Sunday Micro Retreat – June 12, 2022
As you begin your time of reflection, try to realize that you are standing on holy ground and that you are in the presence of God who wants to talk to you and who wants to listen to you.
Make the Sign of the Cross and invite the Holy Spirit to open your heart and mind so the Word of God that you are about to read can flourish in you for God's glory. Say this prayer using your own words. Let the words flow from your mind, through your heart. Try to "feel" what you are saying.
Is there anything that you would like to ask God at this moment? What graces does your heart desire? Talk to God about it.
Today, ask for the grace of openness for the Holy Spirit.
Now read the Sunday's Gospel:
Jesus said to his disciples: "I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.
When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears,
and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you." (John 16,12-15)
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 with a couple of points that you may consider during this Sunday's Retreat:
1. "He will guide you."
Nature is beautiful but also full of surprises, especially if you enter wild territories. Hiking in the mountains, deep forests or in the wilderness is risky without an experienced guide and lots of preparation time. A guide is like our "security blanket" that allows us to handle difficult situations with trust, confidence and calmness. Now, let's leave the earthly environment and imagine that we are going for a hike in the spiritual realm. This is definitively an unknown territory for us, and this is why we need the Spirit of truth to guide us in the new reality that Jesus introduced to his disciples when he was departing from this world. The disciples did not really know where they were heading, what kind of challenges the proclamation of the Good News would bring, and most importantly, they did not yet fully understand the Mystery of Incarnation and Resurrection. This is why they got the best guide: the Holy Spirit, whose "job" was to teach them what was already revealed by Jesus. The focus was on the perfect orientation of one's life towards God and, ultimately, a union with God.
Therefore, the Holy Spirit is constantly at work as he communicates to all generations the divine truth.
The Holy Spirit guides you and me towards the deepest levels of the divine truth, to the fullness of the revelation – Jesus Christ.
Thus, think about this in relation to your own spiritual journey: how do you understand what truth is? How do you understand Jesus as the fullness of the Father's revelation? Who (or what) is your guide in your life? What is the source of your motivations? Inspirations? Desires?
2. “He will glorify me.”
The purpose of the Holy Spirit is to glorify Christ. This means that the Holy Spirit enlightens the soul to know who Jesus is and what he revealed to us about the Father while he was walking on this planet. There is a very dynamic reality where we recognize the main difference between humankind's nature and God's nature. We, people "have" relationships, while the Persons of the Trinity "are" the relationships.
Therefore, to glorify God means to acknowledge His greatness. The essence of God's nature is his glory (magnificence, loveliness, great beauty, perfection, etc.), and when we recognize this fact, it is our way of giving glory to Him.
Now ask yourself, how do you extol God's holiness? His merciful love? Omniscience? Faithfulness? Majesty? What does it mean to you when you say that God is Holy? What is the difference between holiness and sainthood?
At the end of this meditation, talk to Jesus about everything that 'was born in your heart during this reflection. Tell him about your feelings, about your joys and fears that flow from this time of prayer. Be honest with him, and be grateful for everything that happened during this hour.
You may end this retreat by listening to your favourite version of Magnificat – Mary's canticle. Here is a link to Taize's Magnificat Anima Mea Dominum: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-6k6qTOMvE
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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