Meditation Lk 1,39-56
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: Mary is on a long journey through the mountains to visit her cousin Elizabeth. She wants to share with her a joyful message. After about 4 days, She finally reaches Elizabeth’s house. She probably is very tired. She greets Elizabeth. They start talking. Try to accompany them in the meeting, listen to their conversation, sense their deep joy.
Ask for the fruit of meditation: For deep joy, filling my heart with the encounter of God
1. (…) Mary set out and traveled to the hill country with haste…. Mary has been already pregnant, but decides to go about 130 k through the mountains. In addition, she travels in a hurry. Why is She traveling with haste? Why is this meeting so important to Her? Ponder what Mary is like, what are her characteristics? She is leaving her comfort zone to go to a new experience. What does Mary teach you about your attitude? What situations cause you to go outside your comfort zone? What good comes when you do this?
2. Listen to Mary and Elizabeth. Their meeting is a model of deep connection and relationship between people. They share what they have received from God, they share God Himself. Mary and Her cousin are full of joy, inner joy. Elizabeth’s child leaped with joy in her womb. And what is a child like? Usually a child is full of trust, interested in the world and desires intimacy with another person. What is your inner child like? How and when is your inner child allowed to exist, to wake up? How are you feeling with your inner child? What does your inner child long for?
3. … from now on will all ages call me blessed. The Mighty One has done great things for me…Mary notices actions of God in Her life. She sees concrete goods from God each day. Because of this, She can and does feel loved and happy. Notice what good things you have received from God today or in the last couple of days. How do you receive them and what do you do with them?
4. Try to be with Mary at Elizabeth’s home for 3 months. Notice what Mary does and how she does it, how she helps Her cousin, how and when She speaks, when and how She is silent …
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)
