GOD 💘 LIFE 💘 MARRIAGE 💘 FAMILY 💘 PRAYER 💘 GOD
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INTRO - by Bridget - Who is Father Gilles Surprenant? (1-2 minutes)
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Father Gilles: This is a SEMINAR / WORKSHOP on:
GOD 💘 LIFE 💘 MARRIAGE 💘 FAMILY 💘 PRAYER 💘 GOD
Please join me as we begin with a PRAYER (1-2 minutes)
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OUR METHOD (6 minutes)
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SEMINAR / WORKSHOP in the ADRAGOGICAL METHOD
WITH GOD... WE ARE ALL BEGINNERS... WE LEARN BEST TOGETHER....
YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS TO OUR SEMINAR....
👌 QUESTIONS - 👌 REPORTING - 👌 DIALOGUE - 👌 SHARING BEST PRACTICES
MY CONTRIBUTIONS TO OUR SEMINAR....
I am your FACILITATOR & RESOURCE PERSON
Caution: Usefulness of videos and images
There exists a great variety of videos, audio podcasts, images, icons, statues, and other aids to prayer. These only serve to warm up, but the goal of prayer is to pray. Focusing only on material aids is like walking around the pool and maybe putting a toe in, but not actually getting into the pool and getting wet. We need to get wet with God. The gold is you and who you are on the inside. I invite you to join me with this focus on yourself on the inside, which is why I won't be using any slides or videos as such, other than my notes on this page.
For future reference to resources for prayer:
MY WEB PAGES
👉 https://fathergillespages.blogspot.com/2021/03/beginners-page-how-to-approach-god-how.html
👉 https://abbagilles.blogspot.com/p/catholic-christian-tools.html
CANADIAN CATHOLIC WEB SITES & TV
https://slmedia.org/
AMERICAN CATHOLIC WEB SITES & TV
(American Catholic TV & Websites are more commercialized)
Explaining the Faith - How to Pray
Are you aware of all the ways in which you can pray? Father Chris explains vocal prayers, meditation, contemplation, the Liturgy of the Hours, and much more.
NATIONAL SHRINE OF THE DIVINE MERCY, STOCKBRIDGE, MA YouTube Channel
https://www.ewtn.com/tv
Power of Prayer - Powerful Video (94 seconds)
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PERSPECTIVE - Victor Frankl's discovery about who survived and who didn't in the Nazi concentration camps - "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 adversary or competitor
?? SCENARIO # 2 - Presence of God = With God we can Plug into Him as the Source of love, marriage & family
= recognizing one another's dignity as coming from God = we can relax and respect one another as companions on our life journey....
👍 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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A LITTLE BACKGROUND TO PRAYER
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, when I let my anxiety about many things keep me captive, if I am full of my importance and what I want, or if I carry a bias of contempt for God or his Church, or whenever I am impatient and want results now. These are only some of the obstacles that get in the way of intimacy with God. All these dispositions of temperament and mood are not bad or evil; actually they are launchpads for prayer. 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 "present" and "moving" within us.
PEACE - If we obsess over our thoughts & feelings we end up on a merry-go-round and we risk talking only to ourselves, oblivious to others as well as to God.
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, lets me follow my own path, and waits for me to be open and ready.
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. It does me good to recognize God as the Source of all good.
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".
👇 LET US NOW APPLY THESE ATTITUDES 👇
INSTRUCTIONS
I'll read the Antiphon and I invite all of you to repeat it. Then one by one we can participate by slowly reading one of the verses. As we wait for someone to read, let the silence be a gift, an 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.
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👉 PRAYER EXERCISE # 1 - Psalm 95 (Lent) 👈
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Antiphon: Come, let us worship Christ the Lord,
who for our sake endured temptation and suffering.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.”
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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
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Antiphon: Come, let us worship Christ the Lord,
who for our sake endured temptation and suffering.
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👉 PRAYER EXERCISE # 2 - SILENCE 👈
A HUMBLE GIFT OF SILENCE
(2 minute instruction + 4 minutes of silence)
Silence is a good companion to reading lines from the Word of God, the Bible. Here are some simple instructions for a few minutes of silent prayer together. 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 in silence – it's the most natural thing to do. You can close your eyes now or 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, let this be an introduction. He desires a personal relationship with you: He always respects your free will.
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… this is part of you... just let it go... let yourself enjoy the ride; focus on a kind image of God or Jesus8) "God our Creator... here we are... how awesome is your Creation in which we live and move and have our being... 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 for our OPEN FORUM (3 minutes)
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: God is all about relationship and personal communication. The whole Bible shows God inviting people to a personal relationship. God reveals Himself in more dramatic ways to people to whom He wants to give a special mission. For most of us God chooses to reveal Himself more gently, in the depths of our being.
1) Have you given any thought to what has been your experience of God? your experience of prayer? your experience of spiritual things?
2) Are you familiar or comfortable with your interior life?
3) Perhaps you’ve never really thought much about your interior life?
4) Do you find the idea or reality of your interior life challenging or frightening?
5) Where are you with regards to your interiority at this point in your life?
6) Have you and your fiancé shared about your respective interior life?
WE LIVE AS - 👉 INDIVIDUALS - IN OUR 👉 LIFE
= 👉 INDIVIDUAL PRAYER - FOR OUR 👉 LIFE
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WE LIVE AS - 👉 COUPLES - IN OUR 👉 MARRIAGE
