This form of meditation places you in the middle of the Gospel stories rather than just focusing on certain words in a passage. Some call Ignatian Contemplation a prayer, while others call it a meditation. It doesn’t matter one way or the other to me what you call it; just learn to enjoy this unique approach to finding yourself in the depth of the Gospel stories. The name derives from St. Ignatius of Loyola. The roots of the meditation may go back as far as St Francis in the thirteenth century. Much of our modern-day Christmas pageantry, hymns, and stories come from St Francis and his use of imagining himself in the gospel story at the birth of Jesus. St. Francis encouraged his followers and readers to place themselves in the Christmas crib with Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. It is not surprising that the patron saint of animals Imagined donkeys, sheep, and other barnyard animals in the manger setting. 1 Compose the Place I invite you to turn to Luke 2:1-20. Read the verses a few times. Then set your Bible aside and close your eyes. What do you see? What do you hear? Can you smell anything? Place yourself in the field with the shepherds at night. Can you see the sheep? How dark is it? Do you see the hills and rocks in the fields? I realize this is a bit difficult to read this script and meditate simultaneously; you may want to read through this first, then ask yourself the questions. Can you hear the angels singing as they proclaim the birth of Jesus? Are you afraid or excited about being one of the first people on this planet to have an angelic proclamation of Jesus’ birth? Now place yourself in the manager as St. Francis encouraged his followers to do. What sounds do you hear? What animals are present? Can you see Mary? Do you see the blessed Savior in the manger? 2 God works through your Imagination. The images, sounds, smells, and feelings are divinely inspired. Your encounter with the Biblical images is not too far from the shepherds’ holy encounter on Christmas. God revealed to the shepherds the things God wanted them to know. Perhaps God is in your meditation, and you are also receiving divine images. An easy pattern to remember when doing this meditation is seeing, hearing, feeling, smelling, and tasting. Use your five human senses to enter into this spiritual meditation. Let your imagination relay the information to your senses. Then the most important question is, why did God want me to experience this special Bible story in this way? The meditation is designed to place you in the Gospel to relive the story much like the original witnesses.
We can relive the impact of each Gospel story as we place ourselves in the middle of each scene. In the meditation, we will also encounter God.