You have now completed the Second Week, covering these themes:

  • Imagination and the spiritual Life
  • Anticipating the Kingdom
  • Getting to know and admire Jesus
  • Two Standards (to whose authority will you submit?)
  • Discerning the spirits
  • Humility and simplicity
  • Inner freedom (continued)
  • Making decisions

You have also been introduced to these practices:

  • Reading Scripture with the senses
  • Reflecting on Art for the Soul
  • Imaginative Meditations
    -Contemplation of a Heroic Leader
    -Incarnation Contemplation
    -Meditation on the Two Standards
    -Three Types of People Meditation
    -Three Kinds of Humility

Before moving on to the Third Week, take the next several days to contemplate your experience of the Second Week. Look back over your journal and/or other sign posts. Ask God to bring to the surface what is most important for your spiritual process.  As you reflect, keep prayer at the center (not just an intellectual or meditative review). The goal is always connection with God.

  • What emotions and desires arise as you reflect on your experience of the Second Week?
  • What stands out to you the most? (e.g. Recurring patterns? Specific images or Scriptures?)
  • In what ways has your imagination been shaped during the Second Week?
  • What is something you have discovered about Jesus that you didn’t notice before? How does it affect you?
  • What are practical ways you can imitate Jesus based on what you observed and experienced of him during these past weeks? How might you begin acting on these today?
  • How are things going with practicing spiritual discernment and decision-making?
  • What have you noticed about interior movements and actions toward or away from God, especially as it relates to the Two Standards?
  • How are your conversations with God? Are there things you have not talked with God about? Are there certain ways of praying that you have found helpful?
  • Are there particular areas you want to spend more time on? What do you hope for as you continue?

The Second Week is designed to give us a more intimate experience of Jesus. As we get to know him better, we gain an understanding of what it means to imitate the ways of God. We also begin to sense what that might look like for our own lives. The Second Week hones our ability to discern and make decisions that proactively respond to Jesus’s invitation to join God’s work. Where are you at on these things? Be sure to talk with your Spiritual Director about your reflections.

Close with this excerpt from “Lorica of St. Patrick”:

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks of me,
Christ in the eye that sees me,
Christ in the ear that hears me.