Meditation J 17,1-11a

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 staying with the community of disciples around Jerusalem. After a long teaching, Jesus begins to pray to God the Father. Listen to this prayer, be present in this scene.

Ask for the fruit of meditation: for the desire to know God

1. … this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

a. Jesus gives an explanation of what eternal life is all about. It is know God and Jesus Christ. What does know mean? In the online dictionary of the Polish language, the word to know is translated as: to get a message about something, to understand something as a result of observation or direct experience. Looking at the above explanations, think about how you get to know God, how do you know him? What is your experience of God, how does it allow you to understand God more and more, his actions in your life?

b. Look at your relationship with other people: how do you recognize him? How do you understand the other person, her/his world, her/his perception of reality? What is your openness to accepting other people’s otherness?

2. I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do.

Jesus says how he shows glory to his Father – by doing what the Father gives him. Therefore, we also show glory to God, when we fulfill his will, we perform our duties, we accept our everyday life, we accept another human being. We do not run away from the hardships, uncomfortable relationships, the monotony of the day, but we seek what brings us closer to God.

In this context, think about how you show God the glory.

3. The whole fragment of the mediated pericope is the prayer of Jesus. In this prayer Jesus intercedes for his disciples: I am asking in their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the word, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours. Jesus also prays for you. Read this sentence by inserting your name: I am asking in (put your name here) behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the word, but on behalf of (put your name here) whom you gave me.

What do you feel, what this prayer of Jesus awakens in 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)