Sunday Micro Retreat – May 5, 2024

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.

Now read the Sunday's Gospel:
Jesus said to his disciples: “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.
“I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete. This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
“You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father.
“You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.” (John 15:9-17)

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 points:

1. Understanding Love: How do you interpret Jesus' statement, "As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love"? What does it mean to you to 'abide' in Jesus' love?
   
2. Connection to Commandments: Jesus links the keeping of His commandments with abiding in His love. How do you see this connection affecting your daily life? Are there areas where you find it challenging to keep His commandments?
   
3. Source of Joy: Jesus expresses a desire that His joy may be in His followers and that their joy may be complete. How do you find joy in your spiritual life? In what ways do you think following Jesus’ commandments contributes to your joy?
   
4. Sacrificial Love: Reflect on the statement, "No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends." How does this shape your understanding of love? Can you think of ways you might live out this type of sacrificial love in your own relationships?
   
5. Friendship with Christ: Jesus distinguishes the relationship He desires with His followers by calling them friends rather than servants. What does being a 'friend' of Jesus imply for you personally? How does this impact your feelings or actions as a follower of Christ?
   
6. Purpose and Fruitfulness: Jesus said, "I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last." What do you think it means to bear lasting fruit in your life? How can you cultivate such fruitfulness?
   
7. Prayer in His Name: Considering the promise that the Father will give whatever is asked in Jesus' name, how does this assurance affect your approach to prayer? Does it change how you think about what to pray for?
   
8. Command to Love: Reflect on the command to love one another as Jesus has loved you. What practical steps can you take to live out this command in your community or church?

It is good to keep a personal journal where 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.