Belonging – knowing who you are

The truth, even though I cannot feel it right now, is that I am the chosen child of God, precious in
God’s eyes, called the Beloved from all eternity and held safe in an everlasting embrace …
We must dare to opt consciously for our chosenness and not allow our emotions, feelings,
or passions to seduce us into self-rejection.
Henri J. M. Nowen

Opening Prayer

O Lord Jesus Christ, who, before ascending into heaven did promise to send the Holy Spirit to finish your work in the souls of your apostles and disciples, deign to grant the same Holy Spirit to me, to perfect in my soul the work of your grace and your love.

Grant me the Spirit of Wisdom – that I may not be attached to the perishable things of this world, but aspire only after the things that are eternal.

The Spirit of Understanding – to enlighten my mind with the light of your divine truth.

The Spirit of Right Judgment – that I may ever choose the surest way of pleasing God and gaining heaven.

The Spirit of Courage – that I may bear my cross with you, and that I may overcome with courage all the obstacles that oppose my salvation.

The Spirit of Knowledge – that I may know God, and know myself, and grow perfect in the science of the Saints.

The Spirit of Reverence – that I may find the service of God sweet and amiable.

The Spirit of Wonder and Awe – that I may be filled with a loving reverence toward God, and may avoid anything that may displease him.

Mark me, dear Lord, with the sign of your true disciples, and animate me in all things with your Spirit.

Amen.

Introduction

Challenges, unfortunately, are a normal part of life. It is easy to get discouraged, especially if we feel somehow inadequate to the task. Loneliness and the feeling of being unloved or unlovable are too often the result of a fast-paced society of individuals who are ‘islands unto themselves’ instead of persons who are part of a larger community.

But Pope Benedict XVI reminds us that, “We are not some casual and meaningless product of evolution. Each of us is the result of a thought of God. Each of us is willed, each of us is loved, each of us is necessary.” (Homily 24 April, 2005)

By knowing who you are, it is possible to encounter challenges without resentment and continue doing what you know you are called to do.

Questions

In a culture of death, children can be seen as inconveniences and accidents in birth control. This may be a bleak picture of society but it is one that many young people face as the implied message behind so much they see and hear. There is much pressure from peer groups to fit in by buying into the latest fad or trying the latest thing or having the latest gadget. Belonging seems to be a function of wealth, beauty and celebrity.

What other negative messages are you faced with?
What are some of the ways these negative messages are revealed?
How hard is it to stand up to pressures and do what you know is the right thing to do?
What is the basis of your identity (i.e. how do you know who you are)?
How would you define belonging?

Understanding

We are made in the image and likeness of God

Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness” … So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them … And it was so. God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good.
Genesis 1:26-31

We are equal

As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.
Galatians 3:27-28

You have stripped off the old self with its practices and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator. In that renewal there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all!
Colossians 3:9-11

We are abundantly loved children of God

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.
John 3:16

But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.
Romans 5:8

In Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith…And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise… And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also and heir, through God.
Galatians 3:26, 29, 4:6

We are the Body of Christ

For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion faith; ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.
Romans 12:4-8

See also 1 Corinthians 12:12-31

Split the group into four. Give each group one of the above aspects of who we are. Ask them to either create a poster that they present on the topic or act out some kind of skit illustrating the aspect of our identity.

After all the presentations, ask them what kind of a picture of humanity emerges? How does it compare with what society commonly tells us?

Reflection

Nelson Mandella's 1994 Inaugural speech

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our Light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world.
There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.
We were born to make manifest the Glory of God that is within us.
It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone.
And as we let our own Light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

What stands out for you in Nelson Mandella’s speech? Are you hiding your light under a bushel? Why? What are you afraid of? What are you being called to do? Who are you being called to be?

Closing Prayer

Consider a celebration of the Eucharist as your closing prayer.

Otherwise:

Loving God,
You have given us many gifts to use.
Help us always to use our gifts wisely and to never take them for granted.
Give us the courage to be your servants and the grace to be leaders who bring your Good News to others.
May we always be those who feed your sheep and never grow tired of what you ask of us.

Amen

Faith on Film:  Simon Birch

Discussion questions:
Simon’s physical appearance stands in the way of him fitting in (even in his family). Who in the movie gives Simon a sense of belonging? How?
What are the burdens that Simon carries?
Do you make those who may be different in the eyes of society (physically, emotionally, mentally) feel that they belong? Why or why not?

Personal reflection:
Where does your sense of belonging come from?
Have you ever felt that you didn’t belong? Did someone change that? Consider thanking those people who have given you a sense of belonging.
Consider people in your life who are seeking a sense of belonging (family member, friend, enemy). What are some ways you could assure them that they belong?

Quote:
There, in the midst of humankind, is the dwelling of Christ, who asks you to dry every tear in his name, and to remind whoever feels lonely that no one whose hope is placed in Christ is ever alone.
Pope John Paul II, WYD XII