Placing ourselves in Scriptures can help us apply them to present life

Published: November 21, 2020

By Paula Standridge
St. John the Baptist Church, Hot Springs

One of the many facets of Ignatian prayer, developed by St. Ignatius of Loyola, includes the practice of placing oneself in Scripture to become a part of the biblical scene, in order to draw some practical applications for present life.

Using this method of prayer we can picture ourselves in the crowd that Jesus is speaking to and asking ourselves how we would react or what we would think about what Jesus is teaching or doing. We can also imagine ourselves as one of the main characters in the scene, someone in Jesus’ parables or as Jesus.

To place oneself in the biblical setting we try to imagine what we might see and hear and what others might be doing, as well as ourselves.

If you were a devout Israelite and happened to be in Jerusalem on a particular Friday morning would you follow the crowd to find out what they were so noisy about? Knowing what you know now would you be honest with yourself about how you felt about what was happening, or would you automatically always fall on the “right” side of the situation?

I remember as a young girl when the Passion was being read at Mass I would never say the part “Crucify him!, Crucify him!” because I loved Jesus too much and would have never said that.

As an adult I joined in the chant, because I know it was my sins that he died for, and I am indeed one of the guilty. This is an example of how our insight can change as we grow in years and spiritual maturity.

The purpose of the prayer exercise is to be honest with ourselves and to grow in self-knowledge and awareness and to see what application can be made to our present life. Otherwise we are simply engaging in a time machine exercise and missing the point.

We may picture ourselves as one of the characters in Jesus’ parables. It is easy to imagine being the prodigal son but have we ever felt or acted like the brother or experienced all the emotions of the father?

In the parable about the good Samaritan I would like to think I would help the bleeding, helpless Samaritan, but I am a rule follower. The priest and the Levite who passed by this man would not risk becoming unclean — they were following the strict rule of law for their role in the Israelite community. Would mercy triumph over following the rules? I want to think so, but what about safety, especially in these times?

Lest we get discouraged and think only of all the things we have to work on and ways we are still deficient in our spiritual life, it helps to also think of ourselves as the one lost sheep that the shepherd goes to find, or of my favorite analogy: The pearl of great price.

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. When he finds a pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it.” (Matthew 13:45-46)

Is God the pearl of great price, or are we? The answer is yes. When we find God in our life and realize his ultimate worth, we will work every day to retain our relationship with him. Imagining ourselves as the pearl helps us to remember how precious we are to Jesus, especially in prayer.

Paula Standridge is a member of St. John the Baptist Church in Hot Springs. In 2012, she completed the diaconate formation training with her husband, Deacon Robert Standridge. This article was originally published in Arkansas Catholic Nov. 21, 2020. Copyright Diocese of Little Rock. All rights reserved. This article may be copied or redistributed with acknowledgement and permission of the publisher.