Today we had our day of recollection for September and instead of going to a retreat center or staying at the shrine, we went to spend a day in the woods and on the beaches at Walden Pond. The weather was great- ~70 degrees and mostly sunny- and the park was not too crowded before mid-afternoon, so it was the perfect time to be there and see the earliest autumn colors. 
Our meditation was on the prayer of Christ- his prayer, his teaching on prayer, his hearing our prayer, and how we join his prayer.
The most profound portion of my meditation was how Jesus receives and responds to every prayer of faith, whether aloud (Jairus, Bartholomaeus, the Canaanite woman, St. Dismas) or silent (the woman with the hemorrhage, the friends of the paralytic, the repentant prostitute).
I also recommend to anyone spending some time reflecting on a section about the prayer of Mary from CCC 2617 : "this is Christian prayer: to be wholly God's, because he is wholly ours" (cf. Song of Songs 2:16) and CCC 2618: Mary's intercession at the wedding in Cana "is the sign of another feast- that of the wedding of the Lamb where he gives his body and blood at the request of the Church, his Bride." Further explication about why the Magnificat of the Theotokos must also be our song gave me much to consider about growth in the virtue of humility.
I also read the full interview of Pope Francis recently released by Jesuit publications and really appreciated some of the insights into spiritual and apostolic life. Some of the Pope's personal insights really spoke to areas of growth in my life, particularly his points about magnanimity ("That means being able to do the little things of every day with a big heart open to God and to others"), discernment ("an instrument of struggle in order to know the Lord and follow him more closely"), and theodicy ("God has revealed himself as history, not as a compendium of abstract truths;" "God is always first and makes the first move"), among many other insights ("The vow of chastity must be a vow of fruitfulness;" "We must always consider the person... it is necessary to accompany them with mercy").
I really enjoyed hiking around Walden Pond too!
ReplyDeleteLooks like a great place to recollect! I'm glad you had the opportunity to get out in nature during some beautiful autumn weather! Nice reflections. Great topics for further exploration. I still haven't made it through the entire interview of Pope Francis. I need to get back to it, review the portions I read previously and finish reading and reflecting.
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