{"id":2873,"date":"2018-02-12T21:16:06","date_gmt":"2018-02-13T02:16:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/?page_id=2873"},"modified":"2022-02-17T08:50:26","modified_gmt":"2022-02-17T13:50:26","slug":"grace-trifecta-part-prayer-lent-2018","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/grace-trifecta-part-prayer-lent-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"The Grace Trifecta, Part I: Prayer &#8211; Lent 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div align=\"center\" class=\"youtube-responsive-container\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/6pK0Q49_QMc?rel=0&amp;modestbranding=1\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"564\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\" id=\"summary\">Summary<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>Allison shares her personal story and how she realized how God is always with her in her life. She encourages us to persevere and keep our prayers constant, and to surrender our suffering and difficulties to Him, as God will too never leave our side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thank you for watching and participating in this retreat!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Not Registered, yet? Don\u2019t miss the rest of the talks! Register for the Pray More Retreat!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-horizontal is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-layout-1 wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link\" href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/2018-lent-retreat\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Click Here to Register!<\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\" id=\"documents\">Documents<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"audio-mp3\">Audio MP3<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/audiolent\/04%20-%20Allison%20Gringas%20-%20The%20Grace%20Trifecta%2C%20Part%201%20-%20Prayer.mp3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Click&nbsp;here&nbsp;to download audio file.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"printable-study-guide-pdf\">Printable Study Guide PDF<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/The-Grace-Trifecta-Part-I-Prayer-Study-Guide.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Click here to download the printable study guide.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"printable-transcript-pdf\">Printable Transcript PDF<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/The-Grace-Trifecta-Part-I-Prayer-Allison-Gingras-Transcript.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Click here to download the transcript of the video presentation.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\" id=\"reflective-study-guide-questions\">Reflective Study Guide Questions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p>\u201cPrayer is an aspiration of the heart, it is a simple glance directed to heaven, it is a cry of gratitude and love in the midst of trail as well as joy; finally, it is something great, supernatural, which expands my soul and unites me to Jesus.\u201d &#8211;St.Therese of Lisieux<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p>&#8220;We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.&#8221; &#8211; Romans 8:28<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Prayer, <a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/lenten-practices-prayer-fasting-and-almsgiving-lent-2022\/\">Fasting and Almsgiving<\/a>. How can you use these three things to grow closer to God this Lent?<br><br><\/li><li>Simply put, prayer is a conversation with God and a time to open up our hearts to Him. How much time do you spend listening to God in prayer? How much time do you spend speaking to Him? Do you do one way more than you do the other? How can you balance those two out in the next few weeks?<br><br><\/li><li>Allison shares that she finishes her day off with an examination of what she did well and what she could have done better, asking for God to help her in the next day. Have you considered doing an examination of conscience before going to sleep?<br><br><\/li><li>When have you <a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/seeking-receiving-peace-advent-2021\/\">received peace<\/a> in your life? What was a time that you most felt God\u2019s peace wash over you?<br><br><\/li><li>In what affliction or trial have you learned that you needed to trust in God more? And how did that change your situation when you grew in trusting Him?<br><br><\/li><li>How has God carried you through a hard time? How has He walked alongside you while you have carried your cross?<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\" id=\"text-the-grace-trifecta-part-i\">Text: The Grace Trifecta, Part I<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color\">Hi, I\u2019m Alison Gingras, and founder of Reconciledtoyou.com. I am very excited to spend a few sessions with you this month as part of the Pray More Novenas Lenten retreat. What I\u2019m going to be talking about in the next&#8230; for my three sessions is what I call The <a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/grace-trifecta-part-iii-sacraments-lent-2018\/\">Grace Trifecta<\/a> of prayer, sacrament, and scripture. We\u2019re going to look at how these 3 amazing gifts from <a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/pray-like-saint-wisdom-growing-closer-god-part-ii\/\">God help us to grow closer<\/a> to Him, and how we can use them during this time of Lent to do just that: To find ourselves anew in Christ, in who we are created to be by Him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"opening-prayer\">Opening Prayer<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color\">First, let\u2019s start with a prayer. <em>In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the <a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/how-to-lean-on-the-holy-spirit-during-suffering-healing-2019\/\">Holy Spirit<\/a>. Amen. Dear good and gracious God, we thank You so much for this opportunity to be together. Lord, we ask You to open up our hearts and our minds to the message that You have for us in this moment. Lord, I ask personally for Your work and Your will to be done, and for me to get out of Your way. And we ask all of this in Your most precious name, <a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/encountering-christ-within-advent-2018\/\">Jesus Christ<\/a>. Amen.