Reflection Starters
The following four pictures and statements are meant to be reflection starters as you articulate your image, hope or story of living an integrated life.
> Should you choose the far right statement and the one on the bottom, then select the Bottom
Right picture.
OR
choose the left statement along with either the top or bottom one and then the corresponding
picture.
2. Then respond to the next two questions
3. Reflect and write down for yourself how you would begin to tell another person what the promise
of Resurrection to the fullness of life means to you.
The following four pictures and statements are meant to be reflection starters as you articulate your image, hope or story of living an integrated life.
- Choose the two statements which best reflect your current perspective.
> Should you choose the far right statement and the one on the bottom, then select the Bottom
Right picture.
OR
choose the left statement along with either the top or bottom one and then the corresponding
picture.
2. Then respond to the next two questions
3. Reflect and write down for yourself how you would begin to tell another person what the promise
of Resurrection to the fullness of life means to you.
Native American, Kateri Tekakwitha was born in 1656, in the Mohawk village of Ossernenon. At the age of four, she contracted smallpox which scarred her skin. The scars were a source of humiliation in her youth. Refusing to marry, she left her village and spent the remainder of her life working in the Jesuit mission village of Kahnawake, south of Montreal. Witnesses said that within minutes after he death at the age of 24. Witnesses said that her scars vanished in minutes and her face appeared radiant and beautiful. She is the first Native American canonized as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church.
The Saints
Saints are men and women, young and old, who have developed maintained and nurtured right relationships with God, neighbor, creation and self. Some have done this in extraordinary ways and have been canonized by the Church as “Saints, but all who have reflected God’s love in thought, word and deed are saints.
A person’s real life experiences as a maturing Catholic will always differ from an abstract conceptualized analysis of what it means to be Catholic. There are, however, certain similarities between one’s physical health and spiritual well-being. For example, while standards and tests exist for evaluating a person’s physical health (e.g. temperature, blood pressure, heart rate, cholesterol, etc.), each of us, to a greater or lesser degree, is becoming either more healthy or less healthy. For many, the process is so gradual that it is only through periodic medical checkups that one can see the trend.
Similarly, becoming a spiritually healthy as a Catholic is a process (a) requiring encouragement and following some basic guidelines, (b) allowing people to actively participate in their own development, and (c) allowing for periodic assessment to evaluate one’s progress.
We name as saints those who have demonstrated what it means to be a mature Catholic. While each saint is a unique person, there are certain characteristics common to all saints. Saint Pope John XXIII said it well in his Journal of a Soul.
“From the saints I must take the substance, not the accidents, of their virtues. I am not St. Aloysius, nor must I seek holiness in his particular way, but according to the requirements of my own nature, my own character and the different condition of my life. I must not be the dry, bloodless reproduction of a model, however perfect. God desires us to follow the examples of the saints by absorbing the vital sap of their virtues and turning it into our own life-blood, adapting it to our own individual capacities and particular circumstances. If St. Aloysius had been as I am; he would have become holy in a different way.”
St Francis DeSales, in his Introduction to the Devout Life, said
“When God created the world He commanded each tree to bear fruit after its kind; and even so He bids Christians,--the living trees of His Church,--to bring forth fruits of devotion, each one according to his kind and vocation. A different exercise of devotion is required of each--the noble, the artisan, the servant, the prince, the maiden and the wife; and furthermore such practice must be modified according to the strength, the calling, and the duties of each individual. I ask you, my child, would it be fitting that a Bishop should seek to lead the solitary life of a Carthusian? And if the father of a family were as regardless in making provision for the future as a Capuchin, if the artisan spent the day in church like a Religious, if the Religious involved himself in all manner of business on his neighbor's behalf as a Bishop is called upon to do, would not such a devotion be ridiculous, ill-regulated, and intolerable?
