Introduction 3: Scripture
Question:
Write a wish for your journey along the way.
Write your Answer – click here
Transcript of Video:
One of the things I particularly love about John’s gospel is paradox: of light and darkness, above and below. I think that we live our lives both firmly planted on this earth with our hearts soaring for something that is above and beyond. And I think that John’s gospel helps us navigate this kind of limminal space in which we live, where we are firmly grounded in this world which God has created and which God has blessed again we see in the coming of Jesus who takes on human form, and yet in John’s gospel we see Jesus pointing us to things above.
I think that John’s gospel is an enormous navigational help for our finding our way, which is a word that appears in John’s gospel, “How can we know the way?” How can we find the way, living in between, as we are, things earthly and things heavenly? We’re passionate about this. Passion fills these texts of John and we will be so glad to invite you on a daily basis to travel the way with us. Come with us.
– Br. Curtis Almquist
My wish for this journey is to remember who it’s all about. Jesus. A dear friend and saint passed away a week ago. He wrote “The Four Spiritual Secrets:”
I’m not, but He is.
I can’t, but He can.
I don’t want to, but He wants to.
I didn’t, but He did.
To appreciate every step of the journey, even the times I ‘twist’ my ankle.
I need Jesus in my daily life. . I need to rediscover my relationship with God the Father, God the Son , and God the Holy Spirit. I need to let go and be washed in his love.
My wish is for more clarity and direction…or perhaps more clarity in where my time and gifts are most valuable, and most utilized.
All of these comments have been an inspiration to me on my journey. I feel lifted and encouraged by the comments of my fellow travelers in the Way.
May God be near each of you this day.
My wish for this journey is being filled with His Love, and that others may see Him through me.
What great, thoughtful comments — these are the words that resonated for me and what I hope to have as a result of the journey:
mindful, transformed to see with God’s eyes, hear with His ears, feel with His Hearth, quiet to hear Him, committed, grow in His knowledge and love, renewed, deeper relationship
Had to think about this for awhile, but I’ve come to answer that my wish for my journey during this lent is to find my authentic self more fully so that I might know more surely God’s will for me.
Chris’ comment re clutter being a way of avoiding dealing with life is remarkable — I now realize I have been doing exactly that! Thank you for your lovely explanation. In fact, in a way, I have been using clutter as an excuse for leaning on God; therefore, avoiding do more.
My wish is that through this lenten journey with John readings I will get to know Jesus in a different way.
To see more clearly, to love more dearly, day by day, day by day. ( God Spell) To grow in appreciation of Gods love and to be able to role model that love to others.
Passion, patience, and prayerfulness.
My wish is to stop being afraid of Jesus – the perfect one – who orders us to be perfect, even as our Father in heaven is perfect.
I wish for the grace to live in an active awareness and embrace of the many paradoxes that comprise life, aleady, and not yet.
I want to experience the transformation of a love-filled body, spirit and mind as I keep my feet firmly planted in daily life.
I look forward to learning more about John’s gospels from a more learned point of view than my own.
To be truly filled with the spirit of God.
simplicity.
Renew in me a living, growing, and transformed spirit.
My wish for the journey is that I have an experience of the reality of God and of the risen Christ, so I know I am on the right road.
I wish for assurance as in ” Blessed assurance Jesus is mine……”
I wish to be more aware of my time in order to make more time for God and Jesus, particularly during this Lenten season.
Wisdom
My wish for the journey is that I have the courage to stay with it, especially when it get’s really hard, messy, absurd, dangerous, boring, ridiculous, hopeless, crazy, and pointless.
My wish is that I may be an encourager and help others to see that Jesus is an encourager. I pray that I may learn to listen to others in a Christ like way.
My wish is to really want to give myself over to the journey knowing it has the power to transform me.
Each day I ask God to give me what I need, to manage my life one day at a time, and I pray for good health and a bad memory.
Above all I thank Him for my all that has happened in my life and that what is still happening: the good, the bad and the indifferent.
