Session 7: The Garden | Preparing for Prayer
In his book The Spiritual Exercises, Ignatius of Loyola suggests a number of ways of moving into a time of prayer. One of them is quite simple, but is also likely to sound strange the first time you come across it. “Consider,” he suggests, “how it is that God our Lord looks at you.” What’s your first reaction to hearing this invitation?
There are a number of places in the gospels where we are told that Jesus looked hard at people, as if to weigh them up. But his look was always compassionate, never harshly judgemental. Maybe that helps you to see what Ignatius has in mind. So try it. Take a moment or two, now, to consider how it is that God looks at you.
Jesus is God with a human face. It is literally possible, therefore, to imagine the look on Christ’s face as he catches sight of you, and then fixes his attention upon you. How would you describe that look to a friend who asked you about it?Introduction to final session format
In this our final session, we will end our retreat through an extended time of Lectio Divina based on the Resurrection narrative of John’s Gospel.
The title for our final session is, ‘The Garden’. So, as you prepare to enter a time of meditative reading with this passage, take a moment to become still… imagine walking around the garden of the tomb of Jesus as you hear the first part of our reading from the Gospel of John… Listen to or read over the passage a few times to get past any questions that arise about meaning. Invite God to speak to you through the text. Ask for openness. Let yourself settle into an expectant stillness.Reading: John 20:1-10
Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. 2So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.’ 3Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went towards the tomb. 4The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. 6Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, 7and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. 8Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; 9for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. 10Then the disciples returned to their homes.
Begin the Lectio phase
Follow the passage slowly and gently, listening with your heart to the words. There is no need to rush. No need to get to the end of the passage. When a particular word or phrase strikes you and seems to have some savour, linger with it ...Now move to the Meditatio phase
... let it into you. Pause with it. Let the word or phrase resonate. Repeat it to yourself, relish it, let it echo and soak into you until the 'flavour' begins to go, then ...…When you’re ready, enter into the Oratio phase…
... let yourself respond in prayer, in words from the heart, or a space full of silence, or spontaneous, unspoken feeling. Whenever the moment feels ripe, begin to read again ...Continue Reading from John 20:11-18:
We repeat the same process with the next part of the story from the Gospel of John:
John 20:11-18: 11 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; 12and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. 13They said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping?’ She said to them, ‘They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.’ 14When she had said this, she turned round and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? For whom are you looking?’ Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, ‘Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.’ 16Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’ She turned and said to him in Hebrew, ‘Rabbouni!’ (which means Teacher). 17Jesus said to her, ‘Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, “I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” ’ 18Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, ‘I have seen the Lord’; and she told them that he had said these things to her.
Begin the Lectio phase
Follow the passage slowly and gently, listening with your heart to the words. There is no need to rush. No need to get to the end of the passage. When a particular word or phrase strikes you and seems to have some savour, linger with it ...Now move to the Meditatio phase
... let it into you. Pause with it. Let the word or phrase resonate. Repeat it to yourself, relish it, let it echo and soak into you until the 'flavour' begins to go, then ...…When you’re ready, enter into the Oratio phase…
... let yourself respond in prayer, in words from the heart, or a space full of silence, or spontaneous, unspoken feeling. Whenever the moment feels ripe, begin to read again ...Finally, when you are ready, mark the end of your time of prayer with some closing gesture or words of prayer. Afterwards you might want to make a note of anything that seemed significant.
Looking Forward
Perhaps you can notice some change in yourself, or in your prayer, over the weeks since this retreat began. Maybe you had been asking God for some particular gift, and you have an idea that the gift has been given, in whole or in part. It is possible that God has given you much more than you were able to ask for, or even imagine, when we set out on this journey together. Take some time to thank God for all that God has done with you over this period.
Now look forward to the next few days and weeks. Is there any “unfinished business” from the retreat? An area of your life where you can still see God hard at work, a gift that you feel that you need but that you’re still waiting for? Ask God for whatever you’re conscious of hoping for over the immediate future.
Lent closing prayer (adapted from the Suscipe)
You have given all to me.
To you, Lord, I return it.
Everything is yours; do with it what you will.
Give me only your love and your grace,
that is enough for me.