2 October

Living the present with passion…

Today, the second day of our gathering, was a day of prayer and reflection under the guidance of Sr. Dolores Aleixandre RSCJ.

With her we looked at seven stories of joy taken from the Bible.  The joy of the shepherds in Bethlehem, John the Baptist, Zacchaeus, the woman who found the lost coin, the disciples after the Resurrection, Mary and her Magnificat and Jesus’ own joy born out of His intimacy
with the Father.

We reflected on joy that is freely given, joy that we receive with open hands; joy that awakens in us a desire to respond; joy that is paradoxical, overwhelming and lived out in relationship with others.  Joy that is born from having Jesus at the centre of our lives and knowing that He looks upon us; an alternative joy that is life-giving.

Later on in the day we prayed together and shared on the theme of “Discipleship by another name”: being “with” Jesus, being “gathered around” Jesus, being one of His family, being “one of His”, being a part of Him.

We can ask ourselves:

What relationship do I have with Jesus?

What aspects of my life are essential?

We closed the day in prayer, contemplating images from Jesus’ life which invite us to continue to place Him at the centre of our lives.