The words of Elizabeth S so express my own wish I will just repeat them” To be transformed by God’s love that I see through his eyes and feel through his heart”
Margaret.
one thing i found when i attended holy week the sessions we had during the week brought to life what life is about. i especially enjoyed david as he made things come to life for you. i find holy week very emotional for me and you can feel the buildup to easter sunday. just pray and give thanks for the things we have and try to help anyone who is in need.
My wish is to learn to love better in the day-to-day, nuts-and-bolts encounters of my life; to learn to bring the love of God into my ordinary life and conversations. It feels so deeply needed at this time.
to simply be the best person I can be and to be a living example of God’s hope for us.
I yearn to recognize the places where “my”wishes give way to God’s reality.
My wish is to understand, on an experiential level, the love of Christ that is so high, wide, deep and long that I might never fully get my mind around it. I want to soak in that Love, be completely filled with that Love, and to let that Love overflow onto all I encounter.
My wish is to develop a deeper daily relationship with my Lord, being more aware of his presence in every moment of every day.
My wish is to find the right balance between receiving the influence and blessings of others around me and being rooted in my inner life with God that is secret and sacred. I feel sure that The Way leads us through both inner and outer transformation at the same time, and that I should be seeking God’s presence both within and without. I wish to have the grace to say yes and no, and have both paths lead to peace and growth.
To learn to listen more to what God is saying to me.
To feel more connected to God, my community and to my friends.
My wish for this journey is to come away from it with a fuller knowledge of what’s real in life and not to be influenced so much by what others think and do. I would like to come away with an even greater love for God than I already have.
Still listening 🙂
Traveling through this earth to my heavenly home I wish to do my fathers will not the earthly will of man. Each day it becomes more complicated to be that Christian that loves. Help me to love, even the unlovable!!
My wish is the hope that God will come in grace and awaken the Spirit, that the Spirit will speak through me and that my heart will see the presence of The Lord in all the world around me.
I wish to be more open minded and find God’s love.
My wish for my journey is to become aware how to share the story better.
My wish is for a more prayerful and prayer filled life.
I wish that I may learn to live a more love-filled life through God.
To hear the Gospel with my heart instead of my head!
Serenity. Peace. Trust.
Wish: for a clear, quiet mind and a better understanding–of one thing, any thing, every thing. SOME thing!
To grow in awareness of the Presence of God in all things…heaven on earth.
I guess my wish is simple: that I can come to appreciate and see John’s Gospel in the way Br. Curtis does.
The word I hear is hope. I wish to experience a journey that is not stuck on the ground, one that looks upward once again, and finds joy – and that whatever vocation I am led towards, will be life-giving and enriching. I also wish for clarity as I step forward, for help to prioritize what I am called to do, even in what sequence, if possible. Simplicity. Trust. And hope.
I wish to be more firmly grounded in this world, in its goodness and reality and wholeness, in order to respond more fully to God’s call of truth.
I wish to know Christ better, and to know how to better serve others in His name, and by His power, in order to bring Him the highest praise!
My wish for this journey is to never forget to treasure each and every precious moment spent with my dearest of friends.
A wish for empathy for all human kind
Amen to that. It is difficult not to judge from our own life and experience. I pray for you and for me and for my husband in this journey toward empathy and compassion.
May God bless us all.
For us all to go together
The word that comes to mind for my wish is REASSURANCE…..that truly I will never walk alone because I am his.
My wish for this journey is to experience both of them more fully, to not be afraid to delve into the dark night of soul while also living in the light that is the love of Jesus Christ and the promise of the Kingdom of God.
Write a wish for your journey along the way –
“The little moments? They are not little…”
Also, to find my course, how I can uniquely contribute –
The planet is 4 billion years old.
Humans are 5 million years old.
Recent, recognizable humans are 200.000 years old.
Farming and civilization are 10,000 years old.
Writing is 5,000 years old.
I am 66 years old.
