Saint Ignatius, founder of the Jesuits, taught a way to meditate that is engrossing and entertaining. Moreover, it brings the Gospels to life. I included this method, a form of discursive meditation. in my book Praying with Scripture: The Bible: You’ve Got Mail. The following is an excerpt from my book. (I gave myself permission to quote it!) By the way, writing that book led to being hired as author of the The Catholic Children’s Bible (St. Mary’s Press).

     

St. Ignatius recommends asking God for a particular grace before meditating. Then follow these steps:

Preparation

Choose a Gospel passage. You might read it the day before.

1. Pray that you will make a good meditation.

The Method of Ignatian Prayer

2. Picture the composition of the passage you are meditating on. In this stage you are like director Steven Spielberg, planning the special effects. Fill in the sights, sounds, sensation, and smells, even the weather.

An Example

If, for example, you have chosen the story of Jesus raising to life the daughter of Jairus (Mark 5:21–43) . . .

• In your mind’s eye visualize the one-room house.

• Hear the official mourners wailing.

• See the pale, inert body of the little girl on a mat on the floor.

• Picture the mother clothed in long garments, wringing her hands, her face red and swollen from crying.

• Visualize Jairus sweating and hustling Jesus across the threshold of the house.

• Watch Jesus stride over to the mat and take the girl gently by the hand.

• Hear him tell her in a soft voice to arise.

• Picture the amazed look on the faces of the parents and three apostles.

      If you are not gifted with the power to paint a detailed scene in your mind, it doesn’t matter. A general idea will suffice. As an alternative, locate a picture of the scene on the Internet and gaze at it.

The Follow-Up

3. A. Let your intellect ask and answer questions: Who? What? When? Where? Why? Before whom? For whom? Probe into the actions of Jesus and people’s reactions to him.

          For the story of Jairus, you might answer questions like these: 

Who was Jairus? Why did he ask Jesus to come? How did he feel when Jesus was delayed on the way by the desperate sick woman? How did Jairus look when the messengers told him his daughter had died? What did the mourners say to ridicule Jesus when he ordered them to go? Why did Jesus take only three apostles with him? What did they think about this? How did the girl feel when she opened her eyes and beheld the face of Jesus looking at her with love? Why did Jesus ask that the girl be given something to eat?

      B. Ask how the situation applies to your life:

• In similar circumstances what do you do ? What will you do? What challenges might you meet? How will you handle them? For example, you might consider how you respond to people who appeal to you for help. Are you as quick to comply as Jesus was? When have you helped someone in need? When have you refused to? Why did you react as you did?

• Your reflections might veer along a tangent road, and you might think about your attitudes and actions when someone dies. How do you express your sympathy for the grieving family?

• Or you might ponder the end of the world when Christ’s voice will call you to rise to a new, glorified life. What will you feel like?

Praying to Jesus

As you reflect on your answers to the questions, you may have the impulse to address Jesus in prayer from time to time. Do not ignore this urge, for it is precisely the point of the meditation.

     However, instead of interjecting prayers throughout your meditation, you might transform all of your reflections into one prayer in which you converse with Jesus about them. Usually this personal talk, called a colloquy, occurs at the end of your mental activity.

      Although a colloquy is usually directed to Jesus, you might address God the Father, God the Holy Spirit, Mary, or one of the saints instead.

An Example

For the meditation on the daughter of Jairus story, your colloquy might run along these lines:

      Jesus, Jairus had a lot of faith in you. In front of all the people, he asked you to come to his house. This gave you an opportunity to show everyone, including me, your power over life and death.

      How frightened Jairus must have been when his little girl was near death! You were so good to respond immediately to his request. May I imitate your readiness to serve others even when it isn’t in my plans. Jairus had to be extremely frustrated when you stopped to talk to the sick woman. How impatient I am sometimes to have you answer my prayer quickly. Give me the grace to trust you.

      Lord, your apostles probably wondered what you were going to do for Jairus after his daughter was pronounced dead. The three apostles you took with you were privileged to be your special friends. I would like to be that close to you.

      Jesus, your tender, loving heart went out to those bereaved parents. I praise you and love you for your compassion. I know that you regard me with the same love.

4. Arrive at a resolution for action for the day. You might write it down in order to reinforce it in your mind. Then ask God the Holy Spirit to help you keep that resolution.

For more prayer hints see my earlier post.

• Have you ever prayed this way?

• What Gospel stories in particular lend themselves to this kind of vivid prayer?

• Pray this way sometime this week. Let me know how it worked for you.