Meditation J 14,27-31

Stand in God’s presence. God is present here and now, looking upon you with love.

Ask for the Grace: I will beg God our Lord that all my intentions and actions may be directed purely to the praise and service of His Divine Majesty

Fixing a place, a picture for meditation: Jesus prepares disciples for his going away. Maybe they are in an apartment, maybe they are sitting around the table. Look at the disciples as they listen to Jesus, how they respond to his words. Maybe they are experiencing sadness, anxiety. Find a place for yourself in this scene.

Ask for the fruit of meditation: for peace in my heart flowing from a relationship with God

1.Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you.

According to the New Testament Dictionary, Xavier Leon-Dufour, we can read that, the essence of peace consists not only of the lack of war, of all confusion, but also of a kind of internal relaxation, the culprit of which is only the God of peace. The peace, that God gives, is not of this world.
What is the peace that Jesus gives to you? How do you feel and understand it? Jesus offered you peace, how do you use this gift? In what spaces, areas of life do you need more peace?

2. Jesus prepares disciples for his going away. He leaves to come again. Perhaps disciples feel sadness, anxiety, and loss. Jesus says to them, do not be afraid. It can be difficult for disciples to understand these words. It is natural that we feel fear of something new, different, before the change (the better one too).

a) Think about it, get insight you, in what places, spaces do you not step forward, not develop yourself because of your fear? What can you do to not follow the fear? You can start with very small changes that will take you to bigger ones over time. So what will you start with?

b) We have different images of God, created on the basis of our life story, life experiences. Perhaps today’s announcement of Jesus’s going out and the coming again is an encouragement for you to say goodbye to your image of God, in order to discover God anew, to enter into a new, changed relationship with Him.

3. Be for a few minutes, as you can, with Jesus, who offers you his love and peace.

Meditation: St Ignatius encourages in The Spiritual Exercises No. 2 … Because not so much knowledge, but internal feeling and the taste of things please and saturate the soul, that is, we stay where we feel interior movement … and nervously do not try to go on.

The final conversation: Spend a little time at the end, being with God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit….as you would with a good friend: sometimes talking, sometimes listening, sometimes being together in silence. Speak to God about your feelings. Remember that times when ‘nothing is happening’ can also be significant. When you’re ready, end your prayer by saying thank you or using words that are familiar,such as the Lord’s Prayer (Our Father)–whichever feels right and comfortable. (The Spiritual Exercises No.54)

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Meditation J 10,22-30

Stand in God’s presence. God is present here and now, looking upon you with love.

Ask for the Grace: I will beg God our Lord that all my intentions and actions may be directed purely to the praise and service of His Divine Majesty

Fixing a place, a picture for meditation: Jerusalem in the winter is cool (about 5 ͦC) and it is often rainy. Jews celebrate the Hanukkah festival at the end of December. So, it’s crowded in Jerusalem, people have come to celebrate together for the next 8 days. Jesus is also there. He walks about in the temple area on the Portico of Salomon. He is surrounded by celebrating Jews and responds to their accusations and questions. Hear conversations, look at the figures from the picture. Feel the cold air. See where you are in this scene.

Ask for the fruit of meditation: for trusting God that I am His beloved child

1. How long are you going to keep us in suspense?… tell us plainly.

a) We do not like uncertainty, maybe even it causes us fear. It creates a certain state of tension, which is hard to bear. We would like to get rid of such a state so much, get know something. Even sometimes we say that if something will be unfavorable in our opinion, it would better to know because we would be able to continue working. Waiting is difficult. However, it is worth allowing yourself the courage to go in the frustration caused by uncertainty, maybe it is one of the tastes of our lives, maybe it is the time when something new is born, a new Good.

Remember your feeling of suspense. What was its source? How did you get through that state? What did it lead you to?

b) Sometimes, we build suspense in ourselves. Maybe we are challenging the truth, we are simply looking for arguments to undermine someone’s words, to make ourselves feel either unloved or the most special? It is just as difficult for us to accept the truth we hear as people in the fragment of John’s Gospel. After all, Jesus, to the question How long …, answers I already told you… So, they must have heard the answer, but not accepted it.

What are your intentions in conversations with others? Can you wait for an answer? Do you give yourself time to answer? How do you listen to others?

2. The works I do in my Father’s name testify to me.

What kind of works do you prove to be a son / daughter of God? This is not a question about big charity events, religious events, from which flow help and good, but they can also feed the ego of people who are involved. Ask this question to your ordinary day.

3. I give them eternal life…

Jesus does not speak about eternal life in the future but in the present time. It does not sound like a promise, but it is something that is happening now. Jesus, at this moment, gives you eternal life in every second. What does it mean for you? How do you understand eternal life? How do you experience this eternal life?

4. … no one can take them out of the Father’s hand.

There is no suspense here. It is a total certainty that God loves You as you stand before Him today. Feel secure in God’s hands and feel His love for you.

 

Meditation: St Ignatius encourages in The Spiritual Exercises No. 2 … Because not so much knowledge, but internal feeling and the taste of things please and saturate the soul, that is, we stay where we feel interior movement … and nervously do not try to go on.