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"lessons-unfolding\">Lessons Unfolding<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Well, the funny thing about being here with you today is that I almost said no. About 2 years ago, I was diagnosed with a hand condition called atopic dermatitis. It has no real cause, and therefore no real cure. Basically, my hands, they get inflamed, and they peel, and they\u2019re just really unattractive. My husband teases that it looks a lot like leprosy, and perhaps I should, when I\u2019m going down our hall in our home, that I should yell \u201cI\u2019m clean! I\u2019m clean!\u201d He\u2019s right. I probably should. And they make me very self-conscious. And the idea of coming on a video and sharing my story with you includes with at my hands, because I\u2019m just one of those people who talks a lot with their hands. I\u2019m trying not to, but it\u2019s hard. I get very excited, especially when I\u2019m talking about Jesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But the more I prayed about it, the more the Lord continued to show me what good He was doing with this condition. This chronic condition. And just all these different lessons started to kind of unfolded before me. I started to see so much of how&#8230; that everybody has some chronic affliction that they deal with. Some, like myself, is on the outside, and people can see it. Others, it\u2019s on the inside, and it\u2019s a daily struggle. I\u2019ve had a battle with anxiety for most of my life, so I get that internal one too. You look fine in most situations, but inside you\u2019re really struggling to hold it together. Oh, trust me, I get that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"god-is-always-with-us\">God is Always With Us<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color\">And for some of us, it\u2019s also a spiritual affliction. It\u2019s a spiritual struggle, to believe in God, regardless of the circumstances or the situation in your life. It\u2019s so easy&#8230; it\u2019s not easy I should say. It\u2019s not very easy to trust people you can see. Trying to trust the unseen God can sometimes feel unsurmountable. But as I go through this condition and spend all of this time and energy trying to find cures and to find relief, I\u2019ve discovered that God is&#8230; He\u2019s always with me, and especially during this time of Lent we can really spend more time figuring out how He\u2019s with us, and where He\u2019s with us. And through these beautiful gifts of prayer, sacrament, and <a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/bible-101-a-crash-course-in-scripture-part-ii-advent-2018\/\">scripture<\/a>, I hope that you yourself can discover, in your own affliction, where God is carrying you through it, where He is holding your hand, or guiding you, and making good. Because He promises that, in Romans 8:28, for all those who love Him, that He will bring good even the worst conditions. That might be the Allison abridged version of Romans 8:28, but I believe in His promises. He doesn\u2019t make them lightly. And I believe in the scriptures and what they have to teach me, and to teach us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color\">So I almost said no, because every once in a while you\u2019ll get a glimpse of these hands, and I\u2019m so glad that I didn\u2019t let my fear and my desire to hide what was going on to keep me from bringing this message to you. I really believe with my <a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/returning-to-the-lord-with-our-whole-hearts-lent-2019\/\">whole heart<\/a> that it\u2019s like this best-kept secret. That God loves us so much, that He didn\u2019t just put us here and say \u201cGood luck. I <a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/letting-go-of-sin-for-the-hopeful-life-advent-2019\/\">hope you figure out this whole life<\/a> thing, and perhaps maybe I\u2019ll see you in the end.\u201d No, He gives us this life, and He gives us free-will, and He asks us to use it to come to know Him and to love Him, to serve Him in this world and in the next. And if we do that through these great gifts of prayer, sacrament, and scripture, you\u2019re going to see how easy it truly is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, with this session, I\u2019m going to spend the remainder of it kind of focused on the prayer aspect. The next, we\u2019ll look at scripture. And the last, we\u2019ll look at the sacraments, particularly THE sacrament of reconciliation, since it is Lent. And it\u2019s my favorite. You don\u2019t create a ministry called Reconciled To You and not love the sacrament of reconciliation. You\u2019ll see in the third session that I wasn\u2019t always like that. I was quite the confession chicken. But something very humorous happened to cure me of that. But let\u2019s focus today on prayer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"a-conversation-with-god\">A Conversation with God<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019m a journaler. You keep seeing me look down. That\u2019s because I\u2019ve written in my journal. When I was, you know, praying about what the Lord wanted me to say, because the Holy Spirit is the one who\u2019s really bringing this message, I am just here as His spokesperson, His ambassador. 