Lenten Study

          Have you ever wished to deepen your relationship with God?

                       To experience a warm friendship with God?                                     Maybe even fall in love with God – again – or for the very first time?                  Meeting Jesus is a six-week journey and reflection on the Gospel According to John, through Lent 2018.                          

             It begins on 21 Feb at 7 PM at St Alban’s Church Hall You are invited to discover God as One who longs for deepintimacy with each of us.Together we will find that God is our companion, our friend, our confidant, our beloved.

Meeting Jesus in the Gospel of John invites participants on a six-week journey into deeper intimacy with God by praying with the words of John the Evangelist (The Gospel According to John and First Letter of John). These two texts describe how God, out of deep love, sends God’s only Son Jesus into the world, to take on human form and live among us. By learning from Jesus, his human friendships, and his teachings about the God he calls ‘Father,’ we will discover God as One who longs for deep intimacy with each of us.

We will take to heart the words of Jesus: “I and the Father are one.” We will find that God is not a judge, a disapproving parent, a policeman, or a taskmaster; rather God is our companion, our friend, our confidant, our beloved. We are even invited to abide in God as God abides in us. It is in relationship with Jesus that such extraordinary communion with God becomes a personal reality.

During this six-week offering, participants are invited to draw close to the God revealed in and through Jesus by meditating on the words of a daily verse from John. The monastic tradition in the church, with its hallowed practice of sacred reading, has since ancient times found John’s gospel a treasured key for opening the praying heart and awakening the praying mind. This remains true today for the Brothers of SSJE, who take their name and inspiration from John’s gospel and epistles.

In a short video each day, an SSJE Brother will comment upon the daily scripture verse, share facets of his own relationship with Jesus and suggest possibilities for further reflection. At the start of each week, participants are prompted to pray for a particular grace; at the end of each week, an inviting question helps participants to translate that grace into daily life.

To assist parish and small groups, we have produced a printed Prayer Journal. Facilitator’s Guides and other additional supporting materials are available online.