IGNATIAN SPIRITUAL EXERCISES TRAINING (ISET)
2023-BLOCK THREE – SESSION 27
GIVING THE THIRD WEEK
Adri-Marie: [00:00:00] Ah, good morning. Good evening.
Oh, I love that moment when the screen goes on. I always wonder where I’m going to see MaddyChristine this time.
We’re starting to get to know each other’s houses a little bit. Also, we never know where we’re going to find Trevor. It’s real fun to be with you this evening. If you can, [00:01:00] just remember to switch to mute as we enter, but welcome, Welcome. I’m gonna hand over to Anne to guide us in some prayer.
Anne: Thank you. So shall we enter into silence and just become still. If it’s better for you to switch your video off, please feel comfortable enough to do that. Let us enter into prayer.
Be still, be present, [00:02:00] be silent.
Try and quieten your mind.
How is God present to you?
How is God tending to you now?[00:03:00]
Are you sensing a flow of something from God?
How do you respond to God?[00:04:00]
I’m going to read something to you. I’ll read it twice. Just hold on to the words or the phrase that announces itself to you, and in the quiet time, just speak to God about that.
The prayer of Jesus—
Protect my disciples.
Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them in your name, that you have given me. [00:05:00] I guarded them, and not one of them was lost, except the one destined to be lost, so that scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world, so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves.
Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them in your name, that you have given [00:06:00] me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost. Accept the one destined to be lost, so that scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world, so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves.[00:07:00] [00:08:00] [00:09:00] [00:10:00]
The prayer of Jesus—
Protect my disciples.
Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them in your name, that you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost, except the one destined to be lost, so that the scripture might[00:11:00] be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves.
So, Lord, we thank you for these words from John 17 written in scripture. Please bless them to our hearts and help us to gain meaning and clarity and understanding from them.
We ask this in the blessed name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.[00:12:00]
Adri-Marie: Thank you so much, Anne. Well friends, tonight we’re getting very practical regarding
Week Three. So, I hope you are holding in your heart and in your mind; I hope it’s fresh—some of that broader overview that Trevor shared last time. I’m also going to make the assumption that you are going to look at Ignatius’s little book afterwards and really read through some of the points thoroughly, slowly with compassion for yourself if you don’t understand a word.
Tonight, I want to really make this accessible for you; and first just to remind you that there’s only one first time of guiding somebody through the exercises. Maybe some of you have started and remember there’s only one first time so [00:13:00] be gentle with yourself. You don’t have to get it all the first time.
All right. It’s quite a lot to cover so here we go, friends. I want to start by saying I have some bad news, but I just have to tell you. In Week Two, your exercitant is spending such beautiful time with Jesus’ public life, and you know what? They actually know what’s coming. It’s not a mystery. People know the Christ story, so they know what’s coming.
They know, “Oh, this has been so amazing spending time with Jesus.” They know at some stage they’re going to have to walk this road of the passion. So, it’s not a mystery. They know this story. You don’t have to fear too much. They know and they anticipate; they know when they’re getting on that donkey, they know where it’s going.
Where I want to [00:14:00] encourage you is even if your exercitant knows what’s coming, it’s like that phrase, “It’s Friday, but Sunday’s coming.” There is where I want to encourage you. Week Three is about Friday and I want to encourage you to stay in Friday .That is the art and even if your mind and your exercitant goes, ”Yes, but Sunday’s coming,” the art of Week Three is staying in saying,” It’s Friday,” and we know how the story ends, but today it’s Friday.
All right, so where are we? If you want to look in your Ignatian book, we are in number 190. If you want to go there and just see, all right, that’s where all the good stuff is written; all the guiding stuff is written on where we’re going to go and how we’re going to guide [00:15:00] this.
Let me first say this. How do we actually know it’s now time for Week Three? You are going to look for a few indicators. It’s so beautiful and you’re going to see this. You’re going to feel it in your bones most likely. Very most likely, you’re gonna feel in your bones and hear your exercitant saying things like, “Wow, this friendship with Jesus is activating something in me.” This desire to even carry their own cross. It’s almost a bit of a sadness that’s coming upon them the closer you get to Week Three because they know, “Oh, my friend’s going to go through something big soon.”
You can feel almost a pull, a change of momentum—something about this willingness to take up a cross. Something about, I can’t do [00:16:00] life without Christ. I’m becoming even deeper aware of the suffering in the world. I want to serve. I want to get down with it, you know. This friendship is wonderful, but this friendship is leading me to something. You might hear them talk about the cost of discipleship or this beautiful, intimate friendship. We know that’s of course, the grace that’s been met, and we’re looking and hoping to feel that in our bones—this increased love of following more closely.
You might even find if the person did make an election, that there’s a confirmation even already that’s been received. But you will feel—and I hope some of the mentors are willing to nod their heads for me—that there is something in the dynamic that you feel a pull, almost [00:17:00] even a readiness for even more. That’s how you know, and it has to do something about this cost, taking up a cross, willingness to serve, to go deeper.
Now my other question is, are you ready for it? On the one side, your executant can feel ready. Now, how are we ready for it? My number one thing really just an encouragement always is— let’s lay down our own experience. It’s so key; just laying down your own experience of Week Three before you’re guiding somebody through it, because they are going to rewrite this experience. Different things are going to stir them. God will meet them in a way where they need to be met.
Secondly, Just have your supervisor on dial. This is a time [00:18:00] when supervision is truly important just because it’s such an intimate week. There is a different kind of intensity to it, and sometimes it’s even good for us to just share the experience. And again, the supervisor isn’t there to check on you or anything. It’s just to exchange ideas, to share your wonderings and your observations. It’s a deeply moving thing to guide somebody In general, and there is something particular about this Week Three.
Let’s talk about giving the grace of the third week. Before I mention the grace, and Trevor also spoke about this grace last time. you will know by now that there’s preludes and then usually the third prelude is the grace—asking for what you want. So, preludes are almost like the preparations that Ignatius gives.
So let me go do some preludes before I [00:19:00] talk about the grace. When you are giving the exercises; when you are ready to give week three, part of your helping your person to prepare is also knowing that the material is helping them to be ready. If you think about it, this beautiful entry into Jerusalem sets the scene, doesn’t it? It’s this going on a donkey; there’s tears involved. It’s just this contrast of emotions. And if you consider again, the three types of love and three types of humility, it’s almost worth talking about it again. It’s about this entry of “alongside” and wanting to share in it all—wanting, desiring to move in that third type of love or humility.
So, how can I help my exercitant prepare? I usually encourage them [00:20:00]—similar to Week One, but this is not the time to wear your shocking pink tracksuit—that’s for the resurrection. We put that special away for special occasions. So, this is a time to rather put on darker clothes and when you pray, just closing a bit of the curtains perhaps. This is not a time for dessert, if you know what I mean. It’s a time to keep things simple regarding meals, and I’ll talk to you about that just now again.
