You Have Called Me by Name

Oh, Lord my God,
You called me from the sleep of nothingness
Merely because in your tremendous love
You want to make good and beautiful beings.
You have called me by my name in my mother’s womb.
You have given me breath and light and movement
And walked with me every moment of my existence.
I am amazed, Lord God of the universe,
That you attend to me and, more, cherish me.
Create in me the faithfulness that moves you,
And I will trust you and yearn for you all my days.
–Joseph Tetlow, S.J.

I believe that God wants a personal relationship, an adult friendship, with each of us and that prayer is the best way of engaging in that friendship. By prayer I mean what occurs when I am conscious in some way of God’s presence. Prayer, as conscious relationship, is the royal road to finding God in all things and to a deeper friendship with God.
–William Barry, S.J.

Ignatius considered desires to be graces from God. The more authentic our desires, the more they move us to glorify God … If we hesitate too much, if we are timid about our stronger desires for God and his service, we will have failed to utilize the greatest source of human vitality and passion which God has given us.
–Edward Kinerk, S.J.

Sacred Scripture

John 15: 4-5 “Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit …”

Matthew 9:9 “As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post. He said to him, Follow me. And he got up and followed him.

John 10:14 “I am the good shepherd and I know my sheep and mine know me.”

Question for Discussion

When I think about today’s presentation, what are some of my thoughts, feelings, and desires?

Question for Reflection

When I consider my experiences at the school, what key relationships have been important to me and how might I come to see the Lord at work in them?

Once we discover the full light of Christ’s love, we realize that each of the loves in our own lives has always contained a ray of that light, and we understand its ultimate destination. The fact that our human loves contain that ray of light also helps us to see how all love is meant to share in the complete self-gift of the Son of God for our sake … There is no human experience, no journey of man to God, which cannot be taken up, illumined, and purified by this light.
–Pope Francis

My Lord God,
I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end,
nor do I really know myself,
and the fact that I think I am following your will
does not mean that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please you
does in fact please you.
And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.
And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road,
though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore will I trust you always though
I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.
I will not fear, for you are ever with me,
and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.
–Thomas Merton

Sacred Scripture

Colossians 1:15 “Christ is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For in him were created all things in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible … all things were created through him and for him.”

Romans 8:28 “All things work together for those who love God.”

2 Corinthians 12:9 “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness. I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me.”

1 Peter 2:21 “Christians should not seek suffering, but when they are confronted with unavoidable suffering, it can become meaningful for them if they unite their sufferings with the sufferings of Christ. Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.”

Question for Discussion

When I think about today’s presentation, what are some of my thoughts, feelings, and desires?

Question for Reflection

When I reflect upon my life through the lens of the Paschal Path of Jesus, how would I describe where I am along the way?

I ask the Father to give me an intimate knowledge of the many gifts I have received, that filled with gratitude for all, I may in all things love and serve the Divine Majesty.
Spiritual Exercises 233

Love consists in sharing
what one has
and what one is
with those one loves.
Love ought to show itself in deeds
more than in words.
–Ignatius Loyola

Walk with your feet on earth, but in your heart be in heaven.
–St. John Bosco

Faith is not a light which scatters all our darkness, but a lamp which guides our steps in the night and suffices for the journey. To those who suffer, God does not provide arguments which explain everything; rather, his response is that of an accompanying presence, a history of goodness which touches every story of suffering and opens up a ray of light.
–Pope Francis

Hope means … the ability to wait … It means that we wish a difficult future good or that we are in trouble and cannot yet see the way out. It means that we decide to wait. The decision to wait is one of the great human acts. It includes, surely, the acceptance of darkness, sometimes it’s defiance. It includes enlarging one’s perspective beyond a present moment, without quite seeing the reason for doing so. Fortitude and endurance are there.”
–William Lynch, S.J.

Sacred Scripture
Matthew 13:44-46 “The Kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the Kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. When he finds a pearl of great value, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it.”

Matthew 11 “I give you praise, Father; Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and learned you have revealed them to the childlike. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.”

Prayer: “Christ has no body on earth now but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours; yours are the eyes through which he looks with compassion on the world; yours are the feet with which he walks to do good; yours are the hands with which he blesses all the world.” St Teresa of of Ávila (1515-82)

Question for Discussion

When I think about today’s presentation, what are some of my thoughts, feelings, and desires?

Question for Reflection

How is the Spirit inviting me to rise above cynicism, doubt, and fatigue, so that I might receive a new image of hope?