Opening Prayer
Lord
You came to find the lost.
You came to rescue the imprisoned.
You came to save the sinner.
May we allow ourselves to surrender.
May we allow ourselves to struggle.
May we allow ourselves to sacrifice;
So we may rely on YOU and
allow YOU to come to our aid!

Journal/Reflection Questions
Jeremiah 20:7-9
• Are there places where suffering happens which need to spoke about? Are there places where light needs to be shown on the darkness? What injustices are happening in the world which you are called to speak out about?
• Does oppression happen in this world? Who do you know is oppressed? How do you know? What do you do about it? Do you suffer from oppression?

Romans 12:1-2
• How do you know God is driving your actions or if you are following your own desire? How can you tell which way God is calling you to go?
• Compare and contrast the feelings of consolation and desolation. How would you describe your current state?

Matthew 16:21-27
• How do you feel when you lose something? How would you describe the process of letting go of the thing you lost?
• How do you feel when you find something? How would you describe the process of finding a place for the thing you found?

General Questions for Journaling
• Are there injustices in the world which break your heart? Are there injustices which occur that cause your gut to ache? Is the Holy Spirit calling you to do something about it?
• Describe what a “fire burning in your heart” might look, feel like. Have you ever experienced a burning in your heart? What did you do about it?
• How do you think God uses your suffering? Reflect on a time when you suffered but you were able to see God in it.
• Have you ever been thankful for suffering? What was the circumstance? Why were you thankful?
• How would a person “unite” their suffering with the suffering of Christ?
• How does one “lose” their life? What is Jesus saying you will gain?
• What does Jesus say you “find”? Have you ever caught a glimpse of what you will find?
• Reflect on this statement…”You can’t take anything with you when you die…that is why a hearse doesn’t have a trailer hitch.”

Closing Prayer
Leader: Teach us to be more loving to our neighbor;
ALL: May we decrease so YOU may increase!
Leader: Teach us to fill ourselves with YOUR Word;
ALL: May we decrease so YOU may increase!
Leader: Teach us to let go of the things of this world;
ALL: May we decrease so YOU may increase!

Challenge for the Week: When you see poverty in the world, you might think, what can I do? Especially when you see pictures of villages in third world countries who have no running water, no sanitation system, and no source of support to supply basic needs for survival. It is heart breaking for anyone to see another human suffer. You might consider how you can help and get discouraged because you think the load is too much for one person to carry. On the contrary, God wouldn’t put something on your heart to do if He didn’t believe you could do it. Plus you are not called to change the whole world all by yourself…Jesus did that already! Spend time in prayer this week to help you determine how God wants to use you to help right an injustice in the world. Then research a way you can help make a difference with someone either in a third world country or in your own community; where ever God is directing you. When everyone does just a little, it is just enough to make a huge difference.

Opening Prayer

Faithful Lord

You created us with a deep desire to seek YOU.

and we can never be completely satisfied

until we are filled by only YOU.

May we never give up the search for YOU

until we truly know this type of satisfaction.

No one knows us or loves us the way YOU do.

Journal/Reflection Questions

 Isaiah 22:19-23

• How does God show His authority in this reading?  How can you allow God to have authority over your life?  Who has authority now?
• This scripture is speaking of the coming of Jesus.  How can you shed light onto each statement with the knowledge and understanding you have of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection

Romans 11:33-36

• How might you seek to know what God is thinking?  How does one “know God’s mind”?
• Do you see God’s plan for you?  What makes you know for sure this is the path God intends for you?

Matthew 16:13-20

• Why would Jesus ask this question?  What do you think He was seeking?
• How do you describe who Jesus is to your friends and family?

General Questions for Journaling

• What qualities do you respect in a leader?  Are the qualities different depending upon what they are leading?  The Country?  They Church?  The Company where you work?

• Is the work you do or the job you have one you choose or one you “fell into”?  Could this have any bearing on your attitude toward it?

• Do you feel you are using the gifts God gave you in order to complete the tasks required of your job?  Are you fulfilling your vocation in the position you hold?  Do you feel as though God choose you to do the work you do?

• Are there things you value more than Christ?  Do you tell others about your relationship with Christ?  What keeps you from telling others of Christ?

• How can you be in Christ?  With Christ?  And Through Christ?

• What have you learned about Jesus which you want to preserve within yourself?  How can you be in unity with HIM?

• How is it that Jesus makes Peter the “ROCK” on which to build His church but Peter denies knowing Jesus three times?  How does this make you feel?  Disheartened?  Encouraged?

• What qualities of Peter make him the perfect example of a disciple?

   

   

   

Closing Prayer

Leader:  We have all been chosen to serve;

ALL:  may we fulfill the task you have called us to.

Leader:  We struggle with our faith and knowledge of you;

ALL:  may we find you in all the things in our lives.

Leader:  We stumble and fall, we make bad choices;

ALL:  may we always hold onto YOU!

Challenge for the Week:  When making a large purchase such as a washer and dryer or a car or a house, how long to do you spend researching it, looking it over, weighing out the pros and cons of the purchase?  Who are the people you might ask for advice or help in making such an important decision?  When it comes to our faith, whom do you turn to about important decisions, to whom do you ask the important questions?  Do you give it the same depth of attention, looking at where God is working in your life in every little detail?  Do you seek counsel from God when making decisions about what is happening in your life and listen to His response?  God doesn’t need to seek anyone’s counsel but it would be wise for us to seek HIS!

OR

St Ignatius of Loyola set the rule to “seek God in all things”.  This is a challenge to seek God in all things especially when choosing the TV show or movie to watch, the book to read or the music to listen to.  Where is God in the things you do the most?

