Third Year Retreat

We began our half day Saturday retreat, titled The Door of Faith, with a half hour of social time talking with fellow students and eating bagels and muffins and drinking coffee: Thankfully they also had orange juice for me. This is the very first ILM Retreat for third year students. As usual I really didn't know what to expect for today, and as usual I really enjoyed what I heard.

Our opening prayer was, "Door of Love, assure me of your protective presence as I wonder about the landscape of my life. When I become lost, clear a path of hope. May every step of mine take me through the doorway of your love. Be my passageway today as I open the door of my heart, as I ask for Grace through Christ our Lord. Amen."

Although I didn't know it until the end of the session today’s reflections were taken from a book called Open the Door by Joyce Rupp, and our two guides started with a Bible reading; "Listen, I am standing at the door knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come to you and eat with you, and you with me" (Revelation 3:20).

Swinging doors are a reminder for us that God is present on both sides waiting and ready to greet us and guide us in love. Revolving doors require knowledge about when to step in and when to step out. We must be aware that God's timing is not our timing. Glass doors are easy to see through, but it is a false sense of sight, because although we can see many things we can not see what God sees. Dutch doors are solid at the bottom and open at the top which reminds us that although we can see what is ahead there are always obstacles in our path. We can only do what God wants us to do.

Sliding doors must be pushed aside to see what is behind them. Some times the obstacles in our path must be moved to the side before we can see God's will for our lives. Screen doors remind us that while running forward in haste we must be mindful that it possible to crash into what we don't see. Bouncing off an unseen screen reminds us that we should slow down and take the time to see what's between us and our goals.

Each of these doors reflects the uniqueness of our relationship with God. There are many personal doors to our heart as well; doors that are closed, doors that are full of pain, doors that must be built, and doors that are locked. Most importantly, we can be doors for each other.

Doors of course are active devices, requiring hinges to operate properly. Hinges keep the door in place and some times we don't pay attention to them until they begin to squeak and need to be oiled. "So I say to you, ask and it will be given to you, search and you will find, knock and the door will be open to you" (Luke 11:9-10).

Daily Prayer is taking the time to talk to God. Trust reinforces the confidence to always remember that God is there with you. Love must always be ample, being non-judgmental and giving the benefit of the doubt to others. Patience enables us to keep the door open, prepared for whatever God has planned for our lives. Forgiveness enables us to let the door swing freely. Surrender is for when your heart is not yielding, asking God for the help that we need. Faithfulness is to keep knocking even when we think God isn't there.

Which of these oils do we need to keep the doors of our hearts working normally? Our Gospel reading from Luke 4:14-21 includes, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord".

Today's Gospel reading is a job description for each of us. After reading from the scroll, Jesus rolled up the scroll and sat down, but he wants each of us to stand up. Our scroll is our Baptismal Certificate giving us the qualifications necessary to speak God's message. Discernment is messy and takes a long time, but in choosing a ministry there here are two basic conditions. 1) To be in touch with God with access to the Holy Spirit through prayer. 2) To be in touch with ourselves, not acting from emotion or following personal agendas, but faithful to what is needed to further the message of God's Love. Begin each day with the prayer, "Jesus, what do you want me to do for you today?"

Our most important gift in any ministry is our presence. It isn't what we do, but is instead what God says through us. We can't do it all, but that's OK because we aren't being asked to solve the problem, what is important is what He does with us while we're there; we're simply asked to be involved. People don't go to church because they're good; they go to church because God is good. You never know where or when your presence will enrich the lives of others.

"The door of faith is always open for us, ushering us into the life of communion with God and offering entry into His church. It is possible to cross that threshold when the Word of God is proclaimed and the heart allows itself to be shaped by transforming grace. To enter through the door, is to set out on a journey that lasts a lifetime. It begins with Baptism, through which we address God the Father, and it ends with a passage through death to eternal life, fruit of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, whose will it was by the gift of the Holy Spirit to those who believe in him into his glory. To profess faith in the Trinity is to believe in one God who is Love, who in fullness of time sent his Son for our salvation; Jesus Christ, who in the mystery of his death and resurrection redeemed the world; the Holy Spirit who leads the church across centuries as we await the Lord's return" (Apostolic Letter Porta Fidei, Pope Benedict XVI, The Year of Faith).

The mystery of faith is that it always meets you where you are, and it never leaves you where it found you. Today's reading reminds us to fan into flames the gifts that God has given to each of us. Which key will unlock your heart to the voices who call out to you?