Lk 17,7-10

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 person (maybe you are her?), who came from work at home and prepares a meal, covers the table.

Ask for the fruit of meditation: for the desire to be disposable in life, including in relation to God

1. Availability

Note that at the center of today’s pericope is a servant, not a host with his harsh, egoistic reference to him, like a ruthless superior (cf. Żywe bowiem jest Słowo Boże, skuteczne… Komentarze biblijne do czytań na rok „C”, S. Ormanty SChr, Poznań, 505). This does not change the fact that the servant after his work has to do various tasks at home, as something that is inscribed in the canon of the servant. In the following, it shows us the naturalness of being available to God, from whom we receive everything, so we should respond to His Love, serve Him, worship and praise Him. What does it mean for you to be available in relation to God?

See your living space, where it is difficult for you to be available and be grateful, and space in which you can be available and grateful. This allows you to accept reality and thus change.

2. Unprofitable servants.

Who is the unprofitable servant? In this pericope we read, that the unprofitable servant is one, who has done what he was obliged to do. Maybe unprofitable is one, who does his duties only in obedience and only to the extent that he was commissioned? Maybe one, who does the job correctly, but does not want to make any decisions, and does not want to be responsible for what he does – neither in private life nor in professional life?Who then can be a profitable servant? Maybe one, who expects, trusts and misses his Lord and asks the Lord the question: what can I do for you? Maybe it is the one, who is guided by love in his life? Maybe a profitable servant is one who feels like a son / daughter of God and feels responsible for what is happening in his/ her life?What kind of servant are you in your everyday life, in the place where you live and work? What can you do to become more and more a profitable servant?

3.The host.

Although the host is not the central figure in today’s gospel, it sounds the way he treats his servant. Probably a tired servant returning from work is hired by the farmer to do his homework. What may this servant need after work? Maybe a moment of rest, maybe a moment of silence, maybe some dinner? Let’s look at your home, your family. How do you read the needs of relatives returning from work or school? What opportunities do you give them to meet their needs? See also, do you recognize your needs and do you have the courage to talk about them?

4. Pilgrim’s Journey, Ignatius of Loyola, p. 67-68- to your reflection:

“After the above – mentioned temptation, he began to feel notable changes in his soul. Sometimes he was so dejected that he found no enjoyment in the prayers he recited, not even in attending Mass, or in any other form of prayer. Sometimes the exact opposite happened to him, and so suddenly that he stripped away all sadness and desolation, just as one strips a cloak from one’s shoulders. He was astonished as these changes, which he had never before experienced, and said to himself:” What kind of a new life is this that we are now beginning?”…”

Ignatius lived in mindfulness of what was happening in his surroundings and of what he felt in himself. Being in discomfort did not close him to the new one that could come. Among other things, this attitude manifested his availability for Life, God …

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)