J 1,47-51

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: imagine a fig tree under which Nathanael stands, perhaps reading the Word of the Lord (the Israelites were reading the scriptures under the fig trees) and thinking that it is invisible. Jesus is not far away, watching and seeing Nathanael.

Ask for the fruit of meditation: for the purity of my motivations

 

1. There is no duplicity in him.

Jesus greets Nathanael with beautiful words: this is a true Israelite in whom there is no duplicity. So, Nathanael does not use tricks or deceptions in his life, in relationships, to deceive someone, or, looking from the other side in an unfair way some benefits for himself. So, what is he guided by? In the broadest terms, it is probably the greater good.What are you guided by in your actions? What are your motivations? How do you ensure that the one  – the greater good stands out among the many motivations?

2. How do you know me? …Before … I saw you …

Jesus saw Nathanael before Philip called him, as he stood under the fig tree and did not expect anyone to see him. Nathanael was surprised, amazed that Jesus had known him well before the described meeting.

What does it do in you, make you aware that Jesus knows you from the very beginning of your existence and knows well what you think, feel, what is happening inside you and that you are visible to him at every place and time?

3. Calling.

Jesus calls Nathaneal as his disciple. The word calling may cause us some confusion, anxiety, questions: what is my vocation, is it in accordance with God’s will? There are also greater callings: to life in marriage, priesthood, … and the smaller, equally important ones, which concern our everyday life, work and life in the place where we are. To be someone of calling is to do something passionately, in accordance with your desires and with the greater glory of God. It does not mean that we will not experience difficulties, that there will be no moments of doubt and discouragement, but they will not prevent us from feeling happy in what we do.Discover your desires … discover your daily callings in your relationships, at home, at work …

 

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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Lk 8,19-21

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: See the image from the Gospel as Mary and relatives come to Jesus and because of the crowd they can not see Him immediately. Be present in this scene

Ask for the fruit of meditation: that I would notice changes in myself and in my life

 

  1. …standing outside, wanting to sees you

Reading today’s Word you can feel some disagreement, maybe even anger at the way Jesus treated Mary and his relatives. It would seem that loved ones should have priority in meeting him. Perhaps Mary and relatives were surprised by this situation. Perhaps they looked at Jesus differently. This distance that was kept could help them in this. Sometimes you need to look at yourself, others, different situations from a distance to see what is imperceptible when we are too close. We can see something different when we look at the meeting of two people from the outside and something else when we participate in it, we see something different when we look at the clothes on the hanger and when we wear them. Sometimes you have to move away from yourself, from others, from different things, to be able to miss and want to meet again. Maybe stand today some distance to yourself, your loved ones, to God: what do you see from this perspective? What changes do you notice?

  1. The crowd.

The mother and brothers of Jesus cannot meet him because of a crowd of people. Sometimes the crowd interferes us with meeting Jesus. This crowd also interferes with meeting yourself and reading your desires. This crowd can be our obsessive thoughts, fears, our beliefs, patterns, our pursuit of work, of duty. What is the crowd that hinders you from meeting Jesus?

Jesus does not chase away the crowed. What are you doing with the crowd? Maybe it needn’t be an obstacle … Meet with yourself, with your feelings and desires. Meet Jesus.

  1. About changing to your reflection from Ignatius of Loyola (A Pilgrim’s Journey, p.52-52):

Ignatius told his brother: “You are aware, my Lord, that the Duke of Najera knows that I am again well. It would be good for me to go to Navarrete.” (…) His brother led him from room to room and with much love for him pleaded with him not to throw his life away, but to acknowledge the great hopes people had placed in him and to see what he could make of himself. These and others similar arguments were all directed to dissuade him from his good desire, but without departing from the truth, for he was now very scrupulous about that, he answered in. a way that enabled him to leave his brother.

 

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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J 19,25-27

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: See Golgotha, the place where Jesus died. Jesus is hanging on the cross, and next to him there are two more crosses to which the criminals are nailed. Near the dying Jesus stand: John, four women, one of them is Mary.

