Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

 

Opening Prayer

Creator God,

You give us the heavens and the earth

You surround us with beauty

May we always recognize the goodness you give.

Savior God,

You came into this world as a child

You worked and healed and bled

May we always give thanks for the sacrifice you made.

Spirit God,

You bear witness to the truth

You give us confidence and security

May we always call on you to be with us, a constant companion.

Amen.

Journal/Reflection Questions

Deuteronomy 4:32-34, 39-40

• God speaks to Moses through a burning bush, where do you hear God’s voice?
• Can you identify in this reading God, Jesus and Spirit?  Is the trinity present?  Why or why not?
• Romans 8:14-17 

• When have you seen the Spirit bear witness to something?  Does it happen in society today or only in the Bible?
• As a joint heir with Christ, what you given?  What do you have to do to receive this treasure?
• Matthew 28:16-20

• How do you teach others what Jesus has taught you?  What more can you do?
• Jesus said, I am with you until the end of the age.  What assurance do you have that this is true?
• General Questions for Journaling
• How confident are you that God has a plan for your life?  What makes it so?
• When do you feel the most secure in your walk with God?  What draws you away from this feeling of security?
• How would you compare love of God vs love of self vs love for spouse vs love of children, etc….
• How is God’s love expressed?  Share examples.
• Are you able to recognize God’s love in the present or only in past tense?
• Do you cry out to God?  Jesus?  Spirit?  What causes you to do so?
• How do you explain the mystery of the Holy Spirit?
• Closing Prayer – inspired by Psalm 33         
• ALL:  call us your own, Blessed children of God!
• Leader:  Spirit of the living God…
• ALL:  find us giving hope!
• Leader:  Spirit of the living God…
• ALL:  find us being kind and generous!
• Leader:  Spirit of the living God…
• ALL:  find us working for justice!
• Leader:  Spirit of the living God…
• ALL:  find us trustworthy!
• Leader:  Spirit of the living God…

Challenge for the Week:   Explaining the Trinity to someone can be a challenge, we may not even really understand it ourselves.  However, if we are called to go out to all the world and make disciples of every nation, we need, no we MUST be able to describe our relationship with the Trinity.  Spend time this week identifying who the Trinity is to you.  This might require you to do some studying to learn more about Church teaching and/or to discuss with a friend or two how they view the Trinity. 

Pentecost Sunday

 

Opening Prayer

Lord

You gave us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with peace and joy.

May we learn to shed judgment and pride and love like YOU love.

May we work to see past the things of this world that can blind us.

May we not settle for mediocrity and work for justice,

Let us breathe in the Spirit of peace and joy!!!

Journal/Reflection Questions

Acts 2:1-11

• Identify how the disciples are before and after the Holy Spirit descends upon them. What is significant about this change?
• What do you consider to be a “mighty act of God”?

 

1Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13

• Draw a picture identifying different gifts people have in the shape of a body/person.
• Consider how each part of your body, each organ, etc. has a specific purpose. How does this relate to our world today?

 

John 20:19-23

• Where else in the scriptures do we read, God breathed on them? What is the significance of this?  How do these readings correlate?
• What were the first words Jesus said to his disciples when he returned to them? Why do you think He chose those words?  And why do you think He said them twice?

 

General Questions for Journaling

• On a scale of 1-10, how often do you call on the Holy Spirit in a day?
• When you do call on the Holy Spirit, what do you ask for or need?
• How is your life changed by the presence of the Holy Spirit?
• What exactly do we celebrate on Pentecost?
• What is the common language of today? Is it verbal?
• Name 10 gifts you have and how they benefit others.
• No gift is insignificant because it was given by God for a purpose. What is something you feel is insignificant about you?  How can you change your thinking to turn the negative thing into something positive?

Closing Prayer

Leader:  Holy Spirit, come…

ALL:  make our faith like a blazing fire!

Leader:  Holy Spirit, come…

ALL:  make our joy overflow like a raging waterfall!

Leader:  Holy Spirit, come…

ALL:  make your love spread like fierce wind!

Leader:  Holy Spirit, come…

ALL:  make your peace cover us like a dense fog!

Leader:  Come, Holy Spirit, come…

ALL:  ignite the fire of your love in our lives!

Challenge for the Week:   The sacrament of Confirmation in the Catholic Church is traced back to this celebration of Pentecost.  It is when the young person “confirms” their belief in the Catholic faith.  As part of the Rite of Confirmation, the Bishop calls down the Holy Spirit to kindle or ignite the gifts that had been given through Baptism.  It is a moment of conversion for these young people, but it is a good reminder for the rest of us.  Just as our Baptism is not just something that happened to us, our Confirmation isn’t either.  In our daily lives we should call upon the Holy Spirit to fill us with wisdom, understanding, knowledge, wonder and awe, courage (fortitude), reverence (respect) and right judgment (prudence).  Of course these are things we all want and need each day but do we seek God’s guidance and help in living them out?  Lucky for us, God wants to be there with us to give us what we need when we need it…and He made it so simple because all we have to do is ask and we will get it.  Make this simple prayer a part of your everyday, once a day, three times a day, every hour on the hour you are awake and pay attention to what God does when you say, “Come Holy Spirit” and are truly open to the change this power can have on your life!  AMEN!

Ascension Sunday

 

Opening Prayer

Lord

You know our thoughts and you still love us;

may our thoughts be good and true!