My wish for this journey is, knowing how utterly insignificant I am, to yet know the wonder that I am loved by a God who loves and has loved all of his creatures, including me.
From the human perspectve, you are insignificant in this vast creation. But in God’s eyes and heart, you are everything. I pray you will feel this great Love.
That I will fall in love with Jesus again.
I think you have started.
I hope along the journey to not only be able to transform myself into what God wants for me, but to also help transform others as well by planting the seeds of God’s love along the way.
I wish for this love given by Christ, to transform me, to make this path a little lighter, to teach me more about love and how to share with others.
my wish is to find my way back home, back to my God, His love and forgiveness and my old sense of caring, compassion, nonjudgment, unconditional acceptance and love for others.
My wish for this journey is to be able to let God be God in my life.
Lord, if you are here nothing else matters.
And if you are not here nothing else matters
I wish to soak up all I can of God’s word because He is the source of my happiness and contentment. Anything I can do to understand and internalize who He is and how we fit in His plan, is a bonus and matures my relationship with God and others
To be able to let go and trust. I know this is one of my life’s lessons and I have brief moments of success with it but I’m still not able to just let go. I believe I keep getting ‘life lessons’ – sometimes gentle, sometimes more brusque – that are reminding me to do this.
I would say that for my journey I remember to obsess too much on the past or future, but try and remain present. Also too be open to and expect nothing, because surely I am not where I feel I can trust my own discernment of what is God’s intention for me day by day. Sometimes my prayer is only “Your will be done…” Because no matter how wrongly I may judge things to be going, that prayer gives me hope in remembering God knows what He is doing and love is winning-not darkness and sorrow.
Amen. I try and pray that many times in my day. The evil of this world always seems to pound us,but Gods peace stays in my heart! What to do! why we do it! when we do it! These are questions that are easily answered with Christ in our life!!
Blessed to have found this journey and to have chosen to do it in community…a first. Saying that, I realize my desire for the journey is to carry with me the folks I love the most and to be open to connection along the way. Opportunity.
My wish is to be able to draw others into the knowledge of the love of God.
My wish is to constantly be fed by John’s words. Sometimes it is so easy to fall away from feeling close to God and doing what is necessary to be available to God. Having a daily contact with the scripture such as this program provides and a time to slow down, pause, and respond is such a good thing – for me at any rate, as I need to be part of a group doing this or else I too easily let it slide!
I’m wishing — asking God — for the courage to be more fully open to this journey and for the strength to follow that unseen path all the way through to wherever it might lead.
That is beautiful Linda. I wish to be open to the journey also, and to let God lead me the whole way. G
Companions – faithful companions, and companions in faith.
Reading the posts here, I believe we are among good companions on this journey.
On my journey I wish to be allowed, not to walk beside Jesus our Savior, that would be too much to ask, but to follow behind gleaning the leavings of His love, His wisdom, His obedience.
I know in my heart that I am a child of God. May I always remember to act like one in my daily life.
I’d like to have some experience of God as someone – something like a person rather than an idea. It’s like the difference between just reading the words vs actually watching the video and seeing and hearing a person that I know.
PS – posting from a Hermitage at Emory House! 🙂
This resonates for me also…thank you.
Jeremiah 29:13 says, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” You’re doing all the right things, and Emory House is a great place to be. Keep doing what you’re doing. God is there, and when you least expect it he will be present in your life in a very powerful way. The moments are sometimes rather fleeting. Like the booths Peter wanted to build during the Transfiguration, you can’t maintain them indefinitely. But once you experience one moment of God’s presence, you will have more. Yours is a wonderful wish.
My desire is to know and follow the Way
My wish is that this Lent I will be a happy disciple on a life-giving pilgrimage – becasue more and more I will live in God’s love and focus on God’s concerns … and not sweat the small stuff.
I wish for both stillness and passion, and for wisdom to seek and savor the journey, even as I am impatient to complete the worldly tasks of settling into our new home.
My wish for this Lenten journey is to have God’s love saturate my soul, take all that is broken, and leave me whole so that I may do his will on earth.