2 Corinthians, 5:20, to be an ambassador for Christ, that\u2019s what I hope to be. I want everyone to be reconciled to God. And if I can be in any small way a piece of that reconciliation, then I feel blessed and honored, and that\u2019s what I\u2019ve offered to God to be. So I went to adoration and I sat with my journal, and I said \u201cLord, I just&#8230; I want to know what it is You want me to bring. What message are You asking me to share?\u201d And the first thing that came to my mind was \u201cDo you have a plan for Lent? Do you have a plan for life and, more importantly, do you have a plan for life with Christ?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color\">Lent is this time to slow down, to spend 40 days looking at \u201cWhere am I right now spiritually? Where am I being called to?\u201d There are the 3 tenets of Lent \u2013 we have the prayer, fasting, and alms giving \u2013 \u201cAnd how can I use those 3 things to <a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/pray-like-saint-wisdom-growing-closer-god-part-iii\/\">grow closer to God<\/a>? Through prayer, alms giving, and fasting?\u201d Well, again, we\u2019re looking at prayer, which is also <a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/grace-trifecta-part-ii-scripture-2\/\">part of what I call The Grace Trifecta<\/a>. Prayer is this just gift, this conversation that we can have with God. It\u2019s one of the things I like about journaling, because sometimes my brain is kind of all over the place, and I want to be able to bring it in. And if I\u2019m just trying to organize the thoughts on my own, it doesn\u2019t work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color\">But sometimes I find \u2013 well, not sometimes, all the time \u2013 I find when I write them down, that I can organize them better. And it also gives me something to look back on, when God has spoken to my heart, and I can go back later and go \u201cOh my gosh. Look at this. <a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/renewing-covenant-god-lent-lent-2018\/\">This is where God<\/a> was, you know, sharing this with me here. And here I\u2019m seeing it come to fruition.\u201d Or \u201cThis is what I was prayer for then, and thank goodness is didn\u2019t happen, because this much greater thing happened.\u201d Or just&#8230; it\u2019s just a wonderful <a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/when-god-asks-us-to-be-little-the-little-way-healing-2018\/\">way to have a conversation with God<\/a> and to have a record of it. And that\u2019s really what prayer is. <a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/turning-back-to-god-in-prayer-lent-2021\/\">Prayer is really just a conversation with God<\/a>. It\u2019s this time of opening our hearts to Him, our hearts and our minds, lifting them to heaven, and letting Him speak to our hearts. That\u2019s part of free-will. He\u2019s not going to burst His way into our lives, He\u2019s such a gentleman. We have to invite Him in. We have to cooperate with the <a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/sharing-gods-graces-christian-friendship\/\">grace<\/a> that He has abundantly available for us in order to really fully embrace the life He has for us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"what-is-grace\">What is Grace?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color\">Now, what is grace? That was one of the things that, when I started to come back to the church about 10 years ago, I kept hearing all the time. Grace this and grace that, and I thought \u201cWhat is grace?\u201d I had no idea. So, this is the Allison Abridged version of grace: Grace is the undeserved yet freely-given gift of God\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/how-to-be-led-by-the-holy-spirit-lent-2020\/\">Holy Spirit<\/a> within us. It\u2019s that gift, that spirit, that\u2019s His, that He places in ours that allows us to live a holier life, to make better choices, to seek Him out, to understand, you know, the gifts of the Holy Spirit. That\u2019s all this gift of grace that He has for us. Well, the funny thing about gifts is they\u2019re not very useful if they\u2019re not received, opened, and used. And sometimes we can get lost on how to get this grace from God. So there, we go back to that trifecta of prayer, sacrament, and scripture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"talking-to-god\">Talking to God<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>And prayer, well, there\u2019s no wrong way to pray. I hear that a lot in my ministry work. \u201cI don\u2019t know how to pray.\u201d Or \u201cI don\u2019t know if I\u2019m praying right.\u201d Any time you give your attention to God, and ask for Him to come into your life in a deeper way just to enlighten you in some way, how can that be wrong? It\u2019s how you like to pray. It\u2019s how you feel the more comfortable. And honestly, I go through seasons of prayer. I may pray one way at some point in my life. For instance, this is how I found Pray More Novenas. I was in a place in my life where I was really trying to get to know God. I was struggling to kind of embrace this life of Christianity for the first time, and someone had shared with me a novena a long, long time ago when I was a young woman, and I knew that it had really impacted my heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color\">So I wanted to pray them more, but I didn\u2019t know how to remember them, because I have a little ADD and I kind of forget things. And I <a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/the-joy-to-be-loved-healing-2020\/\">loved<\/a> that the email would come right to my inbox every day, and I would never forget. So that\u2019s how I discovered Pray More Novenas. And then I did, you know, those different parts of my life, and whatever they\u2019re offering one, quite honestly, I pray it. Because how can that be a bad thing? To pray this 9 days, to a saint, to our <a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/our-blessed-mother-mary-her-suffering-and-ours-healing-2019\/\">Blessed Mother<\/a>, and to ask for an intercession, for