The Life of St. Ignatius of Loyola
by Rev. Normal O'Neal, S.J.
Sowing the Seeds of Contemplation
An Eight-Week Lenten Retreat in Daily Life
Workshop for Sowing the Seeds of Contemplation - English
Presenter's Manual
Complete Lenten Package
Contains the above 3 documents plus Lenten Weeks 1-8
Lent is a special opportunity to grow in our relationship with God. We seek to open ourselves more to God, and to hear his call to turn to Him. We seek to recognize and respond to His presence in our lives and in our world. We place our needs, our fears, our failures, our hopes, our very lives in God’s hands and to allow His transforming grace to work in us.
The “Sowing the Seeds” retreat, written by Frs. Ed Zogby, SJ, and Michael Lynch, SJ, abridged version edited by Patti Juliana, was included on this website to help foster your relationship with God during this season. It was designed to be provided in group format, but it can be conducted by individuals by reflecting on the topical presentation and the cited readings. Additional reading suggestions are included in the text for the week. Although it was written to be conducted over eight weeks, it should be used at a pace that is most comfortable for the reader.
The original retreat was written for Chinese speaking Catholic communities in America and Taiwan and Hong Kong. It has been translated into Chinese and is available in that format by contacting this website. Leaders have been trained to direct the retreat in a way that enrolls others in also directing the retreat for other groups.
We offer it here for our friends who come to the Shrine frequently for Mass and Eucharistic devotions. Making the materials available is a way of sowing the seeds of contemplation, as Thomas Merton called it. We live in the Marcan question that Jesus asks His disciples, ‘who do you say that I am?’ We rest in the Lord, and listen to His story and to His call to accept His forgiveness of our sins. His is the mastery, our is the attentive listening in faith.
This site also provides links to the readings of the day and to Daily Reflection sponsored by Creighton University, along with other resources. Visit the Site Index to see what is available and what will be added throughout Lent.
- Prayers for Week 1 of Lent
- Prayers for Week 2 of Lent
- Prayers for Week 3 of Lent
- Prayers for Week 4 of Lent
- Prayers for Week 5 of Lent
|
Inspiration 