You know our actions and you still call us your own;

may our actions be loving and forgiving!

Make our thoughts and actions more like you

so we may go out and speak the Gospel!

Journal/Reflection Questions

Acts 1:1-11

• What gifts of the Holy Spirit do you have? Identify a time when you used each of them.
• How do you know the Holy Spirit is with you? Where does it come from?

 

Ephesians 1:17-23

• What do you hope for? What give hope?  Where does it come from?  How does it change ones perspective when they have it?
• What riches come from knowing God? What glory does God receive?

 

Mark 16:15-20

• What does it mean to you to be a Baptized Christian? Do you identify yourself as being baptized or having been baptized?  Is there a difference?
• Do you believe there is power in Jesus’ name? When have you experienced power in the name of Jesus?  What happened?  How were you changed?

 

General Questions for Journaling

• How can you call on the Holy Spirit more often in your life? What keeps you from doing so?
• Identify a person you know who is a witness of what the Holy Spirit does. What do they do that lets you know the Holy Spirit is with them or working through them?
• How do you show reverence to God? Do you do show it for God or for others to see?
• What does your body language say when you pray? When you gossip or lie?  How can you change your non-verbal communication to reflect honor of God?
• When you pray, do you ask God to fix things or remove things or give you things? How do you wait for God’s response to your prayers?  Does God answer?
• What signs and symbols say or show you are a Christian without your words or actions?
• Would someone know Jesus is important to you if they entered your home? Your work space?  Your car?

Closing Prayer

Leader:  May our hearts be filled with compassion;

ALL:  Fill us O, Lord!

Leader:  May our eyes be filled with acceptance;

ALL:  Fill us O, Lord!

Leader:  May our hands be filled with help;

ALL:  Fill us O, Lord!

Leader:  May our minds be filled with non-judgment;

ALL:  Fill us O, Lord!

Leader:  May our spirit be filled with generosity;

ALL:  Fill us O, Lord!

Challenge for the Week:   Make a list of 7 ways you can show honor and glory to God.  Better yet, make 30.  Then spend the next 30 days making a point to do one of these things.  It can be as simple as spending 5 minutes in silence giving God your undivided attention or more complicated such as doing some spring cleaning and getting rid of some of the excess in your life.  You decide how you will live out the Gospel in the coming days.

Sixth Sunday of Easter – Happy Mother’s Day!

 

Opening Prayer

Oh, Comforter

YOU reach out to us when we are lost and alone

YOU reach us when we are deep down and sinking

YOU save us from our afflictions and hurts

YOU save us even we don’t think we deserve it

Lord, come wrap us up in your love!!!

Journal/Reflection Questions

Acts 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-48

• What does it feel like to have the Holy Spirit poured upon you? How it different or the same as having the Holy Spirit within you?
• Where has the grace of God brought you? What does it give you?  How does it help you daily?

 

1John 4:7-10

• What did the world know about God before Jesus came? How is it the same and/or different from what we knew after Jesus lived on earth?  How is it the same and/or different from what we experience now living with the Holy Spirit?
• How do you respond to the love God revealed by giving His only son to die for you?

 

John 15:9-17

• What challenges are presented when we try to love our neighbor as God commands?
• Loving God with all of your heart, mind and soul is poetic but challenging. How would you rate yourself in loving God in each of these areas?

 

General Questions for Journaling

• Where does the Holy Spirit reside in your faith life?
• How do you acknowledge or communicate with the Holy Spirit?
• When considering your “relationship” with God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit, how do you divide your time with each “person” of the trinity? Is there one whom you rely more?  Is there one whom you confide in or call out to more?  Is there one you listen or follow the advice of more?
• Where do you find grace? Is it something you seek or something that comes to you?
• When you love someone, do you always like them or the choices they make? Does your love for them still exist in these situations?
• What does it look like to love God with all of your heart? Share an example or two of how you live out this truth or how you could.
• What does it look like to love God with your entire mind? Share an example or two of how you live out this truth or how you could.
• What does it look like to love God with all of your soul? Share an example or two of how you live out this truth or how you could.

Closing Prayer

Leader:  Creator God, you have given us all we need…

ALL:  May our love for you deepen through nature

Leader:  Savior Jesus, your life shows us there will be times of trouble…

ALL:  May our love for you deepen through conflict

Leader:  Holy Spirit, with you we are complete…

ALL:  May our love for you deepen through relationship

Leader:  Mighty Trinity, you are in all things at all times…

ALL:  May our love for you deepen through our lives

Challenge for the Week:   When you use the word LOVE, you can mean it in several different ways, such as you love the beach or you love chocolate.  When it comes to saying, I love you to a friend, a spouse or to God do you mean it the same way to each of them?  The challenge is YES, you should.  God calls everyone to love in a mature, respectful and dignified way.  He says to love EACH person as HE loves.  God’s love is unconditional.  God’s love is difficult to match.  However, when you pursue a relationship with God you come to know this love more deeply and can begin to understand how to love others better.  There might be people in your life whom you love on the surface or because you have known them all of your life or you love something about them but other things about them you don’t.  The love God wants you to have for others is deeper, it requires effort and even a risk to be vulnerable.  Consider the love you have for others and compare it to the love God has for you.  How can you begin to grow in this love to be closer to God AND to find the love in the relationships God has called us to find.  He wants this for you!