Baptism of Jesus: Identity and Embracing Sacramental Grace
Prayerfully read the account of Jesus’ baptism in Matthew 3:1–17…
As you pray, close your eyes and examine the way you see yourself. Do you have a poor self-image? Are you depressed at times? Do you get frustrated with life and lose a sense of hope? If so, ponder why you experience these thoughts and feelings. Most likely it’s because you have looked more at your weaknesses and failures than at your dignity as a child of God. Silently ponder the false images you have of yourself and those unhealthy things in which you have taken your identity…
Now turn your mind to one thing—your baptism. Everything changed in that moment. Your soul was marked by an indelible character, identifying you as a child of God. God loves you in ways you can never fathom. Your soul has been cleansed in the waters of baptism and given new life. Hear the Voice of the Father say to you, “You are my beloved son…you are my beloved daughter.” Embrace that identity so that the Father can also say to you, “In you I am well pleased”…
Also prayerfully read the account of Jesus’ forty days in the desert in Matthew 4:1-11…
The devil and the fallen demons subject to him are constantly active. They lie to us all the time, using their natural powers of suggestion to influence us and confuse our thinking. Do you listen to them and give into false reasoning? After His baptism, Jesus was led into the desert for forty days to fast, pray, and conquer the most common temptations we endure. Begin by facing the first temptation Jesus conquered—the flesh. How does the devil tempt you in this area? Do you overeat—indulge in comfort food, alcohol, excessive rest, or other fleshly comforts? Do you fast, do penance, and control your appetites? It’s so easy to fall into the trap of thinking that indulging ourselves makes us happy, but it doesn’t. Freedom brings happiness. Freedom is obtained by tempering our appetites, especially through mortification. Identify the main temptations you encounter in this area and prayerfully direct those temptations to the power won for us in Christ…
Second, prayerfully reflect upon the temptation to prove your value and worth to others. This is pride. The only opinion that matters is God’s. How does God see you? If Jesus had begun His ministry by throwing Himself off the pinnacle of the Temple for all to see and if angels had caught Him and lowered Him to the ground, everyone would have been amazed. He would have had many believers, but they would not have believed by faith. They would have believed because of pride, of which our Lord had none. Consider whether you show off, trying to convince others of your talents and successes and win their fleeting esteem. If so, know that such “esteem” is of no lasting value. Love is not based on worldly pride. Prayerfully turn again to your innate identity, given to you in Baptism, and rest in that identity alone…
Finally, how attached are you to wealth and power? Do you always need to have things go your way? Do you like to be in charge? How attached are you to material things? Jesus’ poverty was the clearest sign to us that accumulating wealth is not the answer to a fulfilled life. Poverty is. Simplicity is. Detachment from material possessions is. Furthermore, being in charge and always getting our way is not a recipe for happiness. Selfless service is. We must form habits of putting others first and find great joy in doing so. Consider how you do in these areas, and prayerfully be open to the poverty and selflessness Jesus modeled at His birth and in the wilderness during His temptations. This is the path He laid out for each of us. Will you follow it?…
Wedding at Cana: Experiencing Spiritual Fruitfulness
Prayerfully read John 2:1–12…
As you pray, place yourself in the context of the Wedding at Cana. Imagine yourself being one of Jesus’ newly called disciples. You are excited to follow Him, yet unsure. He seems to be someone great—a prophet or even the promised Messiah—but questions remain. As you reflect, consider what hesitations you have in following our Lord. If there are obvious ones, face them directly. If not, then prayerfully look deeper and try to identify any slight doubt or even minor hesitation you have…
We are all invited to the eternal wedding of Divine Union. We are invited to become fully one with Christ through the process of deepening prayer, conversion, and transformation. Ponder Jesus’ presence at the Wedding at Cana and your invitation to attend. See it as your invitation to become one with Christ and say “Yes” to Him…
Now turn your eyes to our Blessed Mother and hear her say, “Son, they have no wine.” Reflect upon the Blessed Mother’s attentiveness to this problem, her concern, and her willingness to assist. As you do, know that she is well aware of your own struggles and need for grace. She sees them with motherly compassion and empathy. Imagine the truth that her only concern is for you and her only desire is that your soul become full of her Son’s grace…
As you see the compassion in the Immaculate Heart of Mary, imagine her looking into your eyes and saying with profound love, “Do whatever He tells you.” Listen to those words over and over again. Allow the Holy Spirit to reveal to you any ways that you have failed to be immediately and fully obedient to God’s will. Make a prayerful act of contrition and resolve to change…
As Jesus orders the servants to fill six stone water jars, see one of those jars as a symbol of your own soul. All you can do is present yourself to our Lord, filled with tasteless water. On your own, there is no fruitfulness, no superabundance, nothing of merit. Then see our Lord pour down His grace into your soul and transform what you bring to Him into the finest “wine” of superabundant grace. Gaze at your own transformed soul with amazement…
The wine was for the celebration, for all present. So also, we must see ourselves as instruments of God’s grace by offering our lives, now transformed by grace, to others. Who is God calling you to love more? Upon whom is God calling you to pour forth His grace? Had the host of the wedding seen the wine and kept it, the celebration would have ended. If we refuse to be generous with that grace we have been given, we lose all and others will suffer as a result. Ponder your duty not only to receive an abundance of grace, but also to offer it to others so that they experience God’s glory as the grace within you touches their lives…
Proclamation of the Kingdom and Call to Repentance: The Gospel is Proclaimed
Prayerfully read Matthew 4:12–25. Also consider reading portions of the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5–7.
