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Discovering Your Direction in Life through Ignatian Discernment Methods” – Part III

Focus: Why/How do I Discern?

Theme: How do I deepen the meaning of my Christian living?

(Ignatian Meditation and Contemplation Methods of Prayer and

Discernment of Spirits)

Friday, March 7th 2003

1.0 PREPARATION

1.1 Passage: first choose a passage for your prayer.

1.2 Preview: Read the text that you have chosen reflectively (not hurriedly) once or twice. Try to be familiar with its content.

1.3 Posture: Sit in a comfortable upright position (e.g. lotus position on the floor or upright on a chair. Some prefer to kneel.)

1.4 Physical (Preparation for Prayer): To be able to pray well we need to be relaxed. Physically relax and compose yourself in order to be more receptive to the Spirit. To calm and compose yourself begin with the following.

· Take up your proper posture for prayer – reverent and comfortable.

· Next, shut your eyes. (pause)

· Become aware of the sound of the fans/air-conditioner/sounds around us. (pause)

· Focus your attention on your nostrils and become aware of the air that is entering and leaving through your nostrils. (pause)

· Become aware of that the air you are breathing in sustains and gives you life. (pause)

· Be aware that God is present in the air (pause)

· Be aware that God is sustaining you and constantly giving you the gift of life through this air (pause)

· This God is now actually present within you . . . waiting to reach out to you as He truly and personally loves you. (pause)

2.0 PRAYER PROPER

Outline (*The “preparation” for the prayer above is strictly speaking not yet prayer.)

2.1 Graces (Begin the prayer by asking for the graces you wish to receive from God): the graces you need could be the graces of openness to the Holy Spirit, gratitude to God for His many blessings, healing of hurts, strength to live your faith more fervently, insights into our life etc.

2.2 Contemplation: Bartimaeus the Blind man – Mk 10:46-52

Imagine yourself walking alone in the streets of Jericho . . . you are in a place that you have not been before . . . it is around 10.00 in the morning . . . and the sun is shining; it is a hot dry day . . . you feel the heat and you begin to perspire . . . the road is dusty . . . you do not know anyone . . .

Just then you notice a crowd is gathering along the road . . . young and old, mothers carrying their babies . . . there is excitement in the air . . . everyone is murmuring and talking to one another about Jesus of Nazareth who is to come along the way. The crowds get bigger.

Just then there is a commotion; Jesus and His disciples have arrived . . . they are walking towards you . . . you feel excitement within you as Jesus approaches . . . just as Jesus reaches you, someone close to you suddenly shouts out, “Son of David, Jesus have pity on me” . . . “Son of David, Jesus, have pity on me” . . . to your surprise, Jesus immediately stops walking . . .

He turns towards your direction and says, “Call him here.” The person pleading to Jesus is Bartimaeus, the blind man. . . he was just beside you in the crowd and you had not noticed him . . . Bartimaeus then jumps up with excitement, gropes his way towards Jesus.

I want to help Bartimaeus, but again I hesitate . . . what would people think of me?” I hear a voice within me say . . . so I hold back and allow others to help him (“Is this typical of me? I want to help and do good, but I always find reasons not to make the first move?”)

Jesus looks at Bartimaeus with so much compassion and asks, “What do you want me to do for you?” . . . Bartimaeus replies, “Rabunni, Master, let me see again.” Jesus looks at Bartimaeus for a few moments and says, “Go, your faith has saved you.” At that instant, Bartimaeus could see again.

Bartimaeus, falls on his feet in front of Jesus, clasps Jesus’ cloak, kisses His feet and sobs bitterly for he was filled with deep gratitude to Jesus who has given back his sight . . . the crowd was astonished and lost for words . . .they have just seen a miracle . . . there is a deep silence . . . we all feel the awe of God’s power and mystery . . .

Just as Jesus was turning from Bartimaeus to leave . . . He suddenly looks in my direction . . . He looks at me without saying a word . . . (pause) . . . His eyes were eyes of deep compassion for me . . . as He looks at me, I feel as though He knows everything about me . . . there is no secret that I can keep from Him . . . yet, He does not judge me . . . He only cares for me . . . He feels my pain . . . He knows my struggles and the times when I have been unfaithful to Him . . . the times when I have caused my loved ones pain . . . the times when I did not reach out to others who were in need of my compassion . . . the times when I was too absorbed with my own needs . . . Jesus’ eyes are now filled with tears . . . and without saying a word, I feel Him asking me, “Do you want me to forgive you? Do you want to see again?” . . . at this moment, my heart is touched to the core with Jesus’ compassion and mercy . . . I open my heart to Him and say, “Rabunni, Master, I want your forgiveness . . . I want to see again.” (pause).

Jesus then turns to leave . . . I feel His assurance . . . I feel Him saying to me, “Have courage . . . I know you are weak, but I also know that you truly want to love me . . . I know you are trying so hard to love others especially those who have hurt you and caused you much pain . . . have courage . . . trust in Me . . . I will always give you the strength you need to love as My Father wants you to love . . . each time you fall, get up . . . and move on.

As Jesus and His disciples have left, the crowds now begin to disperse and return to their homes and work. I begin to walk away from the scene of the miracle . . . the miracle of Jesus giving Bartimeaus his sight and the miracle of Jesus also giving me back my sight . . . I now know more fully why I cannot rely solely on my own strength to live my daily life . . . I need the Spirit of the Lord to be with me in my daily life’s journey.

I now become aware of myself back in this hall, sitting and praying with others who are also searching for a deeper meaning and clearer direction in life.

2.3 Closing prayer: Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit . . .

Alternatively, your concluding prayer could be: To pray the “Our Father”, “Hail Mary” or a spontaneous prayer.

3.0 REVIEW of PRAYER:

After you finish your prayer (above), you need to spend a few minutes (5-10 minutes) to recall and “review” what happened during the prayer. During this “Review” try to get in touch with:

What you have experienced during the prayer (i.e. physical, emotional and spiritual etc.)
What God may be saying to you in your prayer about yourself, your concerns, your life’s direction etc.

If you don’t make this “Prayer Review,” then you are not spending the time that is needed to relish and sense God in your life. You can then easily drift into a “routine prayer” where you would not be very conscious of God’s presence in your life and what He may want to say to you through your prayers.