Mourning into Dancing Session 4

Opening

O God, Who hast made the most holy night of Christmas shine forth with the splendor of the true Light: grant, we beseech Thee, that we, who have known the mysteries of His light on earth, may enjoy also His happiness in Heaven: Who, with Thee, lives and reigns with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.

Objectives

Participants will communally and individually contemplate the infinite love of God, the whole history of God's working with humanity and the priority of the love of God on immediate display in the Kerygma. In their particular sufferings, they should come to a sense of communion with God in their sufferings. Moreover, in response to these realities, participants will be invited to surrender their agonies by imagining God holding the parts of their bodies and hearts that hurt, gently working on them with their permission. Additionally, they should contemplate Christ the King, who sits on the throne of their hearts and is entrusted with managing every aspect of the disciple’s life. When it is good for us, He brings aspects of our brokenness into focus, making our momentary task with Him one of acknowledging their validity, showing compassion for them, expressing love—meaning the intent to will their good—gaining clarity about them, restoring their proper role, and reintegrating them with the rest of ourselves in our most difficult and wounded places. This should begin a journey of healing for the participants.

Methodology (Volunteer Actions)

Prepare as needed, and the presenting volunteer prepares and delivers the 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 arranging 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

• "For this reason, at every time and in every place, God draws close to man. He calls man to seek Him, to know Him, to love Him with all His strength...In His Son and through Him, He invites men to become, in the Holy Spirit, His adopted children and thus heirs of His blessed life." (CCC 1) "And when through disobedience he had lost your friendship, You did not abandon him to the domain of death. . . . Time and again You offered them covenants.(CCC 55, Eucharistic Prayer VI) "After the unity of the human race was shattered by sin God at once sought to save humanity part by part." (CCC 56)

• "Never more than at this time do we feel the need to make our own the Apostle's hymn of praise and thanksgiving: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless before him. He destined us in love to be his sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will... For he has made known to us in all wisdom and insight the mystery of his will, according to his purpose which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fulness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth” (Eph 1:3-5, 9-10). These words clearly indicate that in Jesus Christ the history of salvation finds its culmination and ultimate meaning. In him, we have all received “grace upon grace” (Jn 1:16), having been reconciled with the Father (cf. Rom 5:10; 2 Cor 5:18). The birth of Jesus at Bethlehem is not an event which can be consigned to the past. The whole of human history in fact stands in reference to him: our own time and the future of the world are illumined by his presence. He is “the Living One” (Rev 1:18), “who is, who was and who is to come” (Rev 1:4). Before him every knee must bend, in the heavens, on earth and under the earth, and every tongue proclaim that he is Lord (cf. Phil 2:10-11). In the encounter with Christ, every man discovers the mystery of his own life. Jesus is the genuine newness which surpasses all human expectations and such he remains for ever, from age to age. The Incarnation of the Son of God and the salvation which he has accomplished by his Death and Resurrection are therefore the true criterion for evaluating all that happens in time and every effort to make life more human." John Paull II, Dogmatic Bull on the Great Jubilee Year 2000 Incarnationis mysterium (29 November 1998), §1. 

Scripture Content

• God became one of us, suffering everything we do, including being treated as a sinner (minus the guilt): Isaiah 7:14, John 1:1-5, 9-14, 16-18, 29-34

• He humbled Himself unto death: Philippians 2:6-8

• The Once ethereal God entered into His own creation as if a creature Himself, taking on the form of His greatest creation: Colossians 1:15-16, Colossians 2:9, 1 Timothy 3:16, Hebrews 1:3, Hebrews 2:14, Hebrews 4:15

Personal Content w/ Example

• Particular type of suffering this is helpful consideration for suffering: Due to Chosen Spiritual Unity

• Think of a time when you were really struggling with a question or a reality and you took it to God and prayed about it and you felt God's presence or got a timely answer or felt close to God in a struggle. How has giving God the throne in your life and giving operational authority over all things contributed to an overall better reality? How have you felt God's presence? Was there a Christmas that was apparent to you? How does the Incarnation make you feel: that God came down and suffered our trials with us? Have your sufferings ever been made sweet by knowing someone was with you?

Participant Interaction

1. Listen: Listen attentively to the talk.

2. Discuss in small groups:

• Due to Chosen Spiritual Unity: How does embracing unity with Christ transform your understanding and experience of suffering?

• Discuss what relief or relevance being made good has on suffering. What implications might being made good have on eventual outcomes or paths to resolution in conflict? What does being made good suggest about the reality of our sufferings and our sin? What insights have the talk and its parts helped you perceive? What is God doing in your heart when these truths are shared?

3. Pray:

• Due to Chosen Spiritual Unity: Pray for the grace to unite your suffering with Christ’s, asking Him to transform your pain into an expression of His love.

• Spend time in prayer contemplating the act of surrendering your agonies by imagining God gently holding the parts of your body and heart that hurt. Contemplate Christ the King, who reigns in your heart and manages every aspect of your life by bringing your brokenness into focus, showing compassion, and restoring you in your wounded places.

Feedback/Measurable Outcomes

• Participation and authenticity by all.

• Participants are given a sense of unity with Christ in His suffering, are given the conviction to offer their suffering for the good of the world, and understand that joy amid suffering is possible.

• After the last two sessions, they will be very thankful to not contemplate the harsh realities of the Christian life only and recognize there has to be bad news for the good news, thus if they have stayed this long they are likely to stay for it all, in terms of desire to attend. There should be a brighter reaction.

Closing

• Our Father...

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

• Consider the optional content.

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

Optional Content

• Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary