August Recollection Kit (2024)

A recollection is a “mini-retreat,” a few hours of quiet prayer when we look at our lives in God's presence. This guide can help us spend an hour or two in loving conversation with God, right where we are.

08/01/2024

A monthly recollection is a chance to step back from the whirlwind of daily tasks for a few hours of quiet prayer spent looking at God, the world, and ourselves. It is not always easy to find time to pray, but it is always worthwhile.

The best way to enjoy this recollection is to find a time that you can commit to spending with our Lord, and a calm place—free of distractions—where you can pray. Set aside other tasks, switch your phone to “do not disturb,” and grab a notebook. It is a good idea to make note of resolutions and ideas throughout the recollection, but the most important thing is to put yourself in front of our Lord, to look at Him and to let Him look at you.

I. Introduction

II. Meditation: The Miracle of Christ's Presence in the Eucharist (30 minutes)

III. Spiritual Reading (10-15 minutes)

IV. Holy Rosary (20 minutes)

V. Examination of Conscience (5-10 minutes)

VI. Meditation: Come Closer to Jesus Through Mary (30 minutes)

I. INTRODUCTION

"'Mary has been taken up to heaven by God in body and soul, and the angels rejoice.' Joy overtakes both angels and men. Why is it that we feel today this intimate delight, with our heart brimming over, with our soul full of peace? Because we are celebrating the glorification of our mother, and it is only natural that we her children rejoice in a special way upon seeing how the most Blessed Trinity honours her (...).

"We face here a mystery of love. Human reason barely begins to comprehend. Only faith can shed some light on how a creature can be raised to such great heights, becoming a loving target for the delights of the Trinity. We know this is a divine secret. Yet because our Mother is involved, we feel we can understand it more — if we are entitled to speak this way — than other truths of our faith.

"How would we have acted, if we could have chosen our own mother? I'm sure we would have chosen the one we have, adorning her with every possible grace. That is what Christ did. Being all-powerful, all-wise, Love itself, his power carried out his will (...).

"Theologians have frequently come up with similar reasons to explain in some way the meaning of the abundant graces showered upon Mary and culminating in her assumption to heaven. They put it this way: "It was fitting; God could do so; therefore he did." This is the clearest reason why our Lord granted his Mother, from the very moment of her immaculate conception, all possible privileges. She was free from the power of Satan. She is beautiful, spotless and pure in soul and body" (Christ is Passing By, no. 171).

II. MEDITATION

The depth of our Lord's love for us has led Him to stay with us, hidden under the appearance of bread in the Blessed Sacrament. Listen to this meditation here:

The most important part of the meditation is your personal conversation with our Lord. You can use the priest's prayer to inspire your own.

This meditation is part of the podcast "Meditations in Manhattan." You can subscribe to it on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts, Stitcher, Podcast Addict, or wherever you listen to your podcasts.

III. SPIRITUAL READING

“You write,” says St. Josemaria in The Way, no. 117: “'In my spiritual reading I build up a store of fuel. It looks like a lifeless heap, but I often find that my memory, of its own accord, will draw from it material which fills my prayer with life and inflames my thanksgiving after Communion.'”

We suggest spending 10-15 minutes reading "Love of God and love of neighbour" (no. 16 and following), by Pope Benedict XVI, in the encyclical Deus caritas est. Afterward, you can spend a few minutes with the Gospel, reading, for instance, St. Luke's account of the visitation and Mary's Magnificat, the Gospel of the day on the solemnity of the Assumption of our Lady.

IV. HOLY ROSARY

The Holy Rosary is an ancient Christian prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary, our Mother, asking her to pray for all her children in our time of need. You can find a description of how to pray the Rosary here, and download the Litany of Loreto (traditionally prayed at the end of the Rosary) here.

V. EXAMINATION OF CONSCIENCE

The questions below can help us consider in the presence of God how we’ve responded to His love in our acts and omissions. It may help to begin by invoking the Holy Spirit and to end with an act of contrition, expressing our sorrow for our sins and imploring God’s grace to return and remain close to Him. The act of contrition can be any we like, including one as simple as Peter’s words to Jesus after the Resurrection: “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you (Jn 21:17).

1. Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, “O man of little faith, why did you doubt?” (Mt 14:31). Do I find rest in the certainty that Christ is accompanying me? Do I try to direct my thoughts and heart to Him so that I don't become obsessed with difficulties?

2. “My Lord and my God: into your hands I abandon the past and the present and the future, what is small and what is great, what amounts to a little and what amounts to a lot, things temporal and things eternal” (The Way of the Cross, Seventh Station, no. 3). Do I abandon in the hands of my Father God all my concerns, especially anxiousness about what may happen in the future?

3. We have this treasure in earthen vessels, to show that the transcendent power belongs to God and not to us (2 Cor 4:7). Do I accept with serenity my own weakness and trust in God's strength? Do I lose my peace when I experience my defects?

4. “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what are they among so many?” (Jn 6:9). Do I trustingly place in God's hands all that I have, no matter how small it seems? Do I try to prevent my limitations from discouraging me to be generous?

5. And Jesus said to him, “If you can! All things are possible to him who believes.” Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mk 9:23-24). Do I trust that our Lord can cure the wounds in my soul? Do I show these to Him with humility and simplicity in my prayer? Do I allow myself to be helped in spiritual direction, making known sincerely the state of my soul?

6. "We will work miracles like Christ did, like the first apostles did. Maybe you yourself, and I, have benefited from such wonders. Perhaps we were blind, or deaf, or paralyzed; perhaps we had the stench of death, and the word of our Lord has lifted us up from our abject state" (Friends of God, no. 262). Do I recall the times that Christ has restored life to me and am I convinced that He can do the same for all souls?

7. Their brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill” (Jn 11:2-3). Do I beseech Jesus with the same confidence for those who are going through a tough time in their spiritual or personal life?

VI. MEDITATION

In the month of August, we celebrate the feasts of the Assumption and the Queenship of Mary. How can our Lady help us come closer to her Son? Listen to this meditation here: