Recognizing God in My Life Experiences

Scripture

I raise my eyes toward the mountains. From where will my help come? My help comes from the Lord , the maker of heaven and earth. God will not allow your foot to slip; your guardian does not sleep. Truly, the guardian of Israel never slumbers nor sleeps. The Lord is your guardian; the Lord is your shade at your right hand. By day the sun cannot harm you, nor the moon by night. The Lord will guard you from all evil, will always guard your life. The Lord will guard your coming and going both now and forever. (Psalm 121)

Rom 8: 18-27 “The Spirit too comes to the aid of our weakness…"

Lk 12:22-31 “ Do not worry...your Father knows [what] you need.”

Introduction & Welcome (1 min.)

If you have new members, briefly go through introductions. Always thank each member for coming to the meeting. Briefly explain the purpose of this meeting: to recognize God in our life experiences.

I. Opening Prayer (5 min.)

Grace: To look honestly at how God has challenged and strengthened us in order to better recognize the Spirit’s presence and action in our daily activities.

Use the grace or a suggested scripture above to create your own prayer, or use CLC Opening Prayer.

II. Check-In (5 min.)

If needed, explain this again: We will do a short “check-in” every meeting. Just briefly share how you are feeling right now. The point of this exercise is to help us know how we feel at the start of the meeting. We will have more opportunities later in each meeting to expand upon what we have shared.

III. Focus Exercise (40 min.)

Materials Needed: CLC Supply Box [CLC Journal booklets (All the handouts are printed in the CLC Journal booklets), pens, etc.], Awareness Examen bookmarks

Introduction

(Paraphrase) One hallmark of our CLC spirituality is to find God in all things. We all hunger to feel and experience God’s presence and action in all aspects of our daily lives, not just in Sunday worship, CLC meeting, or specific “religious” activities. One way to recognize God’s presence in our daily lives is to pay attention to our life experiences. Ignatius’ Awareness Examen helps us to do so. Now, we will go through a sort of Awareness Examen using an exercise called the Mountain Motif. (Explain that they can also use any image that speaks to them instead of a mountain: the ocean, a freeway, a path, etc…)

Exercise: Mountain Motif

Instructions: Using the provided markers, draw a mountain or another image in your CLC journal booklet.

On the face of the mountain: write the names of people who have affected your life in a positive way and have helped you with life’s obstacles, even if you are still struggling with these particular challenges.
On the uphill slope of the mountain: briefly jot down the different obstacles you have had to overcome.
On the top of the mountain: write the different lessons you have learned as a result of the obstacles you have overcome.

Sharing

Allow the group to look at and silently reflect on the mountain for a moment.
Invite members to share what they wrote. Remind the group that everything shared in CLC is confidential. It should not be shared outside the group.
At the end of the sharing, encourage each member to thank the people that helped them on their journeys. Point out that the times of trials may draw out of us greater strength and growth that we may not realize we have undergone.
Ask if these painful experiences may reveal specific invitations to deepen our spiritual growth.

Listening deeper

What has struck you as you have been listening to others share? Do you notice any patterns or commonalities?
How have you been feeling during the meeting? Comfortable? Anxious? Curious?
Is there anything you would like to share after listening to another person share?

IV. Moving Forward (10 min.)

Wrap-Up: Over the next few weeks we will continue to explore the idea of the Awareness Examen and how it is a helpful tool in forging a CLC way of life that integrates spirituality and our life experiences. You can continue to practice using the steps of the Examen (see your journal booklets/ bookmarks) as a way of recognizing God in each day. This is an exercise that you can adapt to your own needs. The mountain is one means of self-reflection; there are many others.
1. Thank them for attending the first 3 meetings. Let them know that they are free to stop if CLC is not for them. Remind them that you are available to talk one-on-one if they would like to discuss what they are thinking or feeling about the group, etc.
2. Pass out the Awareness Examen bookmarks and point out the CLC Commitment page which can be found on the following page and also in the CLC journal booklets (encourage them to pray over it and be ready to make a commitment for the rest of the year during the CLC initiation).
Action: Spend 5 minutes a day with God (possibly using the Examen). Switch prayer partners.
Announcements: Topic for next meeting and upcoming CLC events

V. Closing Prayer: (5 min.)

God loves us more in deeds than in words. The Examen is an awareness exercise about how God is present and active in our concrete life experiences. Please close your eyes and recall how you felt throughout the meeting. What emotions have arisen, what thoughts and feelings do you feel called to address more deeply or continue to explore in prayer? (pause)

If you have any special intentions which you wish to voice aloud, please do so.

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