Meeting 1. - Desire for Life ***************************** .. tags:: content|desires|Desires, content|love|Love, content|decisions|Decisions, content|conversion|Conversion, method|praca-z-tekstem|Working with text, method|praca-z-muzyka|Working with music, method|pytania-do-dzielenia|Questions for sharing, type|formacyjne|Formational Goal ==== Educational: This meeting aims to bring participants as close as possible to making the most important decision "I want to change something. I want God". Didactic: The ability to look at the concept of desire from different perspectives. Participants answer questions: What moment of life am I currently in?; What do my "four walls" look like?; What is my greatest desire? Only by accepting God's Love are we able to leave our "four walls". Discovering God's Love as "Desire for Life". Introduction for the animator ============================= Before the retreats, it's worth listening to a conference by Fr. Adam Szustak OP, in which he speaks about desires and emptiness. .. note:: http://188.165.20.162/langustanapalmie/MC2.o.pustce.i.o.pragnieniach.mp3 We are at the beginning of these retreats. Before you is a really very important task. Remember that the people you have before you probably don't know you and are seeing you for the first time. You must be for them above all a model and companion who will guide them through these retreats. This is a time when you should build a bond with them, put your group first, care for it and give your whole heart and strength in the fight for each of its members. Our task is to show the horizon, beautiful views that are beyond the walls and to testify that all of this is real and true. We want to encourage them to make a radical decision - accepting God's Love, to go out with this God's Love beyond their "four walls", to open themselves to God, even to awaken a longing for Him. We must do this in such a way that they never want to return to those "four walls" again. Today's meeting is an introduction to the evening prayer, whose main goal will be the decision to accept God's Love. We are people who have already said our "I want to change something. I want, O God, to entrust everything I have to You". Therefore, now we want to help them make this decision. Prayer ====== Spontaneous prayer to the Holy Spirit (it's necessary to remember to introduce it, so that everyone has an idea of what it's about - especially if there are people in the group who are participating in retreats for the first time) for openness to Him, to each other and for a good experience of the retreats. If the group is not very inclined to prayer, the animator can say the invocation, and the group responds with "come Holy Spirit". Introduction to the meeting ============================ To feel more comfortable in the group, we must first get to know each other. A brief introduction and telling something about oneself follows. For some reason we're sitting here together, but each of us is different, various factors influenced the fact that we find ourselves in this place. There's something that encouraged us to participate in these retreats, that made us want to come here. * Are these your first retreats; what caused you to decide to participate in these retreats? * What influence did the theme of the retreats have on making this decision?/ What significance does the theme of the retreats have for you? * What elements preceding the retreats interested or intrigued you? * What was your goal in coming here? * What do you expect from these retreats? Here follows a smooth transition to the main theme of today's meeting. The animator presents the theme of the meeting, using a helpful question: * What does the statement "Desire for Life" remind you of? (Something great, really Wow.) The name of today's meeting "Desire for Life" speaks of the fact that among so many desires in our life there is one most important one. One that deserves the name "Desire for Life". This is the desire for God. At the meeting we want to go through desires; starting from the most trivial, ending with the greatest desires in our life. We want to confront our - desires and concepts about them with what they actually are and what they really mean. About desire itself =================== .. note:: Useful statement by a seminarian (5th year, Interdiocesan Major Seminary in Opole): "Desires for me are signals that my body or soul gives me informing me what is needed by my body or soul, which I'm not able to see in another way. If speaking about body desires - not satisfying them leads to death after a certain time, however not satisfying the needs of the soul is sometimes less noticeable, and suppressed they cause the needs to disappear. Here's something interesting I came to thinking about this - unsatisfied needs of the soul can only be noticed when they are satisfied even in a minimal way - which gives great freedom and opens the way to conversion." /Łukasz Michalik/ In this part we want to look at the concept of desire itself. What is it actually? .. note:: You can take out a card with the word "desires" written on it and ask participants to write associations to this word. If you see that the group is not very inclined to speak, ask each person to write associations with the word "desires" on their own card and then share them. Let's try to define the concept of desire based on associations from the card. * What are desires for you and where do they come from? More a cry of the heart or fulfilling needs? In today's times we often encounter a mistaken understanding of the very concept of desire. Often media and surroundings try to convince us that it's more about fulfilling whims than