Very, very well put. I was going to say my wish is to lose all the junk that makes me feel inferior, but really, the wish is to know that God loves me so completely that nothing else really matters. You captured that so well in your comment. Thank you.
My wish is to be more focused and mindful of the love of God that surrounds me.
…and I want to ask how to do this?
What is the most caring thing you can think of for a person to do? Now do that for another. You’ll find God’s love there.
I wish others who don’t know and don’t recognize Christ in their lives could have the abundant life we are learning about. I have particular friends and family to share with. That they could have their lives enriched by knowing His presence.
My wish is to simplify simplify and then simplify again… I wish for the image of the hope of Abundance to be put in front of our fears, our sense of scarcity, and our sense of loss… God is so generous and teaches us to be generous too… I pray for the power of the spirit to flow through us all so that we may share God’s love and heal our bodies, minds, souls and our families, cultures, and communities. Simplify!
I hope to spend more time centered than not as I walk along this Lenten path. To spend more time knowing God’s presence than wandering forward feeling “on my own”.
I wish for an organized life.
My hope this Lent is to be attentive to the grace moments God blesses me with and not so preoccupied with the potential challenges and crisis that can be overwhelming.
My wish is that the darkness is always saved by the light. To hold that tender balance near to me.
A very kind and wise priest has assured me that there is absolutely nothing darkness can do to stop the flow of light. He was right. Light is stronger than darkness.
my “wish” is to practice what I preach…..
I wish to not pick up my sins again, once I have left behind.
that the most wounded, marginalized, perhaps
silenced or trivialized parts of our individual lives and collective life might be marvelously blessed, healed and
showered with justice through the love of God and the love of friends of God who are not afraid to be fired by Her/His passion for justice and mercy.
“May I know you more clearly, love you more dearly, and follow you more nearly, day by day. Amen.” (from Prayer of St. Richard of Chichester)
My prayer during this Lenten journey is that with God’s
help I will grow in God’s grace and begin the arduous task of slowing down, prioritizing, choosing to be the person that God has called me to be. To live as God’s beloved.
I am nearer the end of my journey than the beginning. What I would like for the rest of the journey is to have it and me filled with light – that no matter the aches and pains and losses, I can concentrate on the goodness of God’s creation and the purpose of my existence. What is necessary for my well-being but the light, a knowledge of God’s love for me?
Amen to that.
My hope for this particular journey is to enhance my annual walk along the path to the cross. I need to examine and see my own self more clearly, to take what I find to the feet of Christ Jesus, to hear His word of loving grace for me and, in all of this, be moved further from this earthly realm and closer to that which we call heavenly.
My wish is to stay in prayer during Lent. Meaning that I continue to seek to know God and have a closer relationship with God, leading me to a closer relationship with all those whom I meet.
My deep desire for this time between ~ between the Already and the Not Yet ~ is to live not as though this life is the already and heaven is the not yet, but as though heaven is the already and the life I have to live is the not yet. This must be the essence of abiding in the love of Christ. I desire to abide, so that the Already and the Not Yet become one in the Now of Reality. (Oh, to real-ise this moment by moment!)
My wish is to think less about me, and more about others.
Balance and know God’s Will through the use of the Serenity Prayer.
I wish that my daily rules of life would become so natural that I could live out the paradox, described so beautifully, with more ease and less angst.
My wish for the Lenten Journey is learn to appreciate more fully the paradox of life and faith we find in Christ.
My wish is to continue on the journey to find that peace that passes all understanding which will not be achived in this life but in the next. I wish to be open to Go’s calling to me to the work He has planned for me in the changes in my life.
I am reminded that God’s creation is good – and to seek t what is the best, or what is Godly, in it brings us closer to the divine. Let me do something today to move me towards Him.
My wish on this journey is for love and clarity–to take this journey through John’s Gospel with a growing understanding of God’s love for me and increasing clarity about how I am to love others.
