Dear Parishioners,

Last week, I left off with the meditation on the “Two Flags”. If at the end the profound decision is made to follow Christ, to serve under his flag, then one begins the third week of exercises contemplating the life of Christ as presented in the Gospels. Especially, we contemplate the Last Supper, and the Passion and Death of our Lord. This is where we begin the “Via Unitiva”. Here we try to truly unite our will with the will of God in Jesus Christ. In the Fourth Week, we continue along the “Via Unitiva” by contemplating the Resurrection of Our Lord, his post-resurrection formation of the Apostles, his Ascension into Heaven and the descent of the Holy Spirit. The final contemplation is titled: “Perseverance in the Good”.

The fruit of this contemplation should be a profound resolution to live in union with the Will of God through Jesus Christ for the rest of our lives which implies that we must be in constant contact with the Lord in prayer (i.e. contemplation) to know and discern his will.

The Exercises is like spiritual boot camp and it forms a foundation for the spiritual life. Through them we learn great discernment and how to meditate and contemplate. (to be continued)