realizing true needs arising from our heart. * How can we divide desires; give examples? (E.g. higher: having a family, happy life; lower: food, sleep, new car.) * In what way do we realize our desires? Do we always do it well? In what way do I realize my desires? (Encourage - don't force to develop answers in all questions that directly concern the participant.) * What are my desires; Am I aware of them? * Why can some desires be uncomfortable for us; what does this mean for me? * Have I had an experience of a desire that I didn't want, that was uncomfortable for me, that gnawed a hole in my stomach? * Can desires be suppressed; in what way? (E.g. Desire for confession - well it's somewhere there and in fact it's even screaming, but I pretend I don't hear it. I realize how much I needed it only after leaving the confessional.) * In what situations do I suppress my own desires? Can I recall a specific situation? Sometimes to suppress some desire, we replace it with something completely different, something that isn't actually needed by us right now. * In what way do I get rid of desires that are uncomfortable for me? Has it happened to me that I replaced my desire with something that wasn't actually needed by me? Of course, there are also simple desires e.g. - dreaming of drinking a bottle of cold water after running 15km. But today we want to look at desires from a slightly different side. We want to delve into those that sit within us, that we maybe hide somewhere in our heart. As a summary of this point, you can play the song by Bartek Król and Michał Jelonek - "I Knew a Man Once". It tells about a man to whom "Nothing worked out for him, though he knew how to do everything", his life slips away on preparing great plans. Despite everything he desired something more. Let's give them time and opportunity to reflect on the difficult answers they just gave. | I knew a man once, | who was an unattainable model for himself. | Nothing worked out for him, though he knew how to do everything. | His life slipped away on preparing | great changes, in his torn pockets he carried | always another, another winning plan. | | For years in the same apartment he gave himself to | flying in thoughts, not one wore a blue trail, | he kept looking for someone and kept being alone. | About others he said, that they are like frightened birds, that far | soar in the skies, that you have to be very careful, so as not to | break their wings and waste their life. | | Ref.: Honestly tell me, doesn't he remind | you and me? | Stand before a mirror and say, that | it's definitely not You... | Honestly tell me... that it, that it | is definitely not You... | | He also had a girlfriend once, though he promised her love | and a happy life, leaving she whispered to him tenderly: | "I'm leaving you my name in your heart". | Quietly, calmly, with trust he proclaimed words of life | wisdom, and in his eyes you could see a naive | flame, flame of eternal youth. | | Sometimes in the morning, when he brewed coffee it happened, that | he became dreamy. He felt then, that he loved the world | though things don't go well and something is still missing. | | Ref.: Honestly tell me... | No, no no, definitely not You... x2 | No, no, no... | Ref.: Honestly tell me, doesn't he remind | you and me? | Stand before a mirror and say, that | it's definitely not You... x2 | | Honestly tell me... that it, that it | is definitely not You... -- Bartek Król and Michał Jelonek -- I Knew a Man Once Zacchaeus's curiosity ===================== Curiosity is often the engine that pushes to action. It can even arm with courage, just to see what is imperceptible. Exactly the same happened in Zacchaeus's life - he left the house, entered the crowd, ordinary curiosity guided him, he wanted to see the man about whom people whispered in the city. Let's look at the situation Zacchaeus found himself in. We read the text, ask one person to describe this situation in their own words. Then he entered Jericho and was passing through. And [there was] a man named Zacchaeus, a chief tax collector, and he was rich. He was trying to see who Jesus was, but he could not because of the crowd, since he was a short man. So running ahead, he climbed up a sycamore tree to see him, since Jesus was about to pass that way. When Jesus reached the place, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house." And he came down quickly and received him with joy. When they all saw this, they began to grumble, saying, "He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner." But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, "Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone I shall repay it four times over." And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house because this man too is a descendant of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost." -- Lk 19:1-10 * Who was Zacchaeus? * What did he do; was his behavior completely normal? * Why did he climb the tree, what guided him? * If curiosity guided Zacchaeus, what is it actually? * What makes a given thing worth our attention? * Do I have such an experience, that I very much desired something in life? Did I realize this desire? In what way? * What were the first words spoken by Jesus? ("Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house") * Why in his house? Doesn't it surprise us that Jesus wants to stay in the house of a man he sees for the first time? What does this testify to? Not without reason Jesus wanted to stay in Zacchaeus's house. A house is a place where we spend every day. We gather our goods in it. What we surround ourselves with is somehow a reflection of our person (Here it's worth noting that implicitly it's also about the room, because at this age we rarely have influence on the shape of the whole house. You can ask: *What is a house/my room for me; in what way does it reflect my person?