Mk 10,28-31

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 talks with his disciples. The entire conversation concerns the theme of entering the kingdom of God. At one moment Peter says that they – the disciples have left everything and followed their Master. Then Jesus probably says uneasy words that anyone who leaves their loved ones will receive a hundredfold more and eternal life in the future. See how the disciples receive these words. Be present in this scene.

Ask for the fruit of meditation: for the desire to experience his love, that I am loved by him 

1.     We have given up everything and followed you.Perhaps when you hear these words, you may feel discord, fear, anxiety, anger… It sounds a bit as if we have to leave everything and everyone we love to leave in order to follow him. Is it possible that God, who is love, a relationship of Three loving Persons, would like us to leave everything behind? It seems not. So maybe it’s not about literal abandonment here, but to connect with what I have and with those I love in a way that prevents me from following him, who keeps me on a leash and limits my relationship with the One who invites me to love based on trust, tenderness, dialogue and faith that I am loved by him. Love that teaches me to choose what brings me closer to him, myself and others, which allows me to live, breathe, receive and give more and more fully, and thus is an exchange, flow – I give what I have the best (does not mean perfect) and I accept it what he and others give me.See what is holding you back from Living Fully (what attachments, life scripts, schemas, thoughts…). What does Life give you, what allows you to draw full breath? What brings you closer to Him, yourself and others?  

2.     …receive hundredfold now in this age (…) and in the age to come eternal life. While it seems as though each of us should feel so much joy at this promise, for some reason it is not so easy to let go of everything. Why? Maybe it’s because we lack trust, maybe because it’s hard to imagine what I’m going to get, and I know exactly what I’m losing now? And perhaps without taking risks, we will not be able to go further, deeper in life, towards him, ourselves and others. What can help is continuous, daily awareness of what I have already received, what I have been gifted today. It builds trust and confidence that He loves me. I invite you now to look at your past day, a few days, and see gifts from God, gifts that you have received from Him, also through the people who have stood in your way at that time. Start with the simplest gifts: you can breathe, you can look, someone smiled at you… Thank Jesus for everything.

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)