From Darkness to Light, Jesus Sets Prisoners Free. If you are new to mental prayer, we invite you to visit our page on the ways of mental prayer, Don’t know how to Pray to God, to learn more.
We begin Day 34 of this Lenten prayer journey with this opening prayer :
Trust and Believe…
Lord,
I know you love me intimately. Please help me prepare my heart as I begin these 15 minutes of mental prayer with you. Lord, let me be present to you and aware of the movements of the Holy Spirit in my heart, receiving the grace you give with hope and faith. Lord, help me visualize you in my presence right now as I strive to complete this Lenten reflection. Let me fully contemplate the readings as I ponder how, from darkness to light, Jesus sets prisoners free. I want to follow you all the way to Calvary, Jesus, and I want to do it with my whole heart.
AMEN.
Monday of Holy Week (Liturgical Year I)
From Darkness to Light, Jesus Sets Prisoners Free
A Reflection for Prayerful Meditation
Let’s begin Day 34 of our Lenten journey as we continue traveling with Jesus in our hearts and minds toward Calvary by meditating on the daily Mass readings for today: the First Reading, the Psalms, and the Gospel Reading. As you make your self-reflection, feel free to journal your responses to the Lord. This meditation is suited for prayer before the Blessed Sacrament, but you can also pray this meditation while looking at a Crucifix or an image of Jesus that you have.
From Darkness to Light, Jesus Sets Prisoners Free
Prayer to the Holy Spirit
Start with Love…
Holy Spirit,
I believe you are truly here and present to me right now. I desire to be present to you. Guide my heart and mind and show me how I might pick up my cross and follow Jesus all the way to Calvary. Help me turn my heart more fully to God so that I might better understand God’s love for me.
Breathe on me as I spend these next 15 minutes fixated on today’s Mass readings. Holy Spirit, help me pray with humility, honesty, love and affection. I want to grow in virtue and holiness.
Thank you, Holy Spirit, for every consolation, desolation, time of silence, difficult trial, and temptation of the evil one. I understand that you love me and that everything in my life happens by God’s holy will, whether it be divine providence or God’s permissive will due to my sin and negligence.
Please humble me as I walk with Jesus toward Calvary.
AMEN.
Say Nothing Just Take Him In
Spend 1-3 minutes in silence gazing at Jesus with love and gratitude, in a prayer of silent contemplation.
Make a Movie in Your Mind…
Now we will contemplate the First Reading. We will hear a prophecy from the prophet Isaiah, who lived about 700 years before the birth of Christ in the Kingdom of Judah. His messages to the leaders of Judah were a mixture of warnings about the sins of idolatry and injustices, promises of hope and restoration, and the coming of a future king from David’s line who would be their Messiah. Today we will hear a prophecy of the coming of Jesus.
Slowly imagine yourself in Jerusalem, overhearing Isaiah speak to the heads of state. He was a priest and a statesman in the Kingdom of Judah, a small and vulnerable state compared to the larger empires of the time that surrounded it, including Assyria.
Imagine the scene in your mind as you read.
From Darkness to Light, Jesus Sets Prisoners Free
A Light for the Nations
Isaiah 42:1-7
Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am pleased, Upon whom I have put my Spirit; he shall bring forth justice to the nations, Not crying out, not shouting, not making his voice heard in the street. A bruised reed he shall not break, and a smoldering wick he shall not quench, Until he establishes justice on the earth; the coastlands will wait for his teaching.
Thus says God, the LORD, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spreads out the earth with its crops, Who gives breath to its people and spirit to those who walk on it: I, the LORD, have called you for the victory of justice, I have grasped you by the hand; I formed you, and set you as a covenant of the people, a light for the nations, To open the eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners from confinement, and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness.
Reflection:
Let us take a moment to reflect on the message in the First Reading.
At this time, Isaiah was speaking to the heads of state in Judah and prophesying about the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ. Take a moment to re-read the first paragraph; it is called the first “Servant Song” (or canticle) about the Lord. The first sentence of this prophecy is fulfilled when Jesus is baptized and the heavens open up. The Voice of the Lord speaks these same words to confirm the fulfillment of this prophecy [Mark 1:11].
