FORMATION
FORMATION 1999
THEME NO. 3
‘Your will be done‘
1. Opening Prayer
(To be introduced by the leader then
prayed by all present.)
Leader: My brothers in Christ, as the great
Jubilee draws near, let us prepare our minds and hearts and pray to the God and Father of
our Lord Jesus Christ for the renewal of the Church and the salvation of the world.
All: Merciful Father, help us to be
constantly attentive to the voice of the Spirit, so that we may know your will and carry
it out in word and action. We ask this through Jesus who is Lord. Amen.
2. Scripture Reading – Matthew
7: 21–27
(Read by the discussion leader or
member nominated by him.)
Hearers and Doers. Not everyone who says to
me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does
the will of my Father in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we
not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many deeds of power in
your name?’ Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you, go away from me, you
evil-doers.’ Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be
like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds
blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock. And
everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man
who built his house on sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and
beat against the house, and it fell – and great was its fall!
(The reading of scripture is followed
by several minutes silent reflection before the reading of the Message.)
3. The Message
(Read by the discussion leader or the
member nominated by him.)
This is the will of God: ‘that all
people be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth’ (1Timothy 2:4). Jesus came
into the world to reveal and realise this loving plan of the Father, and that those who
welcome it with openness will come to know true joy in doing God’s will. In the times
of doubt and confusion, storm and tempest, it is important that the will of God, the rock
of all salvation, be clearly seen. We must strive to hold to the truth of things and this
can be difficult in times of change, which is the present situation in the Church. Within
our faith there are unchanging truths, the ‘rock’ upon which the Catholic Church
stands. There are also the changes wrought by culture and the passing of time. We must
continually ask ourselves, ‘What is the will of God in this circumstance, this
situation? What is the will of God calling us to be, to do? What is asked of us in order
that the kingdom of God is realised in our time and world?
4. The Exercise
(Five minutes of reflection by all
members.)
What do you see as the will of the Father
for you?
Why did Jesus say ‘I never knew you,
go away from me’ to those who claimed to have acted in his name?
What is the ‘rock’ upon which
your life of faith rests?
5. The Sharing
(Members share aspects of their
personal faith and its place in their lives that have come to them through the Exercise.)
6. The Word
(The basis of meditation and reflection
for the ensuing month given by the discussion leader.)
1. ‘For who has known the mind of the
Lord? Or who has been his counsellor? Or who has given a gift to him, to receive a gift in
return? For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever.
Amen.’ (Romans 11: 33–36)
2. From the Catechism of the Catholic
Church # 2822 – 2827.
7. Closing Prayer
(Prayed by all members.)
