A SHARED EXPERIENCE
A
new writer for the Daily Prayer section of Madonna thought she might have
taken on too daunting a task. Danusia Kaska tells how the
sharing of the task resulted in a rich communal reflection and prayer.
Having been a dedicated reader and admiring fan of Madonna, especially during 2002 when I was living and working on a mission in Thailand, I was always inspired and moved by the daily reflections it contained. So when one day, while visiting Father Andy at his office I was enticed to contribute. In spite of feeling inadequate and unqualified to undertake such a task, I took up the challenge!
When I received the first set of readings, I was perplexed: the readings seemed too difficult and I couldn’t really find a theme to follow. I thought of the resources available to me, and in the end I implored the help of my Marist Young Adult Community (MYAC) where I am living.
There are four of us in the MYAC: Melissa, Luke, Paolo and myself. Each week someone is nominated to choose a reflection for the evening that we share. This particular evening it was my turn and I brought the readings to our gathering. After sharing the readings aloud, we combined our thoughts and ideas together and everyone had input of their own view of what the words meant to them.
Then followed discussion, reflection and prayer together as a community. The more ‘religiously equipped’ folk did not dominate the discussion with theological ideas; rather all people delved into their own life experiences and spiritualities and it created a very prayerful moment in our community.
While I didn’t have my reflections completely written down at the end of our gathering, I did have many movements within me that led me, later on, to write up several different reflections on each reading! Of course only one is required, but I was so overwhelmed with our discussions and reflections that I could have easily taken several different avenues for each one! I also felt greater confidence that I was able to write the reflections to the standard of the other Madonna contributors.
This
was the precedent for the reflections that have followed, and is how I
tackle my readings each month. After reading aloud in the group the readings
of the day, a theme evolves. We look at similarities and make links between
the readings, as well as offer our own personal opinions. The process
is quite amazing and interesting, as each person usually has a different
perspective even though pondering the same readings.
The experience of sharing in this way really puts meaning into the words. When someone dares to offer a thought or reflection as a result of hearing the words of scripture, which often takes courage to do, it demonstrates what being a true witness to our Catholic faith means. Expressing our faith openly through action and word is a good example of following Christ. It is also beneficial to hear the different opinions, making us more open-minded and less judgemental.
I see this process as real living prayer, which connects people and is enriched by them. Not only is it a shared search in our faith journey, but the load is lighter, we are richer in our faith for having shared the experience and, as prayer and meditation on scripture is central to our faith and belief as Christians, it is a sacred moment.
I now look forward to receiving the readings for each edition, especially as it is a task that we share together as a community and which helps us to grow in our spirituality.
