Saturday, March 03, 2007

Lenten Reflection Questions from the Junia House

1. Am I learning to become more and more selfless? Am I constantly
seeking to put the needs of others (my spouse, family, friends, church members,)
before my own?

2.Am I fully engaged in relationship with the person I am talking with right now?

3. Am I Jealous? Do I spend and inordinate amount of time comparing
my gifts with those of others. Do I fail to praise God for other' s
gifts? Do I belittle the gifts of others or exult in their failures.

4. In my thoughts and words, am I (or are we) overly critical of my housemates, my spouse, myself, or
others around me or am I guided by a spirit of charity, grace, and encouragement?


5. Am I fighting for joy? Am I seeking to find fulfillment in life by
serving Christ alone and not in the hopeless idols of the culture I
live in?

6.Have I been the presence of Christ or seen the presence of Christ today?


7. Am I praying for those whom I find hard to love? Am I praying for
those who seek to thwart the ministry of Jesus Christ both in my immediate
setting and around the world?

8. Have I lost hope for my enemies? Do I think conversing with such
people will do no good? Have I lost sight of the ministry of reconciliation?
Do I consider some people undeserving of God's gracious patience and forebearance? Do I pray for my enemies?

9. Am I pursuing holiness? Am I striving to keep my thoughts and mind pure at all times?

10. Do I covet? Do I spend and inordinate amount of time comparing my possessions to others? Do I find myself feeling
inadequate because I don't own nice enough stuff. Am I spending an undo amount of time planning how I might aquire
more things.

11. Do I take inordinate satisfaction in saying the right thing? Do I fail even to imagine how to transform
my words into actions?

12. Is my heart filled with fear? Or, do I live fully in confidence as a child of God? Do I acknowledge in my lived
practices that nothing, no, nothing can seperate me from the love of God in Christ Jesus.

13. Do I/we pray sufficiently?

14. Am I remembering the Sabbath and keeping it holy?

15. Are we pursuing justice with our purchasing power?

16. How have I stewarded God's creation today?


17. Are we as a community displaying the marks of the
New Monasticism?
1. Inhabiting the abandoned places of this world
2. Sharing economic resources
3. Hospitality
4. Lamenting racism and pursuing just
reconciliation
5. Submission to the local church
6. Intentional formation along lines of old
novitiate
7. Nurturing our common life
8. Supporting celibate singleness along with
married couples and their children
9. Geographically proximate to members who share a
common life
10. Caring for our plot of earth and nurturing
local economies
11. Peacemaking
12. Disciplined contemplative life


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