We have just revisited the stories of Zechariah, Joseph, and the Wise Men. We have also reflected on their encounters with angels.
Now let’s look at the big picture, and reflect on our own lives. We have come up with six angelic invitations to the three biblical characters.
Which one or two of our “six Rs” do you feel you are being called to?
Here’s a summary of them:
We invite you to journal in the COMMENTS section below by sharing with us your choices and your reasons for them.
Again, sharing is completely voluntary and confidential. We encourage you to share because the graces we receive are multiplied when we share them with others.
Play this music as you reflect and journal. Feel free to read the entries shared by your fellow online retreatants.
Music: Julian Lloyd Webber’s “Music When Soft Voices Die”
19 replies on “THE 6 ANGELIC R’s”
My advent angel speaks through the magi… refuse your fear, resume the journey through another way… I continue to be anxious because returning through another way feels like I cannot go back to the same way even if there is no Herod in the journey but many challenging aspects of life due to the recent changes in life…
This advent recollection has accompanied me in this journey that continues… i pray that the Word-enfleshed will give me courage, will lead me to life in fullness and in the service of doing my part to let God’s reign come…
Thanks a lot po for this chance to reflect in the continuous Advent of life…. Please include my intentions in prayers as I continue to thank God for this virtual retreat ministry that help many. Have a meaningful Christmas everyone!
There are just so many questions for me at this point in my life. Yes I have lived my life well, but I just feel like there is something more I am capable of. Sometimes, I feel stuck, tired, discouraged and unmotivated. There are so many thoughts in my head and there are also a lot of things that other people want for me. I am confused. I am uncertain. This online retreat has helped me take a step back and reflect. To have faith in the same way that Joseph, Zechariah and the Wise Men did. This Christmas I pray for God’s grace to give me strength and bravery amidst these difficult times. It’s transitionary periods like this that are tough to overcome but necessary to regain commitment and direction in my life. I know that with God’s help I will emerge a better person.
I also want to take this chance to thank you Father J from the bottom of my heart. Your book 50mething has been a great companion for me this year as I did my weekly reflection. Your weekly blogs were also of great help to me in understanding the scriptures more and applying them in my life. You have been a great inspiration to me ever since I got to know you during my grade school days. I wish you a blessed Christmas and a great 2019!
I’ve been thinking of taking the Spiritual Exercises for a long time now and maybe having you as my spiritual director would be awesome… 🙂
Life goes on, even though my aunt is gone and I am still wondering if God will lead me back into the corporate life, or elsewhere. I think that is a given. I think I am being drawn to revive my hope and receive my gift.
I am learning that I still want to grow as a person, learn many things, and see whether it is still possible to meet someone and build a family. For the longest time, I disregarded that. All these responsibilities, all these failed relationships my friends had. I have these yearnings now, and I will just need to relax and let God work as He wills regarding these new desires of my heart.
I too, have never married and I had given up on that dream. But Zecheriah’s Story touched my heart and I feel I need to revive my hope of finding a loving, responsible and God-loving man. I also need to refuse my fears of opening my heart and risk being hurt. I will trust in the Lord and His plan for me. I wish for you to revive your hope, receive your gift!! Wishing you a joyful new year! Best of luck to you.
Refuse your fears. I am always anxious about new things. As I venture into the new year with a new responsibility at our office, I pray that the Lord’s peace may be with me always and that I may be reminded that He will be always by my side.
My choices are to revise your dreams and resume your journey. I will join the league of senior citizens early next year and I am looking forward to optional retirement from the corporate world and rekindle my love for music by enrolling in a non-degree course on keyboard instruments and give more time and focus to my home-based business. These are my plans but I continue to pray to the Lord to know if my plans area aligned with His will for me. I have the option to continue working (and stabilize the backroom operations of a start up business) until I reach the compulsory retirement age of 65. Which way do I go?
Guidance on my next moves is included in my intentions during this year’s Christmas novena Masses.
Revise your Dream: Life doesn’t always turn out as we want it to be. We must adapt to it with the purpose of continuing to follow God’s will.
Resume your Journey: With our revised dream, we now continue with our journey in life. We can’t just withdraw from the world. In fact, the revised dream will bring exciting challenges & opportunities to help others…to give glory to God!
