Meditation Mt 18,1-5.10
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 intentionsand actions may be directed purely to the praise and serviceof His Divine Majesty
Fixing a place, a picture for meditation: Jesus is in Capernaum, a settlement of several thousand inhabitants, situated on the Lake of Galilee, near the estuary of the Jordan. Disciples come to Jesus with the question: who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Jesus calls the child, puts him between them and begins to explain. Maybe you are there too.
Ask for the fruit of meditation: that I find my value in God
1. Disciples often discuss their dignity, being the greatest and most important in the kingdom of God. They are looking for confirmation of their value. However, they do not get a simple answer from Jesus. Earthly honors do not mean honors with God. Perhaps it was not easy for them to accept such a truth.Maybe you are also looking for an answer to the question that the disciples asked Jesus, you also need confirmation of your greatness. How and where do you look for your value? What does it mean to be the greatest for you and what for Jesus?
2. Take care that you do not despite one of these little ones; …Ask yourself who you think is little one. Perhaps you think about homeless, the poor, the needy. However, it seems easy to feel compassion for them and help them easily. Perhaps it is also because this help is connected with material and financial support. See who is the little one for you, about whom it is difficult for you to think well, with whom it is difficult to talk to and to whom you may feel reluctance. Maybe you are this little one. Give your beloved a goodness, a smile and a gentle look.
3. … unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven…Look for a child who is spontaneous, simple, who can cry and laugh, which he trusts and thanks for everything he gets. This child has its own needs, he is easy to hurt, he has its desires and dreams, he experiences frustrations. In everything, however, he is sincere, without masks. Ask your inner child what he needs. Do something good for your inner child.
4. Stand before Jesus like a child. Be with Jesus, talk … as you can.
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)
