A Catholic Geezer Writes about Scripture

Hello!

My name is Ed Hawkins.  I'm 72 years old as of this writing.  I'm a Catholic from birth. I attended various Catholic schools from elementary school through grad school.  I was a member of the Franciscan Order for several years in my youth, but I left before anything permanent happened, like solemn vows or ordination.  I also love the Scriptures, especially the four Gospels where Jesus shows Himself to us so clearly.

Father Jim Martin, a Jesuit priest in New York, writes some very powerful books (in my opinion, anyway).  One of his books that has had a huge impact on me is Jesus:  A Pilgrimage.  In that book and in others, he instructs the reader on the Ignatian method of mental prayer.  In that method, the person praying reads something from the Scripture and then, through their imagination, puts themself in the scene and imagines the details of what is happening.

I've been practicing this method (and practice is the perfect word for what I do).  This imaginative prayer has changed my life!  I've always loved the Gospel story, but through this imagining of the sights, sounds, smells, and peculiarities of the stories, I've come to appreciate Scripture more and, I believe, come closer to Jesus.

I've wanted to write these meditations down somewhere so I can go back and see where I was and what I thought at any particular time.  A friend suggested that I write them here so that somebody else might---might---want to try this method, too.

If you stop by here, welcome!

If you enjoy anything here, I'm delighted.

If you are led to think about this prayer method, Praise the Lord!!!