Receive your gift…
I am content now Lord but if you will it for me… your will be done O Lord…
Resume your journey
I’ve longed to conceive a child in my womb but the journey to having a baby led me and my husband to places and situations we’ve never imagined ourselves to be in. Despite the disappointments and struggles, we believe and trust in God’s will for us. I for one has witnessed that He indeed has better plans for us. His ways are not our ways. He only desires the best for us. This Christmas 2018, I hope to spend this season more joyfully, peacefully and meaningfully. I eagerly await for the wonderful 2019 journey that God has masterfully crafted just for me. I will let myself be led by the Spirit and trust confidently in God’s masterplan for me.
4 Rs – resist your pride, refuse your fear, revive your hope and resume your journey. All these I pray for. May it carry me to the New Year and the whole year through.
The stage of fear, the imperative of refusing the fear and continuing the journey – so relevant are these in my present life!
Lord, let me surpass this feeling…
Like my own shadow, it seemingly refuses to leave me.
Let me not be devoured by my fear
As a tread the path in this dark night of the unknown.
Bestow upon me the strength of faith
That with Your goodness,
I may falter and fail but will again rise up;
That without embracing darkness,
I will not savour the brightness of Your light.
Lord, there is more to life than the past ,
There is more to life than the present,
Let the blessings and lessons of the past
And the wisdom of the moment serve as my beckon
As I shall tread perhaps new and uncertain paths…
Lord, in Your seeming invisibility
Let me trust that I shall continue walking
And journeying with You…
No matter how difficult the journey may be,
Let me not be cowed as the doubting Peter…
But be persistent and triumphant like the Three Kings…
Amen.
What a beautiful prayer
Thank you.
I feel that the 2 Rs that resonate to me most are the one from St. Joseph’s Revise Your Dream and another from the Wise Men’s Resume Your Journey. I have changed my career to pursue a different route with God’s guidance. And I feel that it has come into a more positive outcome towards my career and my family. I can’t thank you enough Lord for your unexpected blessings.
As I reflect I saw that I need to resist my pride so that I can receive the gift meant for a purpose. Im working on with my humility, asking in prayers to receive the grace to have it, coz i was given a situation now that im in a test of overcoming pride. I can sense that i was redirected to another journey only that uncertainty covers me, the reason that i am also unsure what gift i am about to receive that the only hope that i have is to remain still keep the faith, pray, and wait. Please pray for me to be liberated from pain, anger and hurt, in Mighty Name if Jesus, amen. Thank you ?
I believe the Lord is calling me to revive my hope, by choosing to be joyful at all times and strive to have an attitude of gratitude. For I realize now that hope is the key to staying alive, if I must live my life fully and well.
He is also calling me to refuse my fears by going beyond my comfort zone. I pray that I would be able to give, love and serve, for now I know that there is something bigger than myself and would like to pursue that moving forward.
My present situation has been pulling me down, but reflecting on Zechariah’s experience with the Lord, it brought me to revive my hope. I must continue trusting God on his plan for me, and believe that this crisis is temporary.
Joseph’s encounter calls me to revise my dream and allow God to lead my life. I’m now contemplating on going home for good to take care of my parents while working in Phils.
Refuse your fear is what the the Three Wise Men teaching me. Going home with not enough money with me brought me so much worries that I could not feel excited nor happy for this holiday. I kept on thinking on how I’m going to make my parents happy without presents and money to spend leisurely. Today, I’m making a choice to be happy and excited in going home. I’m throwing my fears away and I’m going to believe that God is fully in charge of everything.
As parents, my husband and I have all kinds of fears when it comes to our kids who are all adults now. May we refuse such fears and instead continue to be their loving and merciful parents as God is to us.
with zechariah’s character, the angel is calling me to revive my hope. with my decision to keep on acknowledging God’s presence in my life during the low points in my life now, i am called to believe that things will turn out well after all. with joseph’s character, i am called to resist my pride. sometimes as professionals, we have the tendency to be arrogant. but with this verse, “For you are dust, and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:19), i am reminded to be humble at all times. with the character of the wise men, i am called to refuse my fear, fear of being rejected of the beautiful ideas i have to make my water business grow. and that i have to continue on persevering, for one day, God might answer my prayer. 🙂