'Abide' Together: Community Reflection
09/09/2019
Stop. Take a moment to nourish your body, mind and spirit. Reflect on your relationship with God. And as you consider the role of God in your daily life, let Saint Louis University's Office of Mission and Identity help you discern the steps on your spiritual and personal journey through a guided retreat grounded in a new book by SLU's Joe Laramie, S.J.
As a means to come together, the SLU community can participate in a guided retreat through a selected community reflection, published regularly in Newslink and online. The reflections will be drawn from Laramie's new book, Abide in the Heart of Christ: A 10-Day Personal Retreat with St. Ignatius Loyola, Based on the Spiritual Exercises, from Ave Maria Press.
Retreat and reflection are hallmarks of Jesuit life and form a key pillar of the Office of Mission and Identity's work to nurture the SLU community in the spirit of cura personalis.
Passages for Reflection
“Throughout Christian history, the heart has been a rich and powerful symbol for our spiritual lives. Our physical hearts are a muscle that must be exercised, stretched, and strengthened . . .Further, the Risen Jesus has a human heart that is beating with love for you and me right now. Jesus wants to draw us deeper into his grace and love each day.”
Pages 11-12
Tips for prayer: “Find a quiet spot to pray each day. Use this place each day for your prayer time; there, you might reflect on Scripture or write a few lines in a journal. Your quiet spot could be a chapel, your bedroom, or another peaceful place.”
Page 12
“Pray for a specific grace. What do you want from the Lord? Maybe you are feeling stressed and you want peace in your heart. Maybe you are seeking a sense of direction; perhaps you are looking for guidance as you approach an important crossroad in your life — considering a move to a new city or wondering what to do during your retirement. Maybe you want healing from the Lord; perhaps you’ve had a tough year and have made some poor decisions. Pray for a grace. Trust that the Lord will give you what you need and even more besides.”
Pages 12-13
“Put your hand on your heart. Feel. Wait for ten seconds. Listen. What do you hear? Pum bum, pum bum. Your heart is quietly giving you life at this very moment. It pumps life and blood through your body every day, every minute — and yet you might rarely notice this miracle. Your heart is a symbol of Christ’s love for you. There he is — quietly, powerfully loving you. Giving you life and love. Pouring out his life and blood for you. Do you notice?”
Page 15
“St. Ignatius Loyola points us to the truth of our human identity: we are beloved sons and daughters of God. He writes, “Consider how God dwells in creatures . . . in human beings, giving us intelligence, and finally how in this way he dwells also in myself, giving me existence, life, sensation, and intelligence; and even further making me his temple, since I am created as a likeness and image of his divine majesty” (Spiritual Exercises, 235).”
Page 16
Watch Newslink for the next Community Reflection coming soon.
Saint Louis University’s Office of Mission and Identity ensures that the principles and traditions of Catholic, Jesuit higher education, and the mission and core values of SLU are integrated into operations, structures, programs and practices, and the formation of its students, faculty, staff, administration and board members.
To further its goals, the Office of Mission and Identity sponsors several programs, on and off campus, each dedicated to the intellectual and spiritual growth of the participants, and all in the Jesuit tradition. Faculty, staff and students have numerous options as well, with mission programs, opportunities to present their own experiences and reflections, retreats and conferences year round.