Discover & Make Known the Love of God
When we experience union with the Heart of Jesus, we want whatever he wants. – have you ever had the kind of experience that St Madeleine Sophie Barat describes? – where and when have you had a strong sense of God’s goodness? – what helps you to be free enough to want whatever God wants?
Religious of the Sacred Heart say that our charism is wholly contemplative and wholly active. – why do you think Helen McLaughlin says that an active life on mission requires contemplation? – do you find it hard to be contemplative and active at the same time? – are your action and prayer in tension with one another,or are they unified?
The spirit of Christ enables us to know ourselves and to love others. – how has your relationship with Jesus helped you to know and to accept yourself? – can you recall a time when you unexpectedly experienced someone as truly a brother or sister? – when have you had a sense of being filled with the spirit of Jesus?
Intimacy is central to a spousal relationship. Marie Therese de Lescure RSCJ reminds us that we are called to closeness to the Heart of Jesus. – does it seem strange to speak of intimacy as an obligation or a right? – intimacy is a basic human need, how do you nurture intimacy with your close friends, and with Jesus? – when do you feel the closest to the Heart of Jesus?
Mabel Digby RSCJ invites us to maximum openness to the truth. It remains an important message for today! – what do you understand by the ‘doors’ and ‘windows’ of our souls? – how might you open not only your mind, but your soul, to the truth? – what does Mabel Digby mean by truth – the truth of God,of the Gospel, of ourselves?
The vocation of Religious of the Sacred Heart is to go to the heart of life with the attitudes and feelings of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. – when you hear the expression ‘to be the Heart of God on earth’ what does it mean to you? – what would you say are the attitudes and feelings of the Heart of Jesus? – how do you express the attitudes and feelings of the Heart of Jesus in your life?
Mary lights our path because she knew how to love the adventure of God with all its consequences. – how can you give love flesh through your life? – do you experience God as an adventure? – looking at this stage of your life, what strength, encouragement and light do you pray for?
As members of the Society of the Sacred Heart we share a common call. This call is to discover and make known the love of the Heart of Jesus. We also share this call with other members of the Sacred Heart family. – why might Concepcion Camacho RSCJ call the power of our common call ‘hidden’? – how do you go about discovering the treasure of Jesus’ Heart? – how do you share this treasure?
God calls us by name. We are able to recognize this call when we have entered into the deepest part of our selves. – How does it feel to be called by your own name? – What helps you to enter into the deepest part of yourself? – Have you experienced knowing and being known by someone else intimately as a privileged place?
Faith is not just a philosophy or way of thinking. It requires a wholehearted response. – what part does thinking play in your faith? – how do you hand your whole being over to God? – which part of yourself is it the hardest to hand over?