We continue to follow Jesus as He appears to the women at the tomb, His disciples, and many others. Here is where we share with His Blessed Mother Mary and the disciples, joy in His Risen Life. In praying along the way toward the Ascension, we realize how we will also be called like the disciples to carry forth the Gospel's good news.
This Gospel in Parallel Ignatian Retreat rooted in the early Church's practice called the Via Lucis, the path of transforming joy.*
Note: Over these next 40 days till Ascension, we come to spend quiet times with Jesus as appears to hundreds and as He comforts His disciples, walking with them, instructing, equipping, and commissioning them for their mission, we come reflect upon those areas we desire to be comforted by Him as we accompany Him along the way on His last days on earth, leaving us trusting and waiting 10 days for the Comforter to be sent.
Preparing for Your Retreat
Offertory Prayer
Beginning your prayer time: At the beginning of each prayer period, offer yourself to the Lord. Pray the “Take and Receive”
Take Lord, and receive all my liberty,
my memory, my understanding, and my entire will,
all that I have and possess.
Thou hast given all to me.
To Thee, O Lord, I return it.
All is Thine; dispose of it wholly according to Thy will.
Give me Thy love and thy grace, for this, is sufficient for me.
Amen
Preparatory Prayer
“The preparatory prayer is to ask, God Our Lord for the grace is that all my intentions (wants and desires), actions, and operations (interior mental activities) , maybe order purely to the service in praise of the Divine Majesty” (SE 46).
Write in your own words your intentions _______________________
Petitionary Prayer
Now, being situated within the mystery, after reading it the night before (or before the prayer period begins), we ask for what we desire from the Holy Spirit to reveal to us how we may go forth to meet the will of God.
Share your desires with the Lord for this day's retreat. ___________________
Lord, grant me the grace "to be glad and rejoice intensely because of the great joy and the glory of Christ the Lord," who has risen from the dead. ( SE221)*
Meditations from the Four Gospels ( Pericopes)
(click the > to Open)
The Resurrection of Jesus - The Empty Tomb
Jesus's Initial Apparitions
Report of The Guard
The Road To Emmaus
Jesus Appears To His Disciples (Thomas Being Absent)
Jesus Appears To His Disciples (Thomas Present)
Jesus Appears To His Disciples By The Sea of Tiberias
The Commissioning: Jesus Appears To The Eleven On Mount Tabor In Galilee
Jesus Talks to Peter
Jesus Appears to the Many
The Ascension
Reflection: As you now wait in joy, obedience, and trust over the next 10 days till Pentecost, pray with these words of St. Ignatius:
Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and my entire will, all that I have and possess. Thou hast given all to me. To Thee, O Lord, I return it. All is Thine; dispose of it wholly according to Thy will. Give me Thy love and thy grace, for this, is sufficient for me. Amen
Gathering the Graces: Review and savor God’s gifts to you after each section and at the end. Make notes for sharing with your spiritual director or your faith-sharing group.
May the peace of Christ continue to remain in your heart as we come to celebrate Pentecost - the gift of the Holy Spirit.
NOTES: This as a Gospel in Parallel Retreat is based upon the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius' Fourth Week. The notations (SE) are taken from The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius translation by Louis J. Puhl. SJ of Loyola Press 1951.
*You will also find it similar to "The Stations of Light" an early Church devotional. It was spiritual journey with Christ based upon the fourteen events of His post-Resurrection life on earth also known as the Via Lucis, or Way of the Resurrection, a path of transforming joy.
2024 Our Lady of the Way Eastertide Retreat
Our Lady of the Way, Pray for us!
For more information or to register for Spiritual Direction