Opening Prayer
Infinite Lord
May we be courageous in our faith.
May we persistent in our prayer.
May we be fearless in our works.
May we be boundless in love.
Fill us with Your grace and mercy through Your Word.

Journal/Reflection Questions
Isaiah 56:1, 6-7
• How do you show mercy in your life? To whom do you show mercy? How does it compare to God’s boundless mercy?
• How might the world be different if we truly lived life knowing God’s grace and mercy were endless?
Romans 11:13-15, 29-32
• What feelings or emotions do you feel knowing God will never stop loving you?
• Describe the power of mercy. What does it offer? How do we receive it? Where does it come from? Who can have it?
Matthew 15:21-28
• What surprises you about this scripture passage? How does this fall in line with or go against who you know Jesus to be?
• What does the phrase, “even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters” mean? What exactly was the woman saying?

General Questions for Journaling
• Reflect on a time when you were excluded from something. How did it feel? What did you do about it? Would you do the same thing again or would you do something differently?
• Have you ever intentionally excluded someone from something? What was the reason? Is there a circumstance in which excluding someone is acceptable?
• Has there ever been an occasion when you felt excluded within your faith community? What was it that made you feel separated? How might the scriptures this week help you heal?
• Have you ever seen a disobedient child? How do you discipline him/her? Do you love them less because they are disobedient?
• Do you judge others’ faith simply by looking at them? Do you compare yourself to them?
• How would you judge a woman begging at the feet of Jesus? Have you ever done the same thing?
• Where in your life should you be more persistent? In prayer? Good works? Self-discipline? Encouragement?

Closing Prayer
Leader: Great is my faith
ALL: when I seek YOU before all other things.
Leader: Great is my faith
ALL: when I listen when YOU call my name.
Leader: Great is my faith
ALL: when I serve others and show YOUR love.

Challenge for the Week: We can learn so much from this Canaanite woman. She doesn’t back down, she remains calm and she kneels before Jesus and asks for help. How often do we just nonchalantly ask Jesus to help us with something in prayer? Are the things you pray for simply a list of wants and needs or are they true desires? Do you pray with persistence and fervor? When you attend Mass or Sunday Worship listen intently to the prayers of the faithful, the petitions of the community. Set your mind to faithfully listen and put emotion and feeling into the prayer intentions so that you pray them with your whole being.
OR
Let us learn from the Canaanite woman how our faith can save and not back down from what we believe in when challenged. Too often even those whom we might consider “the faithful” will give up and back down when their faith gets too hard. It’s easy to be called a Christian when we are sitting in the pew on Sunday morning but when the rubber hits the road on Sunday afternoon, are we still as strong in our faith beliefs and practices as we were when we were in church? Jesus challenges us at times just like He is testing this woman. He tests her so she might exercise her faith to the fullest extent. Where is Jesus challenging you to be stronger in your faith?

Opening Prayer – 19th Sunday of Ordinary Time
Father,
Before us are many paths to choose;
Some are worn, some hard to navigate.
Many leave us feeling pain, sorrow or regret.
Others fill us with great joy and satisfaction.
Sharpen our senses to seek YOU on the path ahead of us.
Then even when the waves crash against us,
YOU are there when we reach out.
May we seek YOU in each new dawn,
in each raindrop and in every shining star.

Journal/Reflection Questions
1Kings 19:9, 11-13
Reflect on a time in your life when you experienced an “earthquake”, a “great wind” or a “fire”. When did you see God in the situation? Was it before, during or after the event?
Do you hear God in the “whispers” of life? Where does God whisper to you? What does He use to share His message with you in a whisper?

Romans 9:1-5
Are there some in your family whom cause you “great sorrow” or “constant anguish” because of their belief or unbelief? What can you learn from St Paul in this scripture that might help?
Are there some people whom you need to separate or be “cut off” from in order to be a better follower of Christ? How can you relate to St Paul in this scripture?

Matthew 14:22-33
Is your faith on a solid rock or on sinking sand? What can you learn from Peter to help you stay steady? How does this look in your everyday life?
What causes you to sink in your faith? Name some of the weights that drag you down.

General Questions for Journaling
Can God calm your fears or worries like He calm’s the sea? When have you experienced God’s calming power?
Would you describe your faith as strong? Would you be able to stand back up like Peter?
Jesus went up the mountain to pray. Do you have a sacred place where you like to go to pray? What makes it sacred?
How does God invite you to step out of the boat?
Are you able to distinguish when God is in the wind, the fire and the earthquake and when He is not? How close do you think you need to be in order to know the difference?
What forces work against you in building your faith? What do you struggle with in order to keep the faith?
Would you say you trust Jesus? Share an example in your life which shows how you trust Jesus.

Closing Prayer
Leader: When I am feeling lost and alone…
ALL: Fix my eyes on Jesus!
Leader: When I don’t know which way to turn…
ALL: Fix my eyes on Jesus!
Leader: When I stumble and fall and sink…
ALL: Fix my eyes on Jesus!
Leader: When I am so full of joy I overflow…
ALL: Fix my eyes on Jesus!
Leader: When I feel fulfilled and satisfied…
ALL: Fix my eyes on Jesus!
Leader: When I stand up for what I believe…
ALL: Fix my eyes on Jesus!

Challenge for the Week: Many people live in the “in between” of faith where they believe but don’t practice their beliefs with intention OR they practice so hard they are frustrated with the results. We need to seek to find a healthy balance of living out and practicing the beliefs. When scripture says we must love our neighbor and pray for our enemies, it sounds beautiful and practical. However, how many believers actually put the words into practice? Do we love everyone, even those who hurt us or persecute others? When a tragedy happens do we immediately begin to pray for the victims and not the perpetrators? Consider where your faith and your belief intersect.