Meeting 3. - Our Heart is Restless Until it Rests in the Lord ************************************************************** .. tags:: content|desires|Desires, content|gods-will|God's will, content|discernment|Discernment, content|hope|Hope, content|community|Community, method|praca-z-tekstem|Working with text, method|discussion|Discussion, type|formacyjne|Formational Goal of the Meeting =================== * Summary and drawing conclusions from the past 2 days: * God is the creator of some of my desires * I am the object of God's desires * in relationship with God all the desires of my heart can be fulfilled * Preparation (as far as possible) for daily life taking into account these discoveries * God not only wants to fulfill our desires, but also to shape them * Earth is not heaven and here we will always feel desires * Emphasizing the role of community Introduction for the animator ============================== On the last day, retreats have a natural tendency to "loosen up". Today's group meeting plays the most important role in maintaining the retreats in the theme we propose. If we don't maintain concrete analysis of the problem here, today will lose "its character" in the eyes of the participants and will simply become "the last day". Opening prayer =============== Adapted to the group's capabilities. Sharing the experience of the past day ======================================= * Are you glad that you could entrust your desires to Jesus yesterday? For what specific reason? * Do you believe that such a prayer can really change something in life? In what way? Or maybe it has already changed something? Introduction - did St. Augustine oversell God? ============================================== Let's recall: You created us directed towards You. And our heart is restless until it rests in the Lord -- St. Augustine * Have all our heart's troubles, desires, etc. suddenly been satisfied since yesterday? * Why hasn't everything changed? The crosses that appeared in the labyrinth are actually the essence of today's meeting. We want to talk about whether their appearance there is just theory and a "nice symbol" or is it actually a reflection of a certain truth for us. God's action is wise ==================== Imagine that a small child asks you for many things (desires something). You can respond to these desires either according to the child's mind or not. Let's try to create a list of reasons why we might do something not according to the child's desires and give an example. (we create together a list that looks roughly like this): +--------------------------+----------------------------+ | Child's desire | Reason for refusal | +==========================+============================+ | To play with a hot | I know that this desire | | iron | **does not lead to** | | | anything good**, because | | | an iron is not for | | | playing | +--------------------------+----------------------------+ | I want to watch a film | The desire is good, | | about Katyn | but **before reaching | | | a certain age** a child | | | should not watch | | | certain scenes so | | | I currently refuse | +--------------------------+----------------------------+ | I want to get 0.1kg | The desire **is not | | of candy | bad**, but I refuse, | | | **because I know that | | | in 2h they will get | | | a birthday cake** | | | and should save room | | | in their stomach for it | +--------------------------+----------------------------+ It is important to guide the group so that at least these 3 reasons for refusal come out! **The group itself tries to translate these reasons for refusal into spiritual life. ALSO giving examples.** Conclusion: God as infinite in His wisdom knows better what is better for us. A question arises: * So what are our desires for? Could God not put them in our heart and we would "always fit" His plans? (discussion) God's action wants to transform =============================== Man has desires because we are created in the image of God, who desired (even to create man). So what is the role of our desires now? God Himself answers this! | Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. | **Commit your way to the Lord** and trust Him: **He Himself will act**. -- Ps 37,4-5 For God to act, you must first commit your way to Him. Very often we ask about this in the Church in a general way – have you given your life to Jesus, etc. Today, in the context of these retreats, we want to ask very precisely: * Do I allow God to **transform my own desires**? * Why is giving Him these matters so difficult? * What do you think – which desires are the hardest to give to God? * Do I believe that if all my desires were shaped by God, I would be a happy person? (Perhaps someone from the group has experience of such "work with God" concerning some of their desires. If so, sharing it with the group would be a great enrichment of this meeting!) God's action is in response to dialogue ======================================= In the matter of desires, it is worth telling such a (known) story at this point. During a festive breakfast on the occasion of a golden wedding anniversary, the wife thought: "For fifty years I have always given my husband the upper, crispy part of the bun, today I have the right to treat myself to this favorite delicacy". And she took the top of the bun, gave the bottom to her husband. At this, the old man joyfully kissed his wife's hand and confessed: "Darling, you gave me the joy of the day. For fifty years I have not eaten the bottom part of the bun, although I like it most. All the time I thought that since you like it so much, you have priority to it". -- Anonymous This is the effect of not talking about desires between people. It is similar between us and God because God, although He is omniscient, respects our freedom and without talking with us about our desires cannot act as He would like. * Do I talk with God about my desires? * Do I talk with God about His desires for me? * Which conversation comes easier to me? Why? Such prayer is also "natural". In it, we talk about what is happening in our lives; it is a normal conversation. This is a perfect beginning for delving deeper into prayer! .. note:: **difficult moment of the meeting!** Let's each write on our cards 3-5 of our desires, which as we discern require the most urgent "discussion" with Jesus in our life. Then let's try to share this with each other – reading aloud. Of course, there is no obligation – you can NOT read. Dissatisfaction on earth is natural and good ============================================ Let's read: | And one of the elders spoke to me, saying: | "Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?" | I said to him: | "Sir, you know". And he said to me: | "These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation and they have washed their robes | and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore they are before the throne of God | and serve Him day and night in His temple. | And He who sits on the throne will shelter them with His presence. | They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. | For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and He will guide them to springs of living water, | and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes". -- Rev 7,13-17 God guarantees us that in heaven in communion with Him we will no longer desire anything – we will have everything. Therefore, the words of St. Augustine are true. * What good can the non-fulfillment of all desires on earth serve? * Can you give an example from your life that an unfulfilled desire serves good? * In what way does the desire itself (unfulfilled) bring me closer to God? (concrete!) Application – role of community =============================== Actually – undertaking the effort of such life with God "at 100%" is very difficult. But we are literally not alone in this effort – we have each other. We would like here at these retreats to "touch" what our community is. **Participants give themselves tasks for today, each two – one very practical, one spiritual. The tasks should be related to the theme of the retreats. When I come up with tasks, I ask two people from the group to accept them (the animator makes sure that people get "equally"). The goal of this point – mutual help (in responsibility) in getting to know Christ better and better.** **The task is not simple and you should allocate about 10 minutes for the participants to come up with tasks.** Example: **Practical:** At the moment when you want to do something very much today, you will postpone it for 2 minutes and go to the chapel to pray for the testimonies that are before us (willpower) **Spiritual:** for 3 days after Babice, you will open the NT and read for a minimum of 10 minutes.