Thursday, March 18, 2021

Script for our Seminar on - God - Prayer - Life - Marriage - Family - March 20th, 2021

In the "New Covenant" made by our Creator God with humanity (Jeremiah 31:31-34) every person can know God from within - because the Holy Spirit is revealing our Creator to all who are willing to know the Lord and trust in Him. We can still help each other along the way; so may you be pleased to find here a variety of helps to the life of faith in God through Jesus Christ. G.S.

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 GOD 💘 LIFE 💘 MARRIAGE 💘 FAMILY  💘 PRAYER 💘 GOD

 

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INTRO - by Bridget - Who is Father Gilles Surprenant?             (1-2 minutes)

 GOD 💘 LIFE 💘 MARRIAGE 💘 FAMILY  💘 PRAYER 💘 GOD

Father Gilles' Prayer                 (1-2 minutes)

Father Gilles:   ?GOD & YOU - & MARRIAGE - & LIFE - & FAMILY (6 minutes)

SEMINAR / WORKSHOP in the ADRAGOGICAL METHOD

CASE STUDIES SELF-EVALUATION - ROLE PLAYING

👌 REPORTING - 👌 DIALOGUE - 👌 SHARING BEST PRACTICES

I am your FACILITATOR & RESOURCE PERSON 

PERSPECTIVE - Victor Frankl's discovery - "Man's Search for Meaning" 

= the freedom we have to "choose" our interior attitude to life 

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The 2 SCENARIOS ??                      (2 minutes)

? SCENARIO # 1 - Absence of God = Without God we run the Risk of power politics in love, marriage & family

entrenching in one's fortress VS one's spouse as an enemy

?? SCENARIO # 2 - Presence of God = With God we can Plug into Him as the Source of love, marriage & family

relaxing as we respect one another's dignity as given by God

👍 We are opting here for Scenario # 2 - We make an act of faith that God is present. We'll begin with a practical experience of prayer. Don't be afraid, it will be non-intrusive. Naturally, you are always free to conduct your own interior prayer.

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The Dimensions of Prayer... & Obstacles....      (6 minutes)

Prayer is communication with God. Now, God has all the time in the universe. He is not in a hurry. He cannot visit with me if I am full of noise, when I go around in circles and obsess over my thoughts and feelings, if I am full of my importance and what I want, if I have any contempt for God or his Church, or if I am impatient and want results now. These are only some of the obstacles that get in the way of intimacy with God. Here are some helpful attitudes to keep in mind. God is always glad to help us practice these. 

SILENCE - If we remain plugged into devices all day long we cannot experience silence which we need to notice God "moving" in us.

PEACE - If we obsess over our thoughts & feelings we end up on a merry-go-round and talking only to ourselves.

HUMILITY - As long as I want MY WAY, and want it NOW, I close the door to others as well as to God, but He respects my freedom and lets me run around.

GRATITUDE - I can let go of any contempt I may feel for God or his Church by calling to mind the many reasons I actually have for being grateful for my life, for everyone, and for everything in my life. Even my trials and challenges provoke growth and resilience.

PATIENCE - To encounter God, who remains mysterious, I must be patient, that is, I must seek Him, wait for Him, and live in hopeful anticipation of "the God who comes".

👇 PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF THESE ATTITUDES 👇 

INSTRUCTIONS 

At the beginning and at the end I'll read the Antiphon and I invite all of you to then repeat it. Then I invite all of you to participate by slowly reading one of the verses. As we wait for someone to read, the silence will not be awkward but a gift, and opportunity to relax in the presence of God, and to let the words penetrate us with their meaning. We do our little part, and God does his part deep within each of us, bringing his peace. 

- - - - - - 

👉 PRAYER EXERCISE # 1 - Psalm 95 (Lent) 👈

- - - - - - 

Antiphon: Come, let us worship Christ the Lord,
who for our sake endured temptation and suffering.

- - - - - - 

Come, let us sing to the Lord and shout with joy to the Rock who saves us. 
Let us approach him with praise and thanksgiving and sing joyful songs to the Lord.

- - - - - - 

The Lord is God, the mighty God, the great king over all the gods. 
He holds in his hands the depths of the earth and the highest mountains as well. 
He made the sea; it belongs to him, the dry land, too, for it was formed by his hands.

- - - - - - 

Come, then, let us bow down and worship, 
bending the knee before the Lord, our maker, 
For he is our God and we are his people, the flock he shepherds.

- - - - - - 

Today, listen to the voice of the Lord: Do not grow stubborn,
as your fathers did in the wilderness, 
when at Meriba and Massah they challenged me and provoked me, 
although they had seen all of my works.

