The Society of Jesus
in Belize
God won't let go
Preparing to Pray
1. Take three deep breaths, allowing yourself to be fully present.
2. Speak to the Lord, telling him that you are dedicating the next fifteen minutes to be with Him.
3. Ask for the grace you desire:
I ask for the grace to know how God sees me.
4. Consider the following points:
God’s mercy is beyond anything that you or I could imagine. God never tires of welcoming us home, and when we take our time coming home, God comes after us. Jesus uses the image of a good shepherd, who leaves behind the 99 sheep to purse the one wandering sheep. This parable would have made Jesus’ friends laugh: in fact, a good shepherd would never leave the flock to go after one sheep who strays, because then he would have 99 wandering sheep! A shepherd who leaves his flock would be considered crazy. And that is exactly Jesus’ point: God’s mercy is so wide and unimaginable, that it makes no sense to us. God’s ways are not our ways… thankfully.
Prayer
Scripture:
John 10:11-18 “I will lay down my life for the sheep”
Review your prayer
Take a few minutes to reflect on and journal about the following:
Describe an experience you have had in your life, when you felt like God was pursuing you, not willing to let you wander off by yourself. Go back to meditations from early in the retreat that focused on your image of God. How does the image of God you carry in your head compare to the images of God in the stories of the prodigal son and the good shepherd?
... or else write down any moments of consolation or desolation you encountered in your prayer.
Speak with the Lord, as one friend to another, about whatever came up in your prayer.
End with an Our Father or a Hail Mary.