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Listening; Establishing the Discerning Community

The day began with  Lectio Divina by table groups.
Lectio divina   Doc.

 

Jill welcomed the  participants and said today it was a blessing to have the feast of Maria Droste.She gave the programme of the day and announced that we will have  input from Brother Philip Pinto.
 Sr Susan then Introduced Br P. Pinto, a member  of the Irish Christian Brothers.She said that  the people at the margins are deep in his heart and quoted his sayings “Fidelity to the past always demands of us constant vigilance to the founding vision. To be true to our past and faithful to our heritage is to face the future honestly and courageously no matter how painful it is.”

Brother Philip Pinto reminded us to allow ourselves time alone during these days  to listen and  create our own space. He added, listening means being attentive; silence is giving God time to speak. Look at  the big picture of  “Our world”  he said,  put aside the small images of Jesus and God that we have been bringing , keep the  big image of Jesus.

“THE PLACE WHERE WE ARE RIGHT”  
  Philip Pinto, cfc

Chapter time is the time for looking again at our assumptions and beliefs, checking them against the experiences since the previous Chapter and asking ourselves if we are children of the God of Jesus or of an idol of our own making. You and I are old enough to realise that many of the beliefs that we grew up with, are not helpful any longer in an evolving world.

Today we once more hear Jesus inviting us to “Come apart with me by yourselves and rest awhile’”(Mk. 6:31). The ‘rest’ is really to take stock once more of our own story and to ponder what God is doing in and through us. Is it a ‘new thing’ being done?

We also realise that in coming apart by ourselves, it doesn’t mean that we are alone – the crowds still seek us out. We are always surrounded by the people we love, the ones we live with, work with, and who depend on us.


Full Document 
 

"AT THE GATES OF TOMORROW"
Philip Pinto, cfc

Each of us stands at the gate of tomorrow, facing the future.At times we have walked in wonder and awe;at other times we have moved along in the flood of fear.
Looking back we may recognize that amid the joys and struggles of the journey we have been companioned by a grace-filled Presence that has held us together and led us on.
This is not simply a journey through a string of days and years,rather this is a sacred journey that is held and surrounded by a Mystery. 

The theme chosen is so very apt: Energized by the Spirit, we risk together for mission. We are inviting the Spirit that hovered over the Deep of Chaos to bring a flaring forth once more. We are asking for another Big Bang to take place in our Congregation, another Divine Orgasm to spew forth seeds of life in our midst. So let us gather ourselves at this time and pray for courage and clarity.  Lord, that we might see!


Full Document 

"THE PEACE OF WILD THINGS”
Philip Pinto, cfc

Evolution is, at its heart, an inquiry into who and what we are as a species. Simply put, it is our origin story. Evolution tells us where we’ve come from; it explains the historical roots and context of our very existence.
At the centre of any worldview is a core conviction or set of convictions about the nature of what is real, true, and important. William Halverson suggests that at the centre of every worldview is what might be called the ‘touchstone proposition’ of that worldview, a proposition that is held to be the fundamental truth about reality and serves as a criterion to determine which other propositions may or may not count as candidates for belief.”


Full Document 

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTIONS

Presentation Paper1

  1. You have come to this chapter from the highways and byways
    where you have experienced much. What has bruise and hurt you?
    Where have you seen the multiplication of loaves?
  2. What have you learned from God in the last six years?
  3. How have your God changed over the last 6 years?

Presentation Paper 2

  1. What are the ‘new Gods’ ‘The new paths’
    The new understandings we must find to make sense of our new realities?
  2. What are some of the irrelevancies in which we get caught? What are some of the big issues that we don’t see or avoid?
  3. Recall a time or times when you have experienced the ‘veil of faith’. When you have experienced God without realizing it?
     

Presentation Paper 3

   1.  When have you ever ‘walked out’ – not to disappear but to walk on to where you can make a contribution?  What does the Congregation need to walk out of and what does the          Congregation need to walk into?

  2.  Can you name any of the prisons that keep you from acting fearlessly? Are there prisons that keep the Congregation from acting fearlessly?

  3.  What are the ways in which we are lost, have put ourselves in exile, the ways we feel disconnected from the world? How do we find our way, return from exile,
        connect back with the world?

 


Table Group 

The liturgy  for the Mass of Maria Droste was prepared by the province of SriLanka Pakistan