My wish for this journey is to have a closer relationship with Jesus and to be ever more thankful for His ultimate sacrifice for us. Lent, to me, is a time to repent and to look deep into my soul; to be more aware of the space that I am in and to hopefully have my heart and soul filled with the Holy Spirit.
I wish to keep the pace. I want to enjoy the journey with all that it brings.
My wish is to make time for prayer and fitness a part of my morning routine.
My wish is to have a greater connection to those things that are heavenly and to live my life with a focus on what would God want me to do and how would Jesus do it. We are facing a family issue and I feel at this time we need to bring Jesus into this issue and ask for his guidance.
My wish is to experience God’s love and accept it. Then share this love with others.
My wish for my journey is to become the person that Christ wants me to be. He is my leader and I need to listen to his words and not worldly distractions.
To get IT. Really get IT.
Perhaps you just did.
My wish is that every moment of every day, in times of joy and in times of sorrow, I feel God close to me and never doubt that He holds me in the palm of His hand.
Katherine, my wish also through the abiding of the Holy Spirit.
The paradox of here and not yet. Heaven, yet still earth. I carry with me today those thin places of the veil where the face of God becomes visible in our paradoxes, even if fleetingly.
My wish for this Lenten journey is to gain more certainty in the heavenly things of life and let earthly things become less limportant. In the procees, I hope to be reconciled to God.
My wish is to feel less fear as I age into the very real closeness of the transition of earthly being into hopefully, heavenly being. The way of the change can be scary…..the unknown. I feel guilty when I am in this weakness as I see that I don’t have the total trust that I need ….at least at this point.
My wish is that my heart will spend more time soaring. My feet are too much on the ground, and my heart is not free.
My wish is for light to guide, to enlighten, to illuminate, to bathe in, to transform, to dance in, to sing by, to warm my soul and to quietly reflect by.
My wish on this journey? To love God with my whole heart and soul and to love my neighbor as myself.
My wish for this journey is to be open to seeing what the Gospel of John has to say to me about how I live my life.
to include in my daily discipline of prayer, and the companion need to care for my body, a time to write while remaining available to friends and family and community. This wish reminds me how much I need God’s guidance and help along the way.
My wish is to keep God in the forefront of my life and to make time for Him daily. I don’t do nearly enough of that.
My wish is to rest and pray on this journey so I can clearly see Jesus in my life and in my calling as a priest of the Church.
To become a more rounded, grounded person, to be more open to the positive. Acceptance of Chaos all around me, but not allow it to consume me. Be love and understanding, so others feel it and are filled with joy.
I wish to be strengthened in my journey to follow Christ. To understand him more clearly and to follow him more closely.
Today’s question is so much easier for me than yesterday’s. The word has not yet materialized. But today’s answer comes readily. I wish to find clarity in God’s path for me. I wish that I may clearly discern His will and follow His path. I pray that my desires are founded in His will and not my selfishness and self aggrandizement as I pursue the goals I have set for myself.
I wish for a better balance between my restlessness and “groaning” in this life (this is not my home) and doing God’s will here on earth.
My wish is to be shown the Way–how to turn things over to God and to allow for things to unfold, beyond my imaginings.
I wish for a greater measure of discipline to continue on this chosen Lenten path and to engage more fully in the riches in the Gospel of John, strengthening my Christian commitment. Thanks for this helpful framework for daily devotions.
I ask for the grace to know the heart and mind of God more intimately in these days of Lent.
So much of what is said here resonates with me: letting go of my own need to plan and direct, listening to God’s voice in my life, being open to the unexpected, being in harmony with the Lord and creation. My wish, then, is focus. Focus on the presence of God in my life at all times. Be aware in all that I do that I am in every moment also a part of God’s greater being.
Today my response is prompted by John Magee, Poet and Airman, who wrote “High Flight” upon returning from a flight.
The First and Last lines of this poem read:
” Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth –
Put out my hand and touched the face of God.”
