10 minutes wih Jesus are group of Catholic priests who share friendship with Jesus, plus keenness to help young people of all ages to learn the art of loving Jesus and speaking to Him. You can find them in WhatsApp, Spotify, Ivoox, Telegram, Goggle Podcasts and Apple Podcast. Every saturday, we are going to share one meditation by 10 minutes with Jesus. Enjoy it.
My lord and my God, I firmly believe that you are here, that you see me, that you hear me, I adore you with profound reverence. I ask your pardon for my sins, and the grace to make this time of Prayer fruitful; my Immaculate Mother, St. Joseph, my father and Lord, my guardian angel intercede for me.
October and The roman empire
In October 28, 312, the roman empire is up for grabs, the previous emperor, Diocletian, divided the realm between two senior and two junior emperors, but the complex arrangement has collapsed, the successors are at one another’s throats. Young general Constantine, son of Constantius, one of the occlusion’s co-emperors, has military successes under his belt, but now he faces a formidable veteran, the larger army in a better strategic position, what shall he do? Constantine realized that he needs help from a power greater than himself, but who or what? He has doubts about the traditional roman Gods, he prays earnestly that the true God, whoever that may be, will reveal to him who he is, and stretch forth his right hand to help him. He does not know it yet, but that prayer will change the course of Christian history, as well as of the western civilization. Later, he’ll tell his friend the bishop Eusebius, the incredible story of that hour, when Eusebius reports that in his history, he admits it is hard to believe, well what happened, that it was so hard to believe, Constantine suddenly sees a bright cross of light emblazoned against the noonday sky, and upon it the inscription “Τούτῳ Νίκα!” in this sign “you will conquer”. This took place before the battle of the Milvian bridge, at that decisive hour. It brings Constantine the assurance he needs, he accepts this as the answer to his prayer, and orders his soldiers to inscribe crosses on their shields. Encouraged by his vision in the heavens, he hurries his troops against his rival Maxentius, at Rome’s Milvian bridge. Surprisingly, Constantine is victorious, Maxencious is among those who drown in the Tiber, afterward Constantine does not forget to whom he owes his victory.
Victory and orders
After this victory, he issues orders that the Christian church is to be tolerated just as other religions are, although he does not make Christianity the official religion of the empire, Constantine bestows favor on it, he builds places of worship for Christians, and presides over the first general church council, he becomes the first emperor to embrace Christianity, will be baptized on his deathbed, waiting so late for fear his duties as emperor might cause him to sin, after he receives the solemn right, blocking out his efficacy; “e Τούτῳ Νίκα!” in this sign you will conquer. Lord, we think about the sign in today’s gospel because you refer to it, so Matthew describes the scene, he said that some of the scribes and pharisees said to Jesus “teacher, we used to see a sign from you,” well, we know that you Jesus had been performing many signs, especially miraculous cures for the lepers, the blind, the paralyzed, and even the raising of the dead. You perform these signs to show the divine origin of emission, as a redeemer of the world because, as Nicodemus in visiting you at night said to you, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one could perform the miraculous signs that you are doing, if God were not with him,” yet, despite this kind of recognition by some who believe that you, Jesus, was the promised messiah, many still doubted of you, including those scribes and pharisees who demanded more signs from you; to their demands you, Jesus, told them “an evil unfaithful generation seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it, except, the sign of Jonah the prophet, just as Jonah was in the valley of the whale three days, and three nights, so will the son of man be in the heart of the earth, three days and three nights.” Certainly, those who heard Jesus’ reference to the prophet Jonah was well known, how in trying to flee from carrying out his divine mission, he was thrown overboard in a ship, was swallowed up by a whale, and how he stayed in his belly for three days and three nights. And now afterward, prophet Jonah did eventually go to Nineveh to preach repentance, and how the whole population of that big city converted to the lord, after performing many penances, through fasting, and wearing sack cloths. However, did the scribes and the pharisees understand the true meaning of Jesus, when he said that the son of man will be in the heart of the earth for three then three nights. Lord, in an enigmatic way, you’re already telling them in the whole world, how you’ll be led not because you’re forced to do so, but because you chose to do so, to the cross on calvary, and there to extend your arms to be crucified for the sins of the world.