It’s even a time to let your family know. This is my preparation to say, “Listen, I’m going to pray in particular with Jesus through His passion.” And again, the good news is it’s not really bad news as I said. The good news is they know it’s coming. The [00:21:00] encouragement is to experience it afresh. So, to even share with the family, “Listen, it’s going to be a particular type of prayer time, so if I might not seem my utmost brightest self, do not be concerned. Do not be concerned.”
And again, each person remakes it as they do. We’re in preparation. You might even remind them the moment they wake up to recall the grace—the moment they wake up to just really get in touch with that grace. They’re going to really befriend their grace. Sometimes it’s even helpful, because they know what’s coming, to talk to them about how do they experience grief, or have they lost somebody and what was it like, or what is it like to sit next to somebody in a moment of grief?
Sometimes during Week Three, we might even offer a little bit of [00:22:00] just sharing of that attitude of just the sharing of sacred space. I think often when you sit with somebody who grieves, it almost captures the sacredness of this space.
So, you’ll see point 210; that’s a very interesting part and I’ll let Annemarie talk about that or make a comment on that a little bit later. Sorry Annemarie, but not really sorry.
There is an actual list that they call the rules for eating, and then you have a whole set of things there. Now, I’m not going to talk you through those. There are mixed opinions about why that list there., but I actually love this idea that Ignatius just saw all of life as important and somehow in Week Three, there’s a rule for eating. What he basically says in there is, don’t go extravagant in this time. Keep [00:23:00] it simple. Keep it balanced. Don’t go overboard. Keep company with the saints as you eat. And of course, the Eucharist is so central. The Last Supper spilling over into all our meals almost from there.
I think that’s why maybe he made an extra note of it. You don’t have to make a big comment on it, but it’s when you explain Week Three, perhaps it can be an encouragement. “Hey, if you’d like to fast, this is the time we’re going to make as much space as possible for the beauty of what God is up to.”
All right, so we know there’s Three Preludes and then six points that Ignatius starts with by point 190. The three preludes are always recalling the history. What happened again? It’s whetting our appetite in order to pray the grace and to pray the prayer. What happened again? [00:24:00] Recalling history, all right. Christ came on a donkey, sent some disciples, all right. How he points out the Last Supper is a little mini cosmos to pull through those three preludes and the six points you’ll find there in the description of the Last Supper. You kind of draw through, almost the way of prayer throughout the rest of Week Three.
So, you recall history, then you would have heard me talk about composition of place. That’s when we start to ignite our imagination. Hhmmm…they walked on a road. Was it a broad road, or a narrow road, or a gravel road? It’s wetting our appetite. Where is this taking place? And starting the imagination and then asking for what I want.
I love that the grace is literally called asking for what I want. You would recall all that we spoke about desire. If you’re like [00:25:00] me, I was a bit nervous and sometimes still am to introduce the grace for the Third Week because it’s quite like a big grace—the same as Week One—and I don’t generally ask people to please ask for the grace to feel sorrow. That’s not in general the prayer that I suggest for folks, but you’re actually suggesting a prayer like that. So, I want to immediately say, just be real about your own nervousness or maybe excitement regarding introducing this grace and maybe befriend yourself again before giving.
So, we pray for the gift—a gift of feeling sorrow with Jesus in sorrow; anguish with Jesus’ anguish—that deep layered, “feeling with,” And then, there is an element on the other side of the coin that is also because of my [00:26:00] afflictions. So, a feeling with. and also because of my afflictions.
Now, when it comes to those six points, that again have kind of been drawn out, it’s like little tips to remember.
When you do a Gospel imagination in Week Three, Ignatius says to see the persons at the supper. He says, see; what are you seeing? That’s point one.
Number two, what are you hearing?
Number three, watch what people are doing. Don’t you just love it? See; notice and how is it affecting me and how may I draw some profit?
Hear; watch what are people up to? What is unfolding in the scene? What is this showing me? I even want to add smell taste all of the above. Experience. [00:27:00] Ignatius is just saying, “Hey let’s experience.” You’ll see in the text, he talks through those points.
Then point four, he reminds us to say, we’re going to give all our effort, all our powers to grieve and feel sorrow. I am putting my emotions. at service. I’m saying, “Okay, I’m willing to feel.”
Then point five is almost like a little reminder. Did you know that in Week Three, we see Jesus in His almost his most humane-ness. We are experiencing deep loss, disappointment, betrayal. Such deep human emotions. So, He almost says that the Divine nature is going into a bit of hiding. Jesus is really making himself so accessible with us, understanding what we’re going through. [00:28:00]
Point six. Just keeping in mind that other side of the coin, that all of this is also a suffering also for my sins.
If we go to point 199, it’s a beautiful point Ignatius is saying around the colloquy. Now, you will remember colloquy, conversation; they’ve been colloquy-ing so nicely up to now. They’re used to colloquy-ing and in particular, Week Three, it’s such a beautiful thing. iI’s almost like Ignatius is saying, do a colloquy in the way that it is possible and most helpful, whether it is with Christ or a triple colloquy.
So, either or, and it’s [00:29:00] really just putting it at service. The colloquy, and you are going to guide somebody whilst they’re in the presence in their imagination with Jesus physically on the cross but we’ll get to that so there will be interaction with Jesus the whole time anywhere within the gospel contemplation but to go even deeper, Ignatius says whether you stay with Christ or then also have Mary, Jesus, the Father or an adaptation then of the triple colloquy.
All right, let’s move over to the content. I’m going to share a screen with you that I hope is a helpful summary and of course I will send it to you just to give you a bit of a bird’s eye view, as I think you know by now, I enjoy myself.
So, you’ll see, we have [00:30:00] seven days set out and of course, a day literally means a physical full day. If you are in the 30-day exercises, you’ll see, this is what’s in the little book. All right. So, we always start with being faithful and then we can also adapt. This is what’s in your book. Seven days—look at the format—two contemplations, a rest, a repetition, a resume, which I might be pronouncing incorrectly, which is basically just a repetition of the repetition.
All right, so it’s a going even deeper. It’s a repetition of the repetition, making it even less. You’ll see the format. It feels from busy to very quiet. And then the application of senses almost always has this feel of. almost like an osmosis that’s going on there. It’s a [00:31:00] “sitting with,” a “sitting together” within a particular part. It’s a soaking in; becoming even more full. It’s not a busy prayer. It’s a being together with soaking up. So, seven days.
