14 ~ THE COURAGE TO TELL JESUS EVERYTHING

Companion

~ 14 ~

THE COURAGE TO TELL JESUS EVERYTHING ~
“Daughter, your faith has made you well.”

 

I prepare my heart for prayer
As I begin, I take a moment to become aware of the Lord present to me,
looking upon me with love, desiring to speak to my heart.

Prayerfully, I read Mark 5:24-34
After prayerfully reading, I ask for a grace I desire in this time of prayer.

Using my reasoning:

• Think about what is happening in the scene; what are the action words?
• Who are the people in the scene? What is the place? What things are described?
• What words catch my attention? What does this mean to me?

Using my imagination:

• Imagining myself in the scene – am I an observer or participant? To whom am I drawn?
• Using all of my senses – what do I see? What do I hear? What do I feel, smell or taste?

Reflect on what God is saying to my heart:

• As I reflect, I use my spiritual senses to acknowledge what is transpiring in my heart – my thoughts, feelings and desires. (Acknowledge means to see, to notice, to become aware of, to name.)  This is important to do, as my thoughts, feelings and desires shape my actions.

• I look for the truth the Lord is communicating to me. I ask Jesus to give me his mind and his thoughts to see with the eyes of his heart what he wants to reveal to me today. How is Jesus calling me to apply this truth to my life?

Guided Reflection
Quoted from “An Ignatian Introduction to Prayer,”
by Father Timothy M Gallagher, O.M.V1

 

I meet this woman. She and I have so much to share: a burden, a need for healing of body, of heart. We have sought healing year after year, made effort upon effort … without effect. The burden remains, it seems even to worsen …

I live with her these endless years of searching for wholeness, for healing … I feel her growing sense of helplessness, her gradual loss of hope … Yet, some small hope remains … and comes alive when she hears of Jesus, and dares to hope that, though him, she may at last find healing.

I watch her, perhaps I take her place, I accompany her, as she comes to the roadside where Jesus is passing. I see the crowds that surround him and hem him in … the movement, the bustle. Now is the chance …

She does not miss the opportunity. She comes close in the crowd. She hopes only for a brief touch of his garments from behind in the crowd. She does touch his garments … and senses that she is healed!

But Jesus wants to give her more. He will not let his “daughter” remain simply an impersonal touch in a crowd. He stops, he asks, “Who touched my garments?”

The disciples cannot understand his question, but he knows, and she knows. … Now this courageous woman responds. She falls on her knees before him, and “in fear and trembling,” tells him “the whole truth.”

I marvel at her courage, her trust, her ability to do what I have so often wished to do: to tell Jesus the whole truth of what stirs in my heart. Have I anything hidden in my heart that now the Lord wishes me to say to him? I pray for the courage, the trust, the openness that I see in this woman …

Now I hear Jesus call her “daughter,” confirming the deep and rich relationship between them … In the silence of my heart, I hear him say this word to me …

“Your faith has made you well; go in peace …” She goes now, her heart in blessed peace … I walk with her

I ask for this grace in this time of prayer:

Converse with God2

Acknowledge:

• What are the thoughts arising in my heart? I think …
• What are the feelings arising in my heart? I feel …
• What are the desires arising in my heart? I desire …

Relate:

I honestly relate these to God; I talk to him about them, trusting he is present and listening to me, his beloved child.

Receive:

• I listen to what the Lord wants to say to my heart, knowing his love is gratuitous and unconditional.  I receive his love and consolation. I trust he longs to console me, to encourage me, to strengthen me, to heal me, to forgive me …

• I allow him to lead me; perhaps returning to the scripture …

Respond:

• I conclude my prayer time speaking to Jesus, God the Father, and/or the Holy Spirit as I would speak to a friend. I may also invoke the intercession of Mary and the Saints.
(St. Ignatius calls this a colloquy.)

Praise him – give glory to God for who he is; for being all good and loving; for being my Lord and savior …

Thank him – for our time together; for his word to me; for the gifts he has given me today …

Ask him – for his help, grace, strength, wisdom, deeper faith …

• Based on what God is saying to my heart, I resolve to act in the following concrete way to love God and love neighbor (which could be something small). Today I will …

Rest in the Lord: Be still and know that I am God
Psalm 46:10

 

1 Gallagher, T., 2008. An Ignatian Introduction To Prayer: Scriptural Reflections According To The Spiritual Exercises. New York: The Crossroad Publishing Company.

2 This way to converse with God in prayer often called ARRR is taught by The Institute for Priestly Formation out of Omaha Nebraska. For more information see Father Traynor, Scott (2013) The Parish as a School of Prayer and Dwyer, Karen and Lawrence (2011) WRAP Yourself in Scripture (IPF Publications).