Do you remember your first flight ?, I would guess you and I must have had similar feelings, but the words bring
to mind this experience so well. This is what I hope for
in our journey with John.
To trust in the middle of angst and anxiety and even resentments that God is doing for me what I cannot do for myself. To live one day at a time letting go of the self-centered fear that can dominate my life. To listen for and embrace the life that God wants for me. To get out of my own way!
At times I’ve found it helpful to act as if I believe it. I can make the choice to trust God – even if I don’t feel it. Take the action – the feelings will follow (in God’s time).
I am so with you, Melinda. Could not have said it better. Thank you.
My wish is to establish some discipline/routine in my prayer life.
i think if we truly believe in Christ we know Christ can help us with the many problems we have on this journey. look to Christ and do not be afraid to ask Christ for the help you need. i think we have been given a special gift on this earth and we should follow it through by asking christ for help in our daily prayers
My wish for my journey is that I would continue to become whole through Gods’ Love. I would like this, so that I could share this Love of Gods’ with others. So I could bring them to heaven, which, after all, is Love.
I wish for my brother John to have a comfortable healing from cancer.
Bonnie my thoughts and prayers are with you and John during his journey
That I would travel the journey well.
And image of the inbetween space spoke to me so greatly this morning.
I wish for as deep and burning a desire for God as God has for me.
I wish to KNOW what God wishes for me and of me
My wish is to be all that God is calling me to be!
Glory to God, whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine.
(A Prayer after Communion.)
I am continually being blown away by God’s power and influence on my life.
My wish? Simply to hear and listen to that small, quiet voice whispering in my heart.
Christina
My wish is to be ever more aware of that beautiful tension Brother Curtis describes between our rootedness on earth and our hearts soaring beyond earth. Thank you for the invitation to “come with us.”
My wish is to be less judgmental as I walk with Christ and to appreciate The Kingdom both as an aspiration and right now.
My wish right now is to find a spiritual director, knowing that the person is likely to be right there in my path and that all I need to do is ask. That is part of needing to be more humble.
This is one of my very first gospel study experiences. My wish is to begin to understand the message of Christ through John.
What an awesome place to begin. Blessings!
I wish for time to be able to listen well
Jamie: Ask for that. ‘Time’ can be anywhere, anytime. The message comes in a whisper, a nudge, a thought to be explored. C
My wish is that Christ will continue to walk beside me, enabling me to be beacon of HIS light, while tossing aside the human flaw of being judgemental of others.
My life during the past 12 years has been one of tremendous inner healing. It has taken the form of recovery from parental abuse that I had buried so deeply that I didn’t even remember that it happened. Recovery has been a crucible of suffering and at the same time an experience of joy. Yes, I know about ambiguity. Discovering that I am God’s beloved and the experience of God’s presence in my life has made that possible. My wish is to continue to experience God’s loving presence in my life and to share that in a compelling way with all those whom God puts into my life.
The things that used to hurt too much to safely remember — God has always known and remembered. Not a single moment of it was lost or beneath His notice. He doesn’t interfere with humans’ free will by preventing people from hurting each other, but I believe he watches over us, cherishes us, suffers with us, and finds ways to help us endure. Not having to walk around remembering the abuse until you were ready and in circumstances where healing could begin was a gift. My prayers are with you, for continued healing, peace, and joy. Thank you for your courage and strength.
I wish for courage. I know that in this gospel Christ asks a great deal from us, and only for our own good. But saying yes to Jesus is very often difficult and sometimes seemingly impossible. During these 40 days, I pray that I may have the courage to say yes to Jesus.
My wish is also for courage, to risk. Especially with love and trust of others and to find a way to love wastefully. Avoiding my measured (conditional) and cynical self.
To be focused and content to be on the path, wherever it leads and whatever it reveals.
Ah! The real work of life, I think.
True. 🙂
My wish is to dream God’s dream for me and be satisfied with that since the dreams I dreamed for myself for years either went unfulfilled or left me disappointed and with no skill for reccallibration when life did not grant my heart’s desire.