a little extra grace and a little help with things. So when I\u2019m in a season of real despair, I find myself praying more and more novenas. There\u2019s one by Saint Teresa of Calcutta. She called it the Flying Novena, some call it the Emergency Novena, and she would say nine Memorares in a row, and then she\u2019d say a tenth in thanksgiving, because she knew our Blessed Mother would help her in one way or another, and I love that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color\">And I do that one and quite often. I have to be very honest, that one gets a lot of use in my life. But there\u2019s the prayers that you know from your childhood that are the Our Father, Hail <a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/the-genealogy-of-jesus-and-why-it-matters-advent-2020\/\">Mary<\/a>, the Glory Be, the Rosary. But this is looking at the scriptures, but there\u2019s also just talking to God. Just before I, you know, wake up in the morning I always thank Him for the day and ask Him to guide me and be with me for the day, and before I go to bed at night I do kind of an examine, where I just think about where, I during the day, I\u2019ve been with God, or near Him, or away from Him, what I could have done better, what I did right. Just thanking Him and praising Him always for the gift of <a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/purifying-our-faith-advent-2020\/\">faith<\/a> in my life, and asking Him to continue to pour out His blessing upon me, that I may always know Him and strive to know Him better. And that can sometimes be a difficulty, especially when you\u2019re faced with a condition, in my case this atopic dermatitis, that just doesn\u2019t go away, and there\u2019s nothing that I can do about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"a-gift-of-peace\">A Gift of Peace<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>For me, it has a little bit to do with what I eat. I\u2019ve been trying to figure out what that is and avoiding it, and it seems like whatever I\u2019m allergic to seems to be in everything. And just looking for, in prayer, some peace, some respite, some hope in it. And I found that in prayer. I have to say that the answer to every prayer that I\u2019ve ever prayed has always been the response of peace. I may not get what I\u2019ve asked for, because God is not a slot machine. I may never see the answer; it may be happening and I just don\u2019t know it. But I always, always, always, have a sense, a great sense of peace after I have prayed, and for that I am ever grateful to God for the gift of prayer, and I do find myself praying, especially when I am the most discouraged by something. And sometimes my prayer is only the name of Jesus, or just holding my rosary sometimes, because I can\u2019t even muster a prayer because I\u2019m so distraught, or frustrated, or just lost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"saint-paul-in-thessalonians\">Saint Paul in Thessalonians<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>I think of Saint Paul\u2019s words in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18: <strong><em>Pray without ceasing. Give thanks.<\/em><\/strong> He goes on. <strong><em>This is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.<\/em><\/strong> And I guess that\u2019s kind of how I think about this chronic condition, because I keep praying and it doesn\u2019t go away. And to accept that this is God\u2019s will, and all of the things that He\u2019s has taught me, for instance I\u2019m a germophobe. And so part of the worst&#8230; the worst part about this condition is that I get&#8230; I\u2019m very susceptible to infections. I have to be very careful, which makes my germophobia just off the record, off the wall. But it\u2019s taught me a lot about trusting God, and trusting that He, He is in all situations, and that, you know, I have to live my life. I can\u2019t put myself in a bubble, trust me I tried. I get pushed out of the bubble. I would love to just hide away somewhere, but I need to be in the world. Not of it, but in it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And so learning how to trust Him very well, and then I also think about 2 Corinthians 12. A thorn in the flesh. Three times Paul asked the Lord to remove this thorn. It\u2019s kind of left ambiguous of what this thorn is, and I believe that\u2019s because that\u2019s a way for all of us to see ourselves in that scripture passage. We all have some thorn that we keep asking the Lord to take away, and maybe it\u2019s a financial thorn, or it\u2019s a relationship difficulty thorn, or work, a difficult work situation, or a chronic condition, or&#8230; we all have a thorn. And we, I\u2019m sure, you, like I, have asked God again, and again, and again, like Paul asked 3 times and it\u2019s still there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And then I love the Lord\u2019s response, and I think, obviously, this is His response to us as well. This is for our reflection today, to really take this into our hearts. What chronic condition are we battling? Because we all have that spiritual condition of sin. But what is it that we keep coming to God and asking Him to remove? And maybe its still being there makes us wonder \u201cDoes He even exist? Does He even care? If He does exist, does He even care what I have to say? And is He really going to help me? Where is the peace in it?\u201d And here is the beautiful thing that the Lord says back to Saint Paul and, again, to us. <strong><em>My grace is enough for you. My grace is enough for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.<\/em><\/strong> Paul says that the thorn keeps him from arrogance, as he experiences the amazing, mystical, magnificent work of God in his life. Okay, again, Allison Abridged Version to Corinthians 12:16.