PRAYING WITH THE GOSPELS: A JOURNEY WITH JESUS

We all know a lot of Gospel stories – but how much do we know about each Gospel writer and their approach to telling the story of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus? How can we immerse ourselves through prayer in some of the key moments of Jesus’ ministry?

Eric Jensen, a Jesuit priest who works in the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises ministry at Loyola House in Guelph, Ontario, can help us here. In four short, highly readable books,* he leads us on a journey of exploring the four Gospels from various intriguing perspectives:

Using these lenses, he illuminates for readers particular emphases that each evangelist brings to us. A helpful introduction situates each Gospel in terms of the culture of the day and in light of the other three.

In a dozen or so brief chapters per book, the author highlights key stories that focus our attention on Jesus and helps us engage in the action. Jensen offers the following eight-step structure for approaching the Gospel narratives using active or Ignatian contemplation (the scripture passages are included in the book). This structure is designed to lead us into praying with the scriptures, where we engage with the story, pray and then reflect on our experience of prayer.

Step 1: Saying a preparatory prayer

Step 2: Picturing the setting

Step 3: Visualizing who is there

Step 4: Placing yourself in the scene as one of the characters

Step 5: Hearing what people are saying

Step 6: Asking God for the grace you desire

Step 7: Joining in the activity in the scene

Step 8: Reflecting on your experience of contemplating

The process takes about an hour. Because it is such an active method, it can be stimulating and inspiring, refreshing and poignant. Story by story, it draws us into a journey with a teaching, very human, compassionate, conversational Jesus.

* The four books are available as a set or individually.

Anne Louise Mahoney is managing editor of Novalis. She is the editor of Never-ending Love: Sharing Stories, Prayers and Comfort for Miscarriage and Infant Loss and Looking to the Laity: Reflections on Where the Church Can Go from Here and is the author of I Hope, a book for young children.