Sunday Micro Retreat – March 19, 2023
As you begin your time of reflection, try to realize that you are standing on holy ground and in the presence of God, who wants to talk to you and listen to you.
Make the Sign of the Cross. The Holy Spirit is opening your heart and mind so the Word of God that you are about to read can flourish in you for God's glory. Pray that you continue to work with his grace. Let the words or your prayer flow from your mind through your heart. Try to "feel" what you are saying.
Is there anything you would like to ask God now? What graces does your heart desire?
Talk to God about it.
Today, we ask for the grace of faith.
Now read the Sunday's Gospel:
As he walked along, he saw a man blind from birth.
He spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man’s eyes, saying to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). Then he went and washed and came back able to see. The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar began to ask, “Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?” Some were saying, “It is he.” Others were saying, “No, but it is someone like him.” He kept saying, “I am he.”
They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. Then the Pharisees also began to ask him how he had received his sight. He said to them, “He put mud on my eyes. Then I washed, and now I see.” Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not observe the Sabbath.” Others said, “How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?” And they were divided. So they said again to the blind man, “What do you say about him? It was your eyes he opened.” He said, “He is a prophet.”
They answered him, “You were born entirely in sins, and are you trying to teach us?” And they drove him out.
Jesus heard that they had driven him out, and when he found him he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He answered, “And who is he, sir? Tell me, so that I may believe in him.” Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and the one speaking with you is he.” He said, “Lord,I believe.” And he worshiped him.
(John 9.1, 6-9, 13-17, 34-38)
The Word of God touches everyone differently. If there is anything that really stood out for you in this reading, meditate on it.
Go to the depths of your heart and listen to what God is trying to say to you.
Next, let's spend some time reflecting on the following point:
1. He put mud on my eyes. Then I washed, and now I see.
Jesus is using the elements of God's creation (the mud, the bodily fluids - saliva, the water) to point out to us that God is present among everything that he created. Jesus did not have to use mud and his saliva to heal blindness. He could have simply talked to the person and healed him. However, Jesus wants us to know that God works through our humanity, and whatever we experience in this world can be used to bring us to the healing power of the divine love of God. Many people simply need to see the physical sign before they are moved to start their journey toward God.
Thus, reflect on your own needs and/or desires to see miracles. Can you trust that God can heal you just because he can? or do you need to be "touched" to accept God's graces? Have you experienced a miracle that really stood out for you? What was it? What exactly happened? Did that experience bring you closer to God?
2. Tell me, so that I may believe in him.
This line brings to attention an essential aspect of our spiritual journeys: we do not travel alone. Not only that, we need others who can help us and guide us in this process.
Therefore, spent some time today thinking about all the people who were on your path and who helped you get closer to God. How many names can you come up with? What kind of relationship did you have with those people? After a moment of reflection, thank God for the gift of faith and the graces that you have received because of all the people whom God placed in your life.
Now, try to think about all of these people for whom you may be the spiritual guide. They can be your children, your friends or your co-workers. How open are you in sharing with them who is Jesus for you? How comfortable are you talking about your faith? or is there anything that is preventing you from being a visible sign of God's love in our hostile-towards-Christian world? Think about it, and record all the feelings that accompany your reflections.
You may end this retreat by saying a prayer for those who are struggling with the virtue of faith
It is good to keep a personal journal in which reflections that stood out for you are recorded. The outcome of those Sunday Micro Retreats is
good material that you can talk about in your spiritual direction.
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