’s Gospel, where Jesus encounters a rich young man who has lived a pretty good life and is now seeking for that certain something that still seems to elude him. He wants not just to be moral or happy; he wants God. And so he comes to Jesus. Jesus asks him if he has followed several of the Ten Commandments, and the young man says that he has followed each of them from his youth.
But when Jesus lists some of the commandments, he leaves off the first commandment: “You shall have no other god before me.” The rich young man realizes this omission in Jesus’s list of the commandments (and in his own attempts to live them out) and walks away sad, for he is possessed by many things. These possessions might be his high social standing, his wealth, his relationship to his family, or (perhaps most painfully) even his sense of his own righteousness. Whatever the case may be, the rich young man is attached to many things in his current life and is therefore unable to follow after Jesus who is humble, poor, and despised by all.
Posted by Mr. Michael Wegenka, S.J. in XXIII.The Ultimate Fighting Challenge
March 22, 2012 | XXIV.Grace: For an intimate knowledge of Jesus Christ our Lord who chose to be like us in every way except sin.
Text for Prayer: Mt. 3:11-17 Place yourself in the scene.
Reflection:
In a restless world that competes for riches, honors, and pride, a world of cage fighters trying to knock out their opponents while others cheer on, we can find rest and refreshment by the Jordan River. 
People line up seeking the cool waters of baptism of John the Baptist, renouncing their sins and resolving to direct all their strivings toward something more than pleasure, success, and good fortune. There is a thirst that only a humble submission to the Divine through sincere repentance can quench.
Jesus arrives on the scene and His exchange with John is refreshingly counter-cultural. There seems to be a competition, but here humility is the game and God’s will is the prize. John has many followers, but without any hesitation, he steps aside for a mightier One’s arrival. Jesus is the Son of God, free from sin, yet He receives the baptism of a sinner for sinners. John’s humility makes him resemble the Son of God, and Christ’s humility unites Him fully with humanity. It’s no surprise that these men are cousins! As John submits to Jesus’ request, Jesus submits to the Father’s request, and He is well pleased (with both of His sons).
Jesus commences His public ministry with a profound act of humility, showing us that no talent, no career, no effort, no fight, and no accomplishment is greater than choosing what God has chosen for us.
Posted by Mr. Quang D. Tran, S.J. in XXIV.“Do not deny your talents or your successes. Rather, thank God that he uses you to do his work, just as an artist uses simple brushes to create a work of art.” –Servant of God, Cardinal Francis Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan
1, 2, 3 Degrees of Humility
March 21, 2012 | XXII.Grace: I ask that I may be free enough to choose whatever God’s grace may indicate as his particular call to me.
Reading: John 21:15-19
Reflection: Jesus asked Peter if he loved him three times. Each time, I imagine, Peter became more and more uncomfortable:
“Jesus, of course I love you. We’ve been through so much together.”
“Uh, yes . . . yes, I love you. Jesus.”
“(gulp) You keep asking me, Jesus, and I am afraid that all I can say is ‘yes. I do love you.’”
Experiencing the love of Christ propels us to live as Christ. Jesus commanded Peter to “feed my sheep.” Now as most of us today are not shepherds, St. Ignatius offers us another paradigm by which to grow in the love that comes from the life of Christ: the three degrees of humility. Humility serves as a marker of one who has chosen to model his or her life on the example, teaching, and mission of Jesus. It is a virtue which all of us, no matter in what state of life we may be, should seek to develop. Each of the following three “degrees” of humility are meant not so much to be awards of accomplishment in humility as callings to an ever-deepening sense of humility and alignment with Jesus.
Posted by Mr. Sean M. Powers, S.J. in XXII.Three Dispositions of Decisionmaking
March 20, 2012 | XXI.Grace: To choose what is more for the glory of God and the salvation of my soul.
Text: SpEx #149-157
Reflection: The Exercises are fundamentally geared toward helping us make good decisions, to bring us to that point at which we are properly disposed and can choose the same thing that God himself has already chosen for us. This especially applies to the question about our “state of life,” or in more common language our vocation. What is the Lord asking of me? How am I to serve to him in my own life?
We are coming to the point of the retreat when these sorts of questions come into focus. And it would be good to ask yourself: what is the Lord asking me to discern in the context of this retreat? To come to a final “election” (choice) about your state of life, you’ll want to make the full Exercises with an individual director. But in the context of this retreat, you can certainly begin to ask the question in a serious and structured way, reflecting on what the Lord has been saying to you as you have prayed through these Lenten exercises. For those for whom the question of vocation is already settled or seems still on the distant horizon, the Lord may be inviting you to consider how to reform your life. If this seems to be instead what the Lord is asking you to discern, pay attention to that as we continue with the retreat. In either case, there is a decision to be made. (more…)
Posted by Mr. Matthew Baugh, S.J. in XXI.