If we can go to that bottom right screen, this is how it’s traditionally given— the first contemplation at midnight, second on the rising when you wake up nice and early,
repetition of the first and second exercises in the late morning, resume of then what has surfaced there, application of census in the evening. And different directors might have different preferences of when and where they would want to see you. Some will see you after the second contemplation that even can guide how you might give a repetition. But again, this is how we learn.
So, let’s briefly go through that, and just remember that one day then is a full [00:32:00] week if you give it in daily life. So, the contemplation starts with the Last Supper. I put there for you the three preludes and the six points and a colloquy. You take that through all throughout—Last Supper and the agony of the garden. Then Day Two, Three, and Four is basically where Jesus is just changing hands the whole time between the different authorities. Day Five—Pilate to a crucifixion, the Via Do Larosa and then raised on the cross until His death.
Now, you and I know lots happened on day five; that’s like a lot to cover. If you think about the text and all the words, so Say Six is about the descent from the cross to the tomb and the tomb, you’ll see what is written there about the tomb to the house where a lady was at His burial. It’s entering into a bit of a tomb day as I [00:33:00] think most of us are familiar with but look at what is happening on Day Seven—the whole passion from the road to the crucifixion, on the cross is that you do a repetition twice. So, there your big, big “soaking in” is coming and a tomb day after that of just this emptying of being with.
So, I’m already quite curious on perhaps how it was given to you, and if it was given to you in a way different manner, don’t worry at this stage. That’s just to give you a little bit how it is looking within the text.
I want to talk to you then about some adaptations.[00:34:00] So, what else, how else then to give this? Because you might say, I didn’t spend that long between authorities. I actually spent quite a long time with The Last Supper, and that’s very typical of what some people do, is they just slow it down, especially the part of the Last Supper. If you think about what is happening there—there’s a having of a meal together, a preparation, a washing of feet. Jesus is predicting Peter’s denial. You even see Judas there in the background. There’s lots of things there. So, often just slow it down a little. Don’t feel like it says it must be in a day. It’s okay; you can space it out a little bit.
Now, I want to encourage you that in this time, as an adaptation, that if your person is healthy and they are able [00:35:00] to do it and they are generally okay with sleep, it might be useful to, as Ignatius suggests, in 30-day retreats, to actually make a few midnight prayers in this time. If you think about Ignatius in general and his way of suggesting these exercises and his notes, he’s always looking to collaborate with our daily lives and what’s really up to. Think about this seeing, hearing, watching.
I’m particular fond to think where and which pieces actually take place at midnight or in the dark? Have you thought about Jesus praying in this garden and maybe it’s dark and being arrested or being in jail at night. So, might be of some value, to also arise at midnight because you’re even putting your body through a little bit of discomfort, almost [00:36:00] mirroring kind of the discomfort of this particular week. It’s really good to do that at times.
And again, I really want to accentuate this. The text as it is enough. Don’t worry too much of adapting it in so many ways that—”Oh, I must give this cute little thing and that thing and oh, I never give pictures.” If you do, wonderful. If you don’t, wonderful. The point is a person showing up, being fully present and God doing God’s thing. So, that’s really what it’s in essence about. But we can at times give extra things that might help people enter into the prayer a bit deeper or because prayer is becoming a bit less wordy in this time; it’s becoming a bit quieter as it is when we are suffering ourselves or grieving ourselves.[00:37:00] Sometimes you just don’t have a lot of words. So, you share the sacred space.
I’ve heard of some directors giving as a form of repetition to their person, suggesting that they also make a crown of thorns—physically make one. I’ve heard of some directors when it comes to the tomb day, so after Christ has breathed out his last breath, to also mix their own spices, to consider going with a woman tending to Christ’s body. What would be those flavors? What would you associate? Just adding some of the senses to the experience.
Sometimes it’s very useful within the repetition of the whole of the passion. You did see now, I hope that you pray, and then there’s one day that is really dedicated [00:38:00] to repeating this road to the cross itself.
And in those repetitions, it might be useful to even walk stations of the cross—not the resurrection piece, if there is a resurrection station. We try and guide as if we don’t know the ending, all right, say it’s Friday, so it also might be useful in a repetition to give the words that Christ speaks on the cross—to be with those words, linger a bit longer.
And some, just in general, just to say the use of communion might play a central role in this time, and this you just need to be slow. I think it’s truly critical to meet your person where they are. Communion is one of those sacred things where we really need to find out first what is the role it plays in somebody’s life, what it means to them, how do they participate [00:39:00] in it. For some, it’s okay for them to by themselves have it, but for others they would like to fully receive the Eucharist. It is a time, you could imagine, this is what you’re praying with. It’s just becoming alive in a different way. One of your adaptations might just be a gentle conversation and a wondering together about this desire about communion.
So, one of the adaptations that you heard of last week was the potential of enclosed retreat. So, if you take one piece of the exercises, and do that particular piece in an enclosed retreat. Why it’s particularly useful for Week Three is because there’s so much. It’s a real intense time. It is very helpful if you can really [00:40:00] go away and be separate.
I just want to say if they’re financially not able to do something like that or it’s not practical, sometimes it’s good to just be even open the imagination a bit and say, is there a friend’s house you can go and stay in a room? Just almost this idea of really separating yourself a little bit more from the regular hustle and bustle of life, just because of the intensity of it. Now, of course, it’s not always possible, but as an example, I wanted to share, and this is really just an idea, and ideas are meant to generate ideas. An example of what a possible enclosed retreat could look like. And again, adaptation according to your person, and try and stay faithful to the text, but let me share an example with you.[00:41:00]
This is a little bit of an outline that I sometimes use. So, I sometimes let somebody sleep over for three days, so the donkey has been there. They’ve been with Jesus and the donkey. They’ve just entered into Jerusalem, and they arrive midday, and meet midday. I enjoy inviting them to actually make a favorite meal as part of that preparing for the Last Supper, just getting into the imagination that this was actually such a celebration. The Passover was a big deal. It was a big deal. So, this idea of cooking with Jesus and you have a little bit of the joy shared in that, and then really entering into the prayer, slowing it down, the washing of the feet.[00:42:00]
And so, in general, if it’s possible for the person, I might be there full time with the person. I once guided a person that I wasn’t physically present with, and that worked okay too. Midnight the first day, I encourage them to pray with Jesus in the garden. It is very beautiful though if a person is at a retreat center for you also to just be present. Do it in the background, not visible really, but this idea of somebody’s also just sitting with me; sometimes that’s useful, but maybe I’m talking from a South African’s perspective of a safety issue. Midnight, praying in the garden, the rest, that particular moment.
The second day, wake up with a repetition, a resume, application of sentences, and then we meet. Then, all the changing of hands. At midnight, I add an adaptation. I [00:43:00] enjoy giving somebody the idea of just sitting with Jesus in jail—sharing that moment, having colloquy there, and Jesus was self-captive.
