Monday of the 3rd
Week of Lent
February 29, 2016
Part of the daily prayer that
Saint Ignatius of Loyola recommends is called a Review.
Ignatius recommends that in our
prayer, we look back to the previous day.
We ask ourselves: how did God
come to me yesterday?
How did I experience the light
and consolation of God?
It might have been in my prayer,
where I felt very close to Jesus.
It could have been a phone call
when I needed the caring of a friend.
It could have been a wise word,
maybe even unintended from someone, in a casual conversation.
Ignatius’ guidance is that God
comes to us usually in very ordinary, not extraordinary ways, and it is
important to be aware of these.
Both of today’s readings lead me
to recall Ignatius’ method of prayer.
In our first reading, it is a
little girl – no one extraordinary – a little girl who has been captured in war
and advises the army commander, the enemy of her people, where to go to be
healed of his leprosy.
This general, Naaman, goes to the
Prophet Elisha in Israel.
Elisha tells him to do something
very ordinary – wash seven times in the Jordan River.
Naaman cannot believe that
something so ordinary would do him any good.
But again, his servants –
ordinary people – advise him to do what Elisha says.
They reason: if Elisha had
advised something extraordinary, he would do it.
Why not do something ordinary
like bathe in the Jordan?
So ordinary persons and ordinary
activity become the vehicle for healing.
The message is that they are the
vehicle for God coming to us.
They are the vehicle for
experiencing the light and consolation of God.
It is valuable to be aware of
these and to make this part of our daily prayer.
