Did you give Ignatian contemplation a try last week? How did it go?
This week, our guided reflection will use the scripture of the woman hemorrhaging who desires healing so much that she reaches out and touches Jesus’ cloak. Jesus reminds her that her faith has saved her.
As God unfolds the scene in your mind, what is God saying to you about your life right now? Are there areas of your life that Jesus is reminding you of the gift of your faith?
Week 3 Guided Imaginative Prayer: Woman Hemorrhaging
Click here to listen!
Steps of Ignatian Contemplation or Imaginative Prayer (Adapted from Busy Lives & Restless Souls)
- Select a Scripture: Pick a passage from one of the four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke or John.
- Read: Read the passage several times slowly so that you almost know the story well enough to share with another person.
- Imagine the Scene: Close your eyes, and imagine the scene. Imagine what the scene looks like. Who is in the scene? What are they doing? Where are they located? What do you notice about the environment? What smells are there? What sounds? Let the Holy Spirit guide this unfolding in your mind for you.
- Put yourself in the scene: As the scene begins to take shape in your mind, put yourself in the scene. Notice where you are.
- Notice what happens: Let the story unfold in your mind. Stay with it until you feel nudged to move to reflection.
- Respond and Rest:Share with God what you noticed and experienced. Then rest in God and let God speak to you.
- Reflect: Reflect back on what you experienced in prayer. What did you learn about Jesus? About God? About another character in the scripture? About yourself?
Go Deeper?
- Scripture:
- Lk 8:42-48// Woman Hemorrhaging
- Books
Cultivating Space for God Together:
Women’s Ignatian Silent Retreat: Joy of the Encounter
Join us for a Women’s Ignatian Silent Retreat from August 23-26, 2018 focused on the Ignatian Exercises. Stop and enjoy a weekend of reflection, rediscovery, and refreshment. The Spiritual Exercises are a compilation of meditations, prayers, and contemplative practices developed by St. Ignatius Loyola to help people deepen their relationship with God. Click here to learn more!
Becky Eldredge
Becky is an Ignatian-trained spiritual director, retreat facilitator, and writer. She is the author of the Busy Lives and Restless Souls (March 2017, Loyola Press) and The Inner Chapel (April 2020, Loyola Press). She helps others create space to connect faith and everyday life through facilitating retreats and days of reflection, through writing, and through spiritual direction. With nearly twenty years of ministry experience within the Catholic Church, Becky seeks to help others discover God at work in the every day moments of people’s lives by utilizing St. Ignatius’ Spiritual Exercises and the many gifts that our Catholic faith and Ignatian Spirituality provide.
I have listened to 2 of the guided imaginative prayer sections. Each held so much meaning for me. I received insight that i did not expect. I see how beneficial this can be. Your new site is easy to navigate!
dear becky, I don’t know if i can follow a retreat as i know that i am not constant in my prayer. I sort of offer my day and remember that God is there but for quite a while i could not find my God of Love because my daughter is in a protestant church who believe that God punishes …therefore i guess it affected me and I couldn’t understand how a father sends his son to die on a cross and this was the longest and more difficult thing in my life since i held on to the God of Mercy and Love. For the passed for years i have suffered so much physically and psychologically from disease of the immune system. Fear was and still is a bit a daily companion so letting go for me is difficult. I am a grandmother of 6, mother of three children, and had to move to the country near my daughter. Adapting has been difficult and to make a long story short friends are not at my door every day. I always have to be so strong. Yesterday morning i prayed because i could not stand the coldness in my heart and as i opened my computer there was a video of John Paul II….i looked at it and i cried remembering how he brought so much comfort to all people with his love for everyone and through all his suffering. I wish i could find a way to meditate scripture but it is difficult for me to imagine healing at my age. It is like i have to let go and live every day as best i can never being able to plan anything. I leave this with you. I must say that i wrote to a cistercian monk who told me my beatitude way Happy are those who cry….also Jesus was alone at the end…I leave you on this note and if you can help me i would much appreciate. I miss not having a spiritual director although i was told that we have to fly on our own. I am french canadian so i tried to explain to you the best i could.