The third day, repetition, again, repetition and repetition, and application of senses, and meeting. Now again, those repetitions might be, if the person themselves have a lot to work with, sometimes you give some aids or to work with. And then Pilate to the crucifixion, raised on the cross until His death.
What I sometimes do is I give the exercise just until Jesus last words, and then I offer a midnight prayer that’s simply about being present in Jesus’s dying moment—just that last moment. Then again, the fourth day repetition, we meet, the descent from the cross, making of the spices, tending to the body.[00:44:00]
They’re going home. They have a proper tomb day. I like sending them home with an envelope that holds a resurrection piece, and then I meet them that same day that they open it. These are just simply ideas. Please keep as narrow as possible to Ignatius’s text and the text of that person’s life.
Just to maybe whet your appetite a little bit, you’ll see in the different resources that we’ve suggested a variety of these. You’ll see some traces of all of this mixed into it. I hope it’s starting to make a little bit of sense. I hope there’s some nodding. Let me go into some helps for the third week.
You’ll see Ignatius really doesn’t give more than five prayers. So, it’s becoming more intense, a little bit less. And even sometimes he would [00:45:00] say that might even be too much for some. The word prayer is more or less wordy. You yourself might find yourself sitting in silence with your exercitant a bit more and that’s very normal to welcome that space. It’s also very normal to at times, this is truly when somebody’s going with Jesus in Jesus suffering, to notice that they look like they are mourning. And I think a lot of you here often guide people in difficult times in their life, and maybe you’ve guided many people through grief situations.
Jaco, I can imagine how many times you’ve walked alongside people who grieve. I remember the first time I guided somebody in an enclosed retreat, and I walked into the room where we met, and when the person came in, I was physically shocked. It looked like they’d just [00:46:00] got news that their closest person in their life past. You know that look, so sometimes your exercitant might even physically look like they’re mourning. I got a bit of a fright. Hopefully I didn’t show it, but I’m preparing you now, so you don’t get a fright. I’m sure Annemarie prepared me also maybe.
Sometimes, and that’s okay, we sit in silence. We are with, as thou with Christ, in suffering. We are now with them, with Christ. Very often the soul of Christ’s prayer could be helpful in this time. It’s very helpful sometimes to encourage them to spend time with their favorite gospel, favorite synoptic gospel, Matthew, Mark, Luke, but not John. So sorry if it’s their favorite is John. [00:47:00] Generally, John is not recommended because John is a bit mystical. That’s my favorite gospel, so that’s like a bummer for me, but that’s okay. They’re getting to the more earthiness. So, you’ll see that obviously the story is written throughout those gospels, but there’s even something special about them having that comfort of that gospel they’re fond of, but people sometimes don’t have one.
What could be helpful is if they have a holding cross. As you are developing as a giver of the exercises, you get your own little idiosyncrasies. I love as one of my things is to give the people I guide through the exercises a holding cross. I feel that’s a little gift I want to give them and that’s my thing. That doesn’t need to be your thing, but an encouragement of having a holding cross could be very encouraging. Just something extra to hold onto In this time.
You might [00:48:00] be extra available during this time. To be guiding someone in Week Three is not the time to make your calendar so full that you cannot have a bit of space to, if needed, see them a second time in a week or a second time if you’re guided 30 days on a day. So, your main encouragement is to stay; linger. It’s Friday.
It is sometimes that you will find also that some of a deeply painful experience of theirs, the trauma of a pain resurfaces during this time. That is normal. Remember, we’ve gone through lots of conversation of when somebody is ready. So, we’re not talking about somebody you’re starting to guide somebody that’s traumatized and then Week Three traumatizes them extra. That’s not what we’re talking about. We start [00:49:00] guiding somebody that has a robustness, I think is the word that I used in the beginning, but we all have these little traumas, past wounds in our life and it is very normal for in this, as we share in Christ’s suffering, for that person’s own suffering to also surface again and Christ in Christ’s suffering meets us in our suffering. It is very normal.
Again, I will never forget where I saw this. I guided a person, and you know when you sometimes feel like there’s something they’re not telling me. And in Week Three, they shared this deeply sad story of what happened to them within the context of a relationship, and I was just so moved.
And again, here I want to encourage you to even at times [00:50:00] encourage honesty and confession. I remember thinking, wow, why didn’t I see that earlier? Maybe that could have affected the other stuff. And you know what, that’s my stuff, that’s not their stuff. Why didn’t they trust me earlier? Now am I confessing? Okay, you can do much. You’re doing fine because this is what I went through. Meet them where they are, and at the right time, Christ is going to meet them in the spirit where they need to be met. Stay; that’s your job in week Three.
Sometimes a little extra help is you would find that sometimes in Week Two, a companion shows themselves. Remember they were with Mary and Joseph. Maybe they attached to Mary Magdalene or one of the other disciples. It can be helpful especially as it gets very tough. They’re at the cross seeing Christ’s wounds to also become aware that you’re not [00:51:00] standing there just alone. So, to maybe just wonder about the companions with you in the story. And as always, a little help, it’s about the relationship. It’s always about the relationship. It’s about what’s happening in the prayer and that interaction with God.
Five more minutes and I have to get through the issues connected to week three, but we’ll be fine. Now, what can you expect? You’re like, oh, that’s just nice, Adri- Marie. I’m enjoying it, but what can go wrong? All right, we’re getting to that stuff. No, don’t be scared. Okay. That’s why we have supervision. And don’t worry, number one, Is the Holy Spirit is the first guide, okay? You’re like the sidekick.
What can go wrong? That’s not really how I’m supposed to phrase it and want to phrase it. What could you possibly also encounter? It’s normal to have a bit of resistance and if you’re honest maybe about your own [00:52:00] experience or in any time is that resistance of pulling towards and resisting. That’s how our relationship goes.
So, it’s okay if your person suddenly you can see, you get that feeling they’re reducing their periods, the time they’re sitting. They’re not really sitting the time you’re suggesting. You can feel they want to pick a little bit of a fight with you. It might just suddenly be like, “Whoa, where’s this fight or flight or avoidance coming from?” It’s okay; just normalize it for them. There might suddenly even be a bit of a stiffness, like a formality kicking in there with them. Just gently explore them. Remember, you’re the person that really is cheering them on. Just keep being there, gently exploring. You’re not fazed by this. Christ is going to meet them. They’re asking for this grace. It might be that they experience an [00:53:00] extreme dryness. Maybe they’re at the most fantastic Week Two, and you’re just thinking, “Woohoo, this is going to be an unbelievable Week Three, neither of us can wait. And suddenly nothing. It might be that there’s even a dryness. Again, reassure them that it can be normal. Reassure them to just show up fully with openness to ask for the grace and even within this pain and frustration they’re experiencing in the dryness to maybe even in that identify some pain and frustration with the passion. So, as they’re frustrated Perhaps bring that frustration in the story.
