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Encountering theLiving God

A J O U R N A L O F P R AY E R A N D D I S C O V E R Y

BY DAVID THORP

EDITED BY

FRANK DESIANO, CSP

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COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL - SAMPLE


A J O U R N A L O F P R AY E R A N D D I S C O V E R Y 1

T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S

CHAPTER 1 General Reflections 6

CHAPTER 2 The Lord’s Prayer 68

CHAPTER 3 A Novena to the Holy Spirit 122

CHAPTER 4 A Christmas Cycle 184

CHAPTER 5 Reflections on the Fruits of the Holy Spirit 196SAMPLE



General Reflections

6 E N C O U N T E R I N G T H E L I V I N G G O D

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In the third chapter of the book of Exodus, Moses notices a burning bush. He is intensely curious about this bush because it burns, but is not consumed. His curiosity leads him to encounter God. God then reveals to Moses the sacred names—“I am who am,” and “I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

We are invited to discover God’s names as well. In the many signs that come into our lives—most ordinary, some extra-ordinary—the mystery of God begins to emerge. We encounter God in our lives, in our relationships, and in the sacred Scriptures.

In the reflections that follow, we have the opportunity to think about God’s various titles and names—ways in which God has been revealed in human history. Each of these names can correspond to our own personal history, how God becomes real in our lives.

Our hearts, like the burning bush, are set ablaze . . . but not consumed.


C H A P T E R 1 G E N E R A L R E F L E C T I O N S

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FatherBlessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation . . . . (2 Cor. 1:3)

There are so many different ways that people have sought to answer the basic questions of life, to make sense out of the world around them, to understand themselves. Almost every culture in every time asks about the divine: “Who is God?” The answers vary greatly. For some the cosmos itself was divine. For others the universe was populated by a seemingly endless number of gods, each controlling one or another aspect of reality and often in conflict with each other and with humans. Humans would have to take care to address and placate each god; if one god was omitted your request might not be heard and you might be subject to that god’s anger. For others, the divine was a kind of impersonal force that held things together. Such views strike me as rather cold—and more than a little frightening.

For Christians, God is revealed as their merciful Father.

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F A T H E R , L E T M E K N O W A N D S E E T H E M A N Y WAY S

Y O U A R E R E V E A L E D I N M Y L I F E ? H O W C A N I G R O W

I N T R U S T O F G O D , T H E F A T H E R ?

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Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. (Hebrews 13:8)

We live in a world of rapid and sometimes frightening change. Everything seems to be built not to last; what we depended on yesterday has faded today. We are left wondering: Can I count on anything to be there?

We can trust Jesus because he is the same—unchanging in his love and mercy from one day to the next, from one year to the next, from one century or millennium to the next. Jesus will not fade.

Unchanging2

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C A N I O P E N M Y H E A R T T O T R U S T J E S U S

M O R E F U L L Y ? H O W C A N I F I N D M O R E S U P P O R T

F R O M J E S U S I N M Y P E R S O N A L L I F E ?

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I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. (Revelation 22:13)

Trying to grasp eternity is impossible. Yet since I was a little boy I have wondered what there was before time as we know it, and what there is beyond the known universe. When I think about the eternal I am filled with awe. If I were to reach into those places and times, Jesus would be there.

He, who is the eternal Son of the eternal Father, always was and is and will be. He is the beginning—the One through whom all things were made. He is the end—the One towards which all things move. He is not part way or part-time, A–M as it were. Jesus is A–Z. What more is there to seek than Jesus?

Alpha & Omega3

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L O R D , J E S U S , L E T M E R E F L E C T O N T H E WAY S

Y O U A R E A LWAY S T H E R E F O R M E , N E V E R G I V I N G U P.

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