Toña Monzón rscj
“When you search for me, you will find me; when you search wholeheartedly for me, I shall let you find me.”
(Jer: 29:13)
First Reading:
Seeking and Finding:
(May I have This Dance, by Joyce Rupp)
I search for God,
elusive, hidden God,
I long to dwell
in the heart of Mystery.
I search for my true self
more of who I already am,
knowing there’s so much
yet to be discovered.
I search for love,
the unconditional love
that enfolds me
and asks to be shared.
I search for vision
in the shadows of my soul,
impatiently awaiting
the moment of lighting.
I search for a quiet heart
amid life’s harried schedule’
my soul cries out,
yearning for solitude.
I search for compassion
in a world gone deaf
to the cries of the hurting,
and the pleas of the powerless.
I search for home,
always for Home,
unaware, of course,
that I am already there
Music: Lakeside Retreat, Track 1 (Dan Gibson’s Solitudes)
Second Reading:
(Extracts from: May I Have This Dance, by Joyce Rupp)
Deep within us is a place where we have found God and God has found us. Once in a great while we come to this place within us and we realize it is the goal of our seeking. It feels like home. It is a place of safety and security, an ideal home where we can be ourselves and know that we are accepted for who we are. We have easy access to understanding and acceptance. We may be challenged to grow here, but always in the context of a deep and strong love.
Thomas Merton writes that when we find our true self, we find God, and when we find God we find our true self. Whenever we come to a greater truth about ourselves, we enter this ideal home. Stirrings within us that call us beyond the known, unexpected joys, and painful awakenings, can lead to this home within. We also enter into it when a deep contentment and consolation fills our being.
Our hearts and minds are easily distracted by many other things, everyday realities such as work, maintaining a physical home, raising a family, shopping for life’s necessities. As much as we yearn to stay closely connected with this inner source, we quickly lose our sense of it. Thus, we spend most of our lives seeking what we momentarily find and then lose again. Most of the time we search, without really being aware of what is gnawing at us deep inside. We search for something called happiness. We long for a gift named peace. We search for meaning in our lives, for love, for understanding of ourselves and others, for an acceptance of the ups and downs of the human condition....
Some of my favourite scripture stories are about people who were sought and found by God. One, a short merchant named Zacchaeus, was anxious to see what kind of man Jesus was. He never expected the consequences. Suddenly Jesus was looking up at him and saying, ‘Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.’ Zacchaeus had been sought and found. (Luke 19: 1-10)
A different kind of seeking occurred with the woman who had suffered from hemorrhaging for twelve years. ‘She had heard about Jesus, and she came up through the crowd.’ (Mark 5: 27) She sought Jesus, but carefully, because of the cultural taboos regarding a woman in menstruation. She could have been stoned to death for touching someone in public. Her courageous seeking is rewarded. Power moves through Jesus as she touches the hem of his garment. As she quietly walks away, knowing she has been healed, a wondrous thing happens: Jesus seeks her out in the crowd.... When he finds the woman, Jesus affirms her for her great faith.
The seeking and finding that we do is actually a discovery of a truth already present. When God searches for us, we receive the gift of seeing how God is already with us.... Our moments of connection, of finding or being found, convince us more and more of the reality of the home within us.
Music: “Speak, Lord” (A Remembering Heart, by Monica Brown) Mantra Speak, Lord, I am listening. Let Your Word be done unto me. May it find a home in me.
Silent Reflection: With the following questions, rest wherever you feel drawn...
How might I know when God is seeking me? Is there a sense of:
- restlessness within, or an unnamed loneliness?
- hunger for deep bonding?
- a sudden awareness or clearer vision about life’s meaning? Over...
- desire for greater truth?
- hopefulness that rises in one’s spirit?
- bonding with beauty? nature?
- darkness that has the aura of mystery and searching?
How might I know when I am seeking out God? Perhaps when I experience the:
- willingness to sit with the unnamed stirrings within?
- discipline of reflecting, pondering, meditating?
- confrontation of fears, anxieties, and concerns?
- deliberate decision to go deeper?
- savouring of the beauty of creation?
- entering into situations that involve risk and struggle?
- welcoming the goodness in others?
- actively bonding with a community who seek God?
Allow yourself to be found by Jesus. What happens within you?
Sharing: on the Readings or above questions.
Closing Prayer: (Together) (The Open Gate: Celtic Prayers for Growing Spiritually,
- You, Lord, are in this place. Your presence fills it. Your presence is Peace.
- You, Lord, are in my heart. Your presence fills it. Your presence is Peace.
- You, Lord, are in my mind. Your presence fills it. Your presence is Peace.
- You, Lord, are in my life. Your presence fills it. Your presence is Peace.
Help us, O Lord, to know that we dwell in You and You dwell in us, this day and for evermore.
- Awaken us to Your presence.
- Alert us to Your love.
- Affirm us in Your peace.
- Open to us Your way.
- Reveal to us Your joy.
- Enfold us in Your light.
For our hearts are ready, Lord. Our hearts are ready.
Closing Hymn: “Shekinah” (A Remembering Heart, Monica Brown)
Shekinah, Shekinah of God, Presence that is seen and touched. Heard and felt; Indwelling of God. Shekinah, Shekinah of God.
The Temple (Shekinah), the Temple of God (Shekinah) Is sacred... and YOU, You are the Temple.
Shekinah, Shekinah of God, Presence that is seen and touched, Heard and felt; Indwelling of God. Shekinah, Shekinah of God.
Maureen Currie rscj + 2005
Province of Canada
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