To know God and Jesus more deeply, and to be more rooted and established in His love.
My wish is to be grateful for the power of surrender, the beauty of forgiveness, and the spontaneity of tears and laughter.
A wish for my journey? That the path be made clear–not clear of obstacles, challenges, rocks and nettles. Clearly directional.
My wish during the journey I am on is that I am able to keep my eyes opened to what Jesus is showing me and that I keep an open mind.
I want to live as Jesus would want me to live, I want to love as Jesus loves,
I wish for a bright light leading to an opening, allowing me access to further insights to God’s grace.
My wish during the journey is to come to a deeper understanding of God and Jesus, and how I can better live a life dedicated to the glory of God.
My wish for this journey is for a flame of passion, for guidance and vitality for service, and for companions for the journey.
Yes!
My wish is for oppertunities for more silence and reflection time in my life. Thank you for helping me by reflections.
My wish is that my spiritual journey is connected to the reality of my world— that I live fully in the world, in the moment and listen to what God is telling me. My wish is also that others I love join me on this spiritual journey. I hope to engage them in the true spirit Christ meant me to……
I hope to see the path more clearly. I at times feel that I am struggling so much that I am not able to bathe in the moment as I would like.
My longing for this journey is to dwell “in the peace of God which passes all understanding and will keep my heart and mind in Christ Jesus” (Phil 4:7).
My wish is to overcome the “my” in the wish.
WOW.
yES!
My wish….to do no harm.
Not that I have ever aimed to hurt others, yet I am aware of the pain and suffer that has been inflicted due to the “me” centered living.
Me too! G
Bless you! Your comment went straight to my heart. I pray for God to grant me the willingness to allow Him to shape me – His direction, in His time, in His way, one day at a time into whatever, whoever He wants.
So true! Great comment!
My wish is that I stay mindful of those around me at all times, who are also on the way. I pray that I be a companion to them, that I have the wisdom to know when to be swept along with them, and that I know when to take a different path from them. I pray that my eyes are open to see these fellow travelers and my heart is open to the new roads where we may be led.
My wish is to integrate the joy of the journey with the challenges of temporal life that they may be transformed, no, really that I may be freed from anxiety and transformed to an agent of love.
I desire to become a tool, fitted to God’s hand.
I seek God’s truth and understanding and ask for God’s forgiveness for those transgressions in my life that keep me from God’s wish for my wholeness.
My wish is that I have the grace to joyfully embrace the unexpected on this spiritual journey. So often I set out to PLAN my spiritual life. Even worse, sometimes my plan unfolds exactly as I devised it and I discover that my plan wasn’t what I really needed. I suppose some planning may be necessary for this spiritual journey to “leave the driveway” but my wish is that I eagerly embrace the unexpected scenic routes that may serendipitously present themselves along the way. I suspect it will make for better postcards from this road trip.
I so resonate to what you are saying. Sometimes the plan itself causes stress. On the other hand, with no plan, it’s easy to drife. I’ve struggled with this for years. Now I am learning to practice a different perspective: to give my complete attention to the task at hand (which, when it is unexpected, involves letting go of the plan).
Thank you for your sharing.
What a wonderful analogy – thanks for this clear image.
I thank everyone for their comments. They are what help me on my journey. To know I am not alone and in the company of some truly inspirational people is a blessing. The words I have for this journey is HOPE and FAITH that I will be shown the way.
My wish is to grow in the knowledge and love of God. That’s the overarching umbrella. The challenge is to discover the tangible acts that, in cooperation with the Spirit, bring the wish to fruition. This morning I’m focused on the weaving of other lives into mine. I’m wishing for a faith community.
During this journey I wish to become more open to God’s will.
I wish for a faithful journey, where the messages I am exploring lead to greater understanding and action.
I look forward to studying John for this lenten season. My personal path is a difficult one right now, but one I have traversed twice before. My lenten wish is for steadiness, and strength, and may I not burden others.
