Set Out to Begin

As we begin, I'd like to say a word about the body when we pray.

Obviously, this is a theme of some significance because it's the whole person that prays—body and soul. What we do with the body can either help or hinder our prayer.

And Ignatius, he doesn't write in a formal, systematic way, but what he does do is address issues like this at various points throughout the Exercises. So, I'm going to look at two of the texts where he addresses physical issues.

Now, obviously, it's difficult to pray if we don't have the energy that we need, and so proper care of the body—to live in such a way that our energies are good—is valuable, of course, not only for prayer but for every aspect of living our vocation. But certainly this is true for prayer as well. It's just very difficult to pray when we're exhausted. So, in a general sense, wise and prudent care of the body really does make things a lot easier in the life of prayer.

But now, specifically, when we are—let's say one of us does have this time of quiet, maybe has twenty minutes every morning to pray with Scripture, or spends time before or after daily Mass praying with Scripture in church, or at some point in Adoration—what can we do in terms of the body in order to assist the prayer?

So Ignatius says, I will enter upon the meditation now kneeling, now prostrate upon the ground, now lying face upwards, now seated, now standing, always being intent on seeking what I desire. That is the grace that we're seeking in the prayer.

And Ignatius says, so two things should be noted. Now, the first thing is that Ignatius gives us an almost startling variety of positions. Essentially, what he's saying that any sufficiently dignified physical position is possible in prayer. The key is that it really be assisting our prayer. If the position is too demanding, it will distract us from our prayer. If it is too relaxed, it may also, in its own way, make prayer difficult for us. So Ignatius says to choose with great freedom a dignified position that really does help you to pray.

So if a person, for example, is kneeling and the effort becomes so demanding that it's hard to focus on the prayer, the person probably will do better to sit. And if a person is sitting and falling asleep, perhaps kneeling for a while may actually assist the person in the prayer.

So what essentially Ignatius is saying is: find the position that really is helping you to pray well. Then he goes on to say that we wouldn't change it too often, probably, during the time of prayer, so that we don't have too often interruptions in the course of our prayer.

Elsewhere in the Exercises, Ignatius briefly addresses the issue of the eyes in prayer and says, "One may kneel or sit, as may be better suited to his disposition and more conducive to devotion." Is it better to kneel or to sit when you pray? There's no single answer to that. The answer is: which position best helps you to pray? That's the better position for you.

So one may kneel or sit as may be better suited to his disposition and more conducive to devotion. He should keep his eyes closed or fixed in one position without permitting them to roam. So, two options for the eyes: either simply close them in a way that, maybe removes distractions and helps us focus on the imaginative or reflective activity, or keep them fixed on a single point. If you're in church, maybe the Blessed Sacrament, a crucifix, or whatever is helpful to us.

Now, obviously, all of this presumes that we do have that quiet space. If a person is praying this way, listening to an app while driving, obviously the situation is different.

The text that we'll choose for this session is the Baptism of Jesus, and we find this in Matthew 3:13–17. This is a pivotal moment in the life of Jesus, as it marks the transition from the years of the hidden life and the beginning of His public ministry. So I'll read the text, and then we'll go back over it.

Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and You are coming to me?” Jesus said to him in reply, “Allow it now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him. After Jesus was baptized, He came up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened for Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming upon Him.

And a voice came from the heavens, saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

So we let our hearts see the look of love in the Lord’s eyes as He gazes upon us.

And now we enter into the Gospel scene.

And I live with Jesus this moment when He leaves everything that has been familiar to Him for thirty years and sets out alone, supported only by His trust in the Father’s will, setting out to fulfill the mission the Father has given Him. Maybe I even think back to that time in my life when I set out, too, to begin a new life in the vocation to which God has called me and to which God calls me every day.

Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan, Matthew writes. And I am there in Nazareth with Jesus. I watch as He senses that the time has come to depart. He is a man like us in all things but sin. What does this moment mean to Him?

What does it mean for His mother? How would they spend those last days together? What does she experience? And we can hear her saying again as her Son leaves, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. Let it be done to me according to your word."

And now I walk with Him and the other pilgrims, this journey of three or four days down to the Jordan. The fame of the Baptist has spread, and people are gathering. I walk with Him. Maybe I even speak with Jesus. What is this like for You, to set out alone with no disciples, completely unknown, simply trusting in the will of Your Father, obedient to the will of Your Father?

And now we are there at the river. Crowds gather. The Baptist is there in the water performing the rite. We sense the hope in the people's hearts that something new is happening, that God is visiting His people. And I watch as Jesus also humbly submits to John's rite of baptism. And in His baptism, water itself is changed and given new power.

Maybe I ponder for a time the mystery of my own Baptism. When did it happen? Where did it happen? What did it mean in my life? What does it mean in my life?

And now I ponder this moment when the Trinity is revealed. Jesus comes up out of the waters, and the Spirit descends upon Him like a dove. And the voice of the Father is heard: "This is my beloved Son." The Spirit anoints Him, the Spirit whom the hymn describes as the Advocate, the Gift of God, Fire, Spiritual Anointing. Love, is poured into the heart of Christ, readying Him for His mission. That same Spirit who was given to me in my Baptism.

And here my heart slows, and I hear these words said with such ineffable love by the Father to the Son: This is my beloved Son. Words that are given to me, that were given to me and are given to me through my Baptism: You are my beloved son. You are my beloved daughter. I pause just to let my heart hear those words.

And I ponder. I seek to grasp, to understand, and embrace the mystery of the love given to me. Again, I pray for an intimate knowledge of Jesus so that I may love Him more and follow Him more closely in my life.

Jesus, what are you saying to me as I contemplate the mystery of Your Baptism? What do You wish to show to my heart? What do You wish me to take to this day?

And I'll conclude with a brief quotation from the spiritual journal of the French Catholic writer Julien Green, who died in 1998. After his death, his sister published a digest of the many volumes of his diary, and there's some really fascinating reading in them. And he is describing here praying with Scripture at the close of the day.

In a corner of one's room when the day is closing, when the sounds of the city and of life die down a little, when in us lies the silence of twilight where God is perhaps more perceptible than at other moments, that is the time to open the Bible and listen to what it is going to say to us, to talk to God with a heart still warm with happiness. How He must love to be told that He is loved. And the more we tell Him, the more He loves us. The Bible is a book that stays open forever since it speaks only of the eternal present, which is a lovely example of what it means to pray with the Scriptures daily and what it brings into our lives. And I pray that that grace and blessing be ours, certainly now as we go through these spiritual exercises, but always in our spiritual lives. Amen.