Day 1: My sufferings

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Meditation

‘‘And now, we beg you, Lord, by the sacrifice that reconciles us with you, extend to the whole world salvation and peace’’. (Eucharistic prayer N° 3) 

Suffering in itself is meaningless and God does not like suffering. He likes it so little that he came to take it in Himself. But then, why is it still there in my life? Can it be following Jesus, a path of Glory? St Augustin says: ‘‘We should understand that God is a doctor and that suffering is a remedy of salvation, not a punishment of damnation’’. Think about Jesus on the Cross, the sky darkens over the hours above Him, there are the masses of darkness that gather above the Son of Man. Jesus dying sighs: ‘My God, my God why has thou forsaken me ?’ and that word joins us all when suffering becomes unbearable. We no more say ‘Father’ because we doubt about Love. Then, the darkness gathered rush into Christ and he says ‘All is accomplished’ and dies. It seems he absorbs them all in a triumphant victory but under an apparent defeat. So it is with our human failures if we stick to a  pagan look. In Christ, it is death which dies with all its works! In Christ, I go down to my own hell where evil dwells and with Him, I go back to Ressurection. With Him, my suffering becomes a passage for the glory of the resurrection! Suffering from Jesus becomes like giving birth to eternal life as the woman excited with joy after the birth pangs. The word ‘obstacle’and the word ‘happiness’ share the same letters in Hebrew, as to introduce us into the pedagogy of the Cross path of Glory!


Questions

- Is there still in my heart anger or revolt against God because of my suffering?    

- Remembering past sufferings, can I read through them a path of transformation for me? 

- The Good Thief has opened his heart at the pit of his suffering, what does he tell me?

 Exercise

Imagine Jesus on the Cross, the motley crowd, the screams…then I get closer to his heart who loved men so much. From there, I let all the suffering situations of my life come, the people concerned…and listen to Jesus saying ‘Father, forgive them they do not know what they do’. Silence


Short story (from the Talmud)

‘While he was travelling, he reached a village thinking he could find a bed for the night. He had with him a rooster, a donkey and a candle. Unfortunately, he did not find anyone to welcome him and was forced to settle in a neighbouring field for the night. He then said: ‘All that heaven does to me is for good’. During the night, a lion popped up and killed the donkey; later on, a cat arrived and ate the rooster, and then the wind rose and extinguished the candle that lit up Rabbi Akiva. Despite the sadness that he could have felt, this time again he declared: ‘All that heaven does to me is for good’. In the morning, he went back to the village and realized with dismay that all the villagers had been swept away by an army. He then declared, ‘That is what we usually say: all that heaven does to me is for good’.   

          

Won't you ask Jesus to show you amongst your friends and family who would most need to this retreat for women and we encourage you to share the link: we are all disciples of his grace!  Blessings to you all.

                                                                     


Community prayer

Prayer for women

Thank you Lord for creating me woman! I am your daughter and I bless you for this new day, where your kindness and mercy are renewed again for me. I stand in the shadow of your wings and let myself love and look though you (I take time to let myself be watched by the Lord in all my being as a woman) Lord, you are my Creator and you have desired me from all eternity, as I am. You love me so much, I have so much value in your eyes that you gave your life for me. I thank you for the Life and Beauty that flow in me. By your Holy Spirit, I ask you the grace to take care of it, to glorify you with all my being as a woman. Lord, you are my God, my Saviour, my Beloved… (I take time to tell the Lord who He is for me : my rock, my sheperd…) Father, on this day, bless my thoughts, my actions and my encounters ; may your blessing reach each person you will put on my way. Through the intercession of all the holy women of heaven, I beg you to fill the hearts of women of the Hozanna community. Amen.

Thank you! 25 people prayed

Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer everyone. Col 4:6

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