The ancient Greek philosopher, Aristotle, said, 'the bee sucks honey from flowers without damaging them, leaving them as whole and fresh as it found them’;--but true devotion does better still, for it not only hinders no manner of vocation or duty, but, contrariwise, it adorns and beautifies all. Throw precious stones into honey, and each will grow more brilliant according to its particular color:--and in like manner everybody fulfils his special calling better when subject to the influence of devotion:--family duties are lighter, married love truer, service to our King more faithful, every kind of occupation more acceptable and better performed where that is the guide.' ”
Some Common Characteristics of the Saints:
- They wanted to do God's will.
- They loved Jesus and were committed to developing their relationship with him.
- They spent time in prayer, both personal prayer and the prayer of the community. especially in the celebration of the Sacraments of Reconciliation and Eucharist.
- They were committed to the Church and carrying on its mission.
- They found ways to serve their neighbor, especially those most in need; the poor.
Prayer
What is Prayer?
Prayer is becoming aware of God’s Loving and Life-Giving presence {goodness, order and life} and responding to it.
Why should we pray?
Prayer enables Christians to deepen their relationship with the Risen Christ who leads them to the Father through the Spirit and teaches them how to embrace their neighbor in a loving, life-giving way: the way of Agape Love.
When Should One Pray?
Always. This occurs as one strives to live as Christ though, spoke and acted. It all begins with regular - daily, weekly, and yearly prayer in one’s life.
Four essential elements help a person pray well.
- Come with a proper attitude
- Designate a special place to pray
- Follow a simple plan in your prayer (find what works for you)
- Choose particular times of the day to pray e.g., morning and evening.
Types of Prayer
In addition to Liturgical Prayer, celebrated in and by the community, most often in the contexts of the sacraments, Disciples of Christ need to develop their personal prayer.
The several types of prayer can be grouped using this mnemonic: ACTS.
A = Adoration or praise and worship
C = Contrition or sorrow for one’s sins
T = Thanksgiving
S = Supplication or Petition
Styles of Prayer
There are many different styles or expressions of prayer. A person can pray quietly or through speaking or singing. Similarly one can pray by reading, especially the Scriptures, and then reflecting on what they have read. Lectio Divina (or Sacred Reading), Centering Prayer and Meditation are also different ways of praying.
Devotions
The Church also has many devotions. Some like the Rosary, Stations of the Cross and Divine Mercy Sunday are widely practiced, others are more culturally based such as the Filipino Simbang Gabi or Mexican Our Lady of Guadalupe and some are based on prayers to particular saints, e.g., St. Anthony or St. Jude, etc.
The Our Father
The Our Father is like a treasure buried in a field or a pearl of great price. If we are willing to search it then we will find all we need to live life to the full, for it is the summary of the Gospel, the Good News of God’s love that come from Jesus Christ.
When Jesus’ first disciples asked him to teach them how to pray, he taught them the Our Father. As Disciples we are called to live with the mind, heart and hands of Christ. The Our Father gives us a frame work for understanding how to do that.
The first three petitions of the Our Father help us understand the Mind of Christ.
It is to have
- God’s name be hallowed (praised) ;
- God’s kingdom or way of Life be made real among us; and to have
- God’s will be done.
The next two petitions help us understand the Heart of Christ.
- Give us our daily bread.
that we need.
- Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.
The final two petitions help us understand the Hands of Christ?
- Leads us not into temptation
neighbor which will lead them to sin. We are to help others turn away from all that is wrong and do
good.
- Deliver us from evil.
food for the hungry, a way out for those caught in sex trafficking, a word of hope and encouragement
to others. we are preserving them from the test of giving up on God, or despair.
Our Catholic Story
As Catholics we believe
Your story
Would you modify your story of your image of saints?
Other Questions
What other questions do you have or would like to ask?
A) ________________________________________________________________
B) ________________________________________________________________
C) _______________________________
As Catholics we believe
- In Jesus’ promise of new life through the Resurrection
- That the Resurrection enables us to be fully integrated as one created in God’s image and likeness.
- The Resurrection is meant for both the individual and the community.
Your story
Would you modify your story of your image of saints?
Other Questions
What other questions do you have or would like to ask?
A) ________________________________________________________________
B) ________________________________________________________________
C) _______________________________