Roben,
I know the difficult path. I pray for you that you may know Gods’ wholeness and healing and His unconditional Love.
Roben, the Lord never gives us more than we can bear Be lifted up in the prayers of the Body of Christ.
My wish is that I might have the eyes to see, the ears to hear and a heart open to Christ’s leading along this journey.
Community
I ask God’s help in making the journey without fear, with boundless energy from the Holy Spirit and deep appreciation for the beauty in this world and for all that I have been given.
My desire is to keep my eyes on the Lord and to keep a loose grip on my idea of what I think my life should look like. I wish to live each day knowing that I am his beloved child and to have all of what I do flow from that knowledge.
Me, too, Chris! I have a sign on my prayer table that says “What screws us up most in life is the picture in our heads about how it’s supposed to be.”
I would like to have patience on my journey. What I mean is that I am so often focused on the destination that I neglect to experience the journey itself.
My wish is for openness to what might be offered to me
my wish is to gain insight into how I might better recognize and honor the heavenly light here on the earth.
Had to look up the word “wish” for it is a word I seldom use. But, if it is “a desire or longing for something,” I can only say that my wish for this journey is a deeper knowledge and love for the God who made us and who is Love at the center of creation.
I wish that I would grow in intimacy with The Lord.That I would hear His voice when he calls me,better yet,I would do what he tells me!
My wish is that God will gently remind me that the journey is a communal one, that I share my journey with other people. We may not share all the same steps but we are all heading (hopefully) to the same place-a rich and wonderful life with God.
Thank you, Jim, for this timely reminder. Blessings on your journey!
Jim – The communal thought is so fitting for this journey we share through and with our fellow parishioners and those who seek Christ.
My wish for this journey is to be firmly grounded, to have a strong foundation from which I soar to places I’ve never been before, to bring light to all I do, all I am, + to shine that light on others. Thank you for this amazing adventure.
Your words echo my sentiments. To be grounded firmly and have an open heart that soars.
My thoughts are parallel to both of your posts. Being receptive.
Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.
I love this hymn! It’s a wonderful prayer, a great mantra. And it helps incarnate our faith in our lives. Thank you for reminding me of it.
A Celtic classic!
Love this Too! A friend gave me a copy of this a few years ago and I still recite parts too myself when I’m feeling in a dark mood – to help shake me out of it.
Yes, the gospel of John certainly is very different from the others. It seems to be both a response to the life of Jesus as well as a telling of the story of Jesus. I look forward to seeing the movie of this gospel again on TV — it is a gentle calm telling — as is this video an explanation of its strengths 🙂 🙂 🙂
My wish is to be drawn closer to the Lord
My wish is to overcome the clutter and distraction so that I can contemplate the real questions.
Thank you for reminding me that I am not alone in the desire to overcome distraction. Sometimes I think I hide behind disorganization to avoid coming to grips with life and with God. Seeing the light above the darkness, to light the way to Christ –surely that would put me on the right path.
I too feel that perhaps on a subconscious level I foster clutter in my life as an excuse for ignoring larger issues. I pray the Holy Spirit leads me on the path away from that.
I agree. Clutter and other distractions become an earthly focus.
I pray that I can overcome them.
I most desire to come to a fuller knowledge of God’s love and acceptance of me and that because of the life and death of Jesus Christ on my behalf I am worthy of love and can live life whole-heartedly. In as much as I am able to receive God’s loving acceptance of me am I able to find love for myself and others.
This is my true desire to know love and to be known by love. I find it in the liturgy.
Paradox: living with your head in the clouds and your feet on the ground.
My wish for the journey? To be so transformed by God’s love that I see through his eyes and feel through his heart.
Love this, Elizabeth! What a glorious wish.
Amen, Amen. My sentiments expressed so elegantly. Thank you, Elizabeth.
Thank you, Elizabeth. Your wish is also my wish.
Oh, yes! Amen to that prayer for my lifetime.
My Wish:
Peace within the Paradox!
My wish is to love the way!