Week Three is also known for distractions showing themselves. I like to tell my person beforehand, listen, this might be a time that you, suddenly, [00:54:00] just have such a resistance, you don’t want to sit. It’s because it’s such beautiful intimacy, et cetera, in this time.
So, sometimes there is going to be that bad guy that is going to try extra hard to keep us from that intimacy and that intensity. Sometimes the scruples show itself just as in Week One, scruples being like, “Oh, I just fall totally back into a helplessness of my imperfections, and how could I have done this to Christ? Scruples actually keep you from grace. It doesn’t bring you closer at times.
Now, an interesting one that can happen is that they can suddenly have the weirdest thoughts and dreams that are actually shocking, like super violent or sexually deviant in a way. Suddenly there’s something just that they are so shocked and then you’ll just [00:55:00] see they’re coming to you with these big eyes and they’re like they had the worst dreams. It’s useful friends to talk about how people are sleeping, if they’ve dreamt something—sometimes things come up. Again, it’s important to normalize and just hold it gently and surrender it and wonder together. I wonder, where do these thoughts come from, and where be the good spirit and just letting it go together.
It might be a wise thing to really think about the timing of week three. We gently mentioned it about it’s not really great to have it over a super celebration time. If the person is about to get married—not a good time to do Week tTree or usually if it’s on the brink of Christmas—also, not that great of a time. There are too many movements against it so just plan it. It’s okay to create a bit [00:56:00] of spaciousness. It’s important to have not too many outside influences.
You keep on encouraging them to not read too much. If you read a book on like how to activate joy, it’s not going to work with Week Three so just pay extra attention again. What are they reading? What is the season of their life? How can we position it all?
A last little extra thing to look out for is just simply if suddenly their intellect and their theology is activated like a little chief again, and they suddenly are theorizing everything about salvation and the cross. Trevor mentioned also something about this last week. We just bring them back. What’s surfaced in the prayer for you? So, you hear them out and then you say, Oh, I wonder if you want to tell me a bit more. What did you notice about Jesus in this? What was it like for you when Jesus washed your feet? [00:57:00] Just bring them back into experience, into relationship, feely questions and, in all of this, friends, number seven, all of us remember, you are just simply meeting the person where they are, and God is guide number one. We are asking for a grace. So, they’re asking, and God is acting, and we are listening, What’s happening there? I really want to break it down to that level to say it’s an Ask – Receive and then a Call – Respond and we’re just listening to this interaction.
A last little remember is simply—if you feel you’re getting a bit lost in it, guide back with a focus on Christ. So, the focus [00:58:00] is on Christ experience us with the experience and the deep, deep privilege to suffer alongside.
I’m going to end it there, but I will send you those slides and in that you’ll see that I included a Rob Marsh quote that is absolutely beautiful that I got from Annemarie, and she already put up the reflection questions.
Thanks so much, Annemarie. Let it sit; let it ponder; and bring your questions and hopefully we can respond to some of them. See you at quarter past?
Annemarie: Yeah. That’s good.
Adri-Marie: Perfect. See you soon.
Annemarie: Thank you so much, Adri-Marie.
All right,[00:59:00] Welcome back everybody. Good to see your faces. Now I’m excited to hear your voices. I wonder who would like to give us a little glimpse on their conversation, or perhaps what’s been stirring inside of them or wondering. It would just be lovely to hear some voices. And you know what? At this stage, I would love to also encourage those who have never said anything in this space.
I wonder if it’s perhaps your time to also mention something, but you know, that’s just the teacher in me, Anybody? We’d love to share, comment, just help us give a glimpse of what’s happening in your [01:00:00] hearts, in your minds, or we can incarnate the experience of Week Three and sit together in silence. Tracy.
Tracy: This is on behalf of our group, like we just had a kind of practical question, and that was really around the length of Week Three, because looking at like part of it, that could stretch out for two months. And we were just wondering, and I had learned some adaptation from my supervisor to do it shorter. And even in the retreat style, some of our personal experiences were shorter. So, just curious about thoughts about stretching it out to two months, six weeks, three weeks like what are the thoughts about that in general?
Adri-Marie: Great. Thanks for bringing that, Tracy.[01:01:00] Yes. I think if you think about that outline, day two, three, four, is all about those exchange of hands. That’s where it can really be shortened a little bit, and some of the experiences, because it is, practice I don’t think, to keep somebody in Week Three in daily life for seven weeks, I think they’ll be exhausted. And also remember, it’s about the meeting of the grace as well as traveling through the whole story. I would say probably in practice and daily life; it boils down to four weeks or so. I would always recommend to really pay attention to the repetition of the whole experience. I think that always the more really comes through with this experience, that sense of wonder.
I actually forgot to say this, [01:02:00] but I think you picked it up that because the story is so well known to us. We even know some of the words on the cross. It’s such an important part to really make that encouragement of wonder, of openness, the willingness to be surprised as if for a first time but in practice, probably even in daily life, it goes around those times. Sometimes I would give a little bit more prayer, especially with those exchanges. I might give six days’ worth of prayer. Annemarie, I wonder what do you think?
Annemarie: I think that it depends a lot on whether you’re going to do something of an enclosed retreat with the Third Week. If you’re going to take the person into an enclosed retreat, then it’s going to take the time that it takes in the enclosed retreat, generally speaking. So maybe that’s [01:03:00] obvious, but in case it isn’t, I’m just putting it out there that you, in a way, go into the kind of way you would do it in a 30 day and you do it in that very concentrated kind of way.
I think that if you’re doing it over in daily life, it takes the time it takes. I know Adri-Marie said that a lot about the Principle and Foundation, and I think it’s very true with this as well. For some people, it might be very short because they get in touch with that grace very quickly, and for other people, it might take a while and that’s okay too.
So, I have had someone In the Third Week for about seven weeks, but I’ve also had someone in the Third Week that it was about two weeks. It really takes the time it takes for the person to really get in touch with that grace.
I think that what’s really quite key in this whole thing is less is more in the sense of, in terms of content that Ignatius, as Adri-Marie was saying, is [01:04:00] starting to really trust that this retreatant has already been on a long journey, and they know what they need in terms of getting into this mystery and I had a really wonderful supervisor once when I was giving the 30 days, but I think what she was saying works, in some senses for the, in daily life as well, in that she said, ”Sometimes the key to a retreatant’s experience rests in one mystery that almost holds the whole of the passion for that person, that some people come to the grace of the passion through one or two texts or mysteries.
