Meditation Lk 9, 51-56

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: Jesus and his disciples are going to Jerusalem. He wants to stay for a moment in the Samaritan village. So he is sending messengers to find a place likely to rest. The Samaritans don’t welcome so Jesus has to go further. See the way. on which Jesus with the disciples are going, see the village in which they want to stay. Let yourself to hear their conversations. Maybe you are with them too.

Ask for the fruit of meditation: I ask for my ability to follow  a greater good in difficult situations

1. When the disciples James and John saw this they asked:”Lord, do you want to call down fire from heaven to consume them?”The disciples react very harshly, even with hatred for the Samaritan protest. But Jesus does not allow them to violence. He teaches that you can gain by be more patience, be gentleness, by acceptance and by love.
Try to remember a specific situation where you did not get what you wanted, or you had to quickly change your plans without your consent. How did you react? Which attitude: disciples or Jesus was closer to you?

2. Jesus has no permanent place, he goes where the Father sends him, he is “an alien on the earth” cf. Heb. 11,13.
Think about who do you feel on the earth: a guest or a host? Note the difference in thinking, in your  attitude, in your relationships with others, in the situation when you feel as a guest and when you feel as a host. See what your availability is for God’s plan.

3. The Samaritans did not welcome Jesus to his village because of their prejudice to the Jews. Great is the strength of our prejudices. What are your prejudices? Do you allow them to govern your decisions? What goods can you gain without guiding your prejudices in your important decisions?

4. Stand around Jesus and let him to lead you. Where will you go?

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)