MALVERN RETREAT

HOUSE

FAITH, MARY AND THE WEDDING FEAST OF CANA

Changing Water… ..into Wine

WARNING !

• Interactive• Challenging

Conferences will be….

ROADMAP:“They have no wine” (John

2:3)

What’s missing?

Reading the “Signs of the Times”

The Church – then & now Personal discernment –

gifts and charismsObservation

New Evangelization & Year of Faith

What the Church does. What the Church needs to

do

Disciples, Martyrs and Witnesses

Mary and faith applied

Implementation

Sources:• Benedict XVI, Porta

Fidei• Bible

REFERENCE:

JOHN 2:1-12

LENTReading the “Signs of the

Times”

Porta Fidei, Pope Benedict XVI, 2012

“Faith impels us to read and discern the signs of the times in the present history.”

FROM VATICAN II

“The council yearns to explain to everyone how it conceives of the presence and activity of the Church in the world of today….

FROM VATICAN II

…To carry out such a task, the Church has always had the duty of scrutinizing the signs of the times and of interpreting them in the light of the Gospel.”

(Vatican II, Gaudium et Spes – “The Church in the Modern World,”

Para 2, 1965 )

How does the Church do this ? (Scrutinize,

interpret & explain?)

PAUL VI

“(The current times) should prove a stimulus to the Church:To increase its vitality, To take stock of itself, To give careful consideration to the signs of the times,

Always and everywhere ‘proving all things and holding fast that which is good.’"

(Ecclesiam Suam, Encyclical by Paul VI “On The Church,” 1964 )

IN OTHER WORDS, THE CHURCH ASKS:

Where were we? ……..

Where are we? ………Where are we

going? ..What’s good? ………..What’s not? ………….

(Past) (Present) (Future) (Keep or make

better) (Change or discard)

And….how do we discern this? (next slide)

READING THE “SIGNS OF THE TIMES”

An Interactive Exercise

READING THE “SIGNS OF THE TIMES”

As a Church, where do we see:

An increase in vitality? The Church taking stock of itself? The Church giving careful consideration to the

signs of the times?“Holding fast that which is good"

READING THE “SIGNS OF THE TIMES”

As a Church, where do we NOT see:

An increase in vitality? The Church taking stock of itself? The Church giving careful consideration to the

signs of the times?“Holding fast that which is good"

READING THE “SIGNS OF THE TIMES”

As a believer:

Where do you see an increase in vitality in you life?

How are your taking stock of yourself?

Who helps you give careful consideration to the signs of the times?

What is good in your life to which you are, and should be, “holding fast?” (“Wine from water”)

READING THE “SIGNS OF THE TIMES”

As a believer, where does there need to be conversion/redemption:

What areas of your life are lacking vitality ?

What areas of your life have not been examined? (“Taking stock of yourself”)

Whom do you still need to consult to give “careful consideration to the signs of the times?”

What is NOT good in your life onto which you are still “holding fast?”

QUESTIONS:

What is this that we’re doing?

Why is this important?

Extra Credit:

What saint is famous for this process?

What religious order did he found?

What book did he write?

WHAT SECULAR EXAMPLES DO

WE HAVE OF THIS PROCESS?

READING THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES,AN EXAMPLE

Kate, Andy (not their real names) and the “New Year’s Eve Party”

TO CLOSE, READING THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES…

… Lent and you

Faith, Mary and the Wedding Feast of Cana

Changing Water… ..into Wine

Malvern Retreat House

The New Evangelizationand The Year of Faith

Roadmap:

“They have no wine” (John 2:3)

• What’s missing?

• Reading the “Signs of the Times”

• The Church – then & now• Personal discernment –

gifts and charisms

• Sources:▫ Benedict XVI, Porta Fidei▫ Bible

Observation

New Evangelization & The Year of Faith

• What the Church does• What the Church needs to

do

• Disciples, Martyrs and Witnesses

• Mary and faith applied

Implementation

The “New Evangelization”

(vs. the “old evangelization”)Definition and Context

What the Church Does(Benedict XVI, Deus Caritas Est)

•Kerygma – Proclaim the Word

•Leitourgia – Sacraments

•Diakonia - Charity

In the past – A Church of Disciples

•From Latin discipulus

▫Pupil▫Learner▫Apprentice

▫Might have a mission (though smaller) (Example: Luke 10:1-24 and the “70 disciples”)

“Pray, pay and obey”

Today’s Calling – Martyrs?

Types: Examples:

• Blood

• Public witness

• Poverty (simple life)

• Chastity

• Obedience

• Action for Justice

• Charity

• From Greek, “Martus”

Calling and Faith

•What the world – needs now:

▫Credible witnesses

▫People able to open the hearts of others (“Charity”)

▫But also people “enlightened” in mind and heart.

Why mind as well as heart?

A Time For Witnesses

• 1 Peter 1:6-7 “Now for a little while you may have to suffer grief in all kinds of trials …

• These have come so that your faith - of greater worth than gold - which perishes even though refined by fire …

• …may be proved genuine …• …and result in praise, glory and honor • …when Jesus Christ is revealed.”

A Time For Witnesses

• Is our current suffering a prelude to joy ?

• “That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, difficulties. ..

• For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

• (1 Corinthians 12:10)

What the Church Still Needs To Do

• Benedict XVI …………………………….…...

• Practical activity insufficient unless:▫ Expands love for man (“Heart)▫ Informed by the “Word” (“Mind”)▫ Nourished by encounter with Christ

• “Charitable activities at all levels must avoid risk of becoming just another form of organized social assistance.” (Benedict XVI, Deus caritas est)

• Caution: pelagianism

“At some point… needs to lead to

social responsibility.”

Faith in Action

Mary as the Model

Faith Applied in Action:

•Discern for yourself what the Lord is telling you during your retreat this year.

•Discuss this three times with at least one person over the course of the next year.

Faith Applied in Action:

•There are 18 Marian celebrations and feast days…

•Celebrate just one of these days that honor Mary this year.

Faith Applied in Action:

•Commit to saying the Rosary (or Divine Chaplet) daily during October, the month dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary.

Faith Applied in Action:

• Mary is mentioned close to 50 times in the New Testament. …

• Over the next year, chose and read just one Marian story or passage.

• Sit with and pray with this passage for one week from one Saturday to the next.

Mary as the Model

What you might experience:

What to do:

• Joy• Trepidation• Trust• Confusion• Wonder

• Treasuring Memories▫ “Pondering”

• Meditation▫ “Reflecting”

• Tasting ▫ The fruits

End Presentation…

The New Evangelizationand The Year of Faith