First Day: In the Desert with Jesus
As Jesus begins his mission, after his Baptism in the Jordan, he first goes off to the desert to spend forty days in prayer. Impelled there by the Holy Spirit, in the silence and solitude, he is alone with His Father. Frequently, during Jesus’ public ministry, he repeats this pattern. He goes to the mountain, to the solitary places, to the hills surrounding the Lake of Galilee, to be alone with His Father, to listen, to seek light, understanding, and strength.
As missionaries, we too enter into this same rhythm with Jesus. The invitation of this first day of the retreat is to go off to the desert, to the lake, to the mountain, to the solitary places, to be with Jesus: brought here by the Holy Spirit, to listen, to encounter the living God.
The Grace We Seek:
Moved by the Spirit,
to be alone with Jesus,
to listen to the living God.
Reflection Material
A. From the Rule of Life of the Missionary Servants
17. The Cenacle spirit is a prayerful spirit. We recognize that only a spiritual person can lead an apostolic life, and that we cannot be spiritual without prayer. Great value, then, shall be placed upon periods of prayerful silence and recollection. We are to devote suitable time each day to personal prayer, meditation, and spiritual reading. Our reading should include Missionary Cenacle writings and, in keeping with our maxim, sentire cum ecclesia (“to think with the Church” – MCA), we are to reflect prayerfully on the documents of the Church.
18. Periodically we shall seek extended times of prayer and recollection. We are each to make an annual retreat. In order that we may be more attentive to the lights and impulses of the Holy Spirit in our following of Christ, we are encouraged to seek personal spiritual direction.
From the Rule of Life of the Missionary Cenacle Apostolate
18. Periodically we shall seek extended times of prayer and recollection. We are to make an annual retreat. In order that we may be more attentive to the lights and impulses of the Holy Spirit in our following of Christ and in our continuing formation, we are encouraged to seek spiritual guidance from a person well-versed in Cenacle spirituality.
B. From the Word of God
Jesus in the desert – Matt. 4:1-11
Listening to the voice of God in the silence – 1 Sam. 3:1-11
Jesus teaches to pray with sincerity from the heart – Matt. 6:5-8
The power of perseverance in prayer – Luke 11:1-13
C. From Father Thomas Augustine Judge, C.M. [1]
1. Article in The Holy Ghost Magazine, November 1928
We have no clearer manifestation of God’s holy will than that we are to be saints. “This is the will of God, your sanctification.” (l Thess. 4:3) “Sanctify yourselves, and be ye holy because I am the Lord your God.” (Lev. 20:7) “Be you therefore perfect, as also your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matt. 5:48) O poor, wavering aspirant to sanctity, why do you hesitate? Yes, we know that “The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh weak.” (Matt. 26:41) You may even agree with St. Paul that, “You do not the things that you would.” (Gal. 5:17) Yes, we know of that triple conspiracy against your soul, the World, the Flesh and the Devil, but in all this depression and strife and temptation do not forget the words of our Divine Lord, “My grace is sufficient for thee.” (2 Cor. 12:9)
How many of us almost lose sight of the fact that even though we be on earth we belong to a supernatural order and that the supernatural and the natural are to be closely united in the life of a true Christian as the soul is united to the body. Our first footsteps up the holy mountain must be inspired by our realizing keenly that God would have us holy as He is holy. Indeed, He would have us lead His very life. It is for this end that He gave us His only beloved Son (and said): “Walk before me, and be perfect.” (Gen. 17:1)
Sanctity consists in believing and receiving the divine communications of the All Holy and by uniting ourselves with Him in love and imitation. The soul’s perfection consists in these three things – illumination of the mind, sanctification of the heart and union of the will with the will of God.
The first step toward becoming a saint is desire. This should be a strong desire to advance in sanctity, desire to emulate the Saints, desire to do great things for the honor and glory of the Triune God, desire to live and die for Him. Whoever in any walk of life is not actuated by an earnest desire is losing time.
Then there must be some standard of perfection set before the mind. Here is where the Saints will help us, those favored of God and the true heroes of the race. Become acquainted with the Saints. Know them, love them, understand them, speak to them. Read the lives of the Saints. The lives of the Saints act powerfully on the soul.
We will find the field of sanctity in the circumstances of our everyday providence. Sanctity refers everything to our last end.
Those consecrated to God’s service in holy religion are advantaged. Their life and grace give them a long lead on their brethren in the world. We who are so consecrated to God must take heed lest the laity on the last day rise up in judgment against us. The Holy Spirit is the Sanctifier. Call upon Him. Be faithful to His lights and holy impulses. [MF:11608-09]
[1] We have approximately 15,000 pages of Father Judge’s writings in the Archives of the Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity in microfilm format. These include correspondence, numerous conferences, official documents, and other occasional pieces such as seminary papers and personal notes – when referring to these papers we will use the letters “MF:” followed by the microfilm identification number in the archive files.
Missionary Cenacle Spirituality 