Let Your Imagination Fuel Your Prayer
Ignatian contemplation has been practiced for centuries. Here’s how to get started.
Imagine, for a moment, that some technological genius has invented a time machine, and you are one of a handful of people selected to take it for a spin as part of a promotional campaign. You can go to any time and place in the past, on the condition that you meet a famous historical figure and return to tell the modern world about him or her.
As a Christian, you wonder what it would be like to meet Jesus, face to face…to walk with him along the roads, fields, and seashores of ancient Palestine. You could see him work miracles and hear him preach with your own eyes and ears. You might even approach him…talk to him, ask him questions, maybe even seek his healing touch.
What would that be like? Would you jump at the chance, full of excitement and enthusiasm…or would you hesitate, a little nervous, a little intimidated? We’re talking about the Son of God, after all!
Maybe you would be afraid of being disappointed. Perhaps you would decide to go see Jesus…but from a distance, mingling in the crowds that followed him. Or you could get to know some of his close followers first. Maybe his mother, or Peter, or another apostle, could make an introduction for you.