External signs
You said that, this will be the only sign you prepared to give to the whole world, these hearers had no clue at that time because they’re looking for some external signs, instead of the true nature of the Messiah, who has come down from heaven to earth, not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as ransom for many; and Jesus, you gave up your life as the expiratory victim for us sinners, on the jubilee of the cross on calvary. And we, your disciples in the middle of the world as Christians, value very highly the sign of Jonah you left for us, the sign of Jonah is now, the sign of the cross, because you’re fulfilled in the most admirable way, the mission entrusted to Jonah, by embracing the cross and dying on it. Lord, I want to truly value the sign of the cross in my life, live by what that sign indicates to me in my daily circumstances, I want to continue to believe in the part of the holy cross, as then Paul said to the Corinthians: Jews demand signs, and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews, and foolishness to gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, the wisdom of God.
Ask myself
So Jesus, I do ask myself, whenever I make the sign of the cross, do I think consciously about your victory over sin and death, of the supreme eternal power, of this wisdom of God, which has destroyed a part of satan. Do I too believe as did Constantine, that in this sign Τούτῳ Νίκα! I will win lynches, in the ongoing aesthetical struggle to grow in holiness. The sign of the cross, has a deep theological meaning and symbolism, when we make the sign of the cross, we first begin by touching our forehead with the right hand, I stress the right hand because, some misguided souls will think that making the sign of the cross is like using a pair of scissors, or throwing a ball, you use whatever hand is comfortable for you; wrong, the right hand is used, because the symbolism is that Christ sits at the right hand of the father, and proceeds from the right hand of the father. The right hand symbolize the power, the omnipotent power of God, so when we bless ourselves or some object with the right hand, we’re invoking the omnipotent part of God, in gesture as well as in words invoking the persons of the most holy trinity; We may even state that the right hand symbolizes Christ himself, since saint Paul states in his letters, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God, elsewhere is written sing to the lord a new song, because he has done wonderful things, his right hand has wrought for him salvation, his arm is holy.
A certain authority
With the hand at our forehead we say, the name of the father, because just as the head has a certain authority over the rest of the body, so the father has certain authority among the persons of the holy trinity, of course, the three persons of holy trinity are co-equal, and co-eternal with each other, yet it’s from the father that all things proceed from all eternity. After starting at the head, our hand then passes from the head to the chest, as we say and of the son, showing that just as a thought proceeds from the mind, so the son, the eternal world, proceeds from the father, is the perfect expression of the father, just as the word is the perfect expression of all the thought, from which it proceeds. As a matter of fact, making this gesture, the hand is passing from the head to the chest, passes over the mouth, from which the world proceeds. Then we move our hand from the left shoulder to right, saying at the same time, and of the holy spirit, amen; showing that the holy spirit is spirit of love, which is demonstrated by the hand, crossing of the heart, as it does so and going from left to right. 7My mother, you are at the front of the cross, you beheld your son hang on the cross, as the lamb of God, who takes over the sins of the world. How you have embraced that cross, and be united with your son Jesus, if this were possible, yet, you experienced what that cross meant in your own life, since Simeon prophesied more than 33 years ago, before this event on calvary. The sword did indeed pierce your soul, to reveal the thoughts of many hearts. May have revealed my desire to be more fully identified with your son, Jesus, each time I make the sign of the cross reverently, with dignity, and prayerfully.
It´s the end
I thank you my God for the good resolution, affections, and inspirations that you have communicated to me in this meditation. I ask your help to put them into effect; my Immaculate Mother, Saint Joseph, my father and Lord, my guardian angel intercede for me.
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