Welcome to Week 1 of Faith Refreshed, an online retreat to help us “hit the refresh button” in our spiritual lives so that we might better see things we weren’t previously seeing and return to our lives and ministry with a new outlook! Throughout this retreat, I will draw from my best-selling book, A Well-Built Faith: A Catholic’s Guide to Knowing and Sharing What We Believe, as we revisit the four pillars of our Catholic faith and invite the Holy Spirit to refresh our understanding of the basics of our faith and renew us in our efforts to proclaim the Good News more effectively to others.
Let’s begin!
God’s Revealing Moments (Human Desire, Revelation, and Faith)
Opening Prayer
Open yourself up to God’s presence through this 3-Minute Retreat: God Revealed.
Pray the Suscipe of St. Ignatius Loyola.
Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty,
my memory, my understanding,
and my entire will,
All I have and call my own.
You have given all to me.
To you, Lord, I return it.
Everything is yours; do with it what you will.
Give me only your love and your grace,
that is enough for me.
Reflection
Think of a time when someone revealed a deep secret about him- or herself to you. What a privilege to have someone bare one’s soul to us! Moments like that can change the relationship and change the people in the relationship.
We can only get to know people when they choose to reveal themselves to us. Each of us has an innate desire to come to know God better. Luckily, God is not shy about revealing himself to us! Since the creation of the world, God has been freely revealing himself to us so that we can come to know him better. That’s what we mean when we talk about revelation; it is the act of God revealing himself to us so as to enter into a deeper relationship with us. What a privilege for us! We summarize this revelation in our Creed, which is the first pillar of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
Read prayerfully and slowly the following Scripture stories in which God reveals himself to his people. Which of these stories resonates with you most? Why?
- Genesis 12:1–9 (the call of Abraham)
- Exodus 3:1–14 (the call of Moses)
- Isaiah 6:1–10 (the call of Isaiah)
- Jeremiah 1:4–10 (the call of Jeremiah)
- Matthew 4:18–22 (the call of the first disciples)
- Luke 1:26–38 (the call of Mary)
- Mark 15:33–39 (Jesus dies on the Cross.)
- Acts of the Apostles 9:1–9 (the call of Paul)
When God reveals himself to us, our lives change. We come to recognize that life is not about us but rather is about what God is doing in our lives. This realization calls us to respond with humility. It calls us to learn how to pray the words, “thy will be done.” Revelation calls us to be aware of and responsive to God’s initiative. Since God’s very self has been and is being revealed to us, it means that we are called to pay attention to how and when that is happening so that we become capable of, as Ignatian spirituality phrases it, “finding God in all things.” Take the time today to pay attention to how God is revealing himself to you—in prayer, through others, through experiences, or through the natural world.
Meditation Song: “How Great Thou Art”
Reflection Questions
Choose one or more of the following questions, and share your thoughts with your fellow online retreatants by adding your comments in the “Leave a Reply” box below this post.
- Which Scripture passage above resonates most with your experience? Why?
- How easy or hard is it for you to reveal yourself to others?
- How does it make you feel to know that God eagerly reveals himself to us?
- How has your life changed/is your life changing as a result of God revealing himself and his will to you?
- When was a time that God truly revealed his presence or will to you?
- How might God be trying to get your attention right now in your life?
Prayer
Lord, God, since before I was born, you have been longing to be in relationship with me. Help me to recognize the many ways you are revealing yourself to me and calling my name. Help me to respond to your invitation to love you by loving others. Please give me the grace I need to pray the words that your Son, Jesus, spoke in the Garden of Gethsemane: “Your will be done.”
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
Additional Reading
- A Well-Built Faith: A Catholic’s Guide to Knowing and Sharing What We Believe
- Recognizing God
- How to Recognize Jesus
- Staring Our Way to Recognition
- Rummaging for God: Praying Backwards Through Your Day
CCC References: 26–100
Photo by Charlotte May on Pexels.
How has your life changed/is your life changing as a result of God revealing himself and his will to you?
As I age I find myself listening more during my mediation, i have become more aware of God in my present as I journey through the day. It’s like a convesation I be having with God.
Thanks Maxine!
When God first revealed himself to me, everything about me and my life changed. Since then I have begun to see who I really am, in the eyes of my Father, how precious and beloved I am to him. I begun to love myself and in turn to see others in a different light. His love for me, grounds me and I have grown so much, rooted in his love for me. His love enables me to see with grace” be it done to me according to thy word. I listen to his voice how to live my life at this stage of my life. Thanks be to God. Alleluia.
Beautifully said, Winnie! Thanks for sharing about your transformation in Christ!
I felt most connected to the call of Saul – I feel like I am doing what I’m supposed to be doing, but it turns out, I’m completely misunderstanding what God wants me to do. I’m not able to see things the way God sees them, and what I do reflects my limited viewpoint. I miss the opportunity to show God’s love to someone, even though I thought I did. I have so much room for improvement, but I know that seeing that you have a problem, is the first step to turning it into an opportunity to improve and do better the next time.
Thanks for sharing, Deb!
When was a time that God truly revealed his presence or will to you? On a mission Sunday when we sang Just As I Am – I realised God loved me with all my faults and wanted me just as I was. I was overwhelmed with the realisation that I was loved.
Beautiful, Jan. Thanks!
How has your life changed/is your life changing as a result of God revealing himself and his will to you?
When I am open to God’s will my life feels at peace. Difficult and impactful decisions seem to be made with ease. All is well, but to a standard different than when my will is in charge. Ultimately, I have an abiding sense of peace.
Thanks for sharing, Jane!
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew[a] you,
before you were born I set you apart;”
This scripture has taken on a new meaning for me since a retreat in 2014 when I discovered again being called by name, from birth. Reading that scripture today reminds me of the grace I received then and now.
Thanks, Clare! Your reflection is a good reminder that grace has no expiration date!
When was a time that God truly revealed his presence or will to you?
I was around noonday. I was journeying home, feeling tired and alone, abandoned. I heard the voice call me by name followed by the words: “when your mother and father forsake you I will take you up”. At that time I was not aware those words were found in the Psalms.
Thanks for sharing, Gillian. Powerful words spoken to your heart!
Thank you very much for sharing.I am lead to pray and experienced God’s inexhaustible revealation of his power love and providential care. Sr. Gloria
Thanks for sharing, Gloria!
How might God be trying to get your attention right now in your life?
I feel like God is calling me to be renewed professionally and spiritually. He is guiding me to a more positive and spiritual environment where I will be respected and I can spread the word of God in a place that upholds the values of our Catholic church and religion.
Thanks, Lisa…sounds like the Lord is calling you to a good “place” right now!
The scripture which resonates most with my experience is the conversion of St Paul, a reminder to me that God is merciful and so loving and that he reaches out always.
It’s hard for me to reveal myself to others because I’m a very emotional person, most people I know are around my church circle.
I’m always in awe at God’s grace and the fact that he reveals himself to me, who is lowly and I don’t add anything to his greatness but he accepts me and loves me and shows himself to me.
My life has changed in that my faith has deepen and no matter what I go through.
I feel like God is always revealing himself to me, through others and I try by all means to pay attention to every little detail no matter how small.
Thanks for sharing these beautiful thoughts, Nancy! May we all pay attention to every little detail, no matter how small!