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"a-reminder\">A Reminder<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color\">When we come to <a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/pray-like-saint-wisdom-growing-closer-god-part-iii\/\">God and we ask Him to be part<\/a> of our lives, we are probably going to experience some pretty amazing things that God is going to do. And we can get kind of arrogant in it. We can also become complacent, and I know I forget sometimes, when things are going really good, I forget I need God, I forget to pray to God. And I\u2019m grateful, when I look down at my hands and I think \u201cThis reminds me that I need God. And this reminds me that God&#8230; that I\u2019m sharing in God\u2019s suffering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"three-clear-messages\">Three Clear Messages<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color\">A few years ago, I\u2019ll leave you with this story, a few years ago I was doing a confirmation retreat. And in the confirmation retreat, there was this young man who, I don\u2019t know, he was just so broken, and his heart was so hard. And at some point he realized that the DRE had left the room. And it was just me and him and all of the kids, and he stood up and just started to berate me. Yelling, swearing, just completely laying into me about how I was a liar, and God was fake, and just he had so much anger and <a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/embracing-vulnerability-to-overcome-pain-lent-2021\/\">pain<\/a>, and he hadn\u2019t really listened to anything I had said. And I lost complete control of the room and the situation, I made the bad choice of trying to engage him without the Holy Spirit, and it was just ugly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And on the way home I was just distraught, and I called a friend, and she was like \u201cGet to adoration. Get to a chapel and just go pray.\u201d I found my chapel was open at my church, and I slipped into the back row, and I kind of just slumped down and I was like \u201cLord, I don\u2019t get it. I\u2019m trying so hard to serve You, and to do right by You, and yet this is what happened.\u201d I just&#8230; I felt so betrayed by God. And as I sat there, three very clear messages came to my heart. First, \u201cIf you wish to share in My glory, you must also share in My suffering.\u201d Two, \u201cIf you want to follow Me, then pick up your cross daily and follow Me.\u201d And last, \u201cIf I did not spare My son, what makes you think you would be any different?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color\">I know that was God and not me, because I\u2019m super much nicer to myself, and I would have responded with \u201cI\u2019m so sorry. You poor thing. I\u2019ll do better next time.\u201d But God knew what I really needed to hear, is that sharing in His suffering is a great privilege and a <a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/choosing-joy-advent-2020\/\">joy<\/a>, and saint-making, and we\u2019re all created to be saints. And I want to be with God forever in heaven, which means I want to be a saint. If I truly want to share in God\u2019s glory of heaven, I must be willing to also share in the suffering of this world, which means putting aside my pride and sharing my journey through prayer, sacrament, and scripture with you here in the Pray More Novenas Lenten retreat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\" id=\"about-allison-gingras\">About Allison Gingras<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text alignwide is-stacked-on-mobile\" style=\"grid-template-columns:27% auto\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"310\" height=\"382\" src=\"http:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Allison-Headshot-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2488 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Allison-Headshot-1.jpg 310w, https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Allison-Headshot-1-243x300.jpg 243w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 310px) 100vw, 310px\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/speaker-allison-gingras\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Allison Gingras<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/a>is the founder of&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.reconciledtoyou.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Reconciled To You<\/a>&nbsp;where she blogs, shares and speaks about the Catholic faith in our everyday life and the many opportunities life presents to discover the grace of God!&nbsp; She shares these with great enthusiasm, passion and a sense of humor.&nbsp; Allison is a&nbsp;WINE Specialist overseeing and facilitating social media for WINE: Women in the New Evangelization.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"800\" src=\"http:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/The-Grace-Trifecta-Part-I_-Prayer.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2854\" srcset=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/The-Grace-Trifecta-Part-I_-Prayer.jpg 800w, https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/The-Grace-Trifecta-Part-I_-Prayer-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/The-Grace-Trifecta-Part-I_-Prayer-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/The-Grace-Trifecta-Part-I_-Prayer-768x768.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"701\" height=\"316\" src=\"http:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/The-Pray-More-Lenten-Retreat-Image-without-many-words-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1544\" srcset=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/The-Pray-More-Lenten-Retreat-Image-without-many-words-1.png 701w, https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/The-Pray-More-Lenten-Retreat-Image-without-many-words-1-300x135.