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)