- - - - - - 

Forty years I endured that generation. 
I said, “They are a people whose hearts go astray and they do not know my ways. 
So I swore in my anger, “They shall not enter into my rest.”

- - - - - - 

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: 
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever, Amen

- - - - - - 

Antiphon: Come, let us worship Christ the Lord,
who for our sake endured temptation and suffering.

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👉 PRAYER EXERCISE # 2 - SILENCE 👈

OPENING PRAYER: HUMBLE GIFT OF SILENCE 
(2 minute instruction + 4 minutes of silence) 

Silence is always a good follow up to reading lines from the Word of God, the Bible. Here now are a few simple instructions for our few minutes of prayer in silence. I invite you to give yourself permission to sit for a few minutes, relax, and just breathe. I'll let you know when the time is up after a few minutes; so don't worry about the duration.

Human beings everywhere pray simply in silence – it's the most natural thing to do. You can close your eyes now at any point during these brief instructions and relax.   

1)      If you are already familiar with God or Jesus; have a good visit with Him. 

If you are not on familiar terms with God or Jesus, consider this an introduction. 
He desires a personal relationship with you: you always 
remain 
free.

2)      You get to decide how open you want to be with the Creator & Saviour….

3)      Sit comfortably, hands resting on knees…  Back & head straight… & relax…

4)      Be still… feel free to adjust your body to relax, be comfortable & alert…

5)      In the silence, notice your interior landscape like a drive in the country…

6)      If all is quiet and peaceful, lovely… focus on a kind image of God or Jesus


7)      
If all is not quiet, notice the noise, words, images… 
then just let them go... and keep driving on; focus on a kind image of God or Jesus

8)      "God our Creator... here we are... your Creation in which we live and move and have our being is awesome... thank You. We offer You now a few moments in silence... You are welcome to visit with us within in our spirits."

9)      Now you’ll have a few minutes of silence….

 

Resume.... 

PARAMETERS of our OPEN FORUM            (3 minutes)

OPEN FORUM ON : GOD 👈PRAYER 👉 LIFE - MARRIAGE - FAMILY

REQUEST FOR PERMISSION - It may be useful to have an audio recording of our Open Forum. May I have your permission to post it on a secure web page with your voices as you contribute to our dialogue and as we learn from each other? I will get Blogger to send you an invitation to become a reader, which will give you exclusive access to this and past recordings.

SETTING THE STAGE 

FOCUS:  What has been your experience of God? Interiority? Prayer? Spiritual things?

1)      Are you familiar or comfortable with your interior life?

2)      
Perhaps you’ve never really thought much about your interior life?

3)      
Do you find the idea or reality of your interior life challenging or frightening?

4)      
Where are you with regards to your interiority at this point in your life?

5)      
Have you and your fiancé shared about your respective interior life?

OPEN FORUM  

(35-45 minutes)

SHARING OUR EXPERIENCES, CHALLENGES,
ISSUES, BEST PRACTICES, QUESTIONS....


OPEN FORUM ON 

 GOD 👈 PRAYER 👉 LIFE - MARRIAGE - FAMILY


 GOD 👈 👉 PRAYER - IS NEEDED IN 3 DIMENSIONS LIKE OUR LIFE


WE LIVE AS - 👉 INDIVIDUALS - IN OUR 👉 LIFE 

WE LIVE AS - 👉 COUPLES - IN OUR 👉 MARRIAGE 

WE LIVE AS - 👉 COMMUNITY - IN OUR 👉 FAMILY 

=

 👉 INDIVIDUAL PRAYER - IN OUR 👉 LIFE 

 👉 COUPLE PRAYER - IN OUR 👉 MARRIAGE 

 👉 COMMUNITY PRAYER - IN OUR 👉 FAMILY 


Q & A 


This is your Open Forum.
Please share your best practices, experience, challenges, questions, doubts.... 
 


WRAP-UP: Feedback – Questions – Suggestions               (5 minutes)



RETURN TO CATHOLIC CHRISTIAN TOOLS PAGE

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In the "New Covenant" made by our Creator God with humanity (Jeremiah 31:31-34) every person can know God from within - because the Holy Spirit is revealing our Creator to all who are willing to know the Lord and trust in Him. We can still help each other along the way; so may you be pleased to find here a variety of helps to the life of faith in God through Jesus Christ. G.S.

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© 2006-2021 All rights reserved Fr. Gilles Surprenant, Associate Priest of Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montreal  QC
© 2006-2021 Tous droits réservés Abbé Gilles Surprenant, Prêtre Associé de Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montréal QC
 

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