It’s not about covering everything, but it’s about going deep and about what is going to be the most helpful thing for this person to receive the grace. So that’s a few comments from various different angles. I hope that’s maybe helpful.
Adri-Marie: Thanks, Tracy.[01:05:00] I love that Annemarie again reminded us of, it takes as long as it takes. I think that really walking with others in terms of it’s going to be a surprise to you also when the grace is really deepened and deepened, and I would really like to say you do feel it in your bones when it’s been met in theirs because it’s such a deep experience. Whether it is emotive or not, you can feel the depth of experience and each person will be unique. Sometimes it will take a while [01:06:00] to really get there; and sometimes, like Annemarie says, it happens fast. I don’t want to say, fast and furious but you know what I mean. Denise and then we will get to you Watiri next.
Denise: Hi. We talked in our group a little bit, and I’m just wondering if other people had comments about when someone gets stuck in their own grief, and the focus is really taking them down that desolation dark road, and how to just help gently return them to being with Jesus in His suffering.
Adri-Marie: Wonderful. Thank you. So, the wondering is if somebody’s own grief almost takes over the theme. I often say to folks that we are kind of listening to what is pulling the cart—if it was a horse and a cart—and we’re hoping that the grace and the prayer encounters are pulling the cart.[01:07:00]
And it can be that their own grief is coming to the party and it’s a beautiful gift, but the key thing is to keep it into encounter with God. As we are listening to them wondering together, how did this come to you? I would be curious of which moment of prayer it surfaced or when did it surface? So, to come back to the particular moment and just hear them out. I think in the beginning and perhaps again to come back to the prayer experiences, just inviting Jesus into the conversation. Sometimes it is for us to say, and how do you feel Jesus in His own suffering is present to your own suffering? And then shifting the focus again a little bit. But it’s okay sometimes to linger a bit; just wait it out and to ask what [01:08:00] is God communicating? Is there an invitation? If it is really taking over the cart, like a wild horse, one can wonder together and if it is suddenly a wound that’s popped up, that’s never been spoken about—I don’t know if Annemarie has experiences of those; I don’t—but I think to stay with it and just then gently return to some of the prayer experience.
I think in general, I would even say in supervision, that is the one encouragement I very often give the other givers of the exercise. If your exercitant goes very deeply into daily life, those are beautiful things, but we are guiding people on a specific journey. It definitely includes daily life, and God braids it all together, but we start with what is happening in the prayer and then build from it, and then God braids it all [01:09:00] together. So, I would be curious to return to the moment. Bring Jesus into the interaction. Wonder together about a colloquy with Jesus with what they’re experiencing.
Annemarie: Yeah, I think really just trying to keep it in the context of the relationship. Receiving what’s being shared, especially if it’s something that’s very tender and it’s a lot of grief and a lot of pain around it. And maybe just having the person begin by sitting with that with Jesus and asking God the Father to hold both the person and Jesus in the grief, in the passion time or just the sense of ,you’re finding a way to just keep it connected. Then as that person has had enough space [01:10:00] to bring that into the prayer, then shifting it back, the focus onto Jesus’s passion, and that’s why it could take seven weeks.
Okay. If there’s a kind of a bit of a detour into the person’s own grief, it might take a while to really get back to the real grace, which is to feel compassion with the suffering of Jesus. You’ve got to be gentle, and you’ve got to hold these things as we all know, very sensitively and very carefully.
If there is something absolutely massive, it’s highly unlikely that it’s going to come up for the first time in the Third Week. It’s very unlikely; possible, but unlikely. If it does, and it is so overwhelming that the person cannot stay with the process, they might need to take a time out and have some therapy or something and come back into the process at a later stage. That can happen, but I don’t think that’s something that happens too often would be my experience.[01:11:00]
Adri-Marie: How’s that sitting for you, Denise?
Denise: That’s helpful. Thank you.
Adri-Marie: Watiri, I’m conscious of you raising your hand as well, and then Angela, I see you.
Watiri: Okay, thank you. Nice to be here again. My question was similar to the one that Denise just asked. It was mainly about how to journey with somebody who suddenly encounter such deep sorrow that’s compounded by their own sorrow or just has
an experience of a reminder of a deep trauma that they haven’t fully worked on. So, it was very similar. How do I journey with them? I appreciate the answers I’ve had so far. Thank you.
Adri-Marie: Great. And thank you for also bringing your voice, Watiri. This is why disposition [01:12:00] days are so important. It’s just to go gently with somebody’s story and God’s action with somebody’s story, to really discern is this the right thing at the right time.
Of course, we are all wounded healers ourselves but to kind of sense, is this the right time to go into the exercises. It’s a real robust journey. It takes a lot from us, and I sometimes feel like no stone is going to be left unturned in a beautiful way, in a loving, healing kind of way.
In my own exercises, it was so beautiful. I did it at the end of my 20s with Trevor, and I had a deep loss of my father in my early 20s, and that kind of came up for me in the Third Week again. I had this [01:13:00] beautiful experience of being with Jesus in pain and Him being with me but king of keeping the focus on Jesus, but also a real experience of Him being with me. I had, in one of my gospel contemplations, this vivid experience of Jesus looking at me and saying, “It’s okay to stop crying now.” Then within the midst of the third week, we worked with that. The grace was made deeply and quite early, and I was still able to walk with Jesus. It’s just the sorrow lifted a little. All right. I hope that’s useful to you. Angela.
Angela: I just want to confirm as somebody who, when I went through the Third Week did sit in it for quite a while because it did stir up some very deep things that I just want to speak from experience. Like it was actually [01:14:00] the constant awareness that I was sitting with Christ and His suffering that gave me permission to access some suffering that I had not given myself permission to access.
So, the dynamic was played out but played out in my life in such a way that there were some areas that I had never given myself permission to grieve, and then it did stretch out that time. So, thank you for mentioning that that can be a possibility that for some people they might need to be in a short time, but for me, I know that I needed the length of time.
Thank you for also acknowledging that there’s not something wrong happening in it, that it’s still like a beautiful process. I think for me, one of the things that has been helpful in today’s teaching is also reminding me that I like hearing the two-week idea, because that won’t necessarily be somebody’s experience that I’m taking through, and so I don’t need to [01:15:00] overstay there for other people. That’s been very helpful. Thank you all.
Adri-Marie: Thanks, Angela. Oh, it’s lovely, and even just the way you’re speaking about it, I’m getting some goosebumps on the beauty of your experience. Thank you for bringing that in. It really does take as long as it takes. I think we want to always just stay with what’s happening with our person, and we don’t want to unnecessarily keep them there if the grace was fully met. At the same time, that’s the exhausting part that I was speaking about, but at the same time, what a beautiful , beautiful healing experience. Thank you for bringing that, Angela.
