Meditation Lk 14,15-24

The right time has come to reveal outside what the inside has done. The Gospel word for meditation has repeated, on my website you can find more than one introduction for the same periscope. From today, I invite you to deepen Words through replays, as Saint Ignatius says in Spiritual Exercises 2 that 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 What is a repeat? Referring again to Saint Ignatius in SE 62 we can read: After the Preparatory Prayer and two Preludes, it will be to repeat the First and Second Exercise, marking and dwelling on the Points in which I have felt greater consolation or desolation, or greater spiritual feeling.

Therefore, repetition is a time when prayer takes on a more personal character, becomes simpler and thus called to prayer with simplicity and depth. (cf. Guide to Spiritual Exercises, M.Ivens SJ, p. 156) 

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 a scene from the Gospel or a table in your home, where Jesus is sitting, maybe you and your loved ones.

Ask for the fruit of meditation: that I would find the answer to the question: what place does Jesus occupy in my life?

1. When one of those at the table with Jesus

Notice that Jesus is sitting at the table with his guests. On the pages of the Gospel Jesus goes to receptions and dinners several times. He has dinners with other people, in their everyday life. He wants to be present in all human life. Jesus is sitting, maybe lying at the table – that was how they were feasting in those days.

How do you perceive the presence of Jesus in your life? Is sometimes the most common image not Jesus crucified, which is automatically associated with suffering? As today’s pericope shows, Jesus invites everyone, invites you to a feast, to celebrate Life, to celebrate the present moment. How will you respond to his invitation?

2. When one of those at the table with Jesus

Jesus is at the table. The table usually stands in the center of the apartment, where family gathers, friends. The table unites the family. The most important conversations take place at the table. Jesus is in such a central place in the house.

Look at what place Jesus occupies in your life; do you have a special place that belongs only to him? What does his presence mean for you and the place he occupies in you?

3.     To your reflection, A Pilgrim’s Journey, Ignatius Loyola, p. 91-92:One day, he came across a rich Spaniard who asked him what he was doing there and where he wanted to go. Learning of his plans, the Spaniard took him home for a meal and then kept him there for some days until his departure was arranged.  Ever since his days in Manresa the pilgrim had had the custom, when he was eating with others, of never talking at table, except to give brief answers. But he listened to all that said and mentally noted certain items that he would later use in speaking about God. When the meal was over, he then jointed in the conversation.

Ignatius usually did not speak while eating meals, he was listening. This does not mean, of course, that you also shouldn’t talk during meals. Maybe it is worth making you more focused on listening.

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)