Feeding the Five Thousand (Jn 6:1-15) Prayer: Come, Holy Spirit. Multiply your gifts within me. Imagination: Picture Jesus feeding the crowds. Context: This multiplication of food is very important and is told in all four gospels. The Early Church loved this miracle because it prefigures Jesus’ gift of Eucharist. Why …
No Rationing of the Spirit (Jn 3:31-36) Prayer: O Jesus pour out the fullness of your Spirit. Imagination: Picture Jesus teaching his disciples. Context: John the Baptist was a great preacher but he knew only earthly truths. Jesus knows heaven and can speak about what he has seen in heaven. …
Sent into the World (Jn 3:16-21) Prayer: O Jesus, you were lifted up on the cross to save me. Imagination: Picture Jesus teaching Nicodemus. Context: This gospel contains the famous John 3:16 verse about God so loving the world. It explains that God’s motive was to save, not to condemn. However, …
Hello! I’m Fr. Ryan Nguyen. It has been almost a year since my priestly ordination and I am still seeing the subtle and yet tangible graces of Holy Orders. God is good in the past year! I heard so many confessions and even caught quite a number of “big fish” …
The Questioning Nicodemus (Jn 3:7-15) Prayer: O Jesus, let me come to you for wisdom. Imagination: Picture Jesus teaching Nicodemus. Context: Nicodemus is a trained Jewish scholar. His questions to Jesus contrast the Jewish faith with the mysteries of Christ. His questions allow Jesus to explain these truths. If Nicodemus cannot understand …
Nicodemus (Jn 3:1-13) Prayer: O Jesus, help me to grow in faith. Imagination: Picture Nicodemus speaking with Jesus. Context: Nicodemus appears in three different stories in John’s gospel. In this meditation, we will use all three because they show his growth into discipleship. Gospel Text: (Read slowly, possibly aloud.) Scene One (Jn …
Jesus Bestows the Spirit (Jn 20:19-23) Prayer: O Jesus, breathe upon me and anoint me with your Spirit. Imagination: Picture Jesus appearing to his disciples in the Upper Room. Context: This vision occurs on Easter Sunday evening and reveals many truths. By coming through a closed door, Jesus clearly shows …
Rebuking the Disciples (Mk 16:9-15) Prayer: O Jesus, heal my lack of faith. Imagination: Picture Jesus gathered with his disciples at table. Context: Mark summarizes the Easter visions. Jesus rose and appeared to Mary Magdalen. She told the disciples. He appeared to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. They, …
Vision at the Sea of Galilee (Jn 21:1-14) Prayer: O Jesus, make me aware of your presence. Imagination: Picture Jesus standing on the shore at the Sea of Galilee. Context: Jesus had appeared to the apostles in Jerusalem on Easter Sunday and then to the doubting Thomas. This is the third …
Jesus in the Upper Room (Lk 35:48) Prayer: O Jesus, flood my soul with faith. Imagination: Picture Jesus in the Upper Room with his disciples. Context: The disciples have heard the news about Jesus’ rising, but when Jesus actually comes, they experience fear and even disbelief. Slowly, he proves to them …
Two Disciples Leaving Jerusalem to Emmaus (Lk 24:13) Prayer: O Jesus, restore my hope. Imagination: Picture Jesus with these two disciples. Context: This is the longest story of any Easter vision and presents a model for Christian initiation. In this first part we see the disciples’ sadness and dejection. They …
Magdalen Sees Jesus (Jn 20:11-18) Prayer: Jesus, fill me with Magdalen’s love and devotion to you. Imagination: Picture Magdalen at the tomb with Jesus. Context: This is a very rich text, containing many teachings for both devotion and doctrine. Magdalen stays at the empty tomb, thinking the body has been …
The Good News (Mt 28:8-15) Prayer: O Jesus, I will carry the good news to the whole world. Imagination: Picture the two women meeting Jesus.. Context: This gospel has 2 quite different scenes. The women meet Jesus and he tells them to bring the good news to his disciples. In …
The Disciples at the Tomb (Jn 20:1-8) Prayer: Come, Holy Spirit. Give me the faith to seek the risen Christ. Imagination: Picture the disciples at the empty tomb. Context: If Jesus has risen from the dead, then his tomb must be empty. All four gospels begin their Easter stories with visits …
Prayer: O Risen Jesus, show yourself to me in the quiet of this prayer. Imagination: Picture the holy women meeting Jesus. Context: The four gospels have different stories about the Resurrection and the church has not tried to harmonize these accounts, because the diverse stories witness to the reality of …
(Meditation Taken from John 18:28-38) Prayer: Jesus, let your Kingdom claim my heart. Imagination: Picture Jesus standing before Pilate. Context: John’s gospel presents a lengthy dialogue in which Jesus preaches to Pilate and offers him a chance to make a different decision. Pilate can even be a member of the …
Prayer: Jesus, wash me and cleanse me. Imagination: Picture Jesus washing the Disciples’ feet. Context: This gospel highlights the great contrast. Jesus has all power, yet he acts like a servant. He washes the disciples’ feet as if they were the master of the house. He explains the meaning of …
Jesus Washes Peter’s Feet (Jn 13:6-11) (Note: The gospel for today is so similar to yesterday’s that the following scene from the Last Supper is used). Prayer: Jesus, bathe me in your cleansing waters. Imagination: Picture Jesus washing Peter’s feet. Context: Peter is so special to Jesus that even in …
My Dear Cenacle Friends, During this holiest of weeks, we remember, we celebrate, and we believe that with the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption. For our God, who loves us, desires our eternal good. Speaking through the prophet Ezekiel, God said, “I will open your graves …