And the exercises continue. It doesn’t stop at the end of Week [01:16:00] Four; it continues. I don’t know who else had experienced this, but I feel like the lent season has never been the same for me after Week Three. I wonder who can bring us some of their thoughts or hearts or wonderings Ah, thanks, Josie and then we’ll get to you, Melanie.
Josie: Thanks, Adri-Marie. I just had more of a sort of a practical question. Many of us started in May and are going to hit the Christmas season, probably in the Third Week and you say to delay or avoid, should we [01:17:00] give them maybe added scriptures, finishing up Week Two, and then take on Week Three in January? What’s your thought on that?
Adri-Marie: Thank you for bringing that question. If a person stays by themselves and are not influenced by Christmas at all, or outside influences, go for it, but it’s quite hard to move against something as big as that because you see it everywhere the whole time, even whether it’s a religious context or not.
It is possible to stay with the movement, but what sometimes could be helpful is to at the end of Week Two, to almost do a review of Week Two, like a savoring. So, you can linger a little bit and even if it’s in daily life, say, listen, let’s keep the grace of Week Two close, but let’s perhaps meet again in two weeks. Let’s [01:18:00] celebrate Christmas, but keep praying the grace, always keep praying the examen, and linger, and perhaps do a bit of a review of the whole of Week Two, because their imagination is any case within then if they do the whole of week two, it’s a nice savoring of “Oh, I did pray the nativity or the hidden years of Jesus.” It’s an almost natural repetition in any case that time is doing. So that is one way a person can do it.
If you feel, goodness, I’m beginning December and we’re actually ending; what more? There are more gospel stories. I would not recommend this for everybody, but I once walked with a minister who knew scriptures very well and we had this awkward time in [01:19:00] December, and I was like, oh, how am I gonna stretch it? Okay, we have two weeks for remembering and soaking in and looking back and review of Week Two But then I asked him to identify some gospel stories that we haven’t done that didn’t include anything before the entry into Jerusalem. I asked him to go and maybe just seek his heart and seek the scriptures if there’s any other Jesus story that grabbed in his imagination and then he identified a few scriptures and it was such a rich experience because again, his own text of his life worked as a text of scripture.
That’s not something I would do with every person, and I would keep being the director, because I think that’s important, but that’s an idea. I wonder Annemarie, if you want to add.
Annemarie: I think that, in a way the complexity of giving the [01:20:00] 19th Annotation of the retreat in daily life is a lot about timing. Sometimes it’s about the timing of a clash, like between praying the passion and Christmas. Sometimes it’s about the timing of your retreatant is going away for two weeks in the middle of some critical point, or you’re going to be away. So, you’re having to think through these issues the whole time. And partly that’s where your supervision can help because every situation is unique, and you need to think about this particular person and how they might respond and what might be helpful for them.
It’s almost as though you’re trying to in some way tentatively predict how things are going to unfold. So, if you see that, if you keep going at this pace, you’re going to end up with Christmas bang in the middle of the passion, I would begin three or four weeks earlier to start slowing things down a little bit.
You are trying to think ahead so that you can make the timing [01:21:00] as helpful as possible, because one of the difficulties is that, when the dynamic is in motion and the person has received the grace of a week, there’s almost a natural impelling into the next grace. So, it’s definitely possible to do what Adri-Marie is suggesting holding and soak in and deepen, but you’re holding the tension between the dynamic that might now want to start pulling the person, particularly when it’s a second week, third week thing, and the fact that you don’t really want to end up with that clash. So, I really would say constantly be keeping an eye out for what’s likely to be happening if we’re continuing at a similar pace in two months’ time or whatever.
But in the final thing, God knows when Christmas is going to be, and God knows where the retreatant is. So, you know, in the end, the Spirit can sort it out. Don’t get too freaked out about it. If it ends up being a clash, God will [01:22:00] still work.
Adri-Marie: Yeah, and I’m so glad you mentioned that Annemarie, because I think that’s where the beauty is so alive. For the mentors, I think you would also agree that you can see that somehow God’s got this and somehow, even at times where we’re not okay, it also gives us a bit more space. It’s just this mystery .
Oh, thanks, Viv for that. So, Viv is saying that sometimes Christmas isn’t a time of joy always for everybody. So, it might even add to the dynamic. Oh, thanks Vivianne. That’s very helpful. We work; we meet with our person where they are. Oh, that is so important. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Vivianne. [01:23:00] Melanie.
Melanie: This would be more of a practical question as well. I don’t think any in our group experienced an enclosed retreat for Week Three, and so I’m curious. I can’t speak for them. I’m just curious if there are any that experienced that, and then as well from a director standpoint, how available do you need to be? And then as we’re doing a retreat in daily life and not exactly sure when we might land at Week Three to just the logistics of planning, like, where do I go? Do I need to go too? Just some of those practicalities as well as I’d love to hear if anybody else here [01:24:00] experienced that
Adri-Marie: Oh, lovely. So, I’m going to open that question soon to the group just to see if somebody has done anything close. But now you’ve hit the nail on its head, Melanie.
Daily life—you’re like timing it just as Annemarie just explained and you’re kind of sensing, you’re kind of hoping. You are collaborating with your person. Some folks don’t have flexibility. Some directors don’t have flexibility. You work with what is possible. I’ve guided five enclosed ones at different times. Three, I’ve been physically present. And two, I haven’t. And somehow, just because of practicalities, that we had to trust that was okay. With both, we just negotiated, we said, it might come up—is it possible for you to go [01:25:00] away? I’d start talking about it like in beginning of Week Two as a possibility. I kind of think in my mind it might be in 10 weeks’ time. So, you just adapt according to the person.
I wonder who in the group, if you can wave at me like this. Anybody who did week three enclosed. Annemarie, you have to help me look. Yay! There we have got one. Tracy. Oh, and Jaco. Yay! Nice. Jaco, I wonder if you want to bring your voice, and Gavin.
Jaco: Yeah. My director handed me a set of envelopes beforehand, and he marked times and dates to open it up. So, I was for three days enclosed in a silent [01:26:00] retreat. Some of these were marked at midnight of day one or so he wasn’t present for those three days. We had a virtual meeting on day three, but for the rest of it, he just handed me the envelopes and I went through the exercises on my own time. The experience of being enclosed, the experience of being completely immersed in the materials—as a matter of fact, I just freely decided of my own to just watch the movie The Passion of the Christ again, because it felt as if it just fitted into the slot and I had a session of just selecting praise and worship songs that were deep and involved with the suffering of Christ and His sacrifice to us. So, for me, this was a great time to just really spend a lot of effort [01:27:00] into experiencing what Christ experienced and it was beautiful. Yeah.
