Day 20 September:Listening to the heart of the Universe
Listening to the heart of the Universe:
the three fundamental principles
The day began with prayer in the garden – a prayer to God present in the Universe…
Turning towards the four cardinal points with outstretched arms we prayed and we welcomed:
- The emerging vision and the gift of new life that comes from the East
- Growth and learning the gift that comes to us from the South
- The gift of intuition that comes from the West
- Renewal and transformation –the gift that comes from the North
The assembly then met to share on the responses to the two questions reflected on in yesterday’s groups. The following points were noted:
There are great desires for unity; the need to “unlearn” all that prevents us from embracing this new vision of the world of interconnection, interrelatedness, interdependence; the desire to choose life; to live as a Family rooted in God; to be present in those places where life is being threatened. These desires were repeated time and time again throughout the assembly.
Then a slide show on the three basic principles of the Universe was presented. These are:
Diversity…”Nothing is identical to anything else…the universe never repeats the same creative process…there is no loss of identity but only increasing diversity and creativity.
Interiority…is the innate potential in every created being which has the right to be, to grow, to develop and flourish and reach its full potential…everything is sacred…creation is a communion of subjects not a collection of objects.
Communion…nothing exists in isolation…we are all in relationship…we are all one…everything on the planet is interconnected and interdependent.
These are the three fundamental laws of the universe and the universe could not exist without them.
In the afternoon a beautiful PowerPoint called “The essence of our being” invited us to go more deeply within ourselves. “Each person is an unfathomable and profoundly rich mystery that we can never know completely.”
After a pause, and by means of another slide show, we were invited to listen to the heartbeat of Mother Earth; to her suffering caused by the violence and destruction done to her.
Then there was a brief time of working in groups in order to share on the deep desires that have surfaced during the last two days,
A quotation from Scripture and a question were offered to guide the reflection:
“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which God has called you, the riches of God’s glorious inheritance.” (Eph. 1, 18)
How do you discover this hope in today’s world?
How can we contribute in order to spread this hope?
There was some sharing in the assembly on these questions:
Urged on by our faith in Christ, we wish to live our interconnectedness in a conscious manner and to give our lives so that others may have life
Return home to Mother Earth, contemplating God present in her, work to safeguard life, stand out against all that threatens life and oppose all forms of injustice.
Act together as a Family to promote life
Be appreciative of life, our identity and live sustainably on earth
Be “a real presence”, knowing who we are, looking for what is good and positive in all that exists.
Our earth cries out….let us wake up!
Then Nelly took her leave of us, inviting us to move forward with hope. One of the participants expressed the gratitude of the whole group for all that was shared during these two deeply enriching days.