Bring on the rain!

Today’s rain is welcome, as the dry grass has remained brown for so much of my lawn. And the rain reminded me of a Scriptural reference to rain I found applicable for today’s journal topic.

“Let my teaching fall like rain and my words descend like dew, like showers on new grass, like abundant rain on tender plants.” (Deuteronomy 32:2 – NIV)  

In the Catholic faith, the Holy Spirit is recognized as the source of spiritual enlightenment and wisdom. This spirit has been referred to as coming down upon God’s people like the gentle rain. I think the analogy is fitting to my posting this week, as I think it may be raining, or even pouring down on me as of late, through the new opportunities presented to me for furthering my spiritual journey.

This has been a busy week, with work and other obligations, so my postings have been neglected. But my journey has not!  On Monday evening I attended my weekly class of the Catholic Biblical School of Michigan - Monroe group. Within the next few days I will be posting my thoughts of our current topic from Genesis in that class. But in the few minutes I have available today, I want to share something new I also will be starting. I am joining an 8-week program in Toledo: Learning How to Pray with the Bible (subtitled- A way to nourish your relationship with Jesus.) 

I expect this program will be much different from the Monroe class, as this is being promoted as a program that "teaches you how to meditate and contemplate the great themes and stories of the Bible by using methods of prayer taken from St. Ignatius of Loyola's Spiritual Exercises." This should be much different because of the focus on prayer.  I think I can greatly improve my prayer experience and Biblically-based prayer sounds very interesting to me. Mind you, I know nothing about St. Ignatius, so this should be enlightening in more than one way. But I am most interested in enriching my prayer life. We were told to bring our Bibles and a notebook for journaling.  (Wish I had a tiny netbook computer to take along, as I do so much better writing on a keyboard than longhand! Too much joint paint, which comes from years of repetitive stress on my wrists.)

The program is offered by the Sisters of Notre Dame at their Provincial House Conference Center at Secor and Monroe Roads. The flyer promoting this says it is sponsored by the Manresa Retreat Center in Bloomfield Hills, MI.  They have one group from 1 to 3:30 pm, and an evening session at 7:00 to 9:30 pm.  I have registered for the daytime session, as I can go to work in the morning and then make the trip over there without too much trouble. The whole 8 weeks costs just $25 and they still have openings in both. (Interested people can call Sister Marcia Marie Destatte at 419-474-5485 or by emailing mdestatte@gmail.com.)

So, yes, I am going to participate in a Monday night class with the Catholic Biblical School (from Oct. to May) and then also participate in this brief 8-week “Pray with the Bible” class on Tuesday afternoons.  I know, I can hear you now . . . isn't that a bit much? Well, I think the results will well be worth the time I will invest. I am sure there will be homework from both, but I really feel led by the Spirit to do this. So, please wish me well. I will post that part of my journey to my online journal also.

Finally, a reminder that my church is once again offering the Jeff Cavin Bible study, "A QUICK Jouney Through the Bible" on Thursday mornings for 8 weeks. It teaches about the 12 time periods of the Bible and the 14 narrative books which advance the salvation story from Adam through Jesus to the Church today. The weekly program started today, though I think you can still join in. This is offered on a DVD video and then is followed by discussion questions. Of course, you read some of the Bible as part of this for homework. I took this study during Lent this past year and it was really a good program. If you are interested, call 734-847-2895 for more information. The videos are by well-known Jeff Cavin and are extremely enlightening.

So, as you can see, it is raining here. And that's my report of where I am on my journey. How is the weather in your part of the world? How is your journey going?