Mt 9,32-38

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 walk around the cities and villages and he teaches in synagogues. He also heals people. One day, people bring a mute person from whom Jesus throws out a demon. This man begins to speak, to hear.

Ask for the fruit of meditation: for the experience of God’s love 

1. … the mute man spoke …

Maybe you should think about your speech, your language. What you say and how you speak, as well as how you are silent, can hurt others, can mean your anger, it can also be an expression of love, compassion, joy. What is your speech, what is your silence? What do you give to others with your words and your silence? 

2.Relation with Jesus.

In the meditated passage of the gospel, Jesus is presented as a miracle worker whose activities include healing people. In those historical realities in Palestine it was thought that all illnesses are the result of satanic possession. Hence, the healing often involved throwing out an evil spirit.

a.  Jesus’ healing made various reactions to people. The Pharisees saw it as the result of Jesus ‘collusion with Satan, others admired Jesus’ deeds without any prejudice. Let’s see that the same action causes a different reception depending on the attitude of the recipients. Therefore, it seems important thing to distance yourself from your beliefs, thought patterns, and prejudices in your relationships with others. How is your relationship with yourself and others?

b. Probably people living at that time needed very real miracles, signs to believe in God. But did God give us his son just to heal us from various diseases, save us from difficult situations that we often enter into ourselves? What relationship does God want? What relationship do you seek with God, and what do you expect from it?

3. A plentiful harvest.There is very little time in Palestine for the harvest because of the weather conditions. Hence there was a need for many workers to be able to collect all the fruits and yields. Refer it to your life. Let this field be your day, from which you need to collect fruit. Think about what is your harvest?  

4. Jesus had compassion for people.Jesus compassions for the lost, wounded people, shows his love, does not tell them that they are losers. Today, look at yourself: what spaces in you are wounded, lost, abandoned, forgotten, what spaces need help and support? Look at them like Jesus: with love, embrace them and give them what they need. Talk to Jesus about this.

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)