Adri-Marie: That’s wonderful, Jaco, and Jaco, I’m somewhat asking out of curiosity, drawn to doing a guide enclosed yourself or given the experience or what?
Jaco: I think the initial template is very much imprinted. So, that’ll be my first go to. If the people I’m directing can’t do it, obviously it changes the situation, but I would dearly try to ask them to set aside that time.
I saw in your notes when you put up your screen, the idea of being there with the person in the enclosed retreat and actually starting off with the washing of the feet. Wow! I haven’t thought about that previously, and I can imagine how that can set the tone for [01:28:00] this holy space and holy time. So, I’m intrigued about doing that, exactly that. Yeah.
Adri-Marie: Wonderful. Thanks, Jaco. Perhaps bringing in a bit more regular meeting in the enclosed retreat, but oh, what a wonderful sharing. We just celebrate. Thank you for that sharing of that experience of the opening of that envelope. I can only imagine what that was like,.
Jaco: And waking up in the middle of the night just to open that envelope and then going through that time of prayer. It touched me profoundly.
Adri-Marie: Thank you for sharing that, Jaco. Thanks. Gavin, I wonder if you want to add something about your experience.
Gavin: I was with Annemarie and her team on a 30-day. and [01:29:00] I’m quite extroverted so Father Ron took a big chance with me, because I’m totally sold on enclosed, whether 30-day or in 19th in life. He said I didn’t need to actually meet with him if I felt I didn’t want to. So, it was a really sacred space for me not to meet with him for a couple of days. I think maybe they’re wondering if I was still alive. Just to cut it short, I think I’m totally sold on that.
It was actually in John’s gospel of all things. It wasn’t Matthew, Mark, or Luke. That’s still a very deep place for me to return to and then [01:30:00] if I’ve got the joy of leading someone, I would, first prize, always like to, which I’ve done, ask people to take, if possible, two or three days during the exile in daily life. I’ve actually just found a BNB up from my place where I live, and actually the guy that runs it is an X-domini, so I think I could get people in there actually quite “el-cheapo.
Adri-Marie: From a minister, for the rest of you who don’t know the word, domini.
Yeah. Yeah, “If a boar make a plan, a yurt also make a plan.”
Adri-Marie: There’s an African saying that says “if a boar make a plan,” so that just means a boar makes a plan. You make a plan. Thanks, Gavin.
Gavin: Afrikaners and Jews make a plan.
Adri-Marie: And givers of the spiritual exercises make plans. So, friends, in the context of the practicalities, 01:31:00] this is where you also need to work with your own self. You don’t need to feel the pressure to organize the retreat on their behalf, etc. You can give that responsibility away. Let them find a space. Let them organize the food. I know sometimes there could be a cost element. I sometimes way before, say to folks, if I feel that I need to go alongside with, that sometimes you just feel with certain exercitants, you need to be closer.
I like your suggestions of a cave, Vivianne. Yes, please. But we are looking not for fancy experiences in Week Three retreats. We are looking for basics. We are looking and you can decide for yourself if you feel you need to stick close and that is not something that you can also offer for free, or we obviously have spoken about finances before and maybe that’s [01:32:00] something to bring up again in the future.
Maybe long before, you can say I’d love to do this in closed retreat if you’d like to and I would love to go with. I wonder if you are able to just pay for both of our accommodations. Those are tricky things, and I see some of your eyes going, “Oh.” Again, you must guide like you guide, not like other people. These are internal things to decide beforehand. Are you going to offer it as a total gift and go alongside, especially your first time, perhaps? Because it’s also a learning experience, but you need to figure out that dynamic between organizing, etc. Tracy, do you want to maybe offer a little bit of something of your experience?
Tracy: I’ll try and be brief, but there was one specific thing that I was going to mention that you mentioned that came up in my Third Week experience. Very similar to Jaco, my director kind of sent me on my [01:33:00] own for three days, gave me a set of directions to follow for the three days, but ultimately, I was on my own, but he was like, reach out to me if you need me and I did because, somebody in my family went into the hospital during those three days and it totally upset the cart and he was so awesome .You know, I reached out to him and he ended up inviting me to have that person who was in the hospital walk with me on the Via Della Rosa and he integrated that person into my retreat and He integrated the women who were walking alongside Jesus too, because the person in the hospital couldn’t fully enter in the way I was going to enter in.
Those women became resources and supports for me. and I liked what you said about remembering that when we’re walking in the Third Week, there are other people, there’s the disciples, there’s all the women, and I think that community of saints is so [01:34:00] important. It was a healing experience for me and just really powerful.
Adri-Marie: Oh, that’s very special. Thank you, Tracy. I see your hand, Doreen. Annemarie, I wonder if you want to add something about this practicality space, and I’m also aware that we need to start landing. Perhaps, Doreen, we can receive your wondering and see if we will respond.
Doreen: I’ll be very brief and just say that following up on what Annemarie said earlier about trusting what happens as far as timing, that hitting the passion at Christmas was very meaningful to me and ended up with this drawing of realizing in a way that I never had before, that Jesus was born to die. That he came into the world to receive the wounds. And so, Christmas has [01:35:00] never been quite the same as a result.
Adri-Marie: Thank you for that, Doreen. Thank you so much.
Liz: Can you send us that?
Doreen: Yeah, I can send it out.
Adri-Marie: Thank you. Friends, as we land a deep encouragement to not be afraid. Guide as you can; trust the spirit. Do not be worried before it’s time. We can so easily worry about all the things that can go wrong and maybe I must do this and prevent this, and maybe that traumatizes them. Just meet them where they are prayer time after prayer time. The Spirit is our guide, and our supervisor is our cheerleader. Annemarie, over to you.
Annemarie: [01:36:00] Thank you so much for that, Adri-Marie. So just a reminder that we have two weeks break coming up, so two Monday nights free to do something different and to come back refreshed as we move then into the fourth week.
So just a reminder that there won’t be an ISET next Monday or the Monday after. Let’s just end maybe now with the soul of Christ prayer. So, I invite you to just sit gently and to allow ourselves to just receive again this beautiful prayer.
Jesus. Best friend. May your soul give life to me. May your flesh be food for me. May you warm my hardened heart. [01:37:00]
Jesus, best friend. May your tears now wash me clean. May your passion keep me strong. May you listen to my plea.
Jesus, best friend. May your wounds take in my hurts. May your gaze be fixed on me. May I not betray your love.
Jesus, best friend, may you call me at death’s door. May you hold me close to you. May you place me with God’s saints. May I sing your praise forever. Amen.
Amen. Thank you, friends, and looking forward to seeing you next block. Don’t forget your assignment is due on the 30th of September, and we wish you a good [01:38:00] break. Take care. God bless.