Gospel Contemplation: Jesus Enters Jerusalem

Gospel Contemplation is a way of praying that St. Ignatius proposes quite frequently in his Spiritual Exercises. You are invited to use your imagination to enter the scene, to take part, to let the scene unfold. As Ignatius suggests, notice the people, listen to them, watch what they do [SE, 106, 107, 108]. Perhaps you may sense an invitation to be one of the individuals in the scene and engage in a conversation with one of them. You can do this on your own, or use the text below as a guide.

If this way of praying is new – simply relax and try to become engaged in the scene. Try not to worry about what you are “supposed to” be doing. If you find yourself distracted during your prayer, very gently bring yourself back to the scripture text or your imaginative contemplation.

If at any point during the guided contemplation your imagination comes to life in such a way that God invites to you stay with a particular moment, follow the invitation that you sense, rather than move on to where the written contemplation is going. In that case you might want to stop reading and continue on your own.

• Choose a position where you can be relaxed but alert.
• Breathe deeply several times and let your body relax
• Breathe out any worries or stressful thoughts and put them in God’s hands
• Become aware of God’s presence here with you now, looking at you with love.

• Ask God for the grace to encounter Jesus with deepening faith in him.

Read the passage slowly, savoring the words and beginning to imagine the scene. Read it twice if that helps you to visualize it.

Mark 11:1-10

When Jesus and his disciples drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately on entering it, you will find a colt tethered on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone should say to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ reply, ‘The Master has need of it and will send it back here at once.’” So they went off and found a colt tethered at a gate outside on the street, and they untied it. Some of the bystanders said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” They answered them just as Jesus had told them to, and they permitted them to do it. So they brought the colt to Jesus and put their cloaks over it. And he sat on it. Many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields. Those preceding him as well as those following kept crying out:
“Hosanna!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that is to come!
Hosanna in the highest!”

Imagine that you are in the city of Jerusalem. It doesn’t have to be accurate, you don’t have to know what Jerusalem looks like, then or now. You are in a city and it is Jerusalem. What is it like?
As you wander the streets, what do you see?
Are there markets, houses, places where people work?
Are the streets narrow or wide? Straight or winding?
Imagine the day – the weather is clear, and is there a breeze?
What noises do you hear in this city? What smells are on the air?

Pause to use all of your senses to see yourself in this city

As you walk the streets near the city limits, you see that a crowd has begun to form. There’s a lot of noise, and you walk closer to see what’s going on.

You see the road into the city – people have covered it with their cloaks and leafy branches. Others are waving branches as a sort of procession moves down the road into the city.

Straining to see, you see that it’s a man riding a colt. And as he comes closer, you see that it is Jesus – and the crowd is greeting him like a great prophet! You know him – you’ve heard him preach, seen him heal, and have actually spoken to him yourself a few times over the past few weeks. You’ve been there when others have questioned his authority. When you see him now, entering the city to cheers and cries of “Hosanna!” – what is that like? How do you feel?

What do you feel moved to do – maybe try and get closer to him, or perhaps talk with others in the crowd about what’s going on? What do you do?

As he enters the city and the crowds become too thick for him to continue to ride, Jesus dismounts to walk to his final destination. If he hasn’t already, Jesus spots you in the crowd. He calls you over to walk with him. What does he say to you? How do you respond.

Spend the next few moments with him, telling him about what you felt and experienced as he came into the city. Let your imagination unfold as it may and listen for Jesus’ response.

And when you are ready, close with your favorite prayer.