Call to mind an aspect of the Gospel that has challenged you in the past and prayerfully sit with that passage. Praying with Scripture is different from reading or studying it. Praying with Scripture is an active communication with Jesus. It’s as if you are sitting on the Mount of the Beatitudes, listening to Him preach just to you. Take time to envision Him teaching you with His Word, especially those sermons which have challenged you the most…
Listening to, understanding, and responding to all that Jesus taught cannot be done in one day. Prayerfully ponder how committed you are to this mission. Consider the Twelve Apostles and imagine yourself traveling with them for three years, spending time with Jesus every day. Even after those three years, they fled in fear when Jesus was arrested. But all that they had heard and seen laid the foundation for profound holiness. Prayerfully reflect upon the foundation within your own heart. Pay attention to where it is weak, and rejoice in where it is strong…
Jesus’ proclamation was first a call to repentance. Do you regularly examine your conscience, go to Confession, and try to weed out even small sins from your life? We are called to be perfect! After His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). Ponder that passage and examine whether you strive for perfection or are satisfied with mediocrity…
Return to the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3–12) and read them one at a time, pausing after each one, praying for insight into the meaning and opening your heart to their full embrace…
Transfiguration: Experiencing Spiritual Consolations
Prayerfully read Jesus’ interaction with His Apostles just prior to the Transfiguration in Matthew 16:14–28.
Imagine yourself with Peter and the other Apostles as Jesus tells you, for the first time, that He will suffer greatly at the hands of the religious authorities and be killed. Imagine the shock at such news. You had just come to believe that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of God, witnessed Him perform miracles, heard His powerful sermons, and now He tells you He will suffer greatly and be killed…
As you listen attentively to our Lord reveal the news of His coming Passion, you look at Him and sense the confidence in His voice—His conviction, determination, and peace. Though a holy sorrow permeates His words, peace and joy are also present. You sense the urgency of His mission and find yourself conflicted. You had hoped for a glorious Messiah, not one Who would be killed…
As you imagine yourself present at this first revelation of our Lord’s Passion to His disciples, imagine Jesus now turning to you and speaking to you of your own passion. He begins by compassionately going through a list of sacrifices He wants of you. What would be on that list? Whom does He want you to forgive? To whom is He calling you to return a blessing for a curse, kindness in the face of sin, mercy that goes far beyond earthly justice?…
As you consider the sacrificial love to which you are called and sense the hesitation within your own soul, turn your eyes to the Transfiguration (Prayerfully read Matthew 17:1–13). Imagine this same Lord Who calls you to sacrificial love being transfigured before your very eyes, more radiant than anything you have ever seen, flooding your bodily senses with the purest sweetness you have ever felt. Would you trust this Lord Who is so radiant and glorious?…
Call to mind any transfiguring and mountaintop experiences you have had. Have there been moments of prayer or sensible consolation in which you simply knew God loved you and was with you? Turn to those moments as a reminder that the pathway to a much fuller experience of God’s glory is the Cross. The Cross leads to the Resurrection, and the Resurrection leads to the Ascension. We must die, rise, and ascend with our Lord so that the true Mountaintop experience of the Beatific Vision in Heaven will be ours forever. Resolve to continue up that mountain and to persevere through every struggle, knowing what awaits you at the top…
Institution of the Eucharist: Deepening Understanding of Communion and Adoration
Begin your prayer by calling to mind the Last Supper and prayerfully reading one of the accounts: Matthew 26:14–35; Mark 14:12–26; Luke 22:7–38; or John 13–17. The first Mass began then and continued throughout Jesus’ Passion. Prayerfully ponder the Last Supper that Jesus shared with His Apostles…
In John’s Gospel (John 6:51–58, RVC-CE), Jesus said, “I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh.” As might be expected, some of the Jews questioned our Lord, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” To them, Jesus responded even more clearly. Use this profound statement about the Eucharist as a source of prayerful meditation. As you read it, reflect upon the importance of receiving Holy Communion:
Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will live because of me. This is the bread which came down from heaven, not such as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live for ever.
Because the Mass is the one and perpetual Sacrifice of Christ on the Cross, we are spiritually transported to the Cross every time we attend and participate in the Mass. Take a moment to imagine the Crucifixion. Gaze at our Lord with His Blessed Mother, and prayerfully call to mind that this reality is made present to you at the Mass…
After Holy Communion, the remaining consecrated Hosts are placed in the tabernacle. This sacramental presence of our Lord is His True Presence. Though hidden from our eyes, it is our Lord, the same Lord Whom the angels and saints adore in Heaven. Close your eyes and acknowledge His True Presence in the tabernacle. Think of your home church or chapel and acknowledge Him, profess your belief in Him, thank Him, and adore Him…
Next: Meditations for the Sorrowful Mysteries
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