 

The final conversation: Spend a little time at the end, being with God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit….as you would with a good friend: sometimes talking, sometimes listening, sometimes being together in silence. Speak to God about your feelings. Remember that times when ‘nothing is happening’ can also be significant. When you’re ready, end your prayer by saying thank you or using words that are familiar,such as the Lord’s Prayer (Our Father)–whichever feels right and comfortable. (The Spiritual Exercises No.54)

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Meditation J 6,30-35

Stand in God’s presence. God is present here and now, looking upon you with love.
Ask for the Grace: I will beg God our Lord that all my intentions and actions may be directed purely to the praise and service of His Divine Majesty
Fixing a place, a picture for meditation: Jesus is in Capernaum, across the sea. People on boats come to him. They are looking for Jesus. When they meet him, they are surprised that he is here. Hear Jesus’ conversations with people, his answers and explanations regarding the Kingdom of God. Hear the sound of the sea, touch the sand at the sea. Find a place for yourself in this scene.

Ask for the fruit of meditation: for my desire to draw strength from Christ – the only bread of life

1.What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you?

We often need signs and confirmations that something is true. Not only in relation to God, but also in our human relations. Sometimes we hear or we say: if you like me, you love me  so  do it … or we charge: if I was important for you, you would definitely do something. We want confirmations. It’s so hard to trust others. Even to yourself. Why? Why is the fact of the presence of a second person not enough? What do you expect from others, what confirmations? What do you expect from God? What characters? Or maybe others, God give these signs, but they are not what you expect? What is your openness in yourself to recognize these signs and their acceptance, even if they are different than you would like?

2. I am the bread of life..

Jesus gives the world life. He came into the world, he became a man to teach us to live. So if he gives life to the world, as the bread of life, then we should give life to others. Our good word, searching for what it connects, extracting from other good, and not forbidding, sticking pins, pointing out mistakes is our giving life.

What is your daily spiritual menu? What are you feeding? What are you filling up with? What gives you life-giving energy?

What and how do you share with others? What bread do you give your loved ones?

3. thirst / desire

What are your desires (physical, spiritual, experiences of something more, etc.)? How do you satisfy them? Are there such spaces in you (what?), which constantly cry for more, which are unmet? Why? What do they need to not feel hunger and thirst? Look, maybe some of your hunger and thirst will never be satisfied, but will not be satisfied to the extent that you want to. Maybe it’s worth learning to live with this unsatisfied? What good and positive things can you get out of this?

4. Only Jesus can fill you. Only he can make you feel thirsty no more. Look at Jesus, feel his love and see his gaze. Tell him about your hunger and your desires. Ask him you will always desire to be filled by Christ, so that you always feel saturated.

Meditation: St Ignatius encourages in The Spiritual Exercises No. 2 … Because not so much knowledge, but internal feeling and the taste of things please and saturate the soul, that is, we stay where we feel interior movement … and nervously do not try to go on.

The final conversation: Spend a little time at the end, being with God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit….as you would with a good friend: sometimes talking, sometimes listening, sometimes being together in silence. Speak to God about your feelings. Remember that times when ‘nothing is happening’ can also be significant. When you’re ready, end your prayer by saying thank you or using words that are familiar,such as the Lord’s Prayer (Our Father)–whichever feels right and comfortable. (The Spiritual Exercises No.54)

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Meditation J 3,7-15

Stand in God’s presence. God is present here and now, looking upon you with love.

Ask for the Grace: I will beg God our Lord that all my intentions and actions may be directed purely to the praise and service of His Divine Majesty

Fixing a place, a picture for meditation: Jerusalem during the Passover. There is probably a crowd of people there. At night the Pharisee Nicodemus comes to Jesus, who maybe is in a house. He does not want to be noticed by other people. He wants to talk to Jesus. Listen to the conversation, listen to Jesus explaining what it means to be born from above. Where are you in this scene?

Ask for the fruit of meditation: for my openness to the Holy Spirit.

 

1. Jesus tells Nicodemus that he must be born again to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. In the gospel of St. John to be born again has 2 meanings:

a. it is a radical transformation of life as a result from my trust in Jesus. If I love someone, I want to change for that person. I want to create the greatest possible space in me for this person. I want to get to know him, so I can give him what I have the best. The person stands at the center of my life and I can always find time for him.

So, what is your space for Jesus? What does your transformation of life look like – what exactly is changing as a result of your relationship with Jesus? Perhaps this transformation is done in small steps, but it leads to more change!

b. it is a spiritual life, that is a gift from God. It is a gift, so you do not have to earn it. All you have to do is to discover this gift and accept it. There is one more thing – it’s worth taking care of this gift, so that it wouldn’t waste. It is worth using it.

What is the spiritual life for you? How do you discover it? How do you develop your spiritual life?

2. The spiritual life comes like the wind – the Holy Spirit, when it wants and leads where it wants. The Holy Spirit comes every day, also in an unexpected way. He helps in making everyday effort, but also invites you to some kind of spontaneity – changing your habit, your old ways of being, openness to new – if this new leads to a greater Good. The Holy Spirit always leads to God, but in different way. Everyone has a different sensitivity, a different life story, so the way must be right – the best for that one person.

What freedom do you have to submit to the Holy Spirit (in order not to confuse action of the Holy Spirit with our subjective feeling, it is worth objectification it  with a wise person, spiritual director, confessor …)? What is the burden on you that prevents you from following the breath of the Holy Spirit? What dare you give up this burden and what can help you with this? Think about how you will feel when this burden is no longer in you, but in its place will be a freedom filled with the Holy Spirit.

3. God wants each one of us to have eternal life, experience it here and now. Our task is to share this experience with others. The eternal life is the fullness of life, it is a life with God now. What today, in what conversations, meetings, in what events do you see the action of God? Thank God for it.

 

Meditation: St Ignatius encourages in The Spiritual Exercises No. 2 … Because not so much knowledge, but internal feeling and the taste of things please and saturate the soul, that is, we stay where we feel interior movement … and nervously do not try to go on.

 

The final conversation: Spend a little time at the end, being with God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit….as you would with a good friend: sometimes talking, sometimes listening, sometimes being together in silence. Speak to God about your feelings. Remember that times when ‘nothing is happening’ can also be significant. When you’re ready, end your prayer by saying thank you or using words that are familiar,such as the Lord’s Prayer (Our Father)–whichever feels right and comfortable. (The Spiritual Exercises No.54)

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Meditation J 20,11-18

Stand in God’s presence. God is present here and now, looking upon you with love.

Ask for the Grace: I will beg God our Lord that all my intentions and actions may be directed purely to the praise and service of His Divine Majesty

Fixing a place, a picture for meditation: It is early morning and it is still dark. This scene takes place in the garden. See this garden, plants, flowers, colors, feel its fragrance. There is Mary Magdalene, who stands at the empty tomb of Jesus. Feel her despair, sadness, see the tears on her cheeks. She is looking for her Lord. She looks into the grave and sees two angels. Listen to what they talk. Notice Jesus standing behind Mary Magdalene. Hear their conversation. Look at Mary Magdalene, who does not recognize Jesus at first, but he will tell her by name and then she knows who is calling her. Find a place for yourself in this scene.

Ask for the fruit of meditation: for my open eyes and hearts that always recognize Jesus

1. Maria Magdalene stands outside the tomb. Feel her emptiness, helplessness. She does not know what happened to the body of Jesus. She is in her pain, she does not go beyond its limits. All she can do is to bent over the tomb, gently go beyond her zone of despair. But that’s enough for her to see something more to see angels. Likewise, her turning around helps her to recognize Jesus.Sometimes you can be so fixed in your matters that you can not see the solution and help. Sometimes the blindness of eyes and hearts will send all the ways out of difficulties. It is worth, then, like Mary Magdalene, turn around to change the perspective of looking. Refer this to your life, to your difficulties. Notice how the perception of your hardships, everyday life changes when you do not close yourself in pain, but give a step forward.

2. Mary Magdalene seeks the body of Jesus, but the living resurrected Jesus stands with her. However, she does not see him and does not recognize him, even during the conversation. She thinks he is a gardener. It is only when Jesus calls her by name she recognizes her Teacher. Jesus does not make Mary’s remorse because she did not recognize him earlier. He is looking for opportunities to meet her. So, he speaks to her by her name, probably in the way she only know. He revives her.Have sensitivity to Mary Magdalene and let yourself hear the cry of Jesus. Allow yourself to this scene of intimacy, intimacy with Jesus. Hear the melody of his voice, tone, timbre. Perhaps you will turn away and see how Jesus looks at you with love and says your name.

3. Jesus after the Resurrection does not appear in extraordinary phenomenons, as wow, but in an ordinary way, normally talking, staying with others. He appears where a man needs him and, as in this scene for Mary Magdalene, he is a consolation. Recall situations in which you felt consolation, felt how your heart moved with joy. See what directly causes this joy and what is the deeper cause of this joy.

4. Jesus sends Mary Magdalene to the disciples with the Good News – he makes her an apostle. He invites her to experience his presence in a new way, to live more and more, to share him with others. It is interesting that Jesus does not let us stay in one place, though not once we would want to have him and impose him a way of coming. However, he does not allow us to be stopped, but he sends us to the community to be founded there. What doses Jesus ask you for today? 

Meditation: St Ignatius encourages in The Spiritual Exercises No. 2 … Because not so much knowledge, but internal feeling and the taste of things please and saturate the soul, that is, we stay where we feel interior movement … and nervously do not try to go on.

The final conversation: Spend a little time at the end, being with God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit….as you would with a good friend: sometimes talking, sometimes listening, sometimes being together in silence. Speak to God about your feelings. Remember that times when ‘nothing is happening’ can also be significant. When you’re ready, end your prayer by saying thank you or using words that are familiar,such as the Lord’s Prayer (Our Father)–whichever feels right and comfortable. (The Spiritual Exercises No.54)

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