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 701px) 100vw, 701px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Summary Allison shares her personal story and how she realized how God is always with her in her life. She encourages us to persevere and keep our prayers constant, and to surrender our suffering and difficulties to Him, as God will too never leave our side. Thank you for watching and participating in this retreat! [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2854,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","site-sidebar-layout":"no-sidebar","site-content-layout":"plain-container","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"disabled","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The Grace Trifecta, Part I: Prayer - Lent 2018 - The Pray More Retreat<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/grace-trifecta-part-prayer-lent-2018\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Grace Trifecta, Part I: Prayer - Lent 2018 - The Pray More Retreat\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Summary Allison shares her personal story and how she realized how God is always with her in her life. She encourages us to persevere and keep our prayers constant, and to surrender our suffering and difficulties to Him, as God will too never leave our side. Thank you for watching and participating in this retreat! [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/grace-trifecta-part-prayer-lent-2018\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Pray More Retreat\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-02-17T13:50:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/The-Grace-Trifecta-Part-I_-Prayer.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"18 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/grace-trifecta-part-prayer-lent-2018\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/grace-trifecta-part-prayer-lent-2018\/\",\"name\":\"The Grace Trifecta, Part I: Prayer - Lent 2018 - The Pray More Retreat\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/grace-trifecta-part-prayer-lent-2018\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/grace-trifecta-part-prayer-lent-2018\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/The-Grace-Trifecta-Part-I_-Prayer.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-02-13T02:16:06+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-02-17T13:50:26+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/grace-trifecta-part-prayer-lent-2018\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/grace-trifecta-part-prayer-lent-2018\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/grace-trifecta-part-prayer-lent-2018\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/The-Grace-Trifecta-Part-I_-Prayer.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/The-Grace-Trifecta-Part-I_-Prayer.jpg\",\"width\":800,\"height\":800},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/grace-trifecta-part-prayer-lent-2018\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Grace Trifecta, Part I: Prayer &#8211; Lent 2018\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/\",\"name\":\"The Pray More Retreat\",\"description\":\"Pray More This Holy Season\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Grace Trifecta, Part I: Prayer - Lent 2018 - The Pray More Retreat","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/grace-trifecta-part-prayer-lent-2018\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Grace Trifecta, Part I: Prayer - Lent 2018 - The Pray More Retreat","og_description":"Summary Allison shares her personal story and how she realized how God is always with her in her life. She encourages us to persevere and keep our prayers constant, and to surrender our suffering and difficulties to Him, as God will too never leave our side. Thank you for watching and participating in this retreat! [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/grace-trifecta-part-prayer-lent-2018\/","og_site_name":"The Pray More Retreat","article_modified_time":"2022-02-17T13:50:26+00:00","og_image":[{"width":800,"height":800,"url":"http:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/The-Grace-Trifecta-Part-I_-Prayer.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"18 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/grace-trifecta-part-prayer-lent-2018\/","url":"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/grace-trifecta-part-prayer-lent-2018\/","name":"The Grace Trifecta, Part I: Prayer - Lent 2018 - The Pray More Retreat","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/grace-trifecta-part-prayer-lent-2018\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/grace-trifecta-part-prayer-lent-2018\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/The-Grace-Trifecta-Part-I_-Prayer.jpg","datePublished":"2018-02-13T02:16:06+00:00","dateModified":"2022-02-17T13:50:26+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/grace-trifecta-part-prayer-lent-2018\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/grace-trifecta-part-prayer-lent-2018\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/grace-trifecta-part-prayer-lent-2018\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/The-Grace-Trifecta-Part-I_-Prayer.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/The-Grace-Trifecta-Part-I_-Prayer.jpg","width":800,"height":800},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/grace-trifecta-part-prayer-lent-2018\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Grace Trifecta, Part I: Prayer &#8211; Lent 2018"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/","name":"The Pray More Retreat","description":"Pray More This Holy Season","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2873"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2873"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2873\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15528,"href":"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2873\/revisions\/15528"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2854"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2873"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}