One main principle of the following exercises is that we will recognize the will of God at the present moment with the help of the contemplation of the life of Jesus. - Step-by-Step Retreats, step 7
The orientation and meditation of this step begins by invoking the Gospel reading we heard yesterday, which is then the scripture specified for the fourth session of this step. Therefore I will not now reflect on this passage. Since I have three weeks for this step and seven sessions specified, it's probably good for me to spend a couple days just on the introduction to this step.
I'm a bit concerned that this whole retreat might end up too left-of-center for my liking, with too much emphasis on social justice rather and too little on being vessels of Christ's love. It is hard to explain the difference between those two things, because from the outside they can look like the same thing. I'm not reaching conclusions on that, though. In this retreat, and I'm trusting God to work in me the growth and maturity that I still lack rather than trusting my ability to have it all figured out.
In logotherapy Viktor Frankl stresses life’s unconditional meaningfulness, since meaning can be found in every situation - also beyond the possibility to work and to love, even in suffering and death. - ibid.
(Part of my caution about this retreat stems from these continual references to Christotherapy and logotherapy. That aside . . . )
I find myself struggling to find the meaning in the situations of my life, yet being willing to struggle, to trust that it is actually there. We are facing so many circumstances right now that are so maddeningly beyond our control that we don't see God's hand at work in. And there are other frustrating ones within our control for which I don't see any signs of growth or hope.
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