When the Lord saw him coming over to look at it more closely, God called out to him from the bush, "Moses! Moses!" He answered, "Here I am." God said, "Come no nearer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground. I am the God of Your father," he continued, "the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob." Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. But the Lord said, "I have witnessed the affliction of My people in Egypt and have heard their cry of complaint against their slave drivers, so I know well what they are suffering. Therefore I have come down to rescue them from the hands of the Egyptians and lead them out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey, ....
Come, now! I will send you to Pharaoh to lead My people, the Israelites, out of Egypt." But Moses said to God, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and lead the Israelites out of Egypt?" He answered, "I will be with you; and this shall be your proof that it is I who have sent you: when you bring My people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this very mountain." "But," said Moses to God, "when I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' if they ask me, 'What is His name?' what am I to tell them?" God replied, "I AM who am." Then he added, "This is what you shall tell the Israelites: I AM sent me to you." God spoke further to Moses, "Thus shall you say to the Israelites: The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. "This is my name forever; this is my title for all generations. (Exodus 3:4-15)
Grace: For a greater awareness of how we have experienced God and the openness to know and experience God even more.
Use the grace and the suggested scripture above to create your own prayer, or use CLC Opening Prayer.
Note: Ask for a volunteer to lead opening and closing prayers for the next meeting.
Materials Needed: CLC supply box (CLC journal booklets, papers, pens, etc.), "God Is" by Danielle Rose (song and lyrics)
Explain that the purpose of this meeting is to deepen our faith by re-examining our experiences of God. When we were young, we were taught and told by other people what to believe. Now, we are in college; we encounter so many different beliefs and ways of life. We might wonder about our faith and question our Church teaching. So, tonight we are going to explore this topic. We are going to focus on how we have experienced God so far. We all have experienced God, whether we are aware of these experiences or not. They may be positive, negative, affirming, confusing, etc.
Invite members to listen and follow along to the words of the song “God Is” by Danielle Rose.
Encourage them to pay attention to the words or phrases that stand-out to them, that stir up particular emotions or questions. Perhaps suggest that they mark those words or phrases on the lyrics in their journal booklet.
After the song has finished, allow for additional time in silence for each member to savor the parts that stood-out for them (perhaps gazing at the words on the page or prayerfully repeating them silently to themselves, as in Lectio Divina forms of prayer). After a few minutes in silence have passed, prayerfully encourage each member to say aloud just those words or phrases that touched them. Close this time of prayer by thanking God for speaking to each of us uniquely, in different words and in different ways.
Have each member reflect on the following questions.
Suggested questions to deepen awareness of inner movements and further conversation
Fall in Love
by Pedro Arrupe, SJ
Nothing is more practical than finding God,
That is, than falling in love in a quite absolute, final way.
What you are in love with,
What seizes your imagination,
Will affect everything.
It will decide what will get you out of bed in the morning,
What you will do with your evenings,
How you spend your weekends,
What you read, who you know, what breaks your heart,
And what amazes you with joy and gratitude.
Fall in love, stay in love, and it will decide everything.