Meeting 1 — “I Want, But I Do Not Understand”¶
Introduction¶
Note
The meeting is based on the text of St. Cyprian of Carthage [http://patres.pl/sw-cyprian-o-jednosci-kosciola/]
Normally, the first retreat outline includes a point for the group to get to know each other. Most of us have probably been walking side by side in faith for years. However, let’s take the opportunity to try to get to know each other better.
Let each of us write three sentences about our life on a piece of paper. Two of them should be true and one false. Let’s try to guess together which one is false.
Note
It is essential to write down the sentences in order to read each of them with the same ease and speed. Otherwise, a made-up sentence might be easy to recognize by the very way it is presented.
What knowledge gained about someone else in the group surprised me the most? Why?
If you had to name the most important event of your life in the last year, what would you point to?
God Incomprehensible¶
The starting point for our retreat is accompanying St. Peter near Caesarea Philippi. It is the place of St. Peter’s great mistake, and consequently also his great surprise. Although the passage seems undeniably difficult and painful for St. Peter, there is a lot of light in it. St. Peter must have been strongly surprised by the words of Jesus Christ — both those of “praise” and those of “rebuke” (!):
Let us read:
Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do men say that the Son of man is?” (…) Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (…) And Peter took him and began to rebuke him, saying, “God forbid, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me; for you are not on the side of God, but of men.”
—Mt 16:13-27
How does the Incomprehensible surprise me currently in life?
It is not just a one-sided surprise! Jesus also seems to be “surprised” that one of the apostles answered his question so precisely.
In what moment did we surprise ourselves (or others) in spiritual matters?
This “mutual surprising” of man and the Highest reflects the dynamics of the God-Man relationship.
A Step to the Summit, Not the End¶
St. Cyprian comments on this surprise in spiritual life from a distance, showing us the universality of this process in which St. Peter finds himself:
Let no one marvel, beloved brethren, that even some of the confessors advance to such lengths of wickedness, as to sin so foully and so grievously. For confession [during persecution] does not make a man free from the snares of the devil, nor does it provide him with perpetual security against temptations, dangers, attacks and assaults of the world, as long as he is in this world. (…) Confession is the beginning of glory, not the earning of the crown; it does not perfect praise, but initiates dignity; and since it is written, “He that endures to the end, the same shall be saved,” whatever has been before the end is a step by which we ascend to the summit of salvation, not a terminus wherein the full result of the ascent is already received.
—St. Cyprian, De unitate Ecclesiae
This is a strong warning never to lose vigilance. St. Peter, although he was close, made a consistent decision to walk with Jesus for 3 years (!), was still far from the summit. Such a perspective, however, allows us to discharge a certain kind of tension that may be in us — faith is a process, I don’t have to be perfect yet, steps count, it counts whether here and now I am seeking the Good.
What does my readiness to “not understand” faith and love look like?
What things help me not to fall into the “devil’s snares” of seeking fulfillment not where it is?
Application¶
We do not want to impose an application from this meeting on participants. However, if possible, it would be good for everyone to find their own application and share it with the rest of the group.
The author of the outline simultaneously notes significant benefits from seeking an application achievable within the next 48h.