Reflecting On The Life Of Jesus

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The Bible tells us to cast our anxieties on Jesus. It instructs us to pray without ceasing. It says we should make our concerns known to God. Therefore, most Christians pray some form of “prayer du jour.” Would you like to enhance your prayer life? Discover how adding time to your daily prayer regimen for reflection on the events of Jesus’ life can reorient and reinvigorate your prayer life. Please read more.

In Matthew 22:34-40, Jesus tells us the greatest commandment is to love God with all of our heart, soul, and mind. The second commandment is to love our neighbor as ourselves. Does our prayer life reflect this alignment?

Often our prayers our centered first around our own needs, and next they are centered on the needs of others or the needs of the world. Sadly, there is often little or no reflection on the life of Jesus. Could a minor addition to our prayer routine correct this? I think so! Since we have been instructed to love God first and above all else, we might all benefit by augmenting our “prayer du jour” with some form of structured intentional reflections on the events and mysteries surrounding the life of our Lord.

What are some of these events and mysteries? We could begin by reflecting on the early joyful events surrounding Jesus. We could meditate on the annunciation to Mary that she would be the Mother of Jesus, the words of her encounter with her cousin Elizabeth, the nativity of our Lord, the presentation of Jesus in the temple, and on the time that Jesus was found discussing God’s law in the temple when He was 12.

Next, we could ponder those radiant years of His public ministry. We could reflect upon His baptism, His first miracle at Cana, the proclamation of His Kingdom, the Transfiguration, and the institution of the Lord’s Supper.

From there, we could spend time in prayer thinking about the sorrowful events surrounding His passion and death. Here we could contemplate His agony in the garden, His scourging at the pillar, His being crowned with thorns, the weight of the heavy cross He was forced to carry and finally His death on the cross to save all of mankind from their sins.

Lastly, we could draw our attention in prayer to the glorious events of salvation history. We could sit in awe reflecting on His triumphant resurrection from the dead, His ascension to Heaven, the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, and upon the important role that God chose for Mary as the virgin mother of our Lord. We can ponder the meaning of her words found in Luke 1:48 when she said, “For he has looked upon his handmaid’s lowliness; behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed.”

Can you see that by reflecting on these events each day during our prayer time we can realign our prayer life to be in accordance with the greatest and second greatest commandments? This form of prayer keeps the events surrounding the life of Jesus our Lord first and foremost in our minds. Our daily petitions and requests for ourselves and others are rightly subordinated to our prayerful reflection on God and His plan for our salvation.

Hundreds of years ago, the rosary was developed as a guide through these reflections. My friends, my goal is to find opportunities for Christian unity. Unfortunately, the rosary has too often been a source of division and debate amongst Christians. The rosary has been miscategorized, mischaracterized and misunderstood by Catholics and non-Catholic alike.

Too often the rosary is thought of as a “Catholic only” prayer to Mary the mother of Jesus. This is a gross misunderstanding. The rosary came about through many changes over hundreds of years. Its primary focus has always been to draw our attention to the various events surrounding the life of Christ. Yes, it is true that the “Hail Mary”, the “Our Father” and the “Doxology” are the prayers that are repeated during the recitation of the rosary, however, this is only for the purpose of creating a meditative mindset, a sort of spiritual trance, as a backdrop to quiet the mind to allow it to reflect on the mysteries of salvation history.

It is not my intent to tell non-Catholic Christians that they need to say the rosary. The rosary is merely a prayer tool. My intent today is solely to demonstrate the value of reflecting on the life of our Lord.

In summation, it was an ancient practice to use knots or beads as a way to tangibly guide one in prayer. The rosary is simply a tool that uses beads to lead one in prayer as they navigate the 20 aforementioned mystical events. Whether Catholic or non-Catholic, whether with a rosary in hand, or simply a written list of these events on a piece of paper, the addition of these reflections to our normal prayer routine will likely be beneficial. My fervent prayer is these reflections will strengthen and enhance your prayer life.

Heavenly Father, you taught me to bring my needs to you in prayer. Jesus taught me to keep you first in all things. Send forth your Holy Spirit to guide me in my prayerful reflections on your Son and on the role, you chose for His mother. Amen!

AMDG

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Brian Pusateri

Brian is a Christian author and speaker. Brian, a lifelong Catholic, felt his life was forever changed when God spoke to his heart while attending an eight day silent Christian retreat in November of 2011. Soon after that retreat Brian founded 4th Day Letters and Broken Door Ministries. With the God inspired message of mercy and unconditional love that was placed on his heart during that retreat, Brian has been impacting others all over the country and around the world with his weekly letters, his talks, and his all day Christian retreats. In June of 2014, Brian’s life was again impacted in a very dramatic way when his eyesight suddenly became permanently impaired. The initial diagnosis was Multiple Scleroses (MS) but in December of 2019 the diagnosis was corrected to MOG antibody disease, a rare neurological disease. This health challenge has only served to draw Brian closer to God and bolster the importance of this timely yet ageless message.

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