Ask for the fruit of meditation: that I become more attentive to the needs of others and myself

 

  1. Near the cross of Jesus stood …

To stand next to someone means to want to give your support, help. This attitude is the result of love for the other person whom we want to accompany in every moment of life, at the good time and the difficult. Being with someone to the end requires us to be faithful, repeatedly shifting our attention from ourselves to another person. In a difficult situation, we also need courage to look at the suffering of our loved ones. To stand by someone means to be with someone, to be present at that moment with that person not only physically but also emotionally, mentally and spiritually. Sometimes you can be closer to someone geographically separated from you than someone who lives with you in the same house. In the above context, it may seem that we should be closest to ourselves, but we often run away from ourselves. How are you with your loved ones, how do you stand by them? How close are you to yourself? What kind of support do you give to others and yourself?

 

  1. When Jesus saw his motherthere, and the disciple whom he loved…

Notice that, when Jesus was dying, he saw those who were with him. Despite his suffering and pain, he saw those who wanted to be with him. It can be said that Jesus sees every human being all the time, cares for each of us all the time: when we have a pleasant time, when we are faced with difficulties and when we sin. It is important that we have a desire to live with Jesus, to include him in our everyday life. It means we desire to seek what will bring more God’s glory in our lives and more goods.Think about your view of others? How do you experience seeing yourself through others? How do you look at yourself?

 

3.Woman, here is your son (…) Here is your mother.

When Jesus is dying, he leaves his testament: he tells Mary to see his beloved disciple as her son, and he tells the disciple to see his mother in Mary. He tells each of us that Mary is our mother. Going further, it means that Jesus is our brother and he wants each of us to feel looked after by him and Mary. Look at your relationship with Mary and Jesus: who are they to you, how do you feel in this relationship?

 

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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Mt 1,1-16.18-23

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: see your family, a photo of someone from your past

Ask for the fruit of meditation: for the courage to live with Christ and for the complete acceptance of what is my history (if it is difficult ask for the desire to accept what is your history) 

 

1.     My history

Perhaps the meditated passage makes no sense to you at first sight. However, it is worth looking deeper to see that the family of Jesus is not sacred in the human sense. It is still a history of salvation. God is everywhere and works through everyone. The story of Jesus’ family is marked by the sin and deceitfulness of their ancestors (remember the story of Judah and his daughter-in-law Tamar, with whom he had children or story of the prostitutes Rahab). Jesus’ ancestors were also people who were not perfectly alive and today we can say they had difficulty obeying God’s 10 commandments. Jesus was not born in the palace, but in a manger. This story gives us a lot of hope that our families are also marked by sin, difficulties, that we have our fears, fears for our children and the future. All this does not bother God, His Presence in our lives.Look at your family history – remember the names, events, and see that everything that was, even if it seems difficult, has affected you today and you can be alive today.

2.      Salvation, reconciliation

The family history from the beginning of the Gospel of Matthew shows that everything that happened led to Jesus, to salvation. Christ came to reconcile the world to save, not to throw away somethingLook inside yourself: what is going to God in you and what is not going to God. How can you reconcile and save everything that is within you so that it can serve together for the greater glory of God?

3.     Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace …

Joseph found himself in a difficult situation, unenviable. He could feel betrayed, cheated by Mary. Still, he does not want to expose her to public disgrace. So, he is looking for a way out of this situation, to provide Mary with respect, save her as a human being. Joseph gives us a beautiful example of realizing the commandment of love.In different life situations we also have the right to feel anger, regret, feel betrayed, but we should let us keep our dignity to the other person. How do you deal with such situations? How do you accept another person? What does Joseph teach you today?On the other hand, let us note that despite Joseph’s first assumption of betrayal of Mary, it turns out that the situation is different. The thought that arises in us doesn’t always good.  What is your ability to explain misunderstandings to others and yourself? How do you verify the truth of your thoughts?

4.     For reflection…

… phrase of Ignatius Loyola: He who makes a mistake, let him not be spirited, because mistakes help for the health of the soul. (St. Ignatius encourages reflection, drawing conclusions and constant openness to God’s action.)

 

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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