Home 10 Minutes with Jesus 10 minutes with Jesus. Today: Enduring friendship

10 minutes with Jesus. Today: Enduring friendship

by 10 Minutes with Jesus
frodoysam

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.

Frodo and Sam

In that famous book, The Lord Of The Rings by J.R.R. Torkin, two hobbits, Frodo and Sam, despite all the challenges and difficulties they confronted, were able to accomplish their mission, which was the destruction of the ring at Mount Doom. As Mount Doom explodes and crumbles around them, Frodo spoke with his friend Sam, in a calmed, measured voice, he said “But do you remember Gandaf’s words? Even Golem may have something yet to do, but for him Sam I could not have destroyed the ring, the quest would have been in vain even at the bitter end, so let us forgive him for the quest is achieved, now all is over, I am glad you are here with me, here at the end of all things Sam.” Lord, we’re very much touched by this deep, enduring and sincere friendship between Frodo and Sam, and indeed any friendships which are genuine, authentic and selfless.

Saint Bartholome

Jesus, today we are celebrating the feast day of Saint Bartholome, also known as Nathaniel, as it was quite common among the Jews to have two names. His meeting with you was arranged by his friend Philip, in this gospel of Saint John, you read the following: “Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” Here Jesus, we clearly see one of the qualities of the genuine, enduring friendship, seeking only the good of the other. As classical writers put it, a friend is another self, someone who helps make our lives more tolerable, who is there for us in our troubles, and shares in our joys and sorrows; a friend is someone who can confide in because we can trust them.

The road of life

Saint Jose Maria used to say that we need to be able to rely on each other, so to travel the road of life, in this way to make our aspirations bear fruit, to overcome difficulties, to benefit from the results of our efforts. Philip discovered you Jesus, as the prime minister Messiah, “Oh how much and for how long, the people of Israel have been longing for this promise, to become a reality, and finally it has come to pass, God has fulfilled this promise, Jesus is the promised Messiah and I Philip, I’m so privileged in discovering him, he has welcomed me into his discipleship. I cannot hold this great and fantastic news to myself, I must share immediately with my friend Nathaniel.” Jesus, I can easily imagine how in his tremendous excitement, Philip would have started out right away, perhaps running looking for his friend Nathaniel, without a moment to delay.

“Nathaniel we found the one about whom Moses wrote in the law and also the prophets, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth” then he heard the reply of Nathaniel, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Well, it was like throwing cold water, it felt like being challenged, “Are you serious Philip? You know as well as I do that Nazareth is a little non-named village, of about 100 inhabitants, of no significance at all besides most people who live there are low-class people, working the lands and engaged in simple trades living in huts, so, How can anything good really come from such a forgotten village?

Believe

I cannot believe that the promised Messiah, the great personage of cosmic consequences can possibly come such a place, no Philip, thank you for thinking of me, but I’m not sure if I can really believe you.” Well lord, sometimes our friendships can undergo testing due to various reasons, different ways of looking at the reality. For instance, different temperaments and therefore, different ways of reacting, sometimes, even a slight feeling of jealousy when my friend seems to be in a better position than me.

To this initial unwelcoming gesture of Nathaniel, Philip persevered simply, and told him “Come and see Nathaniel, I know what you’re thinking, yes, Nazareth is truly an insignificant village as you say, I know that too, but, Do you Nathaniel trust me to believe in me? Would I be sharing with you something that I am so excited about, and took the trouble of finding you to tell you if it is not true? Nathaniel, I am your trusted friend, believe me and come with me, so that I can introduce you to Jesus of Nazareth.”

Again

Lord, again, how beautiful it is to contemplate another quality of enduring friendship shown by Philip and Nathaniel, that is built on trust and confidence, if you trust your friend, you also trust his words and actions, you trust his genuine motives and his good will towards you, you trust that he only wants what is best for you. As the philosopher Aristotle said, the best friend is, he that when he wishes a person’s good, wishes it is for that person’s own sake.

Going back to the Gospel

Well Jesus, I continue this dialogue with you, by going back to the Gospel narrated by Saint John, Jesus saw Nathaniel coming toward him and said to him: “Here is a true child of Israel, there is no duplicit in him, Nathaniel said to him -How do you know me? Jesus answered and said to him, before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.” I wonder if it is Jesus, that you pointed out to Nathaniel the fact that it was through Philip, and his enduring friendship, that you drew Nathaniel towards you, that you welcomed him to your inner circle, despite Nathaniel’s initial hesitation and doubt, regarding your origin and true identity.

You rewarded Nathaniel trust and confidence in his friendship with Philip, by telling him that you Nathaniel are the true child of Israel. What a praise, coming from the Lord. Do I have friends like that? Do my friends who look up for my best interest as I too always try to think about what is best for them? When I have an idea, which it can benefit my friends, Do I take the initiative and contact him or her right away?

Am I able to transmit my enthusiasm to my friend? And above all to share my faith with my friends? How often do I talk about God, religion, and matters of faith, in my conversation with my friends? Do I also listen attentively to my friend? Even though I might disagree, giving my friend the chance to finish, what he or she wants to tell me, without interrupting him or her.

Genuine friendship

Since in genuine friendship, we aim for that which is best for one another, we should always keep in mind, the spiritual needs as an important aspect of this friendship, after all, we want this friendship, which began on earth, which is maturing steadily to be long-lasting. What is more long-lasting than eternity? Yes Jesus, the highest goal of friendship is that we be children of God for all eternity in heaven, there in the eternal presence of God, we will enjoy the everlasting friendship with all the Saints. In this regard I want to talk to you Lord about the friendship between San Jose Maria and Venerable Isidoro.

When San Jose Maria Escriba, the founder of Opus Dei, began to look for people, who can benefit from the tremendous blessing from the Lord for the church, one of the very first persons he contacted was a former classmate of his, Isidoro Zorzano, declared venerable by pope francis in 2016. Isidoro was born in Argentina, but the family moved to Spain in 1905.

He went to school in Logroño, where he met Jose Maria, who just joined the school having come from Barbastro, the two became good friends almost from the beginning. After graduation departed until 1930, when Jose Maria, now Father Jose Maria, contacted Isidoro to communicate to him the exciting and beautiful reality of Opus Dei, which was founded in 1928.

Isidoro

Isidoro understood immediately that God was calling him to Opus Dei, so he answers the vocation, the firm sense of commitment. Lord, I see a similarity between Philip, who ran in search of Nathaniel, and San Jose Maria, who went in search of venerable Isidoro, the mutual friendships bore fruits, which are lasting for all eternity in heaven, that is the kind of friendship I want, to cultivate and joy with your help. I now turn to you my mother as I finish these 10 minutes of conversation with your son Jesus, asking for your intercession, so that I truly value my friends as kiss from the Lord, and that I do all that I can to contribute to their eternal happiness.

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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