Journal # 1: Dreamers Unite!

Jeremiah 29:11-14

For I know what my plans for you are, plans to save you and not to harm you, plans to give you a future and to give you hope. And Yahweh says, “When you call on me I will listen. You will seek me and find me when you search for me and find me with all your heart.” For Yahweh says, “I will let myself gather you from among all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you and bring you back to the place of exile.”

St. Ignatius of Loyola in his Spiritual Exercises said that God has a dream, a vision for us, for our world. He wants us to join Him in this project, in this wonderful undertaking[1]. God made us dreamers, and because of this we are intrinsically attracted toward our dreams…to do something good in this lifetime and to live a meaningful life in this world. We may not be aware of it, but God wants us to have our dreams fulfilled and so we are gifted with talents and faculties to make them a reality. What we can say about this dream, is that He wanted us to be united with Him forever in His Kingdom. Sadly, most of us turn away from this dream because of our own choices. We choose not to follow God’s dreams for us when we embrace sin than to be reconciled and nourish our faith with Him. But the Good News is, God has a far greater love than our hearts; a love beyond our understanding of loving. He is hopelessly and helplessly in love with us (you may call it the-crazy-and-desperately-in-love kind of thing), that He constantly reaches out to be reconciled to us, through His Son, Jesus Christ.

Points of Reflection

• Reflect over Jeremiah 29:11-14. Spend a few moments of quiet with God.
• What struck you most while reading the passage? How do you feel about it? What does God want to tell you personally?
• You may also want to reflect over your dreams, hopes and plans in your life. Tell and offer them to Him.
• It is helpful to keep track of our prayer experiences by keeping a prayer journal. Note down all your feelings, significant movements, and the image of God you met after the prayer period.

[1] Alfonso, Manuel S.J, The Windhover, June 2008, pp.28. Jesuit Communications Foundation, Inc.