FINDING GOD IN EVERYDAY SITUATIONS

INTRA-PERSONAL FORMATION TEACHING SERIES

OVERVIEWThe Call

Luke 19

The World

A Historical Perspective

Finding God in

the Market-

place

Conscious Examen

THE CALL TO HOLINESS: TRUTH OR MYTH?

Holiness is only for the religious and

priests

We need to escape the fallen world to

find God

Guidance is needed but only available to religious and priests

MYTH!

THE CALL

God initiates the encounter (first move)

God deals with us in our own unique way

God leaves us free to respond in free will to His initiative

THE CALL: ZACCHEUS

“Jesus & Zack” – The Story of Zacchaeus the Tax Collector - Animated Christian short film

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUQWsYwu3F4

THE CALL: ST. IGNATIUS OF LOYOLA

“The Olive” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSvOPtq30Xw

THE WORLD: IS IT GOOD OR BAD?

First Christians

Lived as an apostolic

community

Every member was

a likely candidate for martyrdom

Monastic

No more persecution but

world was conquering them

Lived hermit life like St. John the Baptist and lived in monasteries

God can only be found in the

chapel or monastery

Semi-monastic or mendicant communities

Period of rapid urbanization,

development of money & rise of nation states

Ex. Franciscans, Dominicans, Agustinians, Carmelites

Discover God in the chapel or monastery

and share their discoveries of God to

others

Apostolic communities or Contemplatives

in action

Catholic counter revolution to answer

Protestant Reformation

Ex. St. Angela Merci(Ursulines), St. Philip Neri (Oratoricals), St.

Ignatius of Loyola Jesuits)

Finding God in the world

Age of the Laity

Started with

Vatican II (1962-1965)

THE AGE OF THE LAITY

The laity and the religious are equal before God with the church like a body with different parts

As the laity, we work from within and seek God in our workplace in our temporal affairs and illumine Him to others

Our ideal is to WITNESS to others

We are martyred when we WITNESS

MARTYRWITNESS

FINDING GOD IN THE MARKETPLACE

HOW TO KNOW SOMEBODY EVEN WHEN WE DON’T KNOW HIM, SO THAT WHEN WE ENCOUNTER HIM, WE WILL KNOW THAT IT IS REALLY GOD?

PRAYER

COMMUNICATION between 2 persons

OPENING of the heart & mind to

God in LOVE

CONSCIOUS EXAMEN: WHAT IS IT?

Soul scraping? Self blame?

Exercise in sensitivity training?

CONSCIOUS EXAMEN: WHAT WE WILL KNOW

To see how God works in my day-to-day activities

How I responded to God’s love shown by God Himself

or others around me

To confess to the Lord my sins arising from my

negative response to God’s love, and to ask for

forgiveness from others I have wronged

To thank God for touching me during that time

To meditate on how God touched me directly or how I

thank others that I may grow in knowledge how God

touches people

To be transformed to become the person who

prays and conscious of the presence of God every

moment of the day

CONSCIOUS EXAMEN: 8 STEPS

• You may repeat the words: “BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD”

1. Quiet down and be aware of God’s presence

• Review the days past from your last prayer time up to the present

2. Invite God to walk with you

• God touches you through consoling and through the fruits of the Holy Spirit (see Galatians 5)

3. Note and meditate the times God touched you and loved you directly or through others

4. Note and meditate how you responded to God’s love

CONSCIOUS EXAMEN: 8 STEPS

5. Thank God for accompanying you

6. Continue with your normal prayer patterns

7. Journalize your experience

8. Be consistent and do this daily

APPLICATION