Now let’s personalize this passage from our First Reading…
Be Completely Real…
The more we grow in our wisdom and knowledge of the faith the more we recognize how little we understand when it comes to the depth and breadth of the wisdom of God. Take a moment here to ponder how you have grown in your knowledge and understanding of Scripture since you began your journey of faith. Take a moment to thank and praise God for the grace to understand his Word. Pray for an increase in wisdom and knowledge so that you can come to love him more and better understand the ways he fulfills his promises to his faithful servants.
Give the Holy Spirit time to respond to your prayer. You may want to take a moment to be in silence with the Lord.
In the next part we will read a prayer of faith from Psalms. Pray this with trust, acknowledging that the promises of God are true and that he fulfills them in his own way and in his own perfect timing.
Let us continue our mental prayer with today’s Responsorial Psalm:
From Darkness to Light, Jesus Sets Prisoners Free
if War is Waged on Me I Will Still Trust
Psalms 27: 1-3, 13-14
The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom should I fear?
The LORD is my life’s refuge;
of whom should I be afraid?
When evildoers come at me
to devour my flesh,
My foes and my enemies
themselves stumble and fall.
Though an army encamp against me,
my heart will not fear;
Though war be waged upon me,
even then will I trust.
I believe that I shall see the bounty of the LORD
in the land of the living.
Wait for the LORD with courage;
be stouthearted, and wait for the LORD.
Visualize Christ…
Next, we are heading to Bethany. It’s a small neighborhood, a Sabbath’s day journey from the city of Jerusalem. Bethany is roughly about 2 miles away, and the area is located on the southeastern slopes of the Mount of Olives, with a view of the city below. The road that runs through Bethany goes from Jerusalem all the way to Jericho. This is a favorite resting place for Jesus. Now we will imagine Jesus entering the home of his friends, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus.
Now we are ready to take our image of Jesus and visualize today’s Gospel Reading. Put yourself in this scene much like you did in the First Reading. Read this passage, then prayerfully speak to Jesus about what stirred your heart. What do you want to tell him?
From Darkness to Light, Jesus Sets Prisoners Free
Mary Anoints the Feet of Jesus
John 12:1-11
Six days before Passover Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. They gave a dinner for him there, and Martha served, while Lazarus was one of those reclining at table with him. Mary took a liter of costly perfumed oil made from genuine aromatic nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and dried them with her hair; the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.
Then Judas the Iscariot, one (of) his disciples, and the one who would betray him, said, “Why was this oil not sold for three hundred days’ wages and given to the poor?” He said this not because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief and held the money bag and used to steal the contributions.
So Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Let her keep this for the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.”
(The) large crowd of the Jews found out that he was there and came, not only because of Jesus, but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead.
And the chief priests plotted to kill Lazarus too, because many of the Jews were turning away and believing in Jesus because of him.
Are You Listening?
Take a moment to think about the love Mary had for Jesus in this scene. Consider the way he defended her when Judas criticized her for her generosity. Try to imagine the tension in the room at that moment. There was a disconnect. They all knew the Pharisees wanted to kill him, and each one had a different response.
Imagine Jesus asking you a question right now:
“Who do you most identify with in this house? Are you like Lazarus, the one who I brought back from the dead; Martha, who wanted to serve me with her talents and time; Mary, who wanted to anoint my feet and console me in preparation for the suffering to come; or Judas, the one focused on material things and money instead?”
Gaze on an image of Jesus or a crucifix for a minute or two and ponder this question. Prayerfully ask the Holy Spirit to come and enlighten your mind and heart.
Take a moment now to speak from your heart to the Lord. You may want to journal about what has come to your mind in silent prayer.
Pray the next Lenten Meditation
Day 35 Lenten Meditation
Now the Son of Man is Glorified
“Now the Son of Man is Glorified” – join us in our 35th Lenten reflection for Liturgical Year I