*). A house can symbolize the situation we're currently in. To explain: House as a place where you currently are. Exactly this moment of your life. * What moment of life am I currently in? * Why is it sometimes said that certain "walls" limit us; what are these walls? * Do you have a feeling that certain things exist that limit you? In what way? How do you experience this? Sometimes we feel as if someone bound us and locked us in four walls. * What do you do in such a situation? * What do you feel watching movies about beautiful, wonderful things in your room, what do you feel sitting on the couch when there's wonderful weather outside? Or maybe you'd like to leave these walls? * Can curiosity be motivation to leave the walls? In what way? * Why did Jesus want to stay in Zacchaeus's house (who had a reputation as a sinner "He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner"), and didn't prefer to stay e.g. with some priest? .. note:: "Today I must stay at your house". δει ("dei" from Greek): it is necessary/must. The same word is also used among others in Mk 8:31 "He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer greatly(...)". μειναι (meinai): to remain. The same word used in "But they urged him, 'Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.' So he went in to stay with them" As we said; a house can symbolize the current situation we're in. Jesus, first of all, doesn't want it beautiful, tidy, prayed, "for show". He wants it real. Only then can everything succeed. Because only then can He enter into a true relationship with him. Only then can He make Himself known. **Jesus comes to those who need Him. He wants to come to you right here and now. Exactly in such a moment as you're in. He doesn't expect an invitation from you only when your room will be a beautiful palace. He wants to come to your house and clean it together with you.** * And why? So often God's Plans are spoken of. But let's pay attention to the fact that God doesn't just give us a recipe for a beautiful life. He planned specifically for you SALVATION. "Today salvation has come to this house". * What do you understand by these words? .. warning:: It's necessary to emphasize that these are not lofty words Today Salvation has become a bit "commonplace" for us. We don't feel that shiver on our backs thinking that GOD HIMSELF prepared EVERYTHING He has (well and how much can God have?) and wants to give it to You! And this is happening already today! The source of all desires is God. At the same time He Himself is our greatest desire for life. He doesn't want us to pass through this life casually, grayly, flowing with the current. He prepared for everyone a wonderful plan full of life, discovering desires, realizing dreams, in which we can fully realize ourselves and be ourselves. Radical decision ================ St. John in his Gospel describes a similar situation, where one person's decision completely transforms his life. After this, there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is in Jerusalem at the Sheep [Gate] a pool called in Hebrew Bethesda, with five porticoes. In these lay a large number of ill, blind, lame, and crippled. [One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been ill for a long time, he said to him, "Do you want to be well?" The sick man answered him, "Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; while I am on my way, someone else gets down there before me." Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your mat, and walk." Immediately the man became well, took up his mat, and walked. -- Jn 5:1-9 Let's look at the place itself where the action takes place. The pool at the Sheep Gate is completely real, details about five porticoes were confirmed by archaeological discoveries. The name Sheep Gate took its name from tradition - animals passed through this gate before being offered on the altar. Let's pay attention to the legend about the Angel moving the water, which was to heal the first one who enters it. We consider this fragment more from the angle of biblical analysis (we can allow ourselves more words of our own). We want to identify with the hero, "enter into his skin". * Let's characterize our hero (He's been lying there for 38 years, a long time, lying in one place, waiting for a miracle and nothing.) * Why doesn't anything happen? (Loose discussion on this topic "Maybe the Angel didn't come", "He was late", "He was too slow to run" etc. to reach in the following points that after all no one had to lead him.) * What does Jesus do in this situation? What question does He ask the sick man? ("Do you want to be well?") * Are the man's words an answer to Jesus's question? No. Jesus asks if he wants to be healed, and he says that he doesn't have a man who would lead him to the pool. * So what is Jesus actually saying to him with these words? Jesus is actually asking: Do You want this, Do You really desire this, Do You seriously want to be healed - is this what You're about? He gets an answer that testifies to this man's loneliness. We come to the fact that desire obliges us to make a decision - I want to fulfill this desire, I want to follow it or not. **Most important question: What do you really want? Is this what you desire? We'll return to these questions in the application.** * With what two words does Jesus act in this situation? (Rise and walk. What do we think hearing such words? Immediately it comes to us 'but where? why?') * Can one decision transform a person's life; in what way, give examples? (E.g. saying 'yes' at the altar, medical decisions saving life etc.) * Have you ever experienced such a situation? In what way? What happened then? * What would have happened if the man hadn't listened to Jesus? (He would probably sit by that pool for another 38 years. Counting on a miracle.) * What does Jesus want to say by this? How does this relate to our life? (Rise, move. This place where you currently are is not for you.) * What does Jesus encourage us to? (To make a radical decision: yes or no. Yes, I want to change my life or I don't want to, I want to keep waiting by my pool.) * What consequences does this decision lead to? (The sick man is healed, rises, takes his mat - who he is, everything he now has and goes.) * Do I have the courage to trust God and leave my four walls? Hello. He has a wonderful plan for you! An idea for your life. Let's discover the whole richness that the word wonderful carries, which has been worn out so long ago. Beauty, delight, fascination, life - all of this is contained in it. But you must make a decision! **"I want to rise now and go forward!"** I've moved, what's next? ======================== .. warning:: This is a place for a brief testimony by the animator. A person who made many difficult decisions, but also a person who more than once "was overcome by fear". However, thanks to taking on the effort, you're now in such and not another place. Thanks to this effort you can show others that it's worth risking and acting, and not just observing from the side what's happening. If there's enough time, you can ask helpful questions: .. note:: It's also worth saying something more about these questions, lead participants to answers, because the table contains only questions. These questions should be help with changes that - let's hope - will occur after the retreats. Let everyone write their answers in the table. If you think there's enough time to share this - go ahead! * How do I imagine my life in 5 years? How do I want to achieve this? Will I manage alone? * What does your day look like? * What do you spend the most time on? * Do you sometimes have a feeling that you're doing something mechanically, carelessly? If yes, how often? * Are there things you spend definitely too much/too little time on? * Can you at the end of the day stand and say: 'I'm satisfied, this was a successful day, I did a lot today, I learned something, I did a lot of good.'? * What does your prayer look like? Maybe too often it's automatic, forced? * How often (but seriously) do you entrust your matters to God? The most trivial ones too? * How to change this? How to change your day for the better? What influence does prayer and daily entrusting all your matters to God have on this? .. note:: You can suggest to the group to think about this honestly, and not give an answer such as the animator expects. It's worth emphasizing that God enlivens everyday life. Focusing on God's best plan for each of us. Introduction to evening prayer ============================== Introducing participants to evening prayer consists of explaining several technical issues that will be during this point of the program. First of all it's about presenting what simultaneous spontaneous prayer, alternating spontaneous prayer and echo of the word - prayer with a psalm consist of. It's also worth saying that there's no bad prayer - every prayer is good and makes sense. So if a participant will have concerns that they'll make a fool of themselves with what they say - they're unfounded and it's worth overcoming oneself and saying what's in one's head. No one will judge what was said. **Spontaneous prayer** This is a type of prayer in which we pray in our own words. We can divide it into simultaneous and alternating prayer. **Simultaneous spontaneous prayer** We tell God everything that hides in our heart, everyone at once. Prayer is led by one or several people who give thought to the prayer. **Alternating spontaneous prayer** Consists of different people saying words, creating certain invocations, which we end with an established phrase e.g. "Come, Holy Spirit". After saying the invocation and phrase, everyone praying repeats the ending phrase, emphasizing that they join the prayer of this specific person saying the invocation. **Echo of the word** This is prayer consisting of reading a text of God's Word, and then sharing what moved us in it - on the principle of prayer. At today's evening prayer this prayer will consist of one person reading a psalm text, and then we'll repeat aloud those fragments, sentences or words that especially move each of us. .. warning:: Don't forget to say this: don't worry either, when it happens that you start speaking simultaneously with someone else an invocation or words of a psalm that moved you - God listens to all of us. Application =========== As application let three questions remain in heads, which it's worth answering during evening prayer: * What do I really want? * What are my deepest desires? What does my heart tell me now? * Am I ready to accept God's love? Let the words of St. Ignatius of Loyola, which are in the notebook, be help. This is a prayer of surrender to God, which can prove helpful during evening prayer. Its goal is to lead to conscious acceptance of God's love. Prayer ====== At the end let's pray together this short prayer, which can also be a summary of today's meeting: | God, I am sinful, and You are perfect. Have mercy on me. | Be the fulfillment of my desires. Push out evil desires from me, because they clutter the place destined for You and for others in my soul. | Be my love.