Happy 16th Birthday Catherine Therese!!

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Although you'll never read this my sweet Catherine, I love you. 16 years ago you changed our life forever. All of your siblings have done this in their own way but you have done so in a very special way. You have made me more empathetic, compassionate, and much more prayerful. Your smile lights up the world around you and we are all blessed by it.  It's not easy living with a saint. You remind me of my weakness and limited time on this earth. You challenge me to go deeper within myself and find what the Lord is trying to teach me...usually patience. You are made in His image and likeness but He uses you so that I can see my own beauty, goodness, and shortcomings.  You struggle mightily against me with every bath, diaper change, and wardrobe change. I struggle mightily with Him against all the changes He wills in my life. You depend on me and your mom for even the simplest of things. You teach me to depend on Him for everything and not rely on my on strength. You teach me that I
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4 Simple Steps to Better Scripture Meditations - Part 4 of 6

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(This is one of a series of 6 posts, if you missed any, you can start here)

Step #3 – Join the Story

Jesus walking through a field with his disciples.
Scene from The Chosen series

The next step is to use your Christian imagination and place yourself in the story. Many folks think that we shouldn’t have a Christian imagination. I’m glad Michelangelo didn’t think that way. I’m glad Caravaggio didn’t think that way. I’m glad Michael O’Brien and Gina Switzer don’t think that way. God gave us an imagination and he wants us to use it. God has an awesome imagination. He’s the one who creates beauty, danger, cold, fire, scents, sounds, and yes, even mosquitoes. So here we need to imitate God and use our imagination.


The easiest way to do this is to place ourselves within the scripture passage we are reading. Picture yourself first as a person in the crowd and reread the passage. Then picture yourself as a main character and reread the passage. Work to examine every part of the story from the various points of view depending on the story. What does Goliath look like to you as you, David, stroll out for battle and vice versa? What does the whole scene look like to you if you are Saul up on the hill? What‘s going through your mind as you allow this to happen? What is it like to be one of the followers of John the Baptist the day Jesus comes to be baptized? What is it like to be John? Is the water cold? What are the sounds, the sights? What do you see from the fish’s point of view or the birds? Maybe you came to the river to wash clothes and this event is taking place upstream.


The possibilities are endless when we use our imagination and become part of the story. That’s what stained glass, paintings, and statues were designed to do, bring us into the story. We have to regain that ability to use the Christian imagination in order to have more fruitful meditations. Don’t be afraid to try new angles or ideas. Maybe you are a donkey in the stable at Bethlehem. Maybe you are the serpent in the garden. The key is to continue the reading while examining the situation from every angle. Just as we examined the words with different emphasis, here we examine the scenery, the smells, the sights, the weather, the seasons, the noise, the silence, tumult, wind and waves, the nails, the thorns, the clothes or lack thereof. We examine every part we possibly can. Then and only then can we move on to the final step in this meditation process.

Need some more examples to help you get started?  Here are some rosary meditations that really bring the Gospel to light by joining the stories as various people:
The Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary as seen through the eyes of Various People (St. James, a leper, a servant, St. Andrew, and even Judas).

Practical Steps

1. Review the Practical Steps for Steps 1 & 2

2. Place yourself in the Scripture as onlooker and as a participant.

3. Imagine the location, smells, sights, sounds. Let your imaginative senses come to life.

4. Try examining the scene from an angle you’ve never before considered.

5. Move on to the next step - Ask, Seek, Find! 


Just can't wait for each post to come out? Get the 4 Simple Steps to Better Scripture Meditations book on Kindle now or order the paperback guide, workbook, and journal today.

Click here to read more from James M. Hahn - Blog - Books 
Check out his ongoing memoir about life with his special-needs daughter.
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If you'd like to make a donation to help get this book about Catherine completed, our family would greatly appreciate that and you'll be the first to know when it's ready.

God bless you - Jim Hahn
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