Oh, my! I am still learning. After all, I converted to Catholicism rather recently. This will be the blind leading the blind, I am afraid, but Jack was confident and handed me his notes for next week (those will help). Well, I do know a lot about shared governance, servant leadership, mentoring, coaching, and facilitated teaching, so I guess/assume/hope that I will be able to count on the aggregate knowledge of those present to create a mathemagenic session next week. (I am also counting on Sr. M, who was absent this week, to be present next week and help. She is a faithful presence at our Bible Study meetings and our prayer group meetings, and I have learned much from her.)
After the Bible Study meeting, one of the members of the group who also attends the weekly prayer group meeting, which I lead (long story of how the most unlikely person -- me -- got involved in doing that), started asking me a number of questions about contemplative prayer. She had been reading my book, A Believer-in-Waiting's First Encounters with God, and what she read made her yearn for deeper contemplation. While I have had wonderful experiences with contemplative prayer, there is only one person -- a priest -- within driving distance who teaches the Jesus prayer or any other kind contemplation. So, what I know has mostly from from God. Following some urging from my friend, I agreed that we could use our next movie night -- once a month we watch a movie as part of our prayer group activities -- to watch a video on contemplative prayer. I don't know what I will be able to say myself on the topic. I can do little more than share experience, and that makes me a little concerned/nervous.
So, when I arrived home, I sent up a prayer: "I need a lot of guidance here, Lord. You've put some precious people in my hands."
Immediately came a correction: "In My hands."
Of course, I am at best only the conduit. How easy it is to forget! I am sure now that both sessions will go precisely the way God wants.
Sometimes, it takes a lot of stuff happening for us to realize that He has it all under control ALL the time! I'm sure God will be blessed in both of your sessions.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Betty. Indeed, the first session went surprisingly well. In fact, the notes had a Jewish interpretation of the Messiah passage, which confused everyone until I realized that it had to be Jewish, something I know because one of our senior managers is Jewish and we are constantly comparing notes. Once I remembered that the person who had written the notes had put the course together with a rabbi, it all made sense. Of course, the Jewish interpretation of the Messiah passage would differ from a Christian interpretation. Now, as for the second session, my office is sending me to Utah in the morning, so my husband, who is just now starting to believe, will end up entertaining folks since movie night for the prayer group takes place in my home. Now it really will be fully in God's hands; no questions about that at all!
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