Mourning into Dancing Session 3

Opening

O God, whose nature is always to have mercy and to spare, grant everlasting rest to the souls of Thy servants and handmaidens, including ourselves at the time of our death. In Thy clemency, forgive them their sins and free them from the bonds of mortality, that they may be numbered among Thy redeemed and found worthy to enter into eternal life.

O God, who alone grants healing after death, we beseech Thee to wash away all earthly taint from Thy servants, that, as they believed and hoped in Thee in this life, they may now share in the joy of Thy eternal kingdom. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who lives and reigns with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.

Objectives

Participants will communally and individually contemplate death, the ultimate contradiction of the good of life and existence which is the fulfillment of man's sin, i.e. choice against truth, love, life, and communion.

Methodology (Volunteer Actions)

Prepare as needed, and the presenting volunteer prepares and delivers a talk on the content of this session, uniting it with personal experience, what one has been taught about the subject/passage from Sacred Scripture or Magisterium, and sharing one's own reflection upon it.. Volunteers who are comfortable and gifted with helping someone grieve may lead small groups, participate in prayer teams, and lead one-on-ones. Volunteers who are not gifted or comfortable with doing so may help the priest with adoration, lecturing at the Mass, and arrange rooms according to needs. All assist with clean up according to the parish staff request, and for the sake of tidiness in any case.

Magisterial Content

• "“God did not make death, and he does not delight in the death of the living. . . . It was through the devil’s envy that death entered the world” (Wis 1:13; 2:24)...As a result of original sin, human nature is weakened in its powers; subject to ignorance, suffering, and the domination of death; and inclined to sin....By his obedience unto death, Jesus accomplished the substitution of the suffering Servant, who “makes himself an offering for sin,” when “he bore the sin of many,” and who “shall make many to be accounted righteous,” for “he shall bear their iniquities.” Jesus atoned for our faults and made satisfaction for our sins to the Father”...“[in] the poor and the suffering,... the Church recognizes the image of her poor and suffering founder.”...On this way of perfection, the Spirit and the Bride call whoever hears them to perfect communion with God: There will true glory be, where no one will be praised by mistake or flattery; true honor will not be refused to the worthy, nor granted to the unworthy; likewise, no one unworthy will pretend to be worthy, where only those who are worthy will be admitted. There true peace will reign, where no one will experience opposition either from self or others. God himself will be virtue's reward; he gives virtue and has promised to give himself as the best and greatest reward that could exist... "I shall be their God and they will be my people...." This is also the meaning of the Apostle's words: "So that God may be all in all." God himself will be the goal of our desires; we shall contemplate him without end, love him without surfeit, [and] praise him without weariness. This gift, this state, this act, like eternal life itself, will assuredly be common to all." (CCC 413, 418, 615, 786, 2550)

• "Sanctification is a sharing in the holiness of God who, through grace received in faith, progressively modifies human existence to shape it according to the pattern of Christ. This transfiguration can undergo heights and depths according to whether the individual obeys the promptings of the Spirit or submits again to the seductions of sin. Even after sin the Christian is raised up again by the grace of the sacraments and directed to go forward in sanctification. The whole Christian life is comprised of and summed up in charity, unselfish love for God and neighbor. Saint Paul calls charity the “fruit of the Holy Spirit” (Gal 5:22) and then indicates the many implications of this charity, both in his list of the fruits of the Holy Spirit (Gal 5:22-23) and in his hymn to charity (1 Cor 13:4-7)." (International Theological Commission, Doctrinal Document on the Select Questions on the Theology of God, the Redeemer (7 October 1995), §70-71.)

• "We can try to limit suffering, to fight against it, but we cannot eliminate it. It is when we attempt to avoid suffering by withdrawing from anything that might involve hurt, when we try to spare ourselves the effort and pain of pursuing truth, love, and goodness, that we drift into a life of emptiness, in which there may be almost no pain, but the dark sensation of meaninglessness and abandonment is all the greater. It is not by sidestepping or fleeing from suffering that we are healed, but rather by our capacity for accepting it, maturing through it and finding meaning through union with Christ, who suffered with infinite love." Benedict XVI, Encyclical Letter on the Christian Hope Spe salvi (30 November 2007), §37.

Scripture Content

1. Originating with Sin: Romans 6:23, Romans 5:12, Hebrews 9:27

2. Christ’s Victory Over Death: John 11:25-26, John 3:5-6, 1 Corinthians 15:54-55

3. The Meaning of Death contravened attainment of Paradise, Health, and Full Communion: Philippians 1:21, 2 Corinthians 5:8

4. The Cost of Following Christ: Matthew 16:24-25 in tension with John 12:23-26, Galatians 2:20, 1 Corinthians 15:31, Mark 8:34-35

5. Union with Christ: Isaiah 52:13-53:12

6. Christ Weeping over death, destruction, and the lack of conversion of sinners: Luke 19:41-44, John 11:30-44

Personal Content w/ Example

1. Particular type of suffering This is helpful consideration for suffering: Due to the Present State of the World & Others and Due to Natural and Psychological Growth

2. Share a time when you sought to avoid suffering, whether it be a difficult obligation, or trying to move away, but your problems followed you. Father Patrick Grode has always told me if you run from the cross it will find you anyway, how have you come to realize this? How does running from the cross equate to disbelief in God's goodness?

Participant Interaction

1. Listen: Listen attentively to the talk.

2. Discuss in small groups:

1. Due to Natural and Psychological Growth: How does facing the stark realities of suffering and death challenge your inner strength and promote your personal development?

2. Due to the Present State of the World & Others: How do you understand the tangible consequences of sin in our world, and what does this reveal about our collective struggle?

3. Discuss the matter-of-fact nature of the wages of sin. With Christ’s suffering—even in its most exposed and painful forms—do you feel exposed by the consequences you face? Do you sense that our ongoing struggles testify to our sin? Are there times when you feel overwhelmed? What is the nature of the “white martyrdom” (as John of the Cross suggests, "we die though we do not die")? Why does God call us to forgive and surrender? How do we partake in the Kingdom of Heaven by suffering well?

3. Pray:

• Due to Natural and Psychological Growth: Pray for resilience and clarity amid overwhelming trials, asking for the strength to transform your struggles into growth.

• Due to the Present State of the World & Others: In prayer, ask for wisdom to perceive the broader implications of sin and suffering, and to embrace forgiveness and hope.

• Spend time in prayer contemplating Jesus comforting you as you once comforted Him—recognizing that while your love for Jesus is finite, His love transcends every human possibility, even on the Cross. Reflect on the call to cease further suffering through sin.

Feedback/Measurable Outcomes

1. Participants are presented with a clear sense that Christ wants us to not try to side-step our suffering but to pass through it, surrendering the discomfort to God who alone is trustworthy and loving.

2. Participants feel empowered and accompanied by God and their neighbor to endure their sufferings with a modicum of joy, knowing their belovedness, and strong conviction that sin is what has brought suffering about, knowing it to be the will of God.

3. Participation and authenticity by all.

Closing

1. Our Father...

2. Make announcements and anticipate the next session's content and how it connects.

3. Consider the optional content.

4. Emphasize rest, processing puts much stress on the body.

Optional Content

• Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary