Mysteries of Our Lord from the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius in Week One (M 262)
Preparatory Prayer: Ask God our Lord for grace that all my intentions, actions, and operations may be directed purely to the praise and service of His Divine Majesty.
(SE 46)
Desire: I pray for the following grace ________________________________
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Lectio: St. Luke 1, 26–38
Announcement of the Birth of Jesus.
26 In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary.
28 And coming to her, he said, “Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you.”
29 But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
30 Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
31 Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus.
32 He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,* and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, 33 and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
34 But Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?”
35 And the angel said to her in reply, “The holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. 36 And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived* a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; 37 for nothing will be impossible for God.”
38 Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.
3 Points for Contemplation from St. Ignatius
First Point - The angel, St. Gabriel, salutes our Lady, and announces to her the conception of Christ our Lord: “He went in unto her and said, ‘Hail full of grace. . . . Thou shalt conceive in the womb and bring forth a son.’”
Leonardo Da Vinci -_Annunciazione
Second Point - The angel confirms what he had said to her by announcing to her the conception of St. John the Baptist: “And behold Elizabeth thy kinswoman, she also has conceived a son in her old age.”
Jan van Eyck The Annunciation c. 1434/1436
National Gallery of Art, Washington DC
Third Point - Our Lady replied to the angel: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done unto me according to thy word.”
Annunciation by Angelico Valdarno
Colloquy: __________________________________________________________
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The colloquy is made by speaking exactly as one friend speaks to another, or as a servant speaks to a master. At the end of the prayer, (one) should turn to the person to whom the prayer is directed, and in a few words ask for the virtues or graces which (one) needs most (SE 257).
Close: With an Our Father
Reflection:________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Copy content take from the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius: based upon Studies in the Language of the Autograph by Louis J. Puh, S.J., Loyola Press 1951.
Artworks are in the public domain.