Mt 11,20-24

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 cities: Chorazin – located in the mountains of the northern Galilee, about 3 km from Capernaum and Bethsaida – a small fishing village located on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. In these cities, Jesus dwells, walks, teaches, and does miracles. Although Jesus spends a lot of time there, people behave as if he did not exist, as if they did not know him.

Ask for the fruit of meditation: for my experience of Jesus’ presence 

1.  Woe to you …For it the mighty deeds done

Jesus performed the most miracles in Chorazin and Bethsaida, but the inhabitants of these cities did not convert. Maybe it is worth considering: why? This is interesting because people expect miracles, Jesus does them miracles but they do not affect the lives of these people. Maybe people’s expectations are not the same as they receive from Jesus? Maybe your fixing on expectations does not let you see Jesus’ miracles? Hence, these cities hear quite strong words of Jesus: woe to you … It is also interesting that more sinful cities could be easier to see miracles and convert. Isn’t it similar with us? Is it sometimes the case that when we go to church almost every day, we pray five times a day, we think about ourselves in an idealized way, deviating us from the truth? Your change can occur only when you can stand in the truth and see your real self – our good and difficult sides and accept them. Perhaps sometimes we think that if Jesus did something special in our lives then our faith would look completely different. So how? Maybe ask yourself whether you still need new miracles or maybe more mindfulness to see Jesus’ presence in your life and the miracles he does for you.

2.      Change.

Think about the change you need to live more fully in God, to experience his love more and share it with others. Change can mean doing something more or less, doing something else, or stopping.

3.     For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Sodom, it would have remained have until this day.

A miracle is an event that cannot be rationally explained. Nevertheless, it is probably a miracle that everything that helps us live: our own strength, work, loved ones, etc. See what helps you to survive